LAHORE: At least three policemen were martyred while several others sustained injuries in clashes with supporters of the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in the provincial capital on Friday.
Mazhar Hussain, spokesperson for the deputy inspector general of police (operations), identified the two martyred cops as Head Constable Ayub and Constable Khalid while the identity of the third official was yet to be ascertained but the Punjab chief minister in a statement confirmed that three policemen had embraced martyrdom in clashes with the banned outfit.
The police spokesperson further said that several other police officials were also injured who had been shifted to a hospital in critical condition. He claimed that the protesters hurled petrol bombs on the officials when they tried to prevent the protestors from vandalising the public property. He said the enraged activists also used sticks and pelted stones at police officers who were showing ‘restraint’ despite the violence.
Meanwhile, Lahore police spokesman Arif Rana said that policemen fired teargas after the TLP supporters attacked a police checkpoint. He claimed that the activists had assured the police that they would remain peaceful but they turned violent and clashed with the law enforcers at several points in the city.
TLP issues ‘ultimatum’ after talks hit stalemate
On the other hand, the TLP leadership lambasted the government and law enforcement agencies (LEAs) for severely torturing their ‘peaceful’ supporters and damaging public property and playing blame games. The TLP leaders on their twitter accounts claimed that police severely tortured their supporters and two of them succumbed to their critical wounds. They said several others also sustained injuries.
A spokesperson for the banned outfit said police attacked the ‘peaceful’ rally that was on its way to Islamabad. He said that the workers had endured “worst shelling in history” and were “attacked from all sides” by police and rangers near the Mao College Flyover.
The spokesperson claimed that over 500 workers had been seriously wounded while 15 were in serious condition. “Police are portraying that the two cops were crushed to death by one of our vehicles but actually they were crushed by a police van which was after our workers,” the spokesperson added.
He claimed that the police were making a false propaganda as the activists had no vehicle in their use. Meanwhile, an alleged audio wireless clip of the police also went viral on social media which provided weight to the TLP claim that two police officers died in their own vehicle.
The spokesperson further said that the executive council of the party has also decided that they will not hold talks with the government until the release of their party chief Saad Hussain Rizvi, who is under government’s illegal detention despite a court order.
Three policemen martyred in clashes with TLP
He also confirmed on twitter that the ‘Namoos-e-Rasalat’ long-march left Lahore from Data Darbar and was on its way to the federal capital amid extensive teargas shelling.
It may be mentioned that the claim of police that the TLP activists hurled petrol bombs on them was immediately rebuffed when some protestors uploaded a video on social media in which they showed a carton of bottles filled with petrol and destroyed them. They alleged that the police officials had planned to hurl these bombs on them but they were caught and handed them over to the Markaz (the party’s administration).
Earlier in the day, Punjab CM Usman Buzdar, an hour before the expiry of an ultimatum of 5:00pm given by the banned outfit for acceptance of its demands announced that a committee comprising provincial Law Minister Raja Basharat and Prosecution Minister Chaudhry Zaheeruddin had been formed to negotiate with the TLP leadership.
The chief minister said that according to the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), “we all need to work together for peace and harmony in the country”. However, as the violence erupted, the TLP said that negotiations would not happen till party chief Saad Rizvi is released.
“They called us for talks, but attacked our workers from the back,” said the spokesperson. He claimed that thousands of their workers or supporters were seriously injured and many had bullet injuries. “Now, only the TLP chief will lead the negotiations,” he declared.
The LEAs had sealed the Babu Sabu Interchange and Faizpur Interchange in Lahore to prevent the TLP supporters from marching on Islamabad. The mobile phone and internet service on these routes were also suspended.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021