Islamist party backers throng Islamabad

Lahore, October 28

Tens of thousands of supporters of a banned radical Islamist party in Pakistan took out a march towards Islamabad on Thursday to press the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan to release their party chief Saad Rizvi and expel the French ambassador.

The police and Rangers are deployed on the route but unlike Wednesday, the law enforcers did not stop the TLP workers following orders from the top. — Punjab Govt official

The rally by members of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), which started after the government announced it could not meet its demand for the expulsion of the French ambassador, has reached Gujranwala, some 80 km from here. Gujranwala is over 220 kms from Islamabad.

Life in the areas surrounding its route continues to remain disrupted as cellphone and Internet services have been suspended. Lahore’s link to Rawalpindi and Islamabad has also been cut off from GT Road.

For the time being, the government has changed its strategy in the wake of Wednesday’s bloody clashes in which four policemen and as many TLP activities were killed and over 400, including policemen, were injured, he said. — PTI