Normalcy returns to Islamabad, Rawalpindi after TLP protest; Police confirm casualties, restore services

Islamabad [Pakistan], October 14 (ANI): Normalcy returned to the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Monday evening, with traffic flow restored after an early morning operation by law enforcement agencies against Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) protesters who had camped at Muridke, according to Dawn.

A Dawn correspondent reported that only the Faizabad Interchange remained closed while the rest of the intersections between Rawalpindi and Islamabad were open for traffic.

He added that the situation was returning to normal and there was no serious reaction from the religious party, noting that overall traffic remained thin on major thoroughfares.

Mobile data services, disrupted since the start of the protest, were also restored in most areas of the twin cities.

Earlier in the day, authorities had moved to close roads and motorways again in and around Lahore and Islamabad after the operation began, as panic spread among citizens about the potential outcome of the clash.

Some schools in Islamabad also closed earlier than usual.

The TLP, which began its protest march in Lahore on Friday, had planned to reach Islamabad and stage a demonstration outside the US Embassy in support of Gaza and Palestine.

On Sunday, law enforcement agencies, including Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) and large contingents of police from five districts, surrounded the TLP protest camp in Muridke in what appeared to be preparations for a large-scale operation, Dawn reported.

A senior police official said on condition of anonymity that police action to disperse the protesters started at 3 am and lasted for six hours.

Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Usman Anwar confirmed to Dawn that TLP chief Saad Rizvi had neither been arrested nor injured in the clash.

Punjab police spokesperson Mubashir Hussain said a Station House Officer (SHO) was martyred during the confrontation and three TLP workers were killed.

Separately, Punjab police posted on X that Sheikhupura Factory Area SHO Shehzad Nawaz lost his life in the line of duty "while trying to maintain order and protecting peoples' lives and properties."

Hussain said 48 law enforcement personnel were injured, 17 of them with bullet wounds, while eight civilians were also hurt.

He added that a passerby was killed in the incident. Punjab police later said the injured officers were being provided medical treatment.

According to Hussain, as law enforcement personnel moved to disperse the protesters, TLP members attacked them with stones, batons with nails, and "petrol bombs," and later opened fire.

"Law enforcement personnel had to initiate limited action in their defence," he said, further accusing the protesters of setting 40 government and private vehicles on fire.

Police also arrested several protesters, and authorities have been detaining TLP activists since Friday.

Lahore Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Operations Faisal Kamran told media earlier that 112 police personnel had been injured since the start of the protest.

Videos circulating on social media earlier in the day showed burnt vehicles and smoke filling the air amid clashes between the TLP and police.

Dawn reported that talks were ongoing between the government and the TLP on Sunday.

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, speaking on Geo News' 'Capital Talk', denied reports of formal negotiations.

"There were no negotiations with the TLP though contact was made from both sides," he said.

"There were no demands. They only wanted to do a long march, come to Islamabad and present themselves in front of a foreign embassy which was not acceptable for the government."

Meanwhile, in Karachi, the TLP staged demonstrations against police action in Muridke.

Sindh Police resorted to tear gas shelling and arrested five workers after clashes in North Karachi and New Karachi, where protesters allegedly blocked roads and pelted stones at police.

"The police resorted to tear gas shelling and arrested five of them," West-Zone DIG Irfan Ali Baloch told Dawn, adding that roads were later cleared for traffic.

Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar urged citizens to "ignore rumours about chaos" and directed police to remain alert, saying, "Those who violate the writ of law should be dealt with as per Section 144."

An anti-terrorism court remanded over 100 TLP activists for 11 days on charges of vandalism and assaulting police, according to Dawn.

The hearing, presided over by ATC judge Manzar Ali Gul, saw 100 activists presented before the court, with multiple cases lodged against them at various police stations.

Punjab Information and Culture Minister Azma Bokhari, addressing a press conference, said the government had a duty to protect citizens and property.

"Blocking roads and creating inconvenience for citizens, especially when peace has been restored in Gaza and people are happy there, trying to bring the country to a halt and taking the law into one's hand is unacceptable," she said.

In a post on X, the Punjab government said: "Attacking the state, firing at and inflicting violence on police, destroying properties and looting and plundering do not qualify as protest but open treason and terrorism. The armed mobs of the TLP are not above the law."

The Lahore Bar Association announced a strike from 11am onward and boycotted court proceedings in protest against the alleged firing and arrests of TLP workers.

"Unarmed TLP leadership and protesters had sustained injuries in alleged firing by police and the Rangers in Muridke," it said, calling for legal action against those responsible.

The Lahore High Court Bar Association also issued a statement, saying that "the way peaceful citizens and [political] workers were being fired at and blood was being shed at the behest of the Pakistan government, it doesn't suit a democratic country."

Road closures persisted intermittently through the day.

A Dawn correspondent in Islamabad reported that while blockades around the Faizabad Interchange were initially removed, they were later reinstated as panic spread.

Only the Islamabad Expressway remained open at Faizabad.

In Lahore, authorities closed the M-2, M-3, and M-11 motorways connecting Lahore with Islamabad, Khanewal, and Sialkot respectively, as security remained heightened following the Muridke clashes, according to Dawn. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)