Pak govt accepts demands of proscribed Islamist group to end protests

A day after releasing 350 workers of a proscribed Islamist group, the Imran Khan government on Monday gave a green signal for unfreezing of the accounts of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).

"Mentally, we should accept that it [TLP] is the third-largest party of Punjab and it has to do politics," Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said at a news conference on Monday afternoon.

"We do not want any confrontation; we want to end this daily quarrel," Rashid was quoted as saying by Pakistan daily The Express Tribune.

The minister revealed that the TLP's demands include its removal from the fourth schedule, their workers' release, and the earlier decision of the federal cabinet that declared TLP a proscribed organisation. "We are sticking to our commitments," the minister said.

Giving in to pressure from the proscribed hardline group, the Pakistan government on Sunday had released over 350 workers of TLP and announced that the cases against others would be withdrawn by Wednesday.

"We have released 350 TLP workers up to now and we are still waiting to open both sides Road of Muridke as per the decision with TLP," Rashid Ahmed had tweeted.

The Imran Khan government is also working on a plan to release TLP's jailed chief Saad Rizvi, Dawn newspaper reported.

This comes after TLP warned on Sunday that its workers will stage a sit-in in Muridke near the city of Lahore and then move to Islamabad by Tuesday evening. "The government has gone back on its word thrice. This time we will sit and wait," said a statement issued by the proscribed group's leadership council on Sunday.

Hundreds of TLP workers took to the streets throughout the country to exert pressure on the government for the release of its chief, Hafiz Saad Hussain Rizvi. Rashid Ahmad earlier on Sunday had said all the cases against the protestors of TLP will be dropped by Wednesday.

( With inputs from ANI )