NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th April, 2021) Pakistan has taken steps to ban Islamic movement Tehreek-e-Labbaik in compliance with the law on combating terrorism amid violent protests that escalated after the leader's arrest, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, the interior minister, said.
The decision follows multiple protests of the movement's supporters, who have been blocking cities' streets and clashing with security forces since Monday, after their leader Saad Hussain Rizvi's arrest. It is reported that seven people, including two policemen, were killed with more than 300 other police officers injured during the protests.
"The Federal government decided to ban Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan in compliance with Anti-Terrorism Act," the minister said on Wednesday as broadcast by Pakistani Geo tv channel.
He mentioned that the government of Punjab province, severely hit by protests, suggested banning the organization.�
Islamabad arrested Rizvi on Monday for calling on the government to expel France's ambassador to Pakistan over Charlie Hebdo's publications of caricatures on Prophet Muhammed last year.� As some other Islamic organizations, Tehreek-e-Labbaik,� known for its demonstrations against blasphemy, denounced French President Emmanuel Macron who defended the caricatures, calling them a manifestation of freedom of expression.
