Punjab extends its public gathering ban for another full week.

Punjab Government – (Specail Correspondent / Web Desk) – The Punjab Home Department on Saturday extended Section 144 for another week, citing security concerns amid ongoing tensions with the religiopolitical organization Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).

Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code authorizes district administrations to prohibit an assembly of four or more people in a given place for a specified time.  It was enforced on Thursday and remains in effect today, as part of the government’s assault on the TLP in response to its violent protests.

A complete, province-wide ban was imposed on the display of all kinds of weapons, use of loudspeakers, and publication and distribution of inflammatory, hateful or sectarian material. The ban did not apply to wedding ceremonies, funerals and burials, and loudspeakers could only be used to deliver sermons in mosques and call for prayers.

The Home Department’s order issued today said it was evident that the “threat perception to public peace, tranquillity and law and order has not abated” upon review of the latest reports and threat assessments discussed by law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

A statement from the Home Department spokesperson said the order was issued in view of concerns regarding terrorism and public safety.

“Due to security threats, public processions and sit-ins could become soft targets for terrorists. Miscreants could exploit public protests to carry out anti-state activities to fulfil their nefarious objectives,” it added.

“The continuance of the restrictions is deemed essential to prevent any potential disturbance to public order, sectarian strife, or commission of any offence, and to ensure the safety and security of the lives and property of the general public,” the order reads.

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Following several days of tensions, violence, and chaos, Punjab remained largely peaceful on Friday, with no reports of violence or hostile gatherings in any part of the province in response to the TLP’s call for its workers to hold rallies in protest of the police action at Muridke.

The TLP even failed to mobilize its workers onto the streets of Lahore, where it has been staging violent rallies in recent days.  According to reports, the Punjab police successfully established the rule of law in the province capital and other cities where traffic and businesses continued to operate, and students went to school as usual on Friday.

People were witnessed shopping in the city markets, while the outlets of multinational companies, especially the fast food joints, also remained open.

A large-scale pre-dawn operation by law enforcement agencies on Monday to dismantle TLP’s protest camp in Muridke had sparked violent clashes, widespread chaos, and multiple arrests. The party had set out for what it described as a “Gaza solidarity” march, pledging to reach Islamabad and protest outside the US embassy.

As per the official figures, as many as 2,716 people were arrested after the Muridke operation. Out of these, some 251 were taken into custody by Lahore police and 178 by Sheikhpura police.

Even as police intensify their crackdown on the group following the events that transpired in Muridke, the authorities have decided to take a series of measures to “neutralise” the threat the TLP has posed to the law enforcers and non-Muslim communities since its inception.

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The decision to curtail the party’s activities is linked to certain critical meetings in which the TLP’s tainted record of violent agitations, fatal attacks on law enforcement, and ransacking of Christian and Ahmadiyya places of worship was discussed.

Tallal Chaudhry, the minister of state for interior, has stated that action against TLP demonstrators will be conducted in the same manner as those participating in the May 9, 2023, riots, which resulted in a nationwide crackdown on the PTI.

The federal government previously banned the TLP in April 2021, based on the Punjab government’s suggestion.

The ban was later revoked in November that year upon the request of the Punjab government, days after a deal was reached with the group to end its violent protest march to Islamabad.

Restrictions were also briefly imposed on the TLP in June 2023, when the party was carrying out a long march from Lahore to Islamabad. Restrictions lifted under an agreement reached on June 17, 2023, included a ban on the party’s coverage on electronic and social media.