Pakistan

TLP chief wanted French embassy shut: Rasheed

Kanwal Khan – Lahore:

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid on Thursday said that the chief of the proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), Saad Rizvi, had insisted on the closure of the French embassy in his talks with the interior minister.

Addressing a ceremony in Lahore, the interior minister said: “[Contrary to what] one person — who is very respectable and is a major religious figure from Karachi — [says], when I spoke with Saad Rizvi, he was insistent on [the closure of the] French embassy and he was convinced that this [issue] be brought in the [National] Assembly.

“I have made signatures on this [previous agreement] and I am steadfast on this. As for the rest of the problems, two ministers have been appointed and they will answer your queries.”

Responding to a question, Rashid said that he had received instructions from Prime Minister Imran Khan during the ceremony and “he said the instruction is this that [it is better] if one minister speaks [on the TLP issue]”.

The interior minister’s comments came after Mufti Muneebur Rehman dispelled the impression on Monday that the TLP had demanded the expulsion of the French ambassador and the closure of the embassy. He was among the clerics who had facilitated talks between the government and the proscribed group, helping both sides reach an agreement after an impasse of three weeks.

Speaking a day after the government announced the agreement, the cleric had claimed that “lies were spoken on television about the talks [with the TLP], that they had demanded the expulsion of the French ambassador, the closure of the embassy and to break ties with the European Union.”

“So how can trust be established when government officials speak lies publicly?” he had questioned.

The interior minister had expressed the hope that the TLP would withdraw its demands for the expulsion of the French envoy and the shutting down of the French embassy.

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