Copyright pakobserver
THE Interior Ministry Friday officially declared Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) a proscribed organization, placing the religious-political group under the First Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997. The move effectively restores the TLP’s banned status and imposes sweeping restrictions on its operations nationwide. A notification to this effect was taken after the Federal Cabinet approved the ban on recommendations of the Punjab Government. Both the provincial and the federal governments moved swiftly to ban the party in the backdrop of its recent protest and long march, which turned violent and led to the loss of lives and property. The extreme action that the government took against the party is a message to all those who frequently resort to politics of violence and street agitation to pressure the government that there will be zero tolerance for violence. There is no doubt that the Constitution allows freedom of speech and assembly and there should be no restriction in this regard but some political, religious and ethnic parties and groups have been making mockery of the writ of the state and the rule of the law by adopting violent means in their bid to achieve their goals. People of Pakistan have become weary of such tactics as long and short marches, processions on roads and highways and sit-ins disrupt daily life creating enormous difficulties for the common man. It was a longstanding demand of the people to devise a robust strategy to deal with law-breakers and enforce the writ of the state. Satisfactorily, there was no worthwhile negative reaction to the move, which reflects the mood of the general public. The ban ensures that all TLP offices, accounts and public gatherings will be immediately subject to monitoring and legal action by the relevant authorities. The government has also instructed the law ministry to prepare a reference for submission to the Supreme Court, a mandatory legal step required to formally solidify the government’s decision to declare the TLP a terrorist organization. It is also satisfying that the government has held out an assurance that no action will be taken against seminaries and mosques. It is to be seen what will be the final fate of the ban when the matter is reviewed by the judiciary but all stakeholders must agree on the need to introduce decency in politics. There should be no sacred cows and all law-breakers should be treated as law-breakers.
