Lahore (Web Desk): Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Saad Rizvi was released from jail on Thursday.
The TLP chief was arrested on deputy commissioner Lahore's directives on April 12 shortly after the federal government had declared the TLP a proscribed organisation under anti-terrorism laws and launched a broad crackdown against it.
The next day, police registered a first information report (FIR) against the Rizvi under sections of the ATA.
Rizvi was taken into custody on deputy commissioner Lahore's directives in April
The government, following violent protests from the TLP last month, had struck a secretive deal with the party after which, the organisation's name was removed from the First Schedule and Rizvi's name was taken out from the Fourth Schedule.
The government also released hundreds of the party's workers in line with the accord that it had struck with TLP.
On November 11, the Punjab government had removed the name of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Saad Rizvi's name from the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.
According to details, a notification was issued by the provincial government to remove the name of the TLP chief from the list which was added on April 16 this year.
The names of 487 TLP members have also been removed from the list.
On November 7, the government had removed the TLP from the First Schedule of the Act as a proscribed organisation.
The ministry of interior had issued a notification in this regard on Sunday.
“In exercise of the powers conferred under sub-section (I) of Section 11U of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (as amended), the federal government is pleased to remove the name of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan from the First Schedule of the said Act as proscribed organisation for the purpose of the said Act,” reads the notification.
According to the interior ministry, the notification had been issued at Punjab government’s request.
The federal interior ministry had received the summary forwarded by the Punjab government regarding removal of TLP’s proscribed status.
On October 30, negotiations between the TLP and government started and next day the members of the negotiating team from the government side claimed that they had reached an "agreement" with the proscribed group but refused to reveal its details.
It is pertinent to mention that some 2,100 activists of the group had been released from police custody after the federal government-TLP agreement, the revocation of the group's proscribed status automatically removed around 8,000 TLP activists from the Fourth Schedule.