Revocation of the group’s proscribed status will automatically remove around 8,000 TLP activists from the Fourth Schedule
islamabad
The federal cabinet on Sunday approved the proposal by the Interior Ministry seeking the revocation of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan’s (TLP) proscribed status.
A day earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan had approved the submission of the summary to his cabinet while an anti-terrorism court granted post-arrest bail to several leaders of the group in the criminal cases registered with different police stations.
The government had declared the TLP a proscribed outfit under the anti-terror law in April this year, after three days of violent protests by the group’s members across the country.
“The cabinet considered the summary dated Nov 6, submitted by the Interior Division, which was circulated in terms of Rule 17 (1)(b) read with Rule 19 (1) of the Rules of Business, 1973 for ‘de-proscription of TLP’ and approved the proposal,” says the decision by the cabinet, seen by Dawn.com.
According to the Rules of Business, 1973, approval by circulation means that a summary is sent to federal ministers for their opinion. The ministers’ recommendations are then sent to the prime minister after a stipulated period of time for further decisions on the matter. If a minister fails to respond within the stipulated time period, it is assumed that they have approved the recommendations made in the summary.
As per the contents of the Ministry of Interior’s summary, the TLP had made a request to the Punjab government for its de-proscription on April 29.
A prescription review committee (PRC) was then constituted to deliberate on the matter and it concluded that the government’s decision to declare the TLP a proscribed outfit was “based on merit”, the summary said while recalling the history of the entire episode.
It added that the views of the law ministry had also been obtained on the matter.
“In view of the commitment and assurance given by the organisation (TLP)” as well as “keeping in view the larger national interest”, the provincial cabinet asked the federal government to consider de-proscription of the TLP, the summary had noted.
