ISLAMABAD:
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said on Wednesday that there were about 210 FIRs, including that registered against proscribed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP’s) chief Saad Rizvi, that would go through due process of law.
The minister’s remarks came during a press briefing held in Islamabad. “About 699 out of 733 people detained in the protests have been released,” the minister further informed.
Rashid added that the TLP have 30 days to reply after being declared proscribed, adding that the writ of the state was intact and it was not under anyone’s pressure.
He said the agreement reached between the government and the TLP maintained that the state would decide matters relating to bilateral ties and not a group or an individual.
He said the social media played a pivotal role in the protests as fake accounts instigated people to join them. “At least 0.2 million accounts were being used from India and they thought we would not be aware,” the minister said.
Read TLP chief Saad Rizvi reportedly released from custody
“A thorough study is being carried out to determine the future course of action on social media,” Rashid added.
“We have secured 24 out 27 points to get out of the FATF grey list, but our enemies want us on the blacklist,” he said.
Earlier, the interior minister said the TLP would call off its sit-ins across the country including at Masjid ul Rahmatul Lil Alameen.
On April 20, hours after holding “successful talks” with “proscribed” TLP, the ruling party presented a resolution – in a National Assembly session called in an emergency – to hold a debate on the expulsion of the French ambassador over blasphemous caricatures.
When the session started, Amjad Ali Khan – a ruling PTI’s member – took the speaker’s permission to present the resolution though as a private member.
The resolution, condemning the publication of blasphemous caricatures by French magazine Charlie Hebdo in September last year, regretted that the French president encouraged the same which hurt the sentiments of the Muslims across the world.
