Pakistan: Pro-Palestine protests turn violent, Islamist group workers clash with police

Islamabad, Oct 12 (IANS) Pakistan’s Lahore city has been rocked with violent protests and deadly clashes over the weekend, as the hardline Islamist group Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) clashed with the Pakistani police after it was stopped from marching towards the capital for holding massive pro-Palestine demonstration.

The group of protestors, calling their demonstration ‘Gaza march’, sought to rally behind the Palestinians over their alleged oppression by Israeli forces. They planned to hold a protest outside the US embassy. As they were stopped by Pakistani police, they engaged in violent scuffle with the policemen, prompting the latter to fire tear gas shells and gunshots to prevent their march.

The TLP claimed that two of its supporters had been killed and 50 others have been injured since Thursday, reported abcnews.

The violence initially broke out in Punjab province on Thursday but got intensified over next few days as the protestors refused to pay heed to police’s appeal for peace and moved ahead with a massive demonstration plan in the capital.

The protesters when confronted by the police, hurled stones at them, following which the policemen first baton-charged the demonstrators and then fired shots to disperse them.

There was no immediate comment from the Punjab provincial government, which is headed by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the niece of the prime minister, the news publication further stated.

The call for march to Islamabad was given by TLP chief Saad Rizvi announced who told his supporters, “I will walk at the head of the long march. Arrest is not a problem, bullets are not a problem, shells are not a problem — martyrdom is our destiny."

The violent clashes between TLP supporters and police personnel also took a toll on public life as many services got disrupted, forcing the local residents to endure several restraints. Schools, colleges and universities have remained closed in Lahore, since Friday.

The administration also suspended mobile and Internet services in Islamabad and nearby Rawalpindi, to prevent demonstrators from spreading any rumour and further incite violence.

Notably, Lahore is situated about 350 kilometers (210 miles) from Islamabad.

The TLP, a group infamous for its radical character and demeanour, also drew intense criticism on social media as the netizens slammed it for orchestrating and staging violence on streets despite a peace deal in the works between Israel and Palestine.

The TLP leaders, however, accused the government of high-handedness, claiming that it over-reacted by blocking roads even before they began their march against Israel’s atrocities in Gaza.

--IANS

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