Reuters Reuters
19 April, 2021, 11:31 am
Supporters of the banned Islamist political party Tehrik-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) with sticks and stones block a road during a protest in Lahore, Pakistan April 18, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer
LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) – Police in Pakistan said a hardline Islamist group had taken six security personnel hostage at its headquarters in Lahore on Sunday after a week of violent clashes following the arrest of the group’s leader.
The Tehrik-i-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) group had given the government an April 20 deadline to expel the French ambassador over the publication of cartoons in France depicting the Prophet Mohammad. The authorities responded by arresting its leader, prompting supporters to hold protests and sit-ins across Pakistan. At least four people were killed, hundreds injured, and thousands arrested. Pakistan banned the group after the violence.
ISLAMABAD: Eleven security personnel taken hostage on Sunday by the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) religious party during police clashes in Lahore were released in the early hours of Monday morning following the first round of negotiations with the government, interior minister Sheikh Rasheed said in a video announcement on Twitter.
Rioting by the rightwing group has rocked the country since Monday last, after TLP chief Saad Rizvi was arrested in Lahore a day after he threatened the government with rallies if it did not expel the French envoy to Islamabad over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) published in France last year.
ISLAMABAD AND KARACHI: Unrest has gripped Pakistan since April 12 when Saad Rizvi, leader of the recently outlawed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), was arrested in Lahore for threatening a campaign of civil disobedience against the government unless it expelled the French ambassador over the re-publication last year in France of cartoons of Prophet Muhammad.
Violent protests have paralyzed major cities and highways all week, leading to the death of six police officers and injuries to more than 800, according to the government.
Photographs of police officers taken hostage by TLP supporters, with their heads, legs and arms heavily bandaged, have been posted on social media throughout the week.
696 Supporters of the banned Islamist political party Tehrik-e-Labaik Pakistan with sticks and stones block a road during a protest in Lahore, Pakistan. Reuters
Lahore, Pakistan, April 18
Police in Pakistan said a hardline Islamist group had taken six security personnel hostage at its headquarters in Lahore on Sunday after a week of violent clashes following the arrest of the group’s leader.
The Tehrik-i-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) group had given the government an April 20 deadline to expel the French ambassador over the publication of cartoons in France depicting the Prophet Mohammad. The authorities responded by arresting its leader, prompting supporters to hold protests and sit-ins across Pakistan.
Deadly clashes after Islamists take police hostage in Pakistan s Lahore yahoo.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from yahoo.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.