On October 24, the Federal Interior Ministry notified the ban on the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), declaring that the Federal Government had “reasonable grounds” to believe the religio-political party was connected to terrorism. The notification stated:
The federal government has reasonable grounds to believe that TLP is connected with and concerned in terrorism. In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 11B (1) (a) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (XXVII of 1997), the federal government hereby orders TLP to be a proscribed organisation for the purpose of the Act and lists the aforesaid organisation in the first schedule to the said Act.
The development comes a day after the Federal Cabinet, on October 23, approved a proposal to proscribe the party under the Anti-Terrorism Act, after nationwide protests over Gaza claimed the lives of several protesters and Police officers and paralysed major highways and city roads from Karachi to Islamabad. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on a proposal from the Punjab Government. A press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) after the meeting disclosed that the ban was “unanimously” approved by the Federal Cabinet. The Interior Ministry briefed the Cabinet on what it called the TLP’s “violent and terrorist activities,” stressing that the organisation had repeatedly incited unrest across the country.
This is not first time TLP has been banned, as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Government proscribed the group on April 14, 2021, after violent protests caused the deaths of two Policemen and left 340 injured. The Federal Interior Ministry informed the Cabinet that the 2021 ban on TLP was lifted after six months on the assurance that it would refrain from violence, and that the current ban on the group stemmed from its reneging on those guarantees. “In the past, security personnel and innocent bystanders have been killed in violent protests and rallies by the TLP,” the PMO statement added.
Earlier on October 17, the Punjab provincial Cabinet approved the imposition of a ban on TLP and forwarded a summary to the Federal Government for further action. This was announced by Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari while addressing a press conference in Lahore. She revealed that the Punjab Cabinet had approved the ban on TLP and sent the case to the Federal Government for implementation. “The misuse of loudspeakers will now be strictly controlled under the Loudspeaker Act,” she added. The Information Minister stated, further, that the Government and the State had now decided to deal firmly with the group. Providing details of the recent violence, she noted that 200 Police personnel were injured, 17 vehicles were damaged, and two completely burnt, “An inspector was martyred, one officer was shot in the arm, and another in the throat – he will never speak again.”
The far-right TLP, notorious for disruptive and violent protests, was founded by Khadim Hussain Rizvi on August 1, 2015. TLP has its ideological roots in Barelvi Islam, a mainstream sect traditionally seen as moderate, but for which blasphemy was a red line. It arose from the movement backing Mumtaz Qadri, the Police guard who assassinated Punjab Governor Salman Taseer on January 4, 2011, for criticizing Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. TLP has gained political and street influence by positioning itself as a guardian of the Prophet’s honour and blasphemy legislation.
Though, TLP gained significant public attention in 2016 through its protests regarding the execution of Mumtaz Qadri, it entered electoral politics in 2017. The party made its electoral debut in September 2017 in the NA-120 by-election in Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab, where they finished in third place. The group later participated in the 2018 general election, emerging as a significant force in Pakistani politics. According to Gallup Pakistan, the leading survey research agency in Pakistan, TLP bagged 2.2 million votes in the 2018 General elections, mostly from the eastern Punjab province, and won two provincial seats in southern Sindh. It also emerged as the third-largest party in Punjab, behind former PM Imran Khan’s PTI and ex-PM Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). TLP saw a rise in its vote share from the 2018 General Election to the 2024 General Election. Over 2.89 million people voted for the far-right party in the 2024 national elections, 760.000 more than in the 2018 polls.
Behind the political rise of TLP, were the shadowy hands of the Pakistan Army. The pattern of the Pakistani military using religious extremist groups for political leverage is not new. The Army has long been patronising far-right religious groups that undermine democratic institutions and, when the civilian Government fail to contain their activities, the armed forces come forward as messiahs for the nation. The Army had been accused of using TLP as proxies to keep the civilian Governments in check, advancing its own political agenda to keep the Imran Khan-led PTI Government in control. In turn, PTI was also lenient towards TLP, as it had been cutting the vote share of its main political opponent, PML-N.
After the current ban, PML-N leader and adviser to the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah observed, on October 24, 2025, that the TLP was “created in a bid to cut into PMLN’s vote bank.” Speaking on Geo News programme ‘Naya Pakistan‘, in response to a question regarding TLP’s future as a political party and whether it was being kept as an option to be used against rival political parties, Sanaullah agreed that TLP had been used in the past for that purpose, and went on to quip that “it was created to steal votes from the PML-N’s vote bank.”
Apart from electoral politics, TLP was notorious for staging violent protests to bring the nation and public order to a standstill. The group has staged nine major protests, each yielding written or verbal agreements with the Government, revealing a pattern of state appeasement.
In November 2017, TLP’s first major demonstration targeted Islamabad over a controversial election law amendment. The three-week sit-in concluded with Law Minister Zahid Hamid’s resignation and a PML-N – Government pact.
In April 2018, TLP blockaded Punjab roads to enforce the 2017 deal, ending the blockade after 12 days with another settlement.
October 2018 saw nationwide unrest after the Supreme Court acquitted Asia Bibi, a blasphemy accused on death row; the PTI Government inked a five-point agreement to appeal the ruling and add her to the exit control list.
November 2018 brought fresh threats over Asia Bibi, leading to the “protective custody” of TLP Chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi and senior leaders.
In November 2020, protests erupted over French blasphemous caricatures; the Government agreed in writing to expel the French ambassador and boycott French goods, though the commitments remained unfulfilled. The April 12, 2021 clashes followed Saad Rizvi’s arrest, including 16 Policemen taken hostage. The group was briefly banned under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). A compromise was made which made TLP agreed to call off the protests as the Federal Government tabled a resolution in Parliament to debate the French Ambassador’s expulsion. The Government also agreed that they would release Saad Rizvi soon, and all criminal cases against the protestors would be withdrawn.
However, Saad Rizvi who was lodged in Kot Lakhpat Jail for six months, and could not be released by Government within the promised time. Rizvi’s uncle, Amir Hussain Rizvi filed a petition with the Lahore High Court against his detention. Following the completion of the hearing on the case, the Supreme Court (SC) on October 1, 2021 ordered Saad Rizvi’s release. However, the Federal Review Board on October 2, 2021, extended his detention by one month.
This led to another round of TLP protests that started from October 22, 2021, initiating a long march to Islamabad. The Imran Khan Government initially approved the use of force against the protestors, which was opposed by the Pakistani Army. More than eight Policemen were killed while hundreds of SF personnel sustained injuries during this phase of protests. A Government team headed by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser reached an agreement with Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, a prominent Sunni cleric representing TLP, on October 31, 2021, which partially resolved the crisis. Details of the agreement were not publicly disclosed, but a TLP spokesperson later indicated that TLP would be removed from the list of proscribed organisations and Saad Rizvi would be released. On November 7, 2021, the Federal Government removed TLP from the list of proscribed organisations and removed TLP chief Saad Rizvi’s name from the fourth schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) on November 11, 2021, as agreed upon. Along with Saad Rizvi, 54 other members of the TLP, who were involved in the destruction of public property and inflicting grievous injuries on the Police, were also removed from the fourth schedule of the ATA. Saad Rizvi was later released on November 18, 2021, on the death anniversary of Khadim Hussain Rizvi.
After a brief lull, TLP once again called for a one-day nationwide “shutter-down strike” against inflation and fuel hikes on February 27, 2023. The strike led to temporary road blockages. Markets and some transportation services were affected.
In July 2024, a week-long (July 13-19) Faizabad Interchange sit-in demanded a boycott of Israeli products and more aid for Palestinians, amid the Gaza conflict. The week-long protest concluded after successful talks between the TLP and the Federal Government. The Government agreed to send over 1,000 tons of food and other relief supplies to Gaza before July 31. The Government also pledged to continue and enhance its efforts to assist the people of Palestine.
On October 16, 2025, the Punjab Police released details of casualties and damage caused during TLP protests over the past nine years. According to the Police report, 11 Police personnel were killed and 1,648 injured in various violent demonstrations organized by TLP between 2016 and 2025. Among the injured, 69 officers were permanently disabled, 202 sustained serious injuries, and 1,194 suffered minor wounds. The report further noted that 16 civilians lost their lives, while another 54 were injured during violent clashes with protesters. 97 Police vehicles were completely destroyed, two were set on fire, and 10 Police buildings sustained severe damage during the TLP protests. Police records showed that 305 cases were registered under anti-terrorism laws, and 480 cases were filed under other criminal provisions against TLP protesters. In the recent cases alone, 1,529 individuals were named, and over 17,800 unidentified persons were booked for involvement in violence.
Though TLP has been banned for the time being, the Government’s intent does not appear to be to finish the group from its core, as it has mass public support within Pakistani society. After the latest ban notification, Rana Sanaullah asserted that the intent behind the ban was not to eliminate the party but to purge it of “anti-state and terrorist elements.” He added that no one had any issue with TLP’s religious views, but whenever the party staged protests in the past, it “led to violence and loss of life, such as the 2017 Faizabad demonstrations.”
Despite the ban, TLP’s ideology and support base remains among the already radicalised segments of Pakistani society, as well as within the Government and Army, and is likely to resurface after the current unrest has faded somewhat in public memory.
