Two more important leaders from Rawalpindi have also been booked for identical charges. He recalled that a total of 2,899 people were taken into protective custody from Punjab, 139 from Sindh and 126 from Islamabad. They could face life imprisonment if convicted by courts. The minister hastened to add that a large number of people were not directly involved in violence and will be released after securing necessary undertakings. TLP had staged a 20-day sit-in at Faizabad interchange in November 2017 which had caused much inconvenience to the public. The party was insisting on holding another such show in Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh on November 25 to commemorate the anniversary of the first sit-in. The government initially tried to coax it into abandoning the plan but it did not budge. Sensing trouble, authorities took Rizvi and other top leaders into protective custody on November 23. This action was widely expected and appears to have the backing of all institutions. A fortnight ago, the army’s top brass said it backed state institutions in ensuring the writ of the state “in which lies the peace, stability and prosperity of the country”.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 3rd, 2018.
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