Pakistan to ban radical party behind protests against France

An extremist political party responsible for paralysing swathes of Pakistan with antiFrance protests will be banned, a senior minister said yesterday. Thousands of supporters from the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) have blocked major intersections in cities throughout Pakistan this week, with two police officers killed in clashes with rioters. “We have decided to ban the TLP and the draft is going to the cabinet for approval,” Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told a news conference. He said the party’s demands risked making Pakistan look like a “radical nation” to the outside world. The TLP are notorious for holding days-long road protests over blasphemy issues, causing major disruption to the country.

But successive governments have a long history of avoiding confrontation with hardline groups, fearing any crackdown on religious parties could spark wider violence. Dozens have been banned since the September 11 attacks in the United States, however, when Pakistan was under effective military rule and cracked down on radicals. Banned parties cannot contest elections, raise funds or even maintain a physical office. The latest protests erupted after the detention on Monday of TLP leader Saad Rizvi, who has since been charged under antiterrorism laws. He was taken into custody hours after calling for a march on the capital to again demand the expulsion of the French ambassador.