The government on Sunday said an agreement has been reached with the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) after the latest round of dialogue between the two parties.
The announcement was made at a press conference held in Islamabad featuring Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, MNA Ali Mohammad Khan, Mufti Muneeb as well as TLP members Mufti Ghulam Abbas Faizi and Mufti Mohammad Ameer.
“The government of Pakistan and the TLP had a detailed discussion under an environment of mutual trust, and an agreement has been reached between the two sides,” Mufti Muneeb said. “The agreement was reached after sense prevailed over aggression, rationality prevailed over sentiments, and all the participants demonstrated patience.”
12-hour-long meeting between government and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan
The delegations held a 12-hour-long meeting to settle the matter between the two sides successfully. He said it was fortunate that the agreement was reached before the situation got out of hand.
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The cleric added that the details of the agreement have not been made public at present, but will be made public soon.
The government and the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) completed 2 rounds of negotiations on Thursday, but the deadlock remained.
Prior to the development, Fawad Chaudhry, the Federal Minister of Information and Broadcasting, stated on Twitter that the government has decided not to hold talks until the protestors have cleared the roads and those responsible for police officer killings have not been handed over to the authorities.
He stated that patriots should distance themselves from TLP protests and avoid being complicit in state terrorism.
Fawad Chaudhry added in another tweet that there is a difference between political party protests and banned outfits.
He chastised self-styled intellectuals for referring to a banned group’s terrorism as a political initiative.
After the previous round of talks between the outlawed TLP and the government’s teams failed, a fresh round of talks between the banned TLP and the government’s teams resumed.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid and Religious Affairs Minister Noorul Haq Qadri are said to be representing the government in the negotiations.
According to reports, Saad Rizvi, the leader of the outlawed organisation TLP, took part in the negotiations, which had a three-point agenda.
