By Dr. Emanuel Adil Ghouri
Recently, Tehreek‑e‑Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) staged a violent protest on GT Road in Mureedky near Lahore, during which government and private property was damaged, hundreds of vehicles were set on fire, and clashes between police and protesters resulted in significant casualties on both sides. Afterward, the provincial government of Punjab requested that the federal government ban the party.
On October 22, 2025, the federal cabinet, by unanimous decision, announced a formal ban under the Terrorism Act. The charge sheet framed by the federal government includes, among other allegations, claims that the party has been involved in violent acts against minorities.
Shahzaib Khanzada, an anchorperson for the TV channel Geo News, while discussing the ban on his program, openly stated that the party has been involved in the killing of hundreds of people from minority communities and in damaging their places of worship.
Some religious parties were banned in the past, but they simply changed their names and continued their work with the same leaders and the same agenda. Tehreek‑e‑Labbaik was previously banned in 2021, but six months later, when the party marched toward Islamabad in a show of strength, the government—out of fear—lifted the ban.
Although the manifesto of Tehreek‑e‑Labbaik claims to work for the protection of the honor of the Prophet and the exaltation of religion, the party’s real fame is rooted in violent acts.
Its rise to prominence began in 2011, when a police officer, Muhammad Mumtaz Qadri, shot and killed Punjab Governor Salman Taseer because he had supported Asia Bibi, a Christian woman accused in a blasphemy case. Qadri claimed that his aim was to punish Taseer for defending her. He was convicted of murder by an anti‑terrorism court and sentenced to death. He was hanged in February 2016, yet many TLP supporters consider him a hero.
The second major reason for the group’s notoriety is the blasphemy case of Asia Bibi. She was sentenced to death in 2010 and later acquitted by the Supreme Court in 2018 on the basis of incomplete evidence and weak testimony. Tehreek‑e‑Labbaik Pakistan played a central role in the violent protests that followed her acquittal. Although she was honorably acquitted, Asia Bibi was forced to flee to Canada for her safety due to the group’s threats.
Similarly, incidents of terrorism in the name of religion by this party continued to increase. In December 2021, TLP was accused of inciting a mob to kill Priyantha Kumara, a Sri Lankan factory manager, in Sialkot.
The largest incident of religious terrorism in Pakistan occurred in Jaranwala on August 16, 2023, when more than one hundred Christian homes were demolished and twenty‑six churches were burned within twelve hours. The Holy Bible in the churches was desecrated.
According to the BBC Urdu Service’s August 16 publication, provisions of the Anti‑Terrorism Act and the Punjab Sound System Act were included in the case registered at the City Jaranwala police station for vandalism and arson. According to the case, eight people incited the public and led the demonstration, two of whom belonged to the religious groups Jamaat‑e‑Ahl‑e‑Sunnat and Tehreek‑e‑Labbaik Pakistan.
TLP is a hardline Islamist political party that has been the subject of controversy and numerous complaints. Its activities are often criticized, and many observers have described its rigid religious views as a cause of concern for minority communities. Other religious parties, such as Jamiat Ulema‑e‑Islam and Jamaat‑e‑Islami, have mentioned the rights of minorities in their manifestos. In fact, Jamiat Ulema‑e‑Islam has also given its minority members access to parliament.
In contrast, TLP has ignored the ten million Pakistani minorities and has not included them in its manifesto or organizational structure—a clear expression of its hostility toward minority communities. As a result, the party has become a symbol of fear for minorities, and minority groups have never turned to it politically.
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