The Punjab provincial government in Pakistan announced on Thursday, October 16, 2025, that it will formally recommend to federal authorities to outlaw the extremist organization Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). This decision follows a week of violent demonstrations staged by the group.
The TLP initiated a protest march on Friday, October 10, 2025, with the stated aim of holding a sit-in outside the U.S. embassy in Islamabad, expressing solidarity with the people of Palestine. However, these protests quickly escalated into violence.
Tragically, at least five individuals, including a police officer, lost their lives, and dozens more sustained injuries on Sunday night, October 12, 2025, as TLP supporters clashed fiercely with police en route to Islamabad.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz presided over an emergency meeting focused on law and order. During this crucial session, “historic decisions were made to assert the state’s authority and uphold the rule of law,” according to an official statement from her office.
While the statement avoided explicitly naming the TLP, it clearly outlined measures against an “extremist party,” including the Punjab government’s intention to “recommend the federal government to impose a ban on an extremist party.”
Furthermore, the provincial government decided that the leadership of this extremist party would be listed under the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act. This schedule designates individuals suspected of terrorism and/or sectarianism under Pakistan’s 1997 Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). Immediate arrests are mandated for “individuals involved in hate speech, incitement, and violation of law” across Punjab.
Cases against “leaders and workers involved in the killing of police officers and damage to state property” are slated to be tried in anti-terrorism courts (ATCs).
In addition, all properties and assets belonging to the extremist party are to be transferred to the Punjab Auqaf Department. A comprehensive ban will be enforced on the party’s posters, banners, and advertisements. All bank accounts associated with the group will be frozen, and its social media accounts found “spreading hatred will be taken down.” The Punjab government also pledged “strict action on the violation of the Loudspeaker Act.”
This development unfolds amidst an ongoing crackdown against the TLP, which has already resulted in the arrest of approximately 2,700 individuals within the province.
This is not the first time the TLP has faced such measures. A ban was previously imposed on the group in April 2021, following a recommendation from the Punjab government under the ATA. However, that ban was later lifted in November of the same year at the Punjab government’s request. The group also experienced brief restrictions in June 2023 during a long march from Lahore to Islamabad, which were reversed within days after reaching an agreement with the government.
The TLP, a hardline Sunni Muslim group, first gained significant public attention in 2017 after successfully orchestrating protests that compelled the government to reconsider changes to the oath for parliamentarians.