Five-point pact ends dharna

ISLAMABAD: Talks between the federal government and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) remained successful and the two sides reached an agreement on Friday evening, sources told Geo News.

The religious party has agreed to end the countrywide protests and sit-ins against the acquittal of Asia Bibi. A five-point agreement has been signed by the two sides.

According to the agreement, the government has agreed that it would not object to the review petition, filed by the complainant over Aasia Bibi’s acquittal, and that due process would be followed to bar her from leaving the country.

The five points of the agreement are listed below:

1. A review petition has been filed in the Aasia Bibi case, which is the right of the petitioners. The government will raise no objections over the review petition.

2. Due process will be followed immediately to include the name of Aasia Bibi in the Exit Control List (ECL).

3. Immediate legal action will be taken over the martyrdom of any individuals during the protest campaign against the acquittal of Aasia Bibi.

4. All those arrested on October 30 or afterwards in the protest campaign against Aasia Bibi's acquittal will be released immediately.

5. The TLP apologises to anybody whose sentiments have been unnecessarily hurt during the incident.

The agreement was signed by Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sahibzada Dr Noorul Haq Qadri, Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat, representing the government, and Pir Mohammad Afzal Qadri and Mohammad Waheed Noor from the TLP.

After the agreement, the TLP chief Allama Khadim Hussain Rizvi said he expected that the final judgement on the review petition would be in accordance with Quran and Sunnah.

He announced holding a public meeting at the mausoleum of Allama Muhammad Iqbal on his birth anniversary on Nov 9, while a march would be held from Faizabad Interchange to Liaquat Bagh Rawalpindi on Nov 25 to pray for the departed souls of the martyrs of the protest movement.

Pir Afzal Qadri told the media that Aasia Bibi had again been put under detention and the airplane which had arrived from the UK to take her to some Western country had flown back without her.