TLP chief, 108 members to be removed from Fourth Schedule

LAHORE: The Punjab Home Department has decided to remove 109 members of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), including its chief Hafiz Saad Rizvi, from the Fourth Schedule, The News has learnt.

An official of the Home Department said the decision had been taken after an agreement between the federal government and the TLP leadership. Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan confirmed that the agreement had been reached. Talking to the media, he said an official team was negotiating with the TLP leadership and the party’s demands would be discussed in the Parliament. He added that the TLP had postponed its protest until April 20.

In November2020, the government had said the government would reach a consensus in the parliament on the expulsion of the French ambassador within three months. Furthermore, the government would not appoint its ambassador to France and release all arrested workers of the party. The party members had been placed in the Fourth Schedule under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997. Sources claimed that assets of Fourth Schedulers were frozen under the law and their National Identity Cards and bank accounts were blocked by the government. Additionally, their names were placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) by the interior ministry.

The Fourth Schedule is a list where suspects of terrorism and sectarianism are placed under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997. The names of Fourth Schedulers are referred to the local police and law enforcement agencies for effective monitoring. If a Fourth Scheduler wants to move somewhere they have to inform the nearby police station.