LAHORE: Four police personnel were killed and hundreds wounded when armed activists of banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) clashed with security forces during demonstration, officials said.
The clashes broke out on Wednesday at a rally taken out by TLP on a highway in Sheikhupura, the group prepared to march on the capital Islamabad, a spokesman for the Punjab police said.
The TLP is protesting against the detention of its leader Saad Rizvi, arrested in April when the group was outlawed by authorities, and is demanding the expulsion of French ambassador for the publication of a series of caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by a French satirical magazine.
Rao Sardar Ali Khan, inspector general of the Punjab police, said four officers were killed and at least 263 wounded.
Earlier, Sajid Saifi, a spokesman for Rizvi, said two TLP supporters died when police opened fire at the rally in Sadhuke. Police said they were not aware of any deaths among demonstrators.
However, the police said more than 200 supporters of the TLP party were detained in a crackdown aimed at containing the spread of violence to other parts of the province.
Police said TLP activists armed with pistols and automatic weapons, including AK-47 rifles, opened fire on security forces controlling the demonstrators.
After days of tension, including a clash last week in which three police officers were killed, the interior ministry on Wednesday ordered paramilitary rangers to be deployed under anti-terrorism laws.
“They will be there for 60 days. I have given them authority that they could go to anywhere they want in Punjab,” Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad told reporters in Islamabad.
“I’m still warning the TLP to please back off”, Rasheed added.
Districts along the Grand Trunk Road were brought to a standstill where the city administration had already placed shipping containers to block entry and exit routes.
The government earlier this week announced a breakthrough in talks with the TLP, but the march resumed on Wednesday.
“We tried our best for the success of the talks but the government is not serious about fulfilling its commitments,” TLP spokesman Saifi said.
“The expulsion of the French ambassador is our main demand.”
It is the TLP’s fifth countrywide protest campaign since 2017 over caricatures that are considered deeply insulting by Muslims.
Read more: Policeman killed, 45 cops hurt as TLP resumes march on Islamabad
