Pakistan’s religious group clashes with police in Lahore

Overnight clashes between police and supporters of a religious party in Pakistan’s northeastern city of Lahore left three people dead and dozens injured, the group said Thursday.

Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a party known for its street power, claimed police attacked its headquarters on Multan Road with water cannons, tear gas and live ammunition.

Authorities were also seen placing containers at the Faizabad Interchange which connects the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

TLP chief Saad Rizvi said the group had been planning a march from Faisalabad to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad on Friday to protest what it called Pakistan’s role in brokering a Gaza peace plan and its alleged intent to sign the Abraham Accords, which would normalize ties with Israel.

The group released videos showing bloodied men being treated for wounds, insisting its supporters were unarmed.

Police have not yet issued a statement on the incident.

Powerful populist force

Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) was founded in 2015 by the late cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi.

The group follows the Barelvi Sunni school of thought and rose to prominence through mass protests defending Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, which carry the death penalty for insults to Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh).

TLP’s successor leader, Saad Rizvi, the founder’s son, has continued organizing large demonstrations that often bring major cities to a standstill. The party has combined religious populism with anti-Western and anti-minority rhetoric.

History of clashes

TLP has repeatedly clashed with authorities.

In 2017, thousands of supporters occupied a key highway into Islamabad to protest minor changes to an election oath related to the finality of the Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh), forcing the resignation of a federal minister.

In 2018, TLP organized massive demonstrations after a court acquitted Asia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy. Party leaders openly called for the killing of Supreme Court judges involved in her case.

The group also pressured then–Prime Minister Imran Khan to remove Princeton economist Atif Mian, a member of the minority Ahmadiyya community, from his Economic Advisory Council.

In 2021, TLP was briefly banned under Pakistan’s anti-terrorism laws after violent protests demanding the expulsion of the French ambassador over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh). Dozens were killed in those clashes before the ban was later lifted following negotiations with the government.

TLP members have also been implicated in mob attacks against religious minorities, including the 2023 arson of churches in the Punjab town of Jaranwala, where 21 churches were burned following rumors of Quran desecration.