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Pakistani police arrest more than 100 people after violence in eastern city LahoreA senior official said on Saturday.
fundamentalist supporters islamic Political party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan or TLP wants to march from Lahore to Islamabad to express its solidarity with the Palestinians. But officials said they did not have permission to demonstrate in the capital.
Police Clashes have been taking place with party supporters in Lahore since Friday, with tear gas and batons being used to disperse the crowd. People Throwing stones in retaliation. On Saturday morning, police fired canisters and rubber bullets to stop people from breaking the barricades.
Deputy Inspector General of City Operations Kamran Faisal told reporters that the protesters were violent.
“They have seized official vehicles, damaged several others and one police vehicle was completely burnt,” Faisal said at a press conference. “So far, 112 Lahore police personnel have been injured, and several others are missing, with no information yet as to their whereabouts.”
He said authorities have arrested more than 100 people. TLP said police had arrested 700 of its supporters.
The party rose to prominence in Pakistan’s 2018 elections by campaigning on the sole issue of defending the country’s blasphemy law, which provides for the death penalty for anyone who insults Islam.
It was outlawed in Pakistan in 2020 amid violent rallies in France over the publication of caricatures of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, with the ban lifted a year later.
TLP’s latest march attracted 8,000 to 10,000 people and the party has set up a temporary camp on the outskirts of Lahore.
Authorities have already blocked major roads in Islamabad with shipping containers.
Despite protesters being several hundred kilometers away, they have suspended mobile internet services in the capital and the nearby city of Rawalpindi for the second consecutive day. Schools, bus routes and intercity transport are closed.
Lahore, which has a population of more than 14 million, is also feeling the strain. Residents described it as a city under siege.
“Even small roads have been sealed and the wind burns your eyes,” said Zeeshan Khalid, a grocery store owner. “People are not able to get to work and ambulances are being turned away.”