Lahore: Pakistan released the Islamic leader Saad Rizvi from the list of terrorism monitoring on Thursday, opening the way because of his release from the detention under the agreement to end the weeks of protests deadly by his followers on suspicion.
The move came a week after the government agreed to release 2,000 members detained from the Pakistani Tehrik-e-Labaic Movement (TLP), raised the prohibition of groups and agreed to let him respond to elections.
In return, TLP has agreed to avoid political violence and attract demand to have a French ambassador being expelled to the publication of the caricature of the Prophet Muhammad by French magazine, the word-negotiator.
TLP took to the streets in mid-October, kicked several weeks of protests and clashes that killed at least seven police officers, got a scoring injured on both sides and blocked the busiest highway in the country.
At the peak of violence, the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan forbade TLP, setting it as a terrorist group and arresting Rizvi.
The government notice seen by Reuters said the name TLP Saad Rizvi “with this was removed” from the Terrorism monitoring list after the authorities raised the ban.
It did not enter further details and the government and the Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a comment request.
But legal experts say the removal of the monitoring list will be a legal prerequisite for any release.
TLP, which can mobilize thousands of supporters, was born in 2015 from a protest campaign to seek the release of a police guard who killed a provincial governor in 2011 for his call to reform the law.
It entered politics in 2017 and surprisingly the political elite by securing more than 2 million votes in the 2018 election.
The next national election is scheduled to 2023, and analysts expect political groups to start preparing from the beginning of next year.