Federal cabinet takes up proposed ban on TLP today

A crucial meeting of the federal cabinet will be held this evening to discuss the possible ban on the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Thursday.

According to the report, the session is scheduled for 4:30 pm at the Prime Minister’s House and will be chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Apart from deliberating on the issue of imposing a ban on the religious group, the meeting will review the overall political and economic situation in the country.

It will also include a detailed briefing on the Pakistan-Afghanistan agreement in Doha and the current situation along the border.

During the meeting, key agenda items are expected to be approved as the government moves to address security and stability concerns.

It is important to note that on October 17, 2025, the Punjab Home Department recommended a formal ban on TLP and sent a detailed proposal to the federal government.

The department also urged federal authorities to freeze all assets belonging to the organisation as part of the proposed measures.

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari confirmed that the provincial government had officially approved the recommendation to proscribe the group.

Addressing the media, she said the protest staged by TLP under the pretext of expressing solidarity with Gaza was unjustified.

She added that the state could not allow anyone to paralyse the country or disrupt its functioning in the name of protest.

The minister stressed that no one would be permitted to block roads or public spaces under the guise of political or religious demonstrations, adding that forcing one’s views on others in the name of religion was unacceptable.

Yesterday, Azma Bokhari addressed the media again and announced that the provincial government had frozen all bank accounts and halted the funding channels of the TLP.

The provincial government, she added, had urged the federal government to impose a nationwide ban on the group and expressed confidence that the extremist organisation would soon be proscribed.

Bokhari accused the group of exploiting the cause of Gaza and Palestine to incite violence and amass large sums of money in the name of religion.

The minister stated that all mosques affiliated with TLP would be transferred to the Auqaf Department.

She said the government had already taken control of 330 mosques and geo-tagged 223 madrassas, which would be reopened under the supervision of Ahl-e-Sunnat-wa-Jamaat scholars.

She further noted that six seminaries linked to the group had been constructed illegally on government land.

Reporter: Awais Kiyani