

LAHORE: Tehreek-e-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYR) called off their nationwide sit-ins late Thursday night after successful talks with the Punjab government.

“Federal and provincial governments have agreed to implement Faizabad agreement,” group’s chairman Pir Afzal Qadri said. “They will make public Raja Zafarul Haq committee’s report and Rana Sanaullah will appear before the clerics.”

The government was represented by Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah.

Despite many attempts by SAMAA.TV, government officials declined to comment on the content of the talks.

The religious group had been protesting at Lahore’s Data Darbar from Monday, April 2.

TLYR said it would hold nationwide protests from Friday if its demands were not met.

The party leaders had asked supporters to hold sit-ins across the country after the first round of talks with the government failed on Thursday evening.

The group had blocked more than 80 places in the Lahore city alone.

TLYR’s demonstrators were seen carrying batons at Shahdara Chowk, Shahdara Town, Niazi Chowk, Metro route,

Handiya Bridge, Thokhar Niaz Baig, Multan Road, Kasur road, Chungi Amarnath, according to our correspondents.

The Metro bus routes from both sides were blocked and the service was stopped.

Protests spread to the other cities of Punjab. Protesters were seen in Rawalpindi, Mandi Bahauddin and Gujranwala.

Karachi also witnessed a protest at one of city’s busiest Numaish chowrangi area.

TLYR is led by Khadim Hussain Rizvi, who is facing arrest warrants.

Last year, the group began a protest at the crucial Faizabad interchange. The protest was organised over changes to an oath in the elections law—but a year after the amendments were made. The government said it was a clerical error but this was not accepted by the group.

Violence eventually broke out across the country. The protest was called off after the army intervened. The group demanded the law minister resign, which he did. An agreement was brokered by the army between the government and the TLYR, but the Islamabad High Court has questioned its legality.

An anti-terrorism court had declared Rizvi and other leaders proclaimed offenders but the authorities did not arrest them.