• Dozens arrested, several injured as armoured vehicles, water cannon used to disperse charged crowd
• Police say inspector martyred; around 50 cops badly injured in violent clashes
• Conflicting reports emerge about fate of TLP chief; IGP says Saad Rizvi ‘not in custody’
• Second-tier leaders call on TLP supporters to converge on Lahore for protest on 17th
LAHORE: The fate of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Saad Rizvi remained shrouded in mystery after law enforcement agencies launched a sweeping pre-dawn operation on Monday to dismantle the religious party’s protest camp in Muridke, triggering violent clashes, widespread chaos and dozens of arrests.
The operation, which began around 3:30am, quickly spiralled into one of the most serious confrontations between police and TLP in recent months, continuing for nearly six hours.
According to officials, some 1,500 police personnel in full anti-riot gear, supported by four armoured personnel carriers and water cannons, surrounded the protest camp along the GT Road.
By morning, authorities said they had detained hundreds of demonstrators, though exact figures remained unclear.
There was, however, a significant discrepancy in casualty reports, with local media reporting a few deaths and dozens of injuries, while social media was rife with exaggerated claims.
Nevertheless, Punjab Police confirmed the death of Inspector Shehzad Nawaz, who they said was shot during the operation. Local media reports said that at least four people, including the police officer, had been killed and 56 others injured.
Unverified social media posts, however, claimed the toll among TLP supporters was far higher, with some alleging “dozens if not hundreds” of deaths — claims dismissed by Punjab’s police chief, Dr Usman Anwar, as “baseless rumours” and “a conspiracy to evoke public sympathy”.
Adding to the uncertainty were unverified reports about the fate of Saad Rizvi, which spread rapidly across social media and WhatsApp groups on Monday. Several posts alleged that Mr Rizvi had been shot and was in critical condition, while other accounts claimed that he had been taken into custody.
Interestingly, despite its active online presence, the TLP’s official accounts and spokespersons remained conspicuously silent on the matter, neither confirming nor denying rumours about their leader’s condition or whereabouts.
Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Usman Anwar confirmed to Dawn.com that TLP chief Saad Rizvi had not been arrested, nor injured in Monday morning’s clashes.
Ripples across the country
By mid-morning, the unrest had spread to several other parts of the country. In Lahore, hundreds of TLP supporters took to the streets, blocking key intersections and damaging vehicles in protest at what they called a “brutal crackdown”.
In Burewala, five police officers, including a deputy superintendent, were injured when TLP activists clashed with local law enforcers.
In Faisalabad, demonstrators blocked the Chenab Chowk for nearly two hours, forcing the Government College University Faisalabad to postpone its scheduled examinations.
Further south, dozens of protesters obstructed the national highway at Mian Channu for half an hour, while in Bahawalnagar, TLP members blocked the Bahawalnagar–Head Sulemanki Road near Minchinabad, prompting another round of arrests and the registration of criminal cases under multiple charges.
In Karachi, similar scenes played out as TLP activists organised protests in North Karachi and New Karachi to denounce the police action in Punjab. Fear and uncertainty gripped the city as demonstrators blocked major thoroughfares and clashed with police.
