Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid said Monday that talks were underway between the government and banned religious party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and the first round of talks was promising, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
In a video message released on twitter, the minister disclosed: “Workers of the banned party have not only released 11 policemen they had held hostage but they have also retreated to Masjid Rehmatulil Alameen, and so have the police.”
He informed that the next rounds of talks with the TLP would be held today (Monday) after Sehri.
He hoped that the remaining contentious issues would be settled in the next round, and things would move in the right direction.
Rashid said the situation was no more tense on the last remaining checkpost, out of total 192, which had been removed earlier.
On Sunday (April 18), Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had said that no talks were being held with the recently proscribed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) at the moment.
Talking to media persons in Islamabad, Sheikh Rashid had said that the banned TLP had closed 192 places across the country out of which 191 had been cleared so far. “The situation at Lahore’s Yateem Khana Chowk is tense,” Sheikh Rashid admitted.
Sheikh Rashid said the outlawed TLP will be diluted till April 20 and all the thoroughfares of Islamabad and Rawalpindi will be open till April 20.