RAWALPINDI: As many as 212 people detained during the police crackdown against Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) last month have been released from different prisons across the province.

Around 3,000 TLP workers, including its leaders, arrested under the charges of sedition and terrorism are still languishing in jails. The government has started reviewing cases of those who were detained under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance. They are being released upon the completion of the verification process, said sources.

Among those released on Wednesday, 12 were from the Rawalpindi district. The sources said 477 people were arrested by the Rawalpindi police under the MPO and sent to the Adiala jail and their cases were being reviewed to ascertain if they were involved in violence or had been picked under the MPO.

Three separate FIRs had been registered with the police and 207 workers and activists, including three leaders of local chapter of the TLP, were booked on sedition charges, blocking roads and damaging government installations.

Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2018