HARIPUR: Despite ban on processions and gatherings in the limits of Haripur for 15 days, a defiant Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Allama Saad Rizvi entered the district from Jhari Kass area with thousands of his stick-wielding supporters on Sunday, and continued journey undeterred towards Havelian, where the firebrand leader was scheduled to address an Eid Miladun Nabi procession in the evening.

Mr Rizvi stopped briefly at Sidiq-i-Akbar Chowk, asking workers to chant with him the party slogans. Instead of making a planned address in Haripur, he left for Havelian on a container surrounded by club-wielding supporters.

The procession was still on the way to Havelian when this report was filed though the distance between the two cities is barely a 20-minute drive.

According to TLP local leadership, the participants of the rally, including those coming from other parts of the country, were beyond 30,000, but an official source put the number at no more than 6,000 to 7,000.

Saad Rizvi likely to address rally in Havelian

“We allowed them to enter and cross the urban limits of Haripur peacefully as we avoided taking action fearing loss of property as hundreds of Rizvi’s followers were wielding clubs,” said a police officer.

Meanwhile, the administration had blocked all entry and exit points on the Hazara Motorway and the GT Road by placing containers on Saturday night, and deployed 1,600 riot police. Two companies of Frontier Corps sent in aid of the civil administration remained alert for quelling any unrest.

The passengers and motorists travelling in or out of the district using GT Road and motorway faced problems. The mobile service remained suspended throughout the day. However, internet service was functional but with poor signals. The traders on both sides of GT road kept their business shut.

THREE KILLED: Three persons, including two minor boys, were killed in different incidents in the Haripur city, police said on Sunday.

A young woman, 20, allegedly committed suicide by shooting herself with a pistol in the chest inside her room in Khalabat Township on Saturday night, the police said, quoting the victim’s father.

The man told the police his daughter ended her life as the family was mired in abject poverty.

Meanwhile, two minor boys drowned in a pond in Bailgran village of Ghazi tehsil. The deceased were identified as Shahzeb Ali 8, and Mohammad Hussain, 9, the police said.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2022