LAHORE:An anti-terrorism court on Monday acquitted 26 workers of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in a case of attacking police teams, ransacking public and private property and obstructing the state’s operations during the 2021 protests against France.

Judge Abher Gul Khan announced the verdict declaring that the prosecution failed to establish its charges against the accused persons.

The acquitted workers include Naseem Ahmad Hazarwi, Abid Hussain, Shahid Humayon, Riaz Ali, Muhammad Faheem, Zahoor Ahmad, Tahir Baloch, Sabir Hussain and Muhammad Munir.

Chuhng police had registered the case against the accused persons including Talib Beg, Ibrar and Amjad.

The TLP had staged sit-ins across the country demanding the government to expel the ambassador of France in the wake of blasphemous cartoons. The protesters had turned violent and attacked the police personnel and damaged the public and private property.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2023