Law enforcement agencies have located Saad Rizvi, the head of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) 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.
According to local media reports, authorities have traced both Saad Rizvi and Anas Rizvi, and their arrest is expected soon.
The reports added that there is no confirmed information yet regarding whether the two are injured. However, if they are wounded, they should immediately surrender to law enforcement for medical treatment.
Meanwhile, police sources reported that the violent protest in Muridke — where TLP supporters clashed with law enforcement — has been dispersed, though the confrontation resulted in the death of one police officer and injuries to dozens of others.
The incident occurred during the night of October 12–13, when the administration attempted to negotiate with protesters, asking them to relocate their demonstration to a less disruptive area. However, during talks, the protest leaders allegedly continued to incite the crowd. Protesters resorted to stone-pelting, iron rods with nails, and petrol bombs. Police officers were also disarmed, and those weapons were reportedly used to fire upon the force.
Postmortem reports and initial assessments confirm that bullets used during the attack were from weapons snatched from police personnel. To prevent further escalation, police used tear gas and baton charges, which only further provoked the crowd and led to coordinated assaults.
According to police, at least 40 government and private vehicles were set ablaze, and several shops were also torched. A total of 48 police personnel were injured, 17 of them with gunshot wounds, and are being treated at various hospitals.
