04/19/2021 Pakistan (International Christian Concern) – Last week, the Pakistani Government ban the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a political group know for its violent support of the country’s blasphemy laws. The move escalated deadly protests that have rocked Pakistan since early last week.

On Thursday, April 15, Pakistan’s Ministry of the Interior announced its decision to ban the TLP because it believed the party had engaged in acts of terrorism and negatively affected the peace and security of the country. This announcement came three days after TLP supporter began protesting the arrest of the party’s leader Saad Hussain Rizvi.

Rizvi was preemptively taken into custody after he insisted on leading a protest against the government’s failure to expel the French ambassador. This conflict between the government and the TLP stems from French publications of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

For Pakistan’s Christian community, the violent protests and the ongoing tensions have created an uneasy situation. Some fear supporters of the TLP may expand their violence to target Christians and their places of worship because Pakistan’s Christian community is often seen as a representation of the West by extremists.

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