Punjab hands over TLP-run mosques, seminaries to Mufti Muneeb

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said mosques and seminaries formerly associated with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan have been placed under the supervision of Mufti Muneebur Rehman, and called on ulema to help steer the public away from extremism.

Addressing religious scholars of the Ittehad Bain-ul-Muslimeen Committee at the Chief Minister’s House on Wednesday, Maryam clarified that the government had not taken control of the religious institutions but entrusted them to senior clerics for proper management.

“The mosques and madrassas that we have sealed have been handed over to Mufti Muneebur Rehman. I have not kept them under my control, nor have I handed them over to my Auqaf department. I have entrusted them to all of you because I believe you will use them to promote religion,” she said.

Maryam announced that the Punjab government would provide a monthly allowance of Rs15,000 to 65,000 prayer leaders, adding that her father, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, had ordered that this allowance be further increased to Rs25,000. She reminded the scholars that the loudspeaker law must be respected and only allow its use for the azan and Friday sermon.

Requires proof of TLP damage

Responding to claims circulating online that 600 TLP workers were killed in the recent clashes, Maryam demanded evidence to substantiate the claim. “It is claimed that 600 TLP men have been killed – show me the bodies,” she said. “Someone must have made a video. At least let’s see where the bodies are.”

She directly referred to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, who posted the demand on his X account. “Someone who was in Adiala jail tweeted that 600 people were killed. If that many were dead or injured, there must be videos or hospital records. Even Mufti Muneeb has asked for an accurate list – we will release it, but we cannot accept a false claim of 600 deaths. If that many people were dead, their corpses would form a mountain.”

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Earlier this month, violent clashes erupted in Muridke during the TLP’s long march, leaving at least four people, including policemen and civilians, dead and 56 others injured. Factory area SHO Shehzad Nawaz was shot and martyred during the confrontation.

The federal government later banned TLP, following a request from the Punjab government, citing violent extremism and attacks on law enforcement.

Maryam said religious parties had every right to political participation, but condemned the use of force and vigilantism. “All parties have the right to do politics,” she said. “But taking up arms, blocking roads, burning property and taking lives in the name of religion can never be acceptable.”

She said the TLP’s sites acted as weapons depots. “Bundles of cash were recovered from their offices and weapons were found which even our security agencies do not possess. Why did they have so much ammunition – to use it against the state?”

Maryam recalled incidents of mob violence linked to the group “A stretcher truck vendor was killed simply because he did not lower his head to greet one of their members,” she said. “How can someone who holds guns and clubs with nails, attacks law enforcers and breaks their bones, claim to be acting for the Prophet (pbuh)?”

She urged researchers to take an active role in countering extremist messages, saying the group had “poisoned minds.” “It has been almost a year and a half and whenever such incidents occur, I show patience,” she said. “This is not just a disruptive group – it has poisoned people’s minds.”

She said clarity was needed to distinguish between genuine religious work and violence carried out under its guise. “When you don’t speak straight, people’s minds are filled with doubt,” she said. “When a group takes up arms, it ceases to be a religious movement – it becomes a violent one.”

Maryam stressed that criminals would face the law regardless of gender. “A criminal is a criminal, whether it’s a man or a woman,” she said.

“This group trained women as militants and used seminaries to hide weapons. I do not advocate cruelty to anyone’s sister or daughter, nor to opponents. But those who commit crimes will be punished,” she added.

She said she had instructed security agencies to immediately release anyone proven innocent. “If anyone has been wrongfully detained, they must be sent home without delay.”

She called on religious leaders to work with the state. “We need your support to rid society of this growing threat,” she concluded.