Lahore, Oct 12: Authorities have lifted a ban on rallies in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province after supporters of an assassinated extremist Sunni Muslim lawmaker promised to be peaceful, a government official said today. The decision to lift the ban was made yesterday in Lahore, the capital of Punjab, said Shoaib bin Aziz, a spokesman for the provincial government.
Officials had feared that the death of Maulana Azam Tariq, one-time head of the outlawed Sunni group Sipah-e-Sahaba, would spark violence throughout the province. Three of his bodyguards were also killed in the ambush in Islamabad on Oct 6. Hundreds of Tariq's supporters went on a rampage the next day in Islamabad and in his hometown of Jhang, southwest of the capital. They smashed shop windows and set on fire a Shiite mosque, a Shiite shrine, petrol stations and a movie theater.
Authorities in Punjab banned rallies on Wednesday as part of efforts to tighten security and prevent more violence by Tariq's followers, many of whom blame Shiites for the killing and have vowed vengeance. Despite the ban, supporters of Tariq's Millat-e-Islamia party held protests in several cities Friday, demanding the arrest of his killers. No violence was reported.
No arrests have been made in the assassination, and investigators are looking for four people who allegedly sprayed Tariq's car with bullets as he rode to a parliamentary session. Bureau Report