Five people, including one police officer, were killed on Monday as authorities cleared a protest by hardline group Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in Muridke, north of Lahore. The clashes followed failed negotiations to halt the march, which had been planned from Lahore to the US embassy in Islamabad.
Police said protesters used stones, petrol bombs, and firearms, injuring 48 officers and eight civilians. Several rioters were arrested, and charred vehicles, including the TLP leader’s truck, were left in the streets.
The protest initially opposed the US-brokered Israel-Hamas ceasefire and later emphasized solidarity with Palestinians. Eyewitnesses described hours of continuous gunfire and tear gas.
The operation coincided with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attending the Gaza peace signing in Egypt. Pakistan has no formal diplomatic relations with Israel.
