Dawn reported that the group has fielded 84 candidates in 17 of the 41 cantonments. Elections are to be held in these cantonments on Sunday (tomorrow). According to the report, the TLP has fielded the largest number of candidates in nine cantonments of Punjab. 24 TLP candidates are contesting the polls in six cantonments of Sindh and three candidates in two cantonments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). In Balochistan, however, no TLP candidate is contesting.
Dawn quoted Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry as saying that only the Supreme Court could bar a political party from contesting the elections. He added that the decision to ban the TLP was an 'administrative step', but the judicial phase had to be completed if the party is to be barred from contesting the polls.
In April this year, the government had banned the TLP through a notification in the wake of violent protests held by the group across the country against the outfit’s chief Saad Rizvi’s arrest. Six policemen were killed while more than 800 sustained injuries during the clashes with TLP workers and supporters. An agreement signed between government and the TLP had finally brought an end to the week-long protests.