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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province on Sunday extended a ban on the gathering of four or more persons by another seven days till Nov. 9, the provincial home department said, in a bid to maintain law and order and public peace.

The ban was initially imposed on Oct. 8 amid violent protests by the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) religio-political party, and has since been extended multiple times.

TLP supporters had clashed with police on the outskirts of Lahore on their way to Islamabad. The clashes had killed five people, including two policemen, and injured more than 100 others.

The party said its march toward Islamabad was for peaceful purposes, but the violent protests prompted the Pakistani government to declare the TLP as a proscribed organization.

“Home Department, Government of the Punjab, vide Order of even number dated October 25, 2025 imposed following restrictions under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, across the entire Province,” the Punjab home department said in a notification on Sunday, adding that the restrictions have been extended by another seven days.

“A complete ban on the assembly, gathering, procession, or sit-in of four (04) or more persons in any public place, street, road, or open space.”

It said it had reviewed latest reports and threat assessments shared by law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and it was evident that the “threat perception to public peace, tranquility, and law and order has not abated.”

Other restrictions include a ban on the carrying, display of all kinds of weapons, both licensed and unlicensed, in public places; the of loudspeakers or other sound amplifying devices for provocative, sectarian or inflammatory content, other than the conventional use for prayer calls sermons at mosques; and publishing, disseminating, or displaying of any provocative, hateful, or sectarian material that may incite public sentiment or disturb inter-faith and sectarian harmony.

“The continuance of the restrictions is deemed essential to prevent any potential disturbance to public order, sectarian strife, or commission of any offense, and to ensure the safety and security of the lives and property of the general public,” the home department said.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, will call for full implementation of Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza at a meeting of Arab-Islamic foreign ministers in Istanbul on Monday, the Pakistani foreign ministry said.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan this week said that the Istanbul meeting would discuss the US peace plan for Gaza and “what we can achieve together in the next stage.”

Ministers from Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, ����ֱ�� and the UAE, which met President Donald Trump on Sept. 23, have all been invited to the meeting.

On the invitation of the Turkish foreign minister, Dar will undertake a one-day visit to Istanbul on Monday to attend the coordination meeting of the Arab-Islamic FMs.

“Pakistan will emphasize the need for the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement, the complete Israeli withdrawal from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, especially Gaza, as well as the provision of unfettered humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians and the reconstruction of Gaza,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said.

“Pakistan will also reiterate the need for collective efforts aimed at achieving an independent, viable, and contiguous State of Palestine, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, based on pre-1967 borders, in accordance with relevant UN resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.”

Turkish FM Fidan said on Friday there were a number of issues that needed to be addressed at the meeting.

“What are the obstacles to its (ceasefire) implementation? What are the challenges to be faced? What are the next steps? What will we be discussing with our Western friends? And what support is there for the ongoing talks with the United States?” he said.

Fidan accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “looking for a pretext to violate the ceasefire [in Gaza] and relaunch the genocide under the eyes of the whole world.”

The statement came after Israel launched strikes on Gaza and killed several people this week in the latest test of the fragile ceasefire deal brokered by President Trump.

The US-backed ceasefire agreement went into effect on October 10, halting two years of war that was triggered by deadly Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, and that has devastated the narrow coastal strip.

Pakistan reassured its support for all efforts to restore peace in Gaza.

“Pakistan has been, and will continue to be, committed to efforts to restore peace, justice, and dignity to the Palestinian people, as well as to ensure the realization of their right to self-determination,” its foreign ministry added.