LAHORE: The Tehreek-i-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah’s (TLYR) political party, registered as Tehreek-i-Labbaik Islam (TLI), on Monday announced that it would resist all the candidates involved in the issue of finality of prophethood.

It seeks votes in the name of Islam and pledges to render all possible support and cooperation to the armed forces under, what they call, jihad.

“We have awarded tickets to 102 candidates from the platform of our party in several national and provincial constituencies of the country. We will not allow those candidates to contest the elections who were involved in amending the finality of prophethood clause in election law, which is mandatory to be signed by all candidates during submission of nomination papers,” TLYR chief Dr Muhammad Ashraf Jalali said while presenting his party’s manifesto at a press conference at the press club.

Fields no woman candidate

The TLYR recently had its political arm registered by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) under the name of TLI and was allotted the symbol of cannon. Its manifesto comprises plans for education, economic prosperity, justice, defence, health, safe society, women’s rights, welfare of the growers, labourers, an independent media and protection of minorities to name a few issues. While its manifesto discusses provision of rights to women, it was not sure whether women can take part in elections despite the fact that the election commission had bound all political parties to issue five per cent of their tickets to women.

“We have not fielded any women candidates. But we are well aware of their rights, and we have asked the ECP to allow us to establish a women’s wing in our party,” Mr Jalali responded to a query.

When asked how the TLI plans to get the religious vote since it was already divided and why his party was not part of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, he said the TLYR was already part of an alliance of 15 religious parties, including the Sunni Ittehad Council and Pakistan Sunni Tehreek.

Dr Jalali claimed that the candidates contesting elections on his party’s platform were well educated and some of them held PhD degrees. “We have also sought an undertaking from all of our candidates that they would defend the ideology of Pakistan by making it an Islamic welfare state,” he added.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2018