FIA Arrests TLP North Punjab Leader in Terror Financing Probe

The Federal Investigation Agency has arrested Syed Inayatul Haq Shah, the North Punjab emir of the banned Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan, in a terror-financing investigation linked to the party's violent mobilisation in October 2025. Authorities have also secured a nine-day remand, allowing investigators to question him as the financial investigation into the group's activities continues.

Officials said Shah was among eight suspected key financiers detained by a joint team from the agency's counter-terrorism wing during operations in Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Investigators traced Shah's location to Rawalpindi before taking him into custody. The arrest marks a significant development in an inquiry focused on funding allegedly connected with the party's mobilisation and subsequent clashes last year.

According to investigators, the inquiry has identified around 1,800 suspected accounts associated with Shah, members of his family and other individuals under scrutiny. Authorities are examining financial transactions that they believe may have been connected with financing the organisation's activities before and during the October 2025 protest movement. The scale of the accounts under review indicates that investigators are conducting a broad financial-profiling exercise rather than focusing on a single transaction.

The investigation has placed particular emphasis on withdrawals totalling Rs13.4 million from a religious seminary account on October 13 and 14, 2025. Officials said the withdrawals occurred while the party's march was under way from Lahore and had reached Muridke. Investigators consider the timing and size of those transactions grounds for examining whether the money was used to support the mobilisation.

The registered case states that counter-terrorism investigators carried out financial profiling and an analysis of transactions involving the organisation's leadership, financiers, associates and related individuals. The examination concentrated on transactions considered relevant to the mobilisation and the events in Muridke between October 9 and October 15, 2025. Bank records and institutional accounts were among the material reviewed during the inquiry.

Authorities said substantial financial activity was detected through personal and associated religious accounts linked to Shah and his father, Syed Ziaul Haq Shah, immediately before and during the protest period. Investigators said both men were given opportunities to join the inquiry and explain the source, purpose, authority and use of the Rs13.4 million in withdrawn funds, but they did not appear before the investigators.

The financial investigation stems from the violent events surrounding the party's march in October 2025. Supporters travelling from Lahore toward Islamabad were stopped in Muridke, where a large protest camp was established on GT Road. Clashes later erupted between protesters and law-enforcement personnel during a security operation, resulting in deaths and injuries. The federal government subsequently banned the organisation under the Anti-Terrorism Act following a recommendation from the Punjab government.

The arrest places renewed attention on how authorities are tracing financial networks connected with banned organisations and violent political mobilisations. The immediate phase of the investigation will involve questioning Shah during his remand and examining the accounts and transactions already identified by the counter-terrorism wing. Further action could depend on what investigators establish about the movement and intended use of the funds under scrutiny.