Staff Reporter
Lahore
Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi was laid to rest in Lahore after his funeral prayers were offered at the Minar-e-Pakistan. His funderal was attended by thousands of his followers and supporters.
The funeral prayer was led by Saad Hussain Rizvi, the son of Khadim Hussain Rizvi. The TLP chief was later laid to rest in Madrassah Abuzar Ghaffari associated with the Rehmatal Lil Alameen Mosque.
Saad Rizvi, who had till now served as the deputy secretary-general of the TLP, was also nominated on the occasion as the new chief of the party by its high council. He took oath on Saturday as the new emir of the TLP at the Minar-e-Pakistan ground.
He pledged to take up the issue of blasphemous cartoons published in France and maintained that he will follow in his father’s footsteps. Thousands of people had gathered at Lahore’s Minar-e-Pakistan to attend the funeral prayer for the cleric, whose party had emerged as the fifth-largest in Pakistan in terms of votes cast in the 2018 elections.
The TLP leader had passed away on Thursday after suffering from a fever in his last days. He had complained about the fever as he led a large protest at Islamabad’s Faizabad Interchange a few days ago, his family had confirmed.
Rizvi had been at his seminary in Lahore’s Multan Road when his health worsened. He was first taken to the Farooq Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, and then to Sheikh Zayed Hospital where his death was confirmed. The firebrand cleric is survived by his wife, two sons and three daughters.
The 55-year-old was born in Attock district on June 22, 1966. For his early education, he studied Hifz and Tajweed from a seminary in Jhelum and later on studied from the Jamia Nizamia Rizvia in Lahore.
According to the party’s spokesperson, Hamza, Maulana Rizvi had been experiencing difficulty in breathing and was running a fever since a day earlier.
The spokesperson added that Rizvi was at his madressah on Multan Road when his condition deteriorated on Thursday evening. Apart from the party followers, the funeral was attended by a large number of religious and political figures and the public in general. Snipers and cellular jammers were also deployed at key locations.
