LAHORE – The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday declared the detention of banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Saad Hussain Rizvi illegal again and ordered his release.
Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh heard the case filed by Rizvi’s uncle Amir Hussain, who had made the federal and provincial governments, the chief secretary, home secretary, inspector general police and others respondents in the case.
Petitioner informed the court that Rizvi, who is a son of late cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi, was nominated in 14 different cases after his arrest. He highlighted that the LHC review board had rejected a Punjab government’s plea to extend the TLP chief’s detention.
He claimed that the government had arrested several leaders of the party on a political basis and put them behind the bars.
The counsel said Rizvi was produced before the review board after three months in jail but the board did not extend his detention.
The counsel pleaded the court to declare the detention null and void, and bar the government from arresting TLP chief in other cases.
Saad Rizvi was arrested in April after he announced a protest on 20th of the month to press the government for expulsion of the French ambassador over blasphemous caricatures published in France.
The federal government that month declared the TLP a banned outfit and booked Saad under anti-terrorism laws.
The action was the outcome of days of violent protests and traffic disruptions in various cities of the country by TLP supporters.
Read more: https://pakobserver.net/police-arrest-tlp-chairperson-saad-hussain-rizvi-in-lahore/
