Bureau Report
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday issued release order while declaring the detention of Saad Hussain Rizvi, chief of the proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), as illegal in a hearing of petition filed by Rizvi’s uncle against his continued incarceration.
Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh announced the verdict after presiding over daily hearings for the past three days. The detailed judgement of the case is currently awaited. Advocate Burhan Moazzam Malik argued on behalf of the petitioner, Rizvi’s uncle Ameer Hussain, while lawyers for the Punjab and federal governments opposed the application. Rizvi, son of the late Khadim Hussain Rizvi, was taken into custody under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance 1960 on April 12 over charges that he had incited his followers to take the law into their own hands as, according to him, the government had reneged on its promise to expel the French ambassador.
The party had been pressing the government for the expulsion of the French envoy to Pakistan ever since blasphemous caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) were published in France and their publication was supported by the French president. During Thursday’s hearing, Advocate Malik argued that Rizvi had not been provided with the reasons for being detained again under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. He said he had submitted five applications to the relevant government department to know the grounds for his detention but hadn’t received a response.
He argued that solid grounds were required to incarcerate a suspect, adding that not a single case existed against Saad Rizvi before the year 2018. The lawyer further said the right to protest was enshrined in the Constitution. “A protest simply means a protest; how can it be terrorism?” he asked. He said TLP supporters had protested after Rizvi’s arrest, while authorities were not willing to lodge a FIR over the deaths of TLP workers.
