LHC declares TLP leader Saad Rizvi's detention illegal

• Lahore High Court declares Hafiz Saad Rizvi's detention illegal.
• Saad Rizvi's paternal uncle, Ameer Hussain, had filed a petition at the LHC against the detention.
• Saad Rizvi was taken into custody on April 12 for 90 days for inciting his followers to violence.

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has declared the detention of the head of the proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan, Hafiz Saad Hussain Rizvi, illegal, Geo News reported on Friday.

According to Geo News, Saad Rizvi's paternal uncle, Ameer Hussain, had filed a petition at the LHC against his nephew's detention. Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh, after hearing the arguments of the lawyers, issued a brief verdict declaring his detention unlawful.

Saad Rizvi, the son of the deceased TLP leader Khadim Hussain Rizvi, was taken into custody on April 12 for 90 days for inciting his followers to violence.

Upon the expiry of his 90-day detention on July 2, 2021, he was produced before the review board at the LHC. 

During the hearing, the review board rejected the government's request to extend Saad Rizvi's detention for another 90 days under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, 1960.  However, the deputy commissioner ordered detaining Saad Rizvi once more on July 10 under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Why was Saad Rizvi arrested?

Rizvi was taken into custody shortly after the federal government had declared the TLP a proscribed organisation under anti-terrorism laws and launched a broad crackdown against the party.

The action came after days of violent protests and traffic disruptions in the largest cities of Pakistan, which saw public and private property being damaged by gangs of hooligans bearing sticks and turning on law enforcement officials at will. 

Speaking on the move, Prime Minister Imran Khan had explained that his government had taken action against the banned TLP because it "challenged the writ of the state and used street violence, attacking the public and law enforcers".