TLP chief Saad Rizvi released after a week-long violence

Apr 20, 2021

Lahore (Pakistan), April 20, 2021(ANI): Saad Hussain Rizvi, the chief of the recently proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), was released from Kot Lakhpat jail on Tuesday. The move has been taken as people in Pakistan got angry with Prime Minister Imran Khan after he fails to fulfill the demands of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, a hardline religious group banned recently. TLP supporters earlier burned the flag of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party in Lahore. Violent protests erupted cities across Pakistan in which many security personnel and TLP cadres were killed. Things turned uncontrollable after the arrest of TLP chief Saad Hussain Rizvi on April 12. TLP, with its massive following across Pakistan, has been demanding expulsion of the French ambassador from Pakistan. It is opposing publication of blasphemous caricatures in Charlie Hebdo magazine and remarks about Islam and terrorism by French President Emmanuel Macron. Even though the government initially rejected TLP’s demand and halted the talks, it now calls for a resolution in the National Assembly to expel French ambassador. The rise of Islamic fundamentalist outfits in Pakistan remains a major international concern.