TLP chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi passes away

Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi has passed away in Lahore, sources within his family told Geo News.

According to the sources, Rizvi had developed fever when he participated in the party's sit-in in Islamabad and had not recovered from it.

The TLP leader was brought to Lahore's Sheikh Zayed Hospital at around 8:45pm, where he was pronounced dead, hospital sources dead.

They said that an ECG was also carried out to verify his death and that the attendants who brought him to the hospital "did not provide the patient's history" to the staff.

After his death was confirmed by the hospital, his body was transferred to a private hospital, from where it was taken to his residence, Geo News reported.

A large number of TLP supporters gathered outside at his residence in the Grand Battery Stop area on Lahore's Multan Road, where his body was brought back from the hospital.

Who was Khadim Hussain Rizvi?

Khadim Hussain Rizvi was born on June 22, 1966, and belonged to district Attock.

He studied Hifz and Tajweed from a Jhelum madressah and went on to complete his Dars-i-Nizami from Jamia Nizamia Rizvia in Lahore.

The TLP chief was a consequential figure in the political landscape of Pakistan for the past three to four years.

His party held a major sit-in in 2017 against the PML-N government. Subsequently, in the 2018 general elections, he obtained 2.2 million votes and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan emerged as the country's fifth largest party.

Condolences

'My condolences go to his family' — Prime Minister Imran Khan

'Tragedy' — Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi

Reacting to the news, Chief of the All Pakistan Ulema Council Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi said the death is a "tragedy" for the nation.

He expressed his condolences to Rizvi's family.

'Pakistan has lost a great religious scholar' — Noor-ul-Haq Qadri

Minister for Religious Affairs Noor-ul-Haq Qadri also expressed regret over the death of the TLP leader.

"Pakistan has lost a great religious scholar and true lover of the Prophet (PBUH)," Qadri said.

"The services of Khadim Hussain Rizvi for Islam will always be remembered," he added.

'God grant patience to his loved ones' — Senator Faisal Javed Khan

Senator Faisal Javed Khan prayed for the soul of the deceased and for God to grant patience to his loved ones.