Detention of religious leaders, others challenged

LAHORE: The detention of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Maulana Khadim Hussain Rizvi, his son Saad Rizvi and TLP patron-in-chief Pir Afzal Qadri has been challenged before the Lahore High Court.

Syed Zafar Hussain Gillani, a member of the TLP, assailed the detention of his leaders in a habeas corpus petition filed through Advocate Nabeel Javed Kahloon. The petitioner contended that the police raided the houses of the TLP leaders, arrested them unlawfully and shifted them to undisclosed places. He stated that the home department and the police, despite repeated requests, have not issued any grounds for detention of the leaders nor their whereabouts.

The petitioner submitted that no FIR or complaint has been lodged against the TLP leaders so far. He ar.gued that the detainees have been arrested without any prior notification and without giving any opportunity of hearing, which is a violation of fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution.

The petitioner pleaded that Article 10 of the Constitution clearly states that no person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed of the grounds of arrest, nor shall be denied the right to consult a legal adviser. He expressed apprehensions that the government authorities would physically torture the TLP leaders during their illegal detention.