Plea against Saad Rizvi’s detention dismissed

LAHORE:The Lahore High Court on Monday dismissed as not maintainable a petition challenging the detention of Saad Rizvi, leader of proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan.

Ameer Hussain, parental uncle of Rizvi, had challenged the detention order for his nephew issued by the deputy commissioner Lahore on April 12, 2021. Petitioner’s counsel Malik Iftikhar Awan argued that the detention order was not supported by any material or evidence against Rizvi. He urged the court to order the government to furnish the record on the basis of which the detention order had been passed. He asked the court to set aside the impugned detention order and set Rizvi at liberty. Advocate General of Punjab (AGP) Ahmad Awais argued that the petition was not maintainable in light of various judgments of the superior courts. After hearing both sides, Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh dismissed the petition on the ground of maintainability. The government had proscribed the TLP following violent protests and sit-ins it staged across the country with a demand to expel the ambassador of France in wake of blasphemous cartoons.