LHC seeks Punjab govt’s reply on TLP chief’s detention

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) Friday issued a notice to the Punjab Home Department on a petition, challenging detention of Hafiz Saad Rizvi, leader of the proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).

Justice Muhammad Shan Gul sought a reply from the special secretary home on a point whether the fresh detention of Rizvi had been approved by the cabinet. The judge also directed the secretary to apprise the court as to how a person detained in jail could be a threat to public order.

Justice Gul adjourned hearing till Aug 10 and directed the registrar office to fix the petition before a two-judge bench for further hearing. Earlier, Advocate Burhan Moazzam Malik argued on behalf of the petitioner that the government detained Rizvi on political grounds. He said a review board of the high court had turned down a government request to extend detention of Rizvi under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance 1960. However, he said, the government, with mala fide intention, extended detention of Rizvi under Section 11 EEE of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 for another 90 days.

The counsel stated that the government implicated Rizvi in 14 criminal cases after detaining him. The detention of Rizvi had come after his organisation (TLP) staged sit-ins across the country demanding the government to expel the ambassador of France in the wake of blasphemous cartoons. The protesters had turned violent and attacked the police personnel.

Separately, Justice Sohail Nasir of the Lahore High Court Friday dismissed a petition against the detention of Zaheerul Hassan Shah, a leader of Tahreek-e-Labbaik Ya Rasoolullah. The wife of the leader challenged his detention. The government counsel argued that the petitioner had not approached the competent authority and directly approached the court. The judge dismissed the petition as not maintainable