Pakistan Army made law minister resign: Tehreek-e-Labbaik leader Khadim Rizvi

Chief of Tehreek-e-Labbaik says outfit only held talks with military, no civilian govt role

Days after the twin cities returned to normalcy as religious organisation, Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TYL), called off their weeks-long sit-in protest, chief cleric of TYL Khadim Hussain Rizvi said Pakistan Army made Zahid Hamid resign from his post of law minister.

“Our party held negotiations with officials of Pakistan Army and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) who said ask whatever you want to,” Khadim said in an exclusive interview with a private news channel, adding that there was no role of the civil government in resolving the stand-off.

The cleric recalled that when the army officials came for the dialogue he said, ‘bring the resignation of the law minister before you come to talk to us’. On this, the army said it will make the minister resign and only then hold the talks.



“No civilian government official was here for the talks,” he said, adding that the sign on the agreement by Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal was taken by the army men as well.

The three-week-long dharna at a busy traffic interchange of the federal capital finally ended on November 27 after the government acquiesced to the demands of a previously obscure religious group in a deal some analysts believe might set a dangerous precedent.



Hundreds of Tehreek-e-Labbaik supporters had been camping at the Faizabad Interchange since November 6, calling for the resignation of the federal law minister who they blamed for a hastily-abandoned change in the oath of elected representatives.

Khadim Hussain Rizvi told a crowd of around 2,500 supporters, who had occupied the Faizabad Interchange for three weeks, that “on the assurance of the chief of the army staff, we are calling off the sit-in.”