LHC throws out plea seeking extension in TLP chief’s detention

A provincial review board on Friday turned down the Punjab government’s plea seeking further extension in detention of proscribed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Saad Rizvi.

The review board headed by Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan and comprising Justices Aalia Neelum and Sadqat Ali Khan announced the decision.

Rizvi was produced in the LHC earlier amid tight security arrangements. Both male and female police personnel were deployed at the court premises to avoid any untoward situation.

TLP lawyers, outside the court premises, welcomed Rizvi and showered rose petals at him. However, the jail authority took him back to prison after the proceedings.

Rizvi is the son of the firebrand cleric and previous head of the TLP, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, who died in November last year.

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He was arrested after TLP's central council warned the government that if it did not expel the French ambassador from the country, they would march towards Islamabad.

The banned outfit called off its violent protests after the federal government tabled a resolution in parliament to debate the French ambassador's expulsion.

Rizvi’s detention order is set to expire on July 10. Under the law, the home department seeks further extension in detention when a period of three months is expired.

However, the government decided against lifting the ban on the TLP it had imposed for the group staging violence across the country for almost a week.