Pakistan releases TLP head of far-right after protests over agreement | Protest News

Saad Rizvi was released from Lahore after deadly protests in the Muslim-majority country after weeks of negotiations.

Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistani authorities have released the far-right Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) leader, a spokesman for a religious group, after deadly protests in the Muslim-majority country after weeks of negotiations.

Saad Rizvi was released in the eastern city of Lahore on Thursday evening, TLP spokesman Ejaz Ashrafi told Al Jazeera. Local media displayed images greeted by wealthy Rizvi followers at the party’s headquarters, housed in a Lahore mosque.

The move comes a few weeks after the government and the TLP an agreement was reached To end the 10-day violent protests, at least seven policemen were killed and dozens injured, as protesters blocked major roads and a highway in and around Lahore.

Rizvi was released on the eve of his father, Khadim Hussain on the anniversary of the death of Rizvi founder TLP. The party said it planned to hold three-day events to celebrate the anniversary.

An influential and hard-working Muslim scholar, the old Rizvi founded the TLP as a religious organization against perceived blasphemy against Islam. The group demands the killing of all perceived blasphemers against Islam, and it has been so related to violence against the Ahmadi religious minority in the country.

In November 2020, tens of thousands of people attended Rizvi’s funeral.

Since its inception in 2017, the group has staged several protests across the country, which have stopped Pakistan, and have often been the victims of clashes with police.

In 2020, the team focused on her protests against comments Made by French President Emmanuel Macron, believed by many Muslims, including Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. Islamophobic.

The TLP demanded the expulsion of the French ambassador and a boycott of all trade with the country, which the government did not accept.

In April, the Pakistani government began banning the TLP under anti-terrorism legislation, with Saad Rizvi arrested under administrative orders related to that law.

Although the agreement reached to end the last round of protests was not made public, on November 7 Khan’s cabinet suspended its declaration as a banned TLP group and a provincial government moved to remove Rizvi’s name from the anti-terrorism watch list.

Not everyone in the government supported the move, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Thursday said the government had “backed down on the TLP case”.

“A lot of people think it’s about taking steps [the government] they are inadequate, in fact, that neither the government nor the state are fully prepared to deal with extremists, ”the minister said in a speech in the capital Islamabad.

In response to Chaudhry’s comments, TLP spokesman Ashrafi denied that the group was spreading hatred, accusing it of “extremism” in a “foreign hand”.

The TLP will hold a three-day ceremony to celebrate the anniversary of the first death of founder Khadim Hussain Rizvi from Friday in Lahore, where the city’s police chief and local administration chief will provide security and logistical support.

Asad Hashim is a digital correspondent for Pakistan’s Al Jazeera. @AsadHashim Tweets.