LHC review board’s detailed order in Saad Rizvi detention case

LAHORE: A review board of the Lahore High Court Thursday issued its detailed order in a case pertaining to the detention of Saad Hussain Rizvi, leader of proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), observing that political parties like the PPP, PML-N and the PTI had also held protest demonstrations in the past, but none of them were banned nor their party leaders detained.

The board quoted the government as complaining that Saad sought the expulsion of the French ambassador from Pakistan, however, it said various parliamentarians did not face any proceedings for raising similar clamour.

Last week, the LHC review board had dismissed the Punjab home department’s request to extend the TLP leader’s detention, observing that he should be “released forthwith” if he was not required to the government in any other case.

In its detailed order, the three-member LHC review board headed by Justice Malik Shehzad said: “We have noted the government of Punjab has concealed material facts in its reference because the number of police officers martyred or injured during the incident in question (has) been mentioned in it, but the number of TLP activists or a number of persons from the public who died during the relevant period (has) not been mentioned in the reference”.

Saad, son of the late Khadim Hussain Rizvi, was detained on April 12 over allegations of inciting his followers to take the law into their own hands after the government had backed out of its promise to expel the French ambassador. It added that the government had presented one side of its claim regarding law and order which showed its malice.

It said the failure of police to not incorporate Saad’s arrest in the cases filed against the TLP leader reflected their “dishonesty”. The government only wanted an extension in Saad’s detention on the basis of “fears”, while no supporting evidence was furnished to support this claim, the order read.

It pointed out the government counsel argued that Saad was detained on the basis of district intelligence reports in order to control deteriorating law and order. “The law officer or representatives of the government who appeared before the board didn’t produce any evidence that detainee (Saad Rizvi) was in contact with any person in the outside world during his detention,” the order read.