The bail granted to Tehrik Labaik Pakistan (TLP) Amir Saad Rizvi was made inevitable by the Lahore High Court’s review board’s rejection of the extension of his detention order. His arrest because of his rejection of the government’s request that he extend further the deadline set by the TLP for the expulsion of the French Ambassador was greeted with widespread protests, which led to a countrywide shutdown, and to violent protests in which several protesters were killed, as well as two policeman, besides scores more injured. The TLP was supposedly banned after his, but the participation of TLP ticket-holders in the recent Cantt Board election has created confusion about whether the ban had been imposed or not.
That the head of such an organization has been released shows that the government was unable to prepare a sufficiently strong case against him. It may also show that it was unwilling to do so, because it did want to offend the TLP too far, mainly because the issue of Finality of the Prophet (PBUH) it espouses, is a sensitive one. However, it also should have considered what would be the possible result of releasing Mr Rizvi unpunished, but with the prestige of having done jail time for the cause.
How exactly the government intends to proceed with an organisation which not only deals with a very sensitive issue, but also has something of a votebank, is not clear. Considering that the French government has not taken kindly to the idea of its ambassador being sent home, and considering that it is a leading member of the European Union, before which Pakistan’s GSP Plus status is up for renewal, Mr Rizvi’s release sends the wrong signal. There is also the unexplained distribution of cash by a senior uniformed officer to protesters at the original Faizabad sit-in, during the lifetime of Mr Rizvi’s late father, Maulana Khadim Husain Rizvi. That threw a rare light on who might be backing the TLP. The TLP’s entry into electoral politics, in 2018, was designed to hive off the religious vote from the PML(N). However, it did not have sufficient impact to decide the election. That might change, now that Mr Rizvi has done time.
