ATC awards Khadim Rizvi’s brother, nephew 55-year jail term

• The court also convicted 84 other activists of the TLP.
• The sentences were handed down to the convicts for their participation in violent protests following the acquittal of Asia Bibi in 2018 in blasphemy case.
• The ATC ordered the convicts to collectively submit Rs12,925,000 and directed authorities to seize their moveable and immoveable assets.

(Karachi) An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi awarded 86 workers of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), including TLP Chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi’s brother and nephew, 55-year jail sentences each after finding them guilty of terrorism and related charges.

The sentences were handed down to the convicts for their participation in violent protests following the acquittal of Asia Bibi in 2018 in blasphemy case.

Those convicted include TLP chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi's brother Ameer Hussain Rizvi and nephew Mohammad Ali. Additionally, the court ordered the convicts to collectively submit Rs12,925,000 and directed authorities to seize their moveable and immoveable assets.

Bibi’s conviction was overturned by Pakistan’s highest court on October 31, 2018. However, she had to be kept in protective custody despite orders of her immediate release due to the threats to her life posed by far-right parties, which had reacted strongly to the Supreme Court's judgment.

Rizvi was arrested along with other party leaders during a crackdown by law enforcement agencies in Lahore. In protest against the arrest, hundreds of TLP activists took to the streets and damaged public property.

A police constable also suffered injuries at Multan Road where the violent activists clashed with police.

Following the unrest and severe clashes, contingents of paramilitary force Rangers reached Lahore, taking control of the city’s major arteries.