ISLAMABAD: The activists of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) on Monday staged a protest against the arrest of party Chief Saad Hussain Rizvi in various parts of twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The Police on Monday arrested Saad Hussain Rizvi, the TLP chief from Lahore, when he was returning after attending the funeral prayers of leading political figure Rana Akhtar.

The TLP activists blocked road at Bhara Kahu and Faizabad condemning the arrest of the TLP chief.

The TLP had planned to stage protest against the government “for backtracking on its promise” for not expelling the French ambassador.

In November last year, the party staged a sit-in in Rawalpindi, which was called off after an agreement with the government.

TLP announced on November 17 that the government had accepted all its four demands.

The party, founded by late Khadim Hussain Rizvi had released a copy of the handwritten agreement carrying signatures of Qadri, the then interior minister Brig Ejaz Shah (retd) and the deputy commissioner, Islamabad.

The agreement said that the government would get approval from the parliament regarding expulsion of the French ambassador within three months, will not appoint its envoy to France and release all the arrested workers of TLP.

The government will not register any case against TLP leaders or workers even after it calls off the sit-in.

Last week, interior minister Sheikha Rasheed Ahmed had said that the issue would be placed before the parliament, but then the government arrested the young TLP chief, forcing the party activist all over the country including twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad to take to the streets.

The protests have warned the government to immediately release Saad Rizvi or things would get worse as they would not compromise on the demands put by its leaders to expel the French ambassador from the country.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021