ISLAMABAD: Saad Rizvi, chief of the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) religious party, is expected to be released early next week after a high court approval of a petition against his prolonged detention, the TLP leader’s lawyer said on Saturday.
Rizvi was arrested in Lahore in April for threatening the government with rallies if it did not expel the French envoy to Islamabad over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) published in France last year.
Violent demonstrations by TLP supporters erupted in major cities after his arrest. Six policemen were killed and over 800 injured, according to official figures, in protests that lasted a week.
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday approved a petition filed by Rizvi’s uncle against his continued detention under Pakistan’s antiterrorism laws.
“We are hopeful for Saad Rizvi’s release on Monday as the court’s written order will reach the relevant departments on first working day of the week,” Advocate Burhan Moazzam Malik, who represents Rizvi, told Arab News.
He said the court had declared the TLP leader’s detention illegal in its detailed judgment but a written order for the verdict’s implementation is awaited.
“The government failed to provide any plausible reason in the court to detain him under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997,” Malik said. “The right to protest is enshrined in the constitution.”
Rizvi has been detained at Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore, which is managed by the provincial government of Punjab. Punjab Prisons Minister Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan declined comment on the case.
TLP spokesperson Mohammad Ali said party members were expecting Rizvi to be free on Monday.
“We are a peaceful party, and we are sure our leader will be released on Monday as per the court verdict,” he told Arab News.
The party has built a wide base of support in recent years, rallying around cases of blasphemy, which are punishable by death in Pakistan.
It was banned following April’s protests.
Rizvi became the leader of TLP in November last year after the sudden death of his father, Khadim Hussein Rizvi.
Release of banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan chief expected next week — lawyer
https://arab.news/w5pt9
Release of banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan chief expected next week — lawyer
- Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday approved a petition filed by Rizvi’s uncle against his continued detention
- Saad Rizvi was arrested in Lahore in April for threatening the government with rallies if it did not expel the French envoy to Islamabad
Pakistan mulls 'Super App' for public services, document verification in major technology push
- Pakistan has been urging technology adoption in public, private sectors as it seeks to become a key tech player globally
- The country this month launched the Indus AI Week to harness technology for productivity, skills development and innovation
KARACHI: Pakistan is planning to launch a “Super App” to deliver public services and enable digital document verification, the country's information technology (IT) minister said on Sunday, amid a major push for technology adoption in public and private sectors.
Pakistan, a country of 240 million people, seeks to become a key participant in the global tech economy, amid growing interest from governments in the Global South to harness advanced technologies for productivity, skills development and innovation.
The country's information and communications technology (ICT) exports hit a record $437 million in Dec. last year, according to IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja. This constituted a 23% increase month on month and a 26% increase year on year.
Pakistan's technology sector is also advancing in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing, marked by the launch of Pakistan’s first sovereign AI cloud in November, designed to keep sensitive data domestic and support growth in the broader digital ecosystem.
“In developed countries, citizens can access all government services from a mobile phone,” Fatima said, announcing plans for the Super App at an event in Karachi where more than 7,000 students had gathered for an AI training entrance test as part of the ‘Indus AI Week.’
“We will strive to provide similar facilities in the coming years.”
Khawaja said the app will reduce the need for in-person visits to government offices such as the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and the Higher Education Commission (HEC).
The Indus AI Week initiative, which ran from Feb. 9 till Feb. 15. was aimed at positioning Pakistan as a key future participant in the global AI revolution, according to the IT minister.
At the opening of the weeklong initiative, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that Pakistan would invest $1 billion in AI by 2030 to modernize the South Asian nation’s digital economy.
“These initiatives aim to strengthen national AI infrastructure and make the best use of our human resource,” Khawaja said, urging young Pakistanis to become creators, inventors and innovators rather than just being the consumers of technology.
