Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Senator Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry on Saturday met the chief of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) Hafiz Saad Hussain Rizvi as a “gesture of goodwill” and to congratulate him on getting released from jail.
Rizvi was released on Thursday from Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore after the reference filed in the Supreme Court’s federal review board was withdrawn earlier last week. The reference was pertaining to Rizvi’s detention and the removal of his name from the Fourth Schedule that is a list of banned individuals under suspicion of being involved in terrorism or sectarianism under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997.
The meeting took place at Rehmatul Lil Alameen Mosque in Lahore and TLP spokesperson Ibn-e-Ismail confirmed it sharing that a bouquet of flowers was presented to Rizvi by the senator and that Rizvi also visited the grave of his father, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, whose urs is being held at the mosque till November 21 (tomorrow).
The spokesperson remarked that the process of political dialogue “always continues”.
Chaudhry also told the media that he met the TLP chief as per his promise adding, “It is our responsibility to be in contact with the leadership that has a different past than the leadership of other political parties.”
The senator said that it was the state’s responsibility to have “pleasant” relations with all factions of the public to “avoid misunderstandings and ensure consensus, peace and calm”.
He continued, “You will remember that when the agreement [between the government and the TLP] was reached, I had expressed satisfaction and prayed and wished that it got safely implemented.”
Chaudhry noted, “You saw it was implemented and today I was here to meet him”.
The TLP reached an agreement with the federal government on October 31 after numerous rounds of talks and two weeks of clashes which resulted in the deaths of seven policemen and scores of TLP workers. The agreement has not been revealed, but leaked information suggests consensus on Rizvi’s release, removing the party from the list of the proscribed organizations, and releasing TLP workers that were held under various charges including anti-terrorism.
A week later, on November 7, the federal cabinet decided to revoke the declaration putting the TLP on the list of “proscribed” organizations in adherence with the country’s anti-terrorism law.
