LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Monday dismissed for being not maintainable a petition challenging the detention of Saad Rizvi, leader of proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).

Ameer Hussain, paternal uncle of Rizvi, had challenged the detention order of his nephew issued by the deputy commissioner of Lahore on April 12, 2021.

Petitioner’s counsel Malik Iftikhar Awan argued that the detention order was not supported by any material or evidence against Rizvi. He urged the court to order the government to furnish the record on the basis of which the detention order had been passed.

He asked the court to set aside the impugned detention order and set Rizvi at liberty.

Advocate General of Punjab (AGP) Ahmad Awais argued that the petition was not maintainable in the light of various judgments of the superior courts.

After hearing both sides, Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh dismissed the petition for being not maintainable.

The government had proscribed the TLP following violent protests and sit-ins it staged across the country with a demand to expel the ambassador of France in the wake of blasphemous cartoons.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2021