GUJRAT: Pir Muhammad Afzal Qadri, the founder of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Ya Rasul Allah (TLY) and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), died here on Wednesday.

He had been facing multiple health issues for the last few years due to which he curtailed his activities.

He, along with the late religious figure Khadim Hussain Rizvi of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), had jointly led Faizabad (Islamabad) sit-in against an alleged attempt to change the blasphemy laws during the PML-N government in 2017.

However, Mr Qadri distanced himself from the TLP’s movement and continued his struggle from the TLY platform.

He earned prominence in some sectarian conflicts in Gujrat during the 90s and remained in limelight until his death.

His funeral prayers will be held at (Naikabad) Marrarian village along Gujrat Bypass at 2pm on Thursday (today). He will be laid to rest in the same village. He had the cordial relations with the Chaudhrys of the PML-Q and Qamar Zaman Kaira of the PPP.

It started a protest on Nov 8, 2017, and set up a camp at the Faizabad Interchange contesting changes in the Elections Bill 2017 in which the word oath changed to declaration. The protesters demanded resignation of Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid to “protect the identity of the country.”

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2024