ISLAMABAD: An eight-member team under the supervision of a deputy superintendent of police has been constituted for the arrest of firebrand cleric Khadim Rizvi and others nominated in separate cases registered in connection with the last year’s Faizabad sit-in.
The arrest warrants for Rizvi and others were issued last week by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) and other trial courts over their continued failure to appear despite being summoned several times.
As many as 28 cases have been registered against Rizvi and 480 other leaders and activists of Tehreek-e-Labbaik in the police stations of I-9 Industrial Area, Kural, Khanna and Aabara in Islamabad.
While most of the cases were lodged by police, some were registered on complaints of citizens. One such case is that of a nine-month-old child who died on way to the hospital on November 9 due to a traffic jam caused by the blockade. The sit-in ended on November 27 after an agreement brokered by the military between Faizabad demonstrators and the federal government.
The nominated people wanted by the police are living in over 30 cities and towns, including Lahore, Pindighep, Gujranwala and Rawalpindi and separate teams have reportedly been dispatched to these areas to execute the warrants.
Published in Daily Times, March 28th 2018.
