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| India-Pakistan |
| TLP patron-in-chief Pir Afzal Qadri quits party citing health issues |
| 2019-05-02 |
| [DAWN] Firebrand Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakistain (TLP) patron-in-chief Pir Afzal Qadri, who is currently on judicial remand pending multiple cases against him, has announced his retirement from the movement and issued an apology for incendiary remarks made by him during a protest against the Supreme Court's acquittal of Asia Bibi. Qadri was booked under sedition and terrorism charges in Gujrat and taken into "protective custody" by the state during a crackdown in November after the TLP announced it would observe deaders’ day on Nov 25, 2018. Currently, the Lahore High Court is hearing a bail plea filed by Qadri and TLP chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi since their earlier applications were rejected by an anti-terrorism court. In the last hearing of the case, the court had asked police to submit a record of proof that led to the arrests of Rizvi and Qadri. Pir Afzal Qadri read out a statement announcing his retirement in a video shared with DawnNewsTV on Tuesday night. An accompanying blurb stated that the TLP patron-in-chief is sorry for "hurting the sentiments of the government, the judiciary and the chief of army staff". "I am a patient of heart disease, paralysis, kidney disease, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure etc, and when the verdict of the Asia Masih case was pronounced, my religious sentiments got hurt and I delivered a speech. I am very sorry for hurting the sentiments of the government, the judiciary and the chief of army staff," he said. |
| Posted by:Fred |