Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) Vice Emir Pir Zaheerul Hasan Shah, who had been in hiding in Okara, has been arrested. This follows his indictment for inciting violence against Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa. Shah’s arrest came after a case was filed against him for a speech made during a protest rally outside the Lahore Press Club, which was in response to the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Mubarak Sani case.
The FIR was registered at the Qila Gujjar Singh police station in Lahore by Station House Officer (SHO) Hammad Hussain. It names Shah and around 1,500 TLP party workers, charging them with issuing death threats to the CJP. The FIR includes charges under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), and also covers spreading religious hatred, obstructing legal duties, and other related offenses.
Other groups, including Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUI-S), Mili Yakjehti Council Pakistan (MYC), and Wafaqul Madaris-ul-Arabiya (WMA), have also opposed the apex court’s decision. This opposition persists despite a clarification from the Supreme Court stating that belief in the finality of Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) prophethood is essential to being considered a Muslim.
In response, the federal government has declared that it will not tolerate malicious propaganda against the CJP and will take strict measures against those responsible. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif stated that the state will not permit anyone to issue a fatwa calling for murder. He condemned the use of religion for political gain and emphasized that the law will be enforced to ensure justice.
Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal supported this stance, denouncing the threats against the CJP as a rebellion against the Constitution. He asserted that terrorism and fatwas have no place in Islam and pledged that the government would act decisively against such threats. Iqbal also recalled his own 2018 assassination attempt and criticized the misuse of religion for political purposes, urging religious scholars to guide the nation on these matters.
