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Pakistani security officials stand guard after clash with religious protesters in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday night, November 23, 2018. Pakistani police arrested hundreds of supporters of a radical Islamic cleric in detention , who disrupted daily life with rallies nationwide a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy. (Shakil Adil / Associated Press)
MULTAN, Pakistan – As part of an on-going crackdown, police have arrested about 1,100 supporters of a radical Islamic cleric in detention, who disrupted protesters' daily lives in the country. The whole country after the acquittal of a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy, Saturday officials said.
Police chief Tahir Mahmood said Tehreek-e-Labbaik supporters had been arrested across the country, mainly in Punjab province, following the arrest of his leader, Khadim Hussain Rizvi. Mahmood said police teams raided Labbaik party seminaries, the homes of party leaders and supporters, and hiding places to hide them.
The police also arrested many supporters of Rizvi as they went down the street to protest his arrest the following night. He added that most of the arrested men had been sent to jail for a month. He added that those accused of violence and arson as part of their protest against the acquittal of Asia Bibi would be treated in accordance with applicable laws.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the current crackdown on Labbaik party supporters had nothing to do with Asia Bibi's case. He added that the arrests are intended to contain those who exploit the situation in the name of religion to acquire a political force.
Supporters of Rizvi organized violent rallies against the acquittal of Bibi by the Supreme Court. Rizvi called for more protests on Sunday in the capital Islamabad. Preventing any possible event, the capital's police set up security posts near a vital intersection connecting the capital to the garrison town of Rawalpindi. Rizvi and his supporters earlier this year blocked this intersection for 20 days to protest the religious reference change in a parliamentary document. This event resulted in the resignation of the Minister of Laws of the former government.
Pakistani extremist Islamists have threatened to kill anyone who insults Islam or opposes the country's blasphemy laws.
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Zarar Khan, Associate Press Editor in Islamabad, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
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