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Islamabad: Pakistani police on Friday arrested an extremist cleric whose party paralyzed the country by protesting violently against the acquittal of a Christian woman accused of blasphemy.
Khadim Hussain Rizvi, leader of the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) party, was arrested before Saturday's rally in Islamabad, local news minister Fawad Chaudhry said.
"Khadim Hussain Rizvi was remanded into custody by the police and transferred to a guest house," Chaudhry tweeted, adding that the move was not related to the case of Asian Bibi, a Christian sentenced to death for eight years The Supreme Court overturned its conviction for blasphemy last month.
"It is to protect public life, property and public order and should do nothing with the" Asia Bibi "affair," Chaudhry tweeted.
"The law will take its course and it can not be left to individuals," he added.
The court's decision sparked furious protests led by the radical TLP party, protesters demanding the execution of Bibi while blocking major roads, leaving large tracts of the country paralyzed.
In response, the government has reached an agreement with the Islamists to impose a ban on traveling to Bibi, who was released from prison earlier this month while she is waiting for the outcome of the latest review of her case.
The TLP has promised to return to the streets if it is allowed to leave the country.
In a video message released on Friday, another TLP leader, Pir Afzal Qadri, called for new protests, saying the police arrested dozens of party members in the port city of Karachi and parts of the central province. from Punjab, including Lahore.
Blasphemy is an extremely inflammatory problem in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even unproven allegations of insulting Islam and the Prophet Muhammad can lead to lynchings and killings .
The conviction of Bibi stems from an incident that occurred in 2009 when she had been asked to fetch water while she was working in the fields.
Muslim workers objected to her touching the bowl of water as a non-Muslim and a fight broke out.
A local imam then claimed that Bibi had insulted the Prophet Muhammad.
Bibi has always denied the charges and his lawsuits have brought together international human rights groups, politicians and religious figures.
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