[Current Affairs] November 20,2020 Top Pakistan Current Affairs for PPSC Test Preparation

2. Leader of hardline religious group dies in Lahore

What’s going on? TLP chief, Khadim Hussain Rizvi died in Lahore. He supposedly came back to life, but was pronounced dead again. He was 54-years-old.

The details: According to a TLP spokesperson, Rizvi was having breathing issues and running a fever since Wednesday. Rizvi was at his madrassah (i.e. Islamic religious school) when he started feeling worse on Thursday evening. Even after he was pronounced dead at a hospital, there were rumors that he was breathing again. However, paramedic staff double-checked and said he was dead. Rizvi’s son also confirmed his death.

Who was Rizvi? TLP is a hardline religious political party. TLP leader, Rizvi, was known to be a “firebrand cleric” and far-right preacher. He was a fierce supporter of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. He had been wheelchair-bound since 2006 following an accident (P.S. word on the street is that his driver fell asleep while driving). A few days earlier, thousands of his followers and party workers blocked a major highway in Islamabad to protest against published caricatures of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) in France.

Rizvi had a history of organizing protests:

• January 2016, he organized a rally in Lahore to demand the release of Mumtaz Qadri. Qadri was a police bodyguard on death-row for killing Punjab governor, Salman Taseer, over his criticism of Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws. Rizvi organized a protest march and sit-in after the govt hanged Qadri.

• October 2017, Rizvi led a 20-day sit-in at Islamabad’s Faizabad interchange to protest against modifications to the Khatm-i-Nabuwwat oath (i.e. the finality of Prophet Muhammad PBUH). This is a declaration public office holders are required to make. In the amended form, the words “I solemnly swear” were replaced with “I believe.” Rizvi and his party found this unacceptable, and the govt eventually restored the original wording.

• November 2018, Rizvi launched disruptive protests against the acquittal of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman who was sentenced to death for allegedly committing blasphemy.

Public response: Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan immediately tweeted a condolence message to Rizvi’s family. Minister for Religious Affairs, Noorul Haq Qadri, said “Pakistan has lost a respected religious scholar and true admirer of the Holy Prophet.” To put this very gently, some people in Pakistan’s twittersphere aren’t necessarily grieving. Rizvi’s critics claim he spread hatred and incited mob violence. While some people think he was a “true Muslim,” others have described him as a “trouble-maker” and “menace.”

The bottom line: As of this minute, Rizvi’s cause of death is unclear. Some people are speculating he had COVID-19, but there’s no confirmation yet. It could have also been a heart attack. As for the public response to his death, there are mixed reactions of sadness and, umm, reminders that he wasn’t the most pleasant person.