LAHORE: The funeral prayers for Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi were offered at the Minar-i-Pakistan in Lahore.
Thousands of people attended the funeral prayers for the cleric who passed away on Thursday evening. His funeral prayers were offered at the Greater Iqbal Park by Allama Abdul Sattar Saeedi. He was laid to rest at Madrassah Abuzar Ghafari associated with the Rehmat-ul-Alameen mosque.
TLP announced his son Allama Saad Rizvi will be the new Ameer of the party after the demise of Khadim Hussain Rizvi. The decision was made in a meeting of the Majlis-e-Shura before the funeral prayers.
Saad Rizvi, who had till now served as the deputy secretary-general of the TLP, took oath as the new Ameer of the party. The meeting decided that Rizvi had desired that his son will be the new heir and was capable of leading the party out of the crisis.
Ordinary life was disrupted in Lahore as all entry points to the city and roads leading to his mosque faced traffic and reported traffic jams. People from across the province gathered in Lahore and were queued outside the main street.
The Lahore police deputed 26 SHOs, 13 DSPs and thousands of policemen for security purposes. Internet jammers have been installed and there were complaints of mobile phone disruption.
The TLP chief passed away two days ago at the age of 54. He had been experiencing difficulty in breathing and was suffering from a fever since a day earlier. He was rushed to Sheikh Zayed Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
He is survived by his wife, two sons and three daughters. Rizvi made his last public appearance at a sit-in at Islamabad’s Faizabad interchange to protest the publication of blasphemous caricatures in France. The group had decided to end the sit-in on Monday after successful negotiations with the government.
