A two-member bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday directed the counsel for Pir Afzal Qadri – former leader of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) who is currently facing a treason case – to submit a detailed apology over his incendiary remarks that he had made during a protest against the Supreme Court’s decision to acquit blasphemy accused Asia Bibi.
The firebrand cleric was booked under sedition and terrorism charges in Gujrat and taken into “protective custody” by the state during a crackdown in November 2018 after the TLP announced it would observe martyrs’ day on November 25, 2018. During the hearing of a bail plea filed by Qadri and TLP chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi – whose earlier applications were rejected by an anti-terrorism court – Justice Qasim Ali Khan directed his counsel, Hafeezur Rehman Chaudhry, to submit the attested apology letter by today (Wednesday).
On the onset of the hearing, the court rejected the counsel’s plea to not highlight the apology letter, and directed the counsel to read it out in the court. “He [Qadri] should have thought about it when he was using the mic[rophone],” Justice Khan added.
Chaudhry then read out the apology, after which the court directed him to define the “harsh words” used in the apology letter. The counsel said that according to the record, Qadri had said that the three judges [who acquitted Asia Bibi] were liable to be killed, Prime Minister Imran Khan was a Zionist agent and that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s orders should not be followed by his subordinates.
Justice Khan observed that the comments were incitement to violence. “Saying such things about army generals – what is it if not treason?” the judge asked.
Chaudhry reiterated that Qadri had apologised in his letter, but Justice Asjad Javed Ghural pointed out that “he had declared that the judges of the higher judiciary deserve to be killed”.
“Pir Afzal Qadri should have sought an apology over the labels uttered against judges and generals,” Justice Khan added.
The court directed the counsel to contact his client over telephone for fresh instructions about a more detailed apology. The lawyer did so, and told the court that Qadri would file a more detailed apology letter today [Wednesday].