Pakistani police announced on Monday that they had arrested Zaheerul Hassan Shah, deputy leader of the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) party, for placing a bounty on Pakistan’s Chief Justice Qazi Faez Esa, local media reported. Hassan Shah had placed a bounty of 10 million rupees on Esa over suspicions that the Supreme Court justice was supporting the Ahmadi minority.
Lahore police have charged Hassan Shah under the Anti-Terrorism Act with inciting religious hatred, rioting and attempting to pressure the judiciary. The charges against Hassan Shah also include “insulting higher judiciary,” interfering with government and obstructing legal duties. 1,500 other members of the TLP are also named in the case.
Hassan Shah was arrested while hiding out in Okara city after protesting outside the Press Club and announcing the bounty.
Essa has been criticized by many militant groups in Pakistan for granting bail to an Ahmadi suspect, even though he was not the judge in the case. The Sindh High Court ordered bail for an Ahmadi suspect accused of blasphemy under Section 298B of the Pakistan Penal Code for using the title “Sayed” in his name. The title “Sayed” is reserved only for descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.
Ahmadis first came into the spotlight after Pakistan’s parliament declared them non-Muslim and ratified this in the Pakistani constitution. Since then, they have been the target of criticism and vilification by extremist groups. The United Nations expressed “serious concern” about “discrimination and violence” against Ahmadis in Pakistan, citing reports of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detention, attacks on places of worship, and restrictions on freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. It called on Pakistani authorities to “take immediate action to address the situation.”
