Shaheer Sialvi, a student leader and president of the State Youth Parliament, has been arrested for allegedly expressing solidarity with the head of banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) and challenging the writ of the state. Police Sub-Inspector Tayyab Zaheer told The Express Tribune that a case has been registered at Westridge Police Station in Rawalpindi against Shaheer Haider Malik alias Shaheer Sialvi under the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). The police official said that Sialvi in a video which went viral on social media can be seen inciting people to violence against the state while denouncing TLP head Muhammad Saad Rizvi’s arrest. In the video, the sub-inspector said Sialvi challenged the writ of the state through hate speech and provoked his followers to attack the law enforcement agencies. Earlier in the day, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had said that the crackdown against the banned TLP would continue while apologising for temporarily suspending social media services amid fears of protests.

Source: The Express Tribune April 16, 2021 19:18 UTC