LAHORE: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore on Monday sentenced banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) leader Pir Zaheerul Hasan Shah to 35 years and six months in prison for issuing threats against former chief justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa.
ATC Judge Arshad Javed announced the verdict after concluding the trial in a case registered in 2024.
Pir Zaheerul Hasan Shah, who also served as vice emir of the now-banned TLP, was arrested on July 29 last year from Okara following the registration of a first information report (FIR) at Lahore’s Qila Gujjar Singh police station.
The case stemmed from a speech delivered by Shah during a protest rally outside the Lahore Press Club, where TLP workers had gathered to demonstrate against the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Mubarak Sani case. During the protest, Shah was accused of issuing death threats to the then chief justice.
The FIR also nominated around 1,500 TLP workers for allegedly issuing threats against the judiciary.
Charges against Shah were framed under various provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), along with sections relating to the spread of religious hatred and anarchy, pressuring and threatening the higher judiciary, interference in state affairs, and obstruction in the performance of official duties.
During the hearing, the ATC found Shah guilty on multiple counts, sentencing him to imprisonment and imposing a fine of Rs600,000.
In October, the federal government formally declared Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan a proscribed organisation under the Anti-Terrorism Act following a series of violent protests. A notification issued by the Ministry of Interior on October 24 stated that the government had “reasonable grounds to believe that Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan is connected with and concerned in terrorism.”
