ISLAMABAD: Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Hafiz Saad Hussain Rizvi was released from Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore on Thursday.

According to news reports quoting Kot Lakhpat Jail Superintendent Ijaz Asghar and TLP spokesperson Mufti Abid, Saad Hussain Rizvi had reached the TLP headquarters, Rehmatul Lil Alameen Mosque, after his release.

Saad Hussain Rizvi has been released after the withdrawal of a reference filed in the Supreme Court’s federal review board regarding his detention and the removal of his name from the Fourth Schedule- a list of proscribed individuals who are suspected of terrorism or sectarianism under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997.

Saad Hussain Rizvi was arrested by Punjab Police on April 12, 2021 ahead of planned protests by the TLP. Police had registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Mr Rizvi on April 13, 2021 under sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act. Later, his name was placed on the Fourth Schedule on April 16, 2021.