Pakistan court sentences hardliner cleric to 35 years jail
What's the story
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has sentenced Zaheerul Hassan Shah, a senior leader of the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), to 35 years in prison. The verdict was pronounced on Monday in Lahore. Shah was convicted for inciting violence against former Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa by offering a bounty of 10 million Pakistani Rupees ($36,000) for his beheading.
Case background
Shah's incitement linked to blasphemy case
Shah's incitement was in response to Isa granting bail to a member of the Ahmadi community in a blasphemy case. The Ahmadis, an offshoot of Islam, were declared non-Muslims by Pakistan's parliament in 1974. Their homes and places of worship are frequently attacked by Sunni militants who brand them as heretics.
Party ban
TLP banned after violent clashes
The sentencing comes less than two months after the Pakistani government banned the TLP following violent clashes between its supporters and police during a pro-Gaza rally. The party's leader, Saad Rizvi, has since gone missing. Police believe Rizvi fled to Pakistan-administered Kashmir amid unrest that started in early October when he led a march from Lahore to Islamabad.