Amid uproar of Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah, Khadim Hussain Rizvi laid to rest

Amir of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) Khadim Hussain Rizvi was laid to rest on Saturday afternoon at Abuzar Ghafari Madrassa near Chowk Yateem Khana on Multan Road after a mammoth crowd attended his Nama-e-Janaza at Minar-e-Pakistan.

The funeral prayers were offered for late Khadim Hussain Rizvi at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore with hundreds of thousands of supporters and admirers gathered to pay homage to their leader, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Khadim Rizvi's son, Saad Hussain Rizvi, led the funeral prayers as the ambulance was stationed on the elevated track of the Metro bus. After the funeral prayers, the ambulance carrying Khadim Hussain Rizvi's body drove back to Abuzar Ghafari Madrassa near Chowk Yateem Khana for burial.

The Qul ceremony for Khadim Hussain Rizvi will be held at Data Darbar tomorrow (Sunday) at 9:00am.

It is stated to be the largest gathering in Lahore’s history. Not only the Greater Iqbal Park at Minar-e-Pakistan but also the roads, streets and the elevated track of Metro bus in the surrounding area was full to capacity.

Actually, the funeral prayers were scheduled for 10am but the mammoth crowd meant that the procession carrying the body in an ambulance took hours after leaving the mosque located near Chowk Yateem Khana on Multan Road, several kilometres away from the funeral site.

Thousands of people later marched through Chauburji, Secretariat, Lower Mall, Data Darbar and Shahdara before reaching the destination. During the process, many others joined the funeral procession as the charged people chanted slogans to bid farewell to Rizvi. Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq also attended the funeral prayers.

Vast crowds of men were seen thronging the Greater Iqbal Park grounds around Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore, chanting in unison Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah.

In life, Rizvi acted as a lightning rod for the religious right and was adept at mobilising thousands of diehard supporters at a moment's notice. His death came just days after he led a paralysing anti-France rally in Islamabad, threatening to repeat a 2017 blockade that crippled the capital. 

Whether the TLP can hold its momentum without the charismatic Rizvi is unclear. "The TLP already has an extensive support base. His lifeline was his narrative and his narrative was still intact," security analyst Amir Rana told AFP.

"The TLP will remain on Pakistan's security and political landscape for a longer time and leadership may not be a big factor."

However, columnist Zahid Hussain chalked up the TLP's victories over the years to government weakness rather than its actual strength as a political force. "I don't think anybody could provide the type of a leadership he had," he said. "It was more of a personal following than an ideological movement."