A huge turnout of devotees of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan was recorded at the funeral of late chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi in Lahore at Minar-e-Pakistan on Saturday, amid increasing cases of COVID-19.
The attendees numbered in thousands at the funeral site. The videos of the massive gathering went viral on social media in the morning. According to reports, his devotees flocked to Lahore from across Pakistan. Some of the members of the party have informed that he will be buried at the Chowk Yateem Khana. The Lahore city is bearing the impact of the death of Khadim Rizvi.
Funeral of Khadim Rizvi and state funeral of Abdul Sattar Edhi. Some people worried about SOPs. I'm worried about religious extremism destroying our society. pic.twitter.com/81gb5KY5Uq
— Dr. Taimur Rahman (@Taimur_Laal) November 21, 2020
Khadim Hussain Rizvi’s funeral at the park famous for the Pakistan Resolution. Hundreds of thousands participated in the funeral. pic.twitter.com/JkDgtWa8Aw
— Syed Talat Hussain (@TalatHussain12) November 21, 2020
Meanwhile gathering for funeral of #KhadimRizvi at Minar e Pakistan, #Lahore. And #PTIGovernment is not worried of this violation of #Coronaviruspakistan SOPs.#Pakistan pic.twitter.com/Vz0Kc1OB91
— Asad Ali Toor (@AsadAToor) November 21, 2020
The videos and images have triggered a debate on social media regarding the violation of COVID-19 SOPs during the funeral. While according to social media experts, the gathering is estimated to be larger than the historic political rally of Pakistan Tehreek-I-Insaf at the same spot.
Read more: TLP Leader Khadim Hussain Rizvi passed away
It spiked the fears among internet users regarding the spread of coronavirus in the city at a time Pakistan is standing at the brink of second-wave and the country is registering an exponential rise in the cases each day.
Scenes from the funeral site give the impression of the outright breach of strict instructions issued by the federal and provincial government to keep in check the spread of COVID-19 in Pakistan.
Some internet users have even condemned the deliberate silence of the federal and provincial government on the grand funeral of Rizvi in Lahore when they have announced the ban on large public gatherings including the ban on political rallies of opposition parties as well.
Khadim Rizvi’s funeral at Minar-e-Pakistan. Govt has banned large public gatherings due to Covid but the ban doesn’t apply to extremists pic.twitter.com/2SdQAn8umh
— Ailia Zehra (@AiliaZehra) November 21, 2020
Huge gathering at Minar e Pakistan Lahore for the funeral of Allama Khadim Hussain Rizvi majority of people here are without masks media must play a role and request public to at least wear a mask to prevent #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/YhwI0QAtAX
— Hamid Mir Øامد میر (@HamidMirPAK) November 21, 2020
The federal and provincial governments have been mulling over to implement smart and mini lock downs at various hot spots in Pakistan. Strict punishments have also been announced to encourage people to abide by the COVID-19 speculations.
Hence, some Twitter users viewed the silence of the government for its tacit support for TLP.
The founder of Tehreek-e-Labaik, Rizvi, passed away on Thursday night in Lahore. He was taken to Sheikh Zayed Hospital where he expired. The son of the far-right preacher Saad Rizvi has confirmed the news to a local media outlet.
https://twitter.com/MadamShurli/status/1330055499522379776?s=20
The TLP leader formed the party in 2016 after Mumtaz Qadri, the convicted murderer of former Punjab governor Salman Taseer was executed. Twitter is abuzz with tweets paying condolences to the family of Rizvi from all corners of the country.
GVS News Desk