MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Police in Pakistan have arrested some 300 supporters of a detained radical Islamic cleric who disrupted daily life with nationwide rallies following the acquittal of a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy.
Senior police officer Tahir Mahmood said Saturday that supporters of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik party were picked up in sweeps across Punjab province following the arrest of its leader, Khadim Hussain Rizvi.
Police also arrested scores of Rizvi’s supporters as they took to streets to protest his overnight arrest.
Rizvi’s supporters held violent rallies against the Supreme Court’s Oct. 31 acquittal of Aasia Bibi. He has called for more protests on Sunday in the capital, Islamabad.
Pakistan’s hard-line Islamists have threatened to kill anyone who insults Islam or who speaks out against the blasphemy law.