Saad Hussain Rizvi is a Pakistani politician who succeeded his late father, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, as the second head of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a far-right Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist and extremist political organisation.
Early Life and Education
Saad Hussain Rizvi was born on November 21, 1994 to Khadim Hussain Rizvi into a Punjabi Awan family from Pindi Gheb, Attock District, Punjab, Pakistan. He was raised alongside his younger brother Anas Hussain Rizvi and four sisters.
Saad Rizvi first went to Jamia Masjid Rehmatallil Alameen in Lahore, where his father was a preacher. He subsequently went to the Royal Grammar School before enrolling in his father’s Madrasa Abu Zar Ghaffari for Hifz-e-Qur’an. He later spent a year studying Qirat and Tajweed. After graduation, he continued his Islamic education at numerous madrasas in Pakistan, eventually studying the Dars-i Nizami curriculum for eight years. He also speaks Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and Punjabi fluently.
Political Career
Rizvi joined Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan as a founding member in 2015. He served as the party’s Deputy Secretary-General. After the death of his father, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, in November 2020, Saad Rizvi was appointed as the leader of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan.
2021 Protests
On April 12, 2021, the Pakistani government arrested Saad Hussain Rizvi in Lahore, charging him under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997. This sparked unrest in the country. Confusion arose regarding his release when Atiq Ahmed, Punjab Prisons’ public relations officer, announced his release on April 20, while Lahore’s Jail Superintendent, Asad Warraich, claimed no knowledge of any such decision. Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad later clarified that Rizvi remained in custody. Despite a review board’s ruling against extending his detention on July 8, the government extended it for 90 days under the Anti-Terrorism Act. The Lahore High Court later deemed his detention illegal on October 1, a decision countered by the federal review board of the Supreme Court, extending his detention by a month. A subsequent appeal by the Punjab Government to the Supreme Court led to the case being transferred to a special bench of the Lahore High Court on October 12. Amidst protests by the TLP demanding his release, a deal between the government and TLP resulted in the removal of the organisation’s ban and Rizvi’s removal from the terrorism watchlist on November 12. He was finally released from prison on November 18.
Controversial Speeches
Rizvi’s image remains divisive as a result of his comments inciting hatred and violence against minorities, particularly Ahmedis. He has frequently made derogatory remarks against minorities and anyone accused of blasphemy, threatening to wipe out anyone who performs blasphemy against the Prophet of Islam. During the 2023 Quran burnings in Sweden, he requested that Pakistan declare war on Sweden to put an end to such blasphemous events. To deal with Pakistan’s severe economic crisis, Rizvi suggested to the government in one of his speeches that there was no need to hold talks with nations or the IMF for economic aid; instead, the Prime Minister and Cabinet should take the Quran in one hand and the nuclear codes in the other.
In his speech, Rizvi stated:
“They are sending the prime minister (Shehbaz Sharif), his entire cabinet, and chief of army staff to other countries to beg for economic aid… I ask why they are doing this. They said the Pakistani economy is in danger… Instead, I advise them to take the Quran in one hand and the atom bomb suitcase in the other, and take the cabinet to Sweden, and say that we have come for the security of the Quran. If this entire universe does not fall under your feet, then you can change my name”.
Public Image
In 2023, a nationally representative Gallup Pakistan survey conducted in June, National Public Opinion Poll, revealed that Rizvi had a 38% approval rating among respondents, placing him second in the country after Imran Khan (60%) and ahead of veteran politicians such as Nawaz Sharif (36%).