Pakistan arrests top leader of radical party on charge of ordering the killing of the chief justice

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Pakistan's police on Monday arrested the deputy chief at a radical Islamist party on the charge of ordering the killing of the chief justice over his alleged support to the minority Ahmadi community, officials said.

Zaheerul Hassan Shah was arrested a day after a video went viral on social media, showing him telling a gathering of his supporters from the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan that he would personally give 10 million rupees ($36,000) to anyone who beheads Qazi Faez Esa, the Chief Justice at the Supreme Court.

Esa has been the target of criticism by extremists in Pakistan in recent months after he granted bail to an Ahmadi blasphemy suspect.

Pakistan’s Parliament declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974. Since then, they have been repeatedly targeted by Islamic extremists, drawing condemnation from domestic and international human right groups.

A senior police officer, Zaheer Asghar, told reporters that Shah was arrested in Okara, a city in the eastern Punjab province. He said a case has been registered against Shah on charges of threatening to kill Esa and inciting people to violence.

Shah's party has been behind violent protests against any change in Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws, which carry the death penalty.

Last week, a U.N.-backed panel of independent experts expressed grave concern about increased discrimination and violence against the minority Ahmadi community in Pakistan and urged authorities to ensure their protection.