LAHORE: An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore has sentenced banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) leader Pir Zaheerul Hasan Shah to 35 years and six months in prison for issuing threats to former chief justice Qazi Faez Isa.

ATC judge Arshad Javed announced the verdict after completing the trial of the case registered in 2024.

Shah was arrested on July 29 last year in Okara, after a first information report (FIR) was registered against him in Lahore’s Qila Gujjar Singh police station.

Shah, who is also the vice emir of the banned TLP, was booked for a speech made during a protest rally outside the Lahore Press Club during a demonstration against the Supreme Court verdict in the Mubarak Sani case.

Apart from the TLP leader, the FIR also nominated 1,500 party workers for issuing death threats to the then-chief justice.

The FIR included provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and those related to spreading religious hatred and anarchy, pressuring and threatening the higher judiciary, interference in state affairs, obstructing in performance of legal duties and others.

During today’s hearing, the ATC Lahore convicted the TLP leader on multiple charges and sentenced him to jail, in addition to imposing a fine of Rs600,000.

In October, the federal government declared the religio-political party a proscribed organisation under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), following a series of violent protests.

A notification, issued by the Ministry of Interior on October 24, stated that the government had “reasonable grounds to believe that Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan is connected with and concerned in terrorism.”