'Holy warrior' Khadim Hussain Rizvi is dead. But his mass appeal lives on

The Pakistani establishment's need for convenient instruments like him hasn't disappeared. They will find another Rizvi

Pakistani cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi died suddenly in Lahore this Thursday. It found only a passing mention in the Indian media.

He was just 54, apparently in terrific health which glowed on his broad, imposingly bearded face. Nothing you’d see and hear of him in the videos of his fiery speeches at his dharna or siege of Islamabad just a couple of days earlier, would’ve suggested he’d drop dead.

Covid was widely stated as the cause of his death, although the certificate from the hospital clearly stated that it wasn’t mentioning any cause. They just declared him “dead on arrival”.