Helpless against Religious Rabble?
By Karamatullah K. Ghori
Toronto, Canada
Not for the first time in recent history of weak governance in Pakistan, the ultra-right religious rabble is ruling the street. And not for the first time, too, the government of the day is dealing with the challenge tentatively and with utter pusillanimity.
As these lines are being written, rowdy and violent partisans of the ultra-right and overly-obscurantist Tehreek -e- Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) have Pakistan’s major urban areas and cities, including the capital city of Islamabad, in their thrall. For the second day running, they have occupied city centers, blocked roads and highways and paralyzed Railway traffic across the country.
TLP’s slogan-raising and howling partisans are into the thick of their organized Dharnas (Sit-ins) because the government hasn’t, to date, complied with their weird demand to kick out the French Ambassador from Pakistan.
TLP seems to have extremely well-honed its practice of organizing its Dharnas at the drop of a hat, and march unhindered and unobstructed right into the heart of power in Islamabad.
They have been at this ludicrous game since their first, successful, march on Islamabad, in November 2017. Led by its then firebrand leader Khadim Hussain Rizvi, the TLP Dharna and virtual occupation of the city, had garnered not only a lot of publicity for it but had forced the then-government of Nawaz Sharif on its knees. The government had sued for peace, entered into an agreement with the rabbles and turned a still little-known religious faction into an all-Pakistan ultra-right religious movement. TLP and its leader, Khadim Rizvi, emerged out of that violent drama as principal guardians of namoos (dignity) of the Holy Prophet of Islam (PBUH) in Pakistan.
What was bizarre about that episode was that the rabble had complete immunity against any accountability of their protest that verged on organized violence. Not only that, but officers of Pakistan’s hallowed armed forces were seen distributing cash among the frenzied protesters. The agreement between the government and the protesters was guaranteed by the then head of ISI.
Emboldened by their initial success, TLP, returned to Islamabad a year later, in November 2018, to test the new PTI government of Imran Khan. That time the protest was against the apex court’s verdict in favor of Asia Bibi, the Christian woman wrongly accused of blasphemy. Much to the chagrin of IK’s then-blind supporters, their icon folded too against the ultra-right religious’ backlash. Another agreement in favor of the rabble followed, to further whet the appetite of the TLP to challenge the writ of the state at will.
They returned to Islamabad a third time, again in November, last year. Their show of strength was against alleged blasphemy of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) in France. They threatened the government and, not surprisingly, IK once again surrendered to their blackmail. Another agreement followed, in which the self-proclaimed architect of a ‘New Pakistan’ was found as weak and vacillating as those rulers of ‘old Pakistan’ who had long been in IK’s cross- hairs. He had no compunction in committing his government to kick out the French Ambassador from Pakistan in three months.
The ostensible casus belli of TLP is the IK government’s failure to live up to its pledge to initiate action to show the door to the French ambassador in Islamabad.
But there’s not only a different leader—as the founder of TLP, Khadim Rizvi died soon after his third victory in a row, and was succeeded by his young and fledgling son, Saad Rizvi barely out of his teens—calling the shots in TLP. The partisans responding to their young leader’s call to challenge Islamabad’s ramparts, are much more violent.
Saad Rizvi was arrested on April 13 and within hours of that his followers came out on the streets of Pakistan by tens of thousands. They are well armed, which isn’t surprising given the licentious nature of arms control in Pakistan. On top of it, they seem to have been quite well-trained in the use of fire-arms. The shooting carried out against police trying to control the situation had marks of precision; most policemen were shot in their shin. This may be a clue to India’s nefarious RAW having a hand in training these factions of TLP, besides arming them.
In the ensuing battles against Punjab Police, striving to control the violent mobs and open up blocked arteries of communication, as many as more than a hundred policemen, including some senior officers of Lahore and other major urban centers, have been injured, some quite severely.
At least one police constable was lynched mercilessly—a la RSS armed goons and terrorists in neighboring India of Modi—in Lahore’s part of Shahdra. He died, later, from severe chest wounds and head-injuries.
In the midst of such ongoing gory incidences of violence and terror, two disturbing videos have gone viral on social media, pointing the finger at our controversial ‘security and intelligence’ apparatus having a soft corner for the religious rabble.
One of the videos showed an army truck, full of soldiers, passing through a crowded street in control of the rabble. Some soldiers, on board the truck, could be seen lending their voices to the slogans being raised by the frenzied mob.
In the other video, a uniformed officer of the Rangers could be seen pleading with the violent protesters to move to the other side of the road and clear a track for traffic to go through. He could be heard assuring the rabble that he sympathized with their demands.
Before the TLP leader was incarcerated, IK, himself, announced that his government will be taking the issue of French ambassador’s expulsion to the National Assembly to cogitate and take a decision.
It’s hard to believe that IK could be so naïve, about the implications of expelling the French ambassador from Pakistan. France is a major player in the international community. It has heft within the European Union and it also happens to be a permanent member of the UN Security Council. IK should know that Pakistan isn’t out of the woods, yet, with FATF. Last February, at its meeting in Paris, FATF decided to keep Pakistan on its Grey List because Pakistan was found short on compliance in some sectors. Terrorism and its related issues have long dangled over Pakistan’s head, like the proverbial Sword of Damocles. It doesn’t take a foreign policy guru, or wizard, to comprehend the negative fallout on Pakistan of any rash move—or knee-jerk decision—on this tangled and sensitive question.
IK’s woes with his pol
(The author is a former ambassador and career diplomat)
itical opponents aren’t over yet, albeit the sham grouping of PDM is falling apart like a house of cards. But this domestic headache pales in comparison to the challenges gathering mass on the foreign relations’ front. The nettlesome Afghan imbroglio, on Pakistan’s door step, is just one of them.
It’s time IK realized that succumbing to crude ultra-right pressure would be tantamount to hara-kiri for Pakistan’s posture and persona in the international community. The need of the hour is to finally, and resolutely, call the bluff of the rabble-rousers, of all persuasions and stripes. Far too often, previous governments, as well as IK’s own, have bought time in dealing with these nihilistic groups, which has only whetted their appetite. They have become ever more daring and demanding in challenging the writ of the state. Giving them yet another long rope will be a fool’s errand.
The wakeup call has gone unheard and un-responded for far too long. IK should know that the luxury of postponing firm action is no longer an option for him. This challenge is as grave, and urgent, as combating the scourge of the Pandemic. The writ of the state should command respect on the streets of Pakistan.
