State writ marginalised again
In Pakistan, state writ remains no more a Shajar-e-Mamnuu rather, it could easily be flirted with and get scot-free.
In not so distant past, it was MQM which kept the state writ hostage painfully for long. In the very recent past, it was TTP which kept it in throes. Now it is TLP which takes it on a ride frequently.
Nothing happens accidentally and so as this ugly phenomena. Its calamitous rise was of our own handiwork and as a nation we could not absolve ourselves for the messy consequences, which have infested our polity; extremism, radicalization, bigotry and terrorism.
We have nurtured a huge propensity to remain complacent until a problem comes to the head with its full grim implications. We allowed terrorism to enter our homes, let it sit in our living rooms.
We only came out of the slumber when it started asking to do the chores, extremely detrimental to our existence.
Political expediency is our preferred occupation for want of even transient gains at the altar of chronic and lingering pains.
We have people of dubious credentials who remain ever ready to serve as cat paws to foreign forces, inimical to our existence.
Amid such an environment, TLP surfaced and captured the spotlight for days when in Oct 2017, it squatted at important road junction; Faizabad Chowk on the lame pretext of Supreme Court’s judgment, acquitting a blasphemy female convict.
They kept Capital Islamabad paralyzed for a month before government concluded a “Mitipao” deal under capitulation, allowing them to move out triumphantly with state writ seriously jolted. They had enough takeaways to capitalize upon for their wild growth. A deal out of state weakness is a bane, not the boon.
It emboldens malefactors to expand their yield/influence. As expected, they ventured again in Oct 2019. The pretext was same but more explosive in ramifications as they directly set their sights on Supreme Court‘s judges/Army Chief obnoxiously and violent protest was across the country, however, due to deft handling, they dissipated.
Again we have developed another proclivity to relapse into comfort zone when a problem peters out regardless of its recurring lethal possibilities. It allows miscreants to reinvigorate themselves.
During the period, TLP recouped and tied up its loose ends before reverting to its violent protest in Apr 2021.
This time they found excuse in the French President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks on Islam and demanded expulsion of French ambassador from Pakistan.
Violence is monopoly of the state alone. Contrarily, instead TLP has exercised it flagrantly. Even it made several Police/Ranger officers hostage.
Consequently, government had to proscribe TLP, being a terror outfit, however, after a day, it succumbed and agreed to move a resolution for expulsion of French Ambassador and withdraw cases filed against its leadership and release its activists involved in violence for reasons best known to it only.
It was an incomprehensible U-turn and another serious punch to the writ of the state while exposing its vulnerability.
TLP just took six months to test its muscles again more gainfully.
A few days back, TLP assembled its hypnotic zealots near Lahore and darkly warned government to accept its demands or be ready to face its retribution in Islamabad.
Again the government chose appeasement to placate the TLP and released its 350 activists along with its amenability to accept their maximum possible demands but this time, their mood was of drawing full pound of flesh.
In callous disregard to the government’s conciliatory efforts, they started moving towards Islamabad.
At Sadhoke when Police tried to halt their march, its fanatic lackeys opened fire as terrorists do and martyred six policemen heartlessly.
Sadly, government waited this gory incident to shun its illusions and show its teeth to the outlaws, however, shortly, again dragged its feet and gave in abysmally, in a manner, unseen in our history.
An upbeat and a snob like cleric announced agreement between the government and TLP with government’s representative SMQ sitting off colour. It was a unique agreement whose details are still under wraps mysteriously.
Only revealed part is of implementation by the government at gunpoint. Earlier in discussion, Ministers were snubbed and muted.
Nothing is known exactly what TLP has to do on its part. It is true that a state is better placed to conciliate because of its inherent strength, however, as rule, even a pity out of fear is detrimental to the writ of the state.
Some of the met demands of TLP are of grave concern; unfreezing the accounts/assets of TLP, undoing its proscribed status and allowing it to function as a political party, condoning taking funding by India and virtually exonerating TLP from martyrdom of policemen.
It is a meek acquiesce and does not require extra intelligence to know that how far-reaching consequence it could entail.
It amounts to burry heads into sand in face of impending disaster. This is not the first time we are resorting to soft option. TTP was not as big monster as it turned out to be later.
We also concluded agreements with them. In case of TLP, another injurious dimension may be injected into our body politics; sectarianism in politics.
It could become a political representative of the Barelvi Sunni sect in 2023 elections. It is an onerous responsibility of a responsible government to nip the evil in the bud.
In our case, government has even failed to make TLP renounce use of violence publically in concrete terms. Whatever it has agreed to royally in this regard, could easily be flouted as a monster could do.
This was an extremely sensitive issue and would have seized the whole of the nation until it was straightened, however, our interest disappears when another issue comes on our radar regardless of its relative urgency/importance.
Sadly, at present, such a critical aspect of statecraft has almost receded into the background.
— The writer, a retired Lt Col, is a senior columnist based in Islamabad.
