There is no denying that the PTI government has bungled the handling of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan as it continues to challenge the writ of the state at every stage of its march towards the capital. The delayed banning of the group is perhaps the most significant error that has been made as an earlier ban would have enabled the government to treat them as such early on rather than allowing them the space to regroup, plan and launch another violent attempt to get their demands met. What the government has shown excessive speed and reiteration in doing is directing all broadcast media to refrain from providing coverage to the TLP’s long march. This is in stark contrast to how the very first TLP sit-in, the Faizabad dharna, led by the late Maulana Khadim Hussain Rizvi, was given uninterrupted coverage across all TV channels. At the time, the PML(N) government was similarly struggling to find a nonviolent amicable solution to the confrontation, and had also directed the media regulator to restrict coverage. If evidence recently shared on Twitter by the PEMRA chairman at the time is to be believed, a concerted effort was made back then to ensure every channel was on air and reporting on the situation in the capital minute by minute. One only need to go over Mr Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s Faizabad sit-in judgment to deduce what variety of forces were directing that particular upheaval in the law and order situation of the country.
What was true back then is true now as well: the TLP’s message is not disseminated through print and electronic media, but rather through social media where the TLP is very active with various pages and handles with a sizable following. Putting coverage restrictions on conventional media or excessively airing the TLP’s activities are both therefore redundant exercises. The more rational approach would have been to timely ban the group for its extremist hate speech and acts of violence bordering on terrorism and then to approach the likes of Twitter and Facebook, demanding that their various accounts and pages be taken down. It seems unlikely that the government will take this route now as it is perhaps too late with the protesters already on the streets, advancing each day towards their final destination. No amount of media censorship will be effective now. One hopes the government is soon able to find some common ground with the TLP and establish the rule of law without any further loss of life.
