“This religiosity is not the standard by which true men of God are measured. In all the rituals that Islam has, deeply embedded in those rituals are principles of truth. And, sometimes, we get lost in the religiosity. We get lost in the symbol, but we miss the substance of the truth that is buried in the ritual.”
–Louis Farrakhan
The purported TLP march on the capital is the latest manifestation of the malady of religiosity that runs deep in the society. An even more worrisome factor is that nothing by way of serious introspection or initiating effective measures for long-term elimination of this threat have been formalised so far. There is an urgent need for evaluating various dynamics which have brought things to this violent path.
Nothing in the conduct of these hooligans will promote their stated cause. On the contrary, their actions fall within the domain of committing arson and inflicting torture, even death upon innocent people who are engaged in performing their duties, or who accidentally happen to be present in the vicinity of the agitation. They are damaging public as well as private properties and ransacking everything that falls in their path. Their demands are ludicrous and their tactics brutal and condemnable.
By negotiating with the TLP repeatedly, we have given strength and legitimacy to this militant organisation. This process must be discontinued forthwith not just for the TLP, but all other similar militant organisations even if they may be apparently supportive of the government. These are hydras which can take their fangs out without a warning. This threat must be culled. Now is not the time to negotiate. Now is the time to incapacitate them fully by resorting to all means the state may have at its disposal. We should not feed the people who will come round to bite the state
This is not the first time the TLP and others of the ilk have taken this course. They have blocked the twin cities six times in the past. Unfortunately, each time, they were allowed to get away with impunity for their grave criminal transgressions. That reflected a weakness on the part of the state which these militants repeatedly exploited in their assaults on Islamabad. If this approach does not change, it would not be the last time they come with their regressive battalions to hold the federal capital hostage.
While there are serious internal ramifications not limited to encouraging other criminal bands to indulge in unwarranted agitation, it is the external consequences which can create serious problems for the country whose impact will be a factor in the state’s interactions with the world in the future. It is to this end that there is a dire need for clarity and resolve to eliminate this scourge from becoming a potent threat for the security of the country and for its continued engagement with the comity of nations.
In its 35th meeting in Islamabad, the National Security Committee (NSC) stressed that “no group or entity will be allowed to cause public disruption, or use violence to exert pressure on the government”. Taking serious note of the unprovoked violent attacks by TLP members, the NSC resolved “not to tolerate any further breach of law by the proscribed group”.
NSC members were unanimous that the “TLP was deliberately employing violence against public property, state officials and ordinary citizens to create instability in the country and that this shall not be tolerated. All organs of the state stood ready to act as per the law to protect the life and property of citizens.”
Most importantly, NSC members decried TLP’s misuse of religion and the issue of Namoos-e-Risalat for political gains which was misleading the common man and creating internal discord within the society. “The TLP’s violence had ended up furthering the agenda of sectarian elements and external enemies of the state”. It was also stated that the “TLP had adopted the ploy of violent street agitation on numerous occasions since 2017 and made unrealistic demands each time solely as a tool to gain political strength. In the process, TLP’s actions have caused public disorder, serious economic losses to the country besides boosting the morale of other terrorist outfits seeking to challenge the state’s writ”.
This is as serious a charge sheet as one can be. It also limits the options the government is left with in eliminating this veritable threat to state security. When the TLP had indulged in public violence last time, the state had proscribed it with intention to having it delisted by the ECP as a political party. An organisation with such persistently violent track record does not deserve to be talked to. This militant organisation is a potent threat and must be handled with the full might and writ of the state. This course of action flows from the resolve expressed by the NSC in its meeting and must be followed through to its logical conclusion.
This is also an occasion for deliberating the role generally played by the religious organisations in Pakistan’s politics and the manner they have tried to inject violence in this stream. Most of these parties were opposed to the creation of Pakistan, but later tried to make profit by using their religiously exploitative methods and tools. In the process, they injected the germs of religiosity across the societal fabric and used the seminaries to indoctrinate impressionable minds to promote their sordid cause. The National Action Plan (NAP) had resolved to regulate these seminaries and stop the practice of creating regressive minds with no faculty to think beyond the myopic and sickening agendas of these religious parties. I believe that there is still a lot of work left to be done in this regard which is the principal source of creating extremism in the society and must be tackled without any loss of time.
Soft-pedalling is not the option that the state has under the existing circumstances as the germs of radicalism are spreading at a rapid pace which can create existential problems in the future. It would only be construed as a manifestation of weakness. I strongly believe that the time for a serious re-evaluation of the entire religiosity factor has actually come. A serious debate on the issue should be initiated and input sought from various stakeholders regarding formulating a mechanism to cure the malady. The course of granting space to these militant outfits in the past was criminally compromised. It has divided the society among indoctrinated groups which are on a conflict course with one another as also with the state.
In a recent piece, Lt Gen (R) Tariq Khan has made an impassioned plea for not negotiating with these militant organisations. Recalling the operation against the TTP, he says: “I know how difficult it was to motivate men to undertake that conflict and save Pakistan then. I can say this with authority and qualification that now there is no narrative foreseeable that can be proffered to this army if we go into such a conflict again”. When everything is compromised, even forgotten, “who should the soldiers and officers fight for and what should they fight for, preserve what integrity, honour and freedom?” These are grave queries, indeed, which deserve consideration in all their ramifications. This comes from a person with hands-on experience of leading a war against militants who had laid siege t6 large tracts of Pakistani territory and were threatening its very existence. These words need to be taken seriously.
By negotiating with the TLP repeatedly, we have given strength and legitimacy to this militant organisation. This process must be discontinued forthwith not just for the TLP, but all other similar militant organisations even if they may be apparently supportive of the government. These are hydras which can take their fangs out without a warning. This threat must be culled. Now is not the time to negotiate. Now is the time to incapacitate them fully by resorting to all means the state may have at its disposal. We should not feed the people who will come round to bite the state.
The NSC also resolved “not to allow the TLP challenge the writ of the state in any way…and not offer any leniency for any crimes committed by its operatives”. The state has a legitimate basis to proceed further from here in incapacitating this threat urgently and then moving on to fully regulating seminaries which indoctrinate militancy and violence. Administering aspirins will not do any longer. The sources of this malaise will have to be tackled and eliminated. The deepening tentacles of religiosity must be uprooted. Nothing less will do.
