Daily Times

The day Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, was in Germany to hold talks with his counterpart on enhancing economic ties and present his country’s ambitious ‘geoeconomics’ agenda — something sinister occurred back home.

The entire state was held hostage in a matter of minutes when far-right extremist group TLP’s (Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan) leader Saad Rizvi was arrested without any countermeasures in place. In hindsight, it was obviously a blunder, especially since the state knew what kind of blowback was to be expected given the party’s recent record.

The TLP’s current standoff with the state dates back to the end of last year after alleged blasphemous cartoons that led to the beheading of a school teacher in France. The group has since vocally demanded the expulsion of the French envoy. Indeed, this proved a stumbling block for the government, despite its signing an unusual agreement for parliamentary legislation on the expulsion question back in January, which was deemed unnecessary in the first place. With all main highways choked out and parts of first tier cities resembling mini battlegrounds, the signalling was the worst of its kind for Pakistani diplomats who had worked round the clock to project the country as a tourist and investment hub for the whole world.

What prompted such a vicious group to mobilise so quickly? Short answer is social media and messaging applications such as Twitter and WhatsApp being misused. It was as if the group had battalions on standby for swift takeover of major streets which caused difficulties for not only commuters and critically ill patients but also for local law enforcement agencies who were initially helpless in countering the assault. Some of their officers were held hostage and even killed in the name of religion by TLP’s charged battalions. Reportedly, 580 police officers were injured and at least two killed in the violence that lasted for three days. Apart from this, over 2,200 TLP workers were arrested but the bigger question is for how long do the citizens of this country have to endure this senseless showdown under the garb of ‘religious sentiments’?

TLP has finally been banned by Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government and proscribed as a terrorist organisation. But this not enough

Is Islam so weak that it has to be ‘protected’ by mere mortals? Religion has always played a pivotal role in Pakistan’s chequered history yet its militarisation in recent decades has played havoc with the social fabric of the society. Notably, the state and its citizenry has been marred by inept educational policies and regional conflicts going back as far as the 1970s when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. This was not long after Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s embattled government appeased the clergy by taking steps that set the course of an unending darker path. As a counter factual theory, I always wondered if he had not publicly jeered at General Zia ul Haq on numerous occasions — would we be living in an alternative reality? Perhaps, yes but still intertwined with the Cold War’s outcome.

All major Pakistani political parties have used religion as a tool and weapon yet nobody thought about its ominous impact on the psyche of the masses. At least three generations have faced the brunt and some people who seem educated and look outwardly liberal also believe in the notion of ‘protecting Islam’.

Coming back to the state of affairs, TLP has finally been banned by Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government and proscribed as a terrorist organisation. But this not enough as tangible measures should be incorporated in preventing it from renaming itself and taking strict action against its core leadership and those involved in murderous spree.

However, this should have been done long ago when Khadim Rizvi was still alive, especially when his group indulged in severe violence back in October 2018 in a similar manner. PM Khan’s bold move to arrest him at the time should’ve sustained in the long run with intelligence agencies and institutions such as NACTA (National Counter Terrorism Authority) playing their part in containing TLP’s resurgence. Now is a time of renewed opportunity which should provide ample time to think over the mistakes and come up with a robust plan that outshines previous plans, such as NISP (National Internal Security Policy).

If Pakistan’s policymakers truly believe in cohesion and harmony then urgent steps are required to save future generations from the perils of weaponising religion. The recently proposed Single National Curriculum (SNC) requires broader reviews and a repeat of the past mustn’t take place; which had largely relied on rote learning or myopic takes on several taught subjects such as science and religious studies.

While it’s true that the steps taken by increasingly rightwing officials in France do not conform with the values of liberalism and are meant to push religious and ethnic minorities against the wall, it does not mean that ammunition in the form of media narrative be provided to such elements who can then ‘prove’ their own agenda as ‘truthful’. Similarly, when America witnessed its worst ever countrywide riots in June 2020 after George Floyd’s gruesome murder, racism was used as a weapon to delegitimise the BLM (Black Lives Matter) movement by white supremacists who were armed to the teeth.

Pakistan must learn from these events and come up with a better strategy to contain its own dark elements that are aligned with both internal and external groups that believe in nothing but chaos and anarchy.

As for the role of diplomats, the state must ensure that domestic policies are in line with the ambitions formulated under the Islamabad Security Dialogue. The shift from ‘geopolitics’ to ‘geoeconomics’ can only materialise when the house is in order which is a long and bumpy road ahead. A foreign policy based on interconnectivity, cultural exchange and trade cannot survive when untenable groups like TLP keep on hijacking the state through coercive measures.

The writer is Associate Editor (Diplomatic Affairs), Daily Times. He tweets @mhassankhan06