After terrorism, extremism

Pakistan faces the next existential challenge

The operation at Faizabad launched with extreme care had to be suspended and the army called in. The police cum Rangers operation was immediately followed by an outburst of protests in numerous cities of Punjab which are otherwise considered PML-N strongholds. The houses of two federal ministers were attacked as well. The government handled the sit-in peacefully, as advised by the COAS but soon the situation in several cities worsened. Thousands of fresh protestors joined the sit-in in Islamabad

During the last four years the government allowed the extremist sentiment to flourish by patronizing clerics with strong sectarian and misogynist tendencies and condoning attacks on religious minorities. Instead of nipping the evil in the bud it allowed the Tehreek Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYR) to proceed to Faizabad, set up a camp, spread its propaganda all over the country, employ foul  language about the judiciary and whosoever opposed the blockade that had made the lives of the commuters miserable for 18 days.  To maintain its  posture of religiosity, the government would still have hesitated if not forced to act under the court’s orders.

The widespread violence on Saturday  will have both internal and external ramifications.

Irresponsible politicians will exploit the situation to expand their vote bank at the expense of the PML-N in Punjab. Jamaat-e-Islami is already condemning the government for what it calls ‘complicating the situation by use of force’.  In case Nawaz Sharif is unable to meet the challenge he faces, Imran Khan would be the main beneficiary of the PML-N’s discomfiture.

The failure of the government to put an end to the siege of Islamabad for over two  weeks has projected the  image of an unstable Pakistan abroad. The Chinese have already expressed dismay over the situation. The recourse to violence by the TLYR activists in Islamabad, Karachi and a number of cities in Punjab will help those who are keen to  portray Pakistan  as a country plagued by religious intolerance and driven by a  streak of violence. Not a good image for a country possessing nuclear weapons.