General Munir’s plan for hybrid regime could backfire

What happened to the Christians in Jaranwala (Faisalabad) is predicted to occur nationwide. In hushed tones around street corners and tea points, the educated Pakistani agrees that the state itself has become the larger-than-life manifestation of TLP (Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan) while slowly attacking its citizenry like the Jaranwala tragedy.

The disgraceful incident has exposed the deep-rooted fissure that runs in the country, revealing the telltale signs of the direction in which this country is possibly heading. The religious apartheid will run over any hope left for Pakistan.

The fated event is the reason one is bereft of hope, but it is the shameful stance of TLP supporters that would one day lead the nation to doom. The police and administration who are supposed to rescue the vulnerable minority were reportedly bystanders to the Churches being torched, the looting, the desecration of the Bibles, and Christians running to hideouts. In their defense, they “negotiated” with the mob.

The unity in which the whole set was played out is not the work of TLP alone. Every radical movement on such a large scale needs backing. The Clerics at the mosques instructing people to attack Christians, their homes and hearths, Churches, the delay in the arrival of police, the grapevine communication between neighborhoods in a matter of minutes, and the printing of the phone numbers, names, and addresses of targeted Christians, all was a conspiracy.

86 houses and 19 places of worship in Christian neighborhoods burnt in the allegations of blasphemy. The assailants not only set properties on fire but also looted belongings, jewelry, and cash from the houses. The father-son duo who were the victims of the blasphemy charges stated that this was a plotted conspiracy against them due to a financial dispute with local Muslims.

However, the police and authorities did not take any notice of this matter. Leaders from the Ahl-e-Sunnat and TLP groups made announcements from mosques and the rest is history repeating itself, as it has with other religious minority groups of Pakistan. Despite a Sunni Muslim majority country, the narrative they spread about Islam being in danger from a handful of minorities is ironic. At the same time, the residents of this Islamic country are indeed living in threat, but from their own kind. Surveys show a correlation between the increasing trend of the educated class, and the “good society”, leaving the country in the aftermath of religio-political disputes.

Following the recent attacks on Ahmadiyya mosques, one of which dated back to 118 years, clear involvement of the government is perceived by the people. Unsurprisingly, accompanying the TLP hardliners in the attack were 7 policemen who helped to demolish the domes and the minarets of the mosque, because Ahmadiyyas are “non-believers” and cannot worship in a structure that has the same design as a Sunni mosque. FIRs have been filed against Ahmadiyyas for carrying out ritual animal sacrifice on Eid, and even their animals have been confiscated!

This is the Naya (new) Pakistan, edging rapidly towards intolerance taking the help of extremist religious groups for political interests. Whether through strict laws against blasphemy, promoting religious extremism, boosting the military, or leading fanatic groups, the government has taken actions that only harm society, promote biases, and sustain a cycle of corruption and exploitation by weakening the unity and strength of the hardworking class.

Besides Christians and Ahmadiyyas, the Hindu, Shia, and Sikh communities of Sindh and Punjab faced similar situations. Attacks on Hindu places of worship, mass killings under the pretext of blasphemy accusations, forced conversions, all have intensified with the introduction of more stringent blasphemy laws. As recently as June 2023, many families have migrated from Sindh to India empty-handed to save their lives.

Most of the false information and baseless conspiracy theories behind accusations of blasphemy are fuelled by misinformation and misguided intentions. In its final days, the PDM government further amended the blasphemy laws, putting the Shia minority too at great risk than dissolving the situation, the government has always boosted the morale of perpetrators of violence.

Following the assassination of the former governor of Punjab Salman Taseer in 2011 by a policeman who was supposed to protect him, and the subsequent birth of a religious-political group named after him considering the past events backed by the state, it wouldn’t be wrong to assert that religious fanaticism has pervaded the very core of the state to an extent where the entire state appears to be TLP, in essence.

These tactics and psychological constructs used by the leadership have so deeply dominated this society that not only the entire society but also the state itself has become a hostage. In fear no one one can raise their voice.

Incapable of solving issues like employment, education, health, housing, and infrastructure, the government has pushed the society into a blind panic with no way out of the system’s confines.

Trust and confidence in both politics and the state have eroded. TLP is a feted celebrity and the fourth most popular political party in Pakistan within 8 years of its inception. That information is enough to conclude that TLP is sponsored by the Pakistani state and Jaranwala tragedy is going to be the new normal.

thepakmilitarymonitor.com