The Pakistan government signed an agreement with the banned Islamist group TLP  to end the violent agitation that stretched for almost ten days and cost the lives of seven policemen even as protestors threatened to storm the capital Islamabad. Significantly, the details of the agreement have not been made public. 

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi held a press conference Sunday with Mufti Muneebur Rahman, the representative of the TLP, to announce that both sides had reached a mutually acceptable understanding to end the deadlock.  The Tehreek-e-Labbiak Pakistan (TLP), a hardline Islamist group,  announced the long march to Islamabad from Lahore on 22 October. Thousands of protesters took streets and clashed with security officers en route, resulting in the death of seven policemen and leaving hundreds injured.

The group demanded the expulsion of France’s envoy to Pakistan over the publication of caricatures of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad in France and the release of its jailed leader Saad Rizvi. “Details and positive results of the agreement will come before the nation in a week or so,” a representative of the group was quoted as saying by Dawn. 

Protesters have already started dismantling their tents erected on the outskirt of the capital Islamabad. 

Despite the government’s hardened stance towards the group, the authorities were forced to come to an agreement with the TLP, which was banned as the militant group early this year following a similar violent protest. 

The TLP started demanding the expulsion of French envoy in October 2020 after French President Emmanuel Macron tried to defend caricatures of Prophet Muhammad as freedom of expression.

Rizvi’s party gained prominence in Pakistan’s 2018 elections, campaigning on the single issue of defending the country’s blasphemy law, which calls for the death penalty for anyone who insults Islam.

The TLP gained prominence in 2018 when it registered as a political party to contest elections. Campaigning solely on the promise to protect the country’s blasphemous laws, the group got little electoral success but became influential because of its street power. 

Last year many experts had warned the government against entering into any agreement with the group, arguing it would ultimately legitimize their demands and empower their narrative. The warning proved prophetic: the group today wields more power and challenges the state authority on the streets. 

With the latest deal, which shows that the government succumbed under the pressure of the TLP, the Islamist group is destined to grow in its stature and influence in the country. It also exposed the authorities’ weakness, showing its limitation of containing these radical groups that are becoming increasingly powerful. 

(SAM)