Pakistan’s religious extremists are holding the government to ransom
WITHIN AN HOUR of hearing about the arrest of the leader of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a group that agitates against perceived insults to Islam, Rajab Ali had left his ironmonger’s shop in Rawalpindi’s China Market and joined thousands of protesters to denounce Imran Khan’s government. Mr Ali may have voted for the prime minister three years ago, but the TLP’s mission to defend the honour of the Prophet Muhammad trumped party loyalty. The TLP was calling for the French ambassador to be expelled for the repeated publication in his country of cartoons of the Prophet; Mr Khan was wrong to try to silence its righteous demands. “We came out onto the streets because we are Muslims,” explains Mr Ali.Listen to this storyYour browser does not support the element.Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or Android.Since the arrest of the TLP’s leader, Hafiz Saad Rizvi, on April 12th, at least four policemen and an unknown number of protesters have been killed in riots, with hundreds more hurt. Main roads have been closed and shops shut. The French government has urged its citizens to leave the country. Mr Khan at first vowed not to be blackmailed by violence, but has since given in to several of the TLP’s demands.The former cricketer’s showdown with a movement notorious for holding the government to ransom has been brewing for months. The TLP has in just a few years become one of Pakistan’s most powerful lobbies. It was created to stop reform of the country’s strict blasphemy laws after the trial of Asia Bibi, a Christian farmworker whose wrongful conviction caused an international outcry. The TLP has since used its defence of blasphemy laws as a rallying cry. It led huge demonstrations on behalf of a bodyguard who shot dead the governor of Punjab province, after he called for their reform. Some reckon its agitations are helping to radicalise Pakistan’s Muslims.Support for the TLP swelled last year when Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, defended the publication of cartoons that crudely caricatured the Prophet Muhammad. Mr Khan’s condemnation of Mr Macron failed to appease the extremists, who started nationwide protests demanding a suspension of diplomatic ties and a ban on French goods. As protesters laid siege to the capital, Islamabad, the government seemed to cave in, with a promise to seek parliament’s approval to kick out the French envoy. Mr Rizvi was threatening a new wave of unrest to force Mr Khan to keep his word when he was arrested.Riots ensued. Mr Khan then banned the party under anti-terrorism laws. “No one can be above the law and the constitution,” declared Mr Khan on April 17th. Yet hours later, while the government negotiated for the release of policemen taken hostage, the interior minister said parliament would debate the diplomat’s expulsion after all.The concession is the latest of many. For decades the state has fostered the radical ideology that spawned groups like the TLP, then mobilised them as political weapons. When TLP crowds brought Islamabad to a standstill in 2017 in protest against changes to an oath made by MPs, a senior military man was filmed handing them envelopes of money. It is little surprise that, when confronted by religious radicals, the authorities struggle to face them down.Mr Khan’s party claims that there has been no climbdown. Mr Rizvi remains in custody. Yet in China Market traders had no doubt who had blinked first. “The government has made the TLP heroes,” says Shoaib Mansoor in his electronics shop. “Because of this they have got stronger.” ■This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “A government held to ransom”