Normalcy returned to the twin cities on Monday evening after a violent confrontation between law enforcement agencies and Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) protesters near Muridke. But the uneasy calm that followed the six-hour operation only underscores the deeper malaise at the heart of this recurring national crisis.
For years, the TLP has thrived on religious populism, transforming street agitation into a political weapon. Its rallies, often framed as moral crusades, routinely paralyse cities, intimidate citizens, and have too often descended into mob violence. Once again, the group’s so-called “solidarity march” for Gaza turned violent, leaving a police officer dead and several others — including civilians — injured. The tragedy is familiar: an extremist outfit weaponising religion, and a state that still lacks a sustainable strategy to counter it.
The Punjab police’s operation in Muridke may have been inevitable. Law enforcers cannot simply stand aside when protesters hurl petrol bombs and bullets. The state has a duty to protect lives and property. But such operations must always be the last resort — not the default response. Heavy-handed crackdowns may clear roads and restore order for a few days, but they do little to address the deeper ideological problem that fuels the TLP’s street power.
What Pakistan needs is not just stronger policing, but smarter policy. The answer lies in systematic deradicalisation — beginning with madrasah reforms, civic education, and community engagement. The young men who fill TLP rallies are often victims of ignorance and manipulation. They have been taught that outrage is faith, that violence is virtue. Reclaiming these minds will take patience, credible religious scholarship, and an educational system that inoculates against extremism rather than breeds it.
At the same time, the state must communicate clearly and transparently in moments of crisis. Confusion breeds fear. In the absence of official information, rumours about death tolls or the arrest of TLP chief Saad Rizvi can quickly spiral, igniting further unrest. A consistent and credible flow of information — grounded in verified facts — is as vital to national security as any police cordon or roadblock.
The events at Muridke are a grim reminder that Pakistan’s struggle with extremism is not a battle that can be won in the streets. It must be fought in the classroom, the pulpit, and the public square — wherever hearts and minds are shaped. Until the state invests in that long, difficult work, it will find itself returning, again and again, to the same crossroads of chaos and control.
