Pakistan’s monster turns on its master: TLP now the new TTP for the establishment

New Delhi, Oct 13 First Lahore and now Muridke, the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) has become a new headache for the Pakistan establishment following violent clashes in which scores have died.

The TLP has had violent clashes with the Pakistan security establishment over the last week.

Last week, Lahore witnessed violent clashes between the TLP members and the security establishment in Pakistan. On Sunday, the security establishment clashed with TLP leaders in Muridke, in which 13 persons lost their lives.

What has left officials in India confused is the clashes that are taking place between the TLP and the Pakistan security establishment.

The TLP was a proxy of the Pakistan Army, and no one would have expected that it would turn against the establishment.

While the TLP has towed the ISI’s line for long, the outfit today has become aggressive as it tries to push a radical Islamist agenda. The TLP has been pushing for the imposition of Sharia law in Pakistan.

For the Pakistan establishment, the fallout with the TLP took place when a march was planned to the US Embassy in Pakistan to protest the killings in Gaza.

The army did not want to be caught in the wrong position, especially when it came to the United States and hence cracked down heavily on its proxy.

The TLP has had a history of challenging civilian governments. The soft handling of such protests against the democratically elected governments in Pakistan only showed that the army used the TLP for political leverage.

Indian officials say that when the army was unhappy with a democratically elected government in Pakistan and sought its ouster, it always used the TLP to do its job.

While the Pakistan Army and the ISI created the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad to further their battle in Jammu and Kashmir, the TLP was meant as its instrument for domestic politics.

If the army sought to take down a government, it realised that it could not use its own officials to do so, as it felt that getting directly involved in the ouster of a government would bring it disrepute in the international community. Hence, it decided to create the TLP and used it as a proxy to stage large-scale protests so that the government would collapse.

The TLP was also used in the protests against the Imran Khan government.

Once such a protest takes place, there are bound to be clashes, and this could be used as an excuse to topple the government.

In 2017, the TLP launched massive protests against the then-Nawaz Sharif government. The army was quick to grab this opportunity to play saviour. Not exactly happy with the functioning of Sharif, as it felt that he had not towed their line, the army, hence, asked the TLP to launch a massive protest against his government.

Once the protests broke out, Sharif was on the back foot. This is when the army stepped in for a negotiation, following which Sharif towed the army’s line.

The TLP, which has always stepped in to support the army, today has turned against it. It is not happy with the situation in Gaza, nor with the growing proximity between Pakistan and the US. The outfit feels that Pakistan should not be supporting the US when it comes to the situation in Gaza.

This became the flash point, and the TLP, which once shared cosy relations with the army, decided to turn against it.

Analysts say that the TLP has become another Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP). The TTP, which was once created by the Pakistan Army, has become its biggest nemesis today. While the TLP is not an armed outfit like the Lashkar or the Jaish, this, however, does not mean that the Pakistan establishment can take this outfit lightly.

Looking at the way in which events are shaping out, Pakistan has another monster like the TTP to deal with.

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