Leader of Tehrik-i- Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLY) has announced calling of the sit in at Faizabad Interchange paralyzing the Federal Capital Islamabad for about three weeks. The government agreed to accept the demands of TLY and with the resignation of Law Minister Zahid Hamid first demand has been fulfilled. The demands pertaining to make public Raja Zafar UL Haq Report, release of arrested protestors, constitution of enquiry board for the conduct of clearance operation and compensation for the loss of government and private properties shall be met later.
The people heaved a sigh of relief that at last the government showed prudence to end the sit in through negotiations and signing of agreement acceptable to both parties. If the demand for the removal of law minister was met before the protestors started their March from Lahore, the state writ would not have been eroded and loss of seven lives along with valuable government and private properties could have been avoided. Moreover, the image the country in the comity of nations could not have damaged. The coverage of the abortive clearance operation by the western medial brought a misnomer for the soft and moderate image of the country. The United States, UK and other western countries issued travel advisory, advising their nationals to avoid unnecessary journey of Pakistan.
The sit-in of TLY exposed this bitter fact that the leadership of ruling PML-N is either not inclined to resolve issues politically or is devoid of wisdom and sagacity to do so. That is why, Chief of Army Staff had to cut short his visit of United Arab Emirates and make a hasty return to the country to resolve the problem of Faizabad protest and its spillover effect. The credit goes to the military leadership for amicably resolving the issue which may have brought disorder and Chaos to the country. Ironically the Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal is shifting the buck of botched operation to Islamabad administration, whereas the district administration can not issue order for operation without he consent of competent authority which is Interior Minister. The PML-N leadership used to make scapegoats for their wrong doings. Model Town Tragedy and Dawn Leaks are the classic examples of their undemocratic and irrational behavior. It is time for soul-searching and running the affairs of the state in accordance with the established norms of democracy and shun dictatorial tendency in case the political elite sincerely want the nascent democracy to flourish and become strong and functional.
