Let the pushback commence

The fact that a few hundred ordinary men & women forced Abdul Aziz into an apology speaks of chinks in his armour

For too long, the Taliban, their supporters, sympathisers, fellow-travellers and apologists have had it their own way. They have dominated the media for years, perpetuating their narrative and strengthening their hold with negligible attempts to countervail their message, either by civil society or successive governments. The December 16 attack on the Army Public School, however, does finally seem to have struck a nerve in the wider populace willing to express a view other than that espoused by the extremists. From a tiny group protesting outside the Lal Masjid in Islamabad a week ago, there are now regular — though poorly covered by the TV channels — protests in Lahore and Karachi as well. Numbers are in the hundreds rather than the thousands, but these groups have found themselves a leader — perhaps more a catalyst and rallying point than leader — in the form of Jibran Nasir. A week ago, he was not that well known, today the foreign and some local media are keen to hear what he has to say.

This young man managed to get an FIR filed against the Lal Masjid cleric, Maulana Abdul Aziz, on December 19, which in itself is a landmark event. It appears that the Taliban have heard his voice as well, and are reported to have called his cell-phone warning him to back off or face the consequences.

Others who have attended protest gatherings have had threatening SMS messages, it is also reported. Support has been given to him by the European Union ambassador to Pakistan via Twitter, and the TTP have issued a blanket threat to the media at large saying that those who speak against them “will pay for it”. As the government ramps up the rhetoric against extremist elements, there is the beginnings of a pushback from the ordinary men and women of Pakistan, though thus far limited to large cities, with it being unlikely that a similar reaction will be seen in rural Pakistan. It is doubtful that the police would ever dare to arrest Abdul Aziz, but the mere fact that a few hundred forced him into an apology speaks of chinks in his armour. Go get him.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2014.

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