TLP ban

It was only a matter of time before the news of TLP being banned surfaced. The group's violent street demonstrations - most recently over Gaza - left several dead, besides paralysing major roads from Karachi to Islamabad. On Friday, the interior ministry formally proscribed the party under the Anti-Terrorism Act, citing "reasonable grounds" to believe that TLP was connected to terrorism.

The federal cabinet's unanimous approval of the ban, following a proposal from the Punjab government, may project firmness, but history cautions otherwise. This is not the first time the TLP has been outlawed. In 2021, the PTI government imposed a similar ban after violent protests, only to revoke it six months later once the group pledged to renounce violence - a promise that proved short-lived. Pakistan's political landscape is riddled with such precedents, and the state's short-term instinct to defuse unrest always seems to outweigh the long-term need to curb extremism. These cycles of prohibition and pardon expose the state's inability - or unwillingness - to decisively deal with extremist organisations that wield street power as political leverage. The latest ban thus raises more questions than it answers. What does the government hope to achieve this time? Is it a genuine attempt to draw a line, or merely an administrative reaction to an uncontrollable situation? Past experience suggests that once the dust settles, negotiations will resume, promises will be made, and the ban will quietly be undone.

The truth is, Pakistan's political establishment has never developed a coherent policy on dealing with hardline groups that blend extremist sentiment with street power. Each government - whether out of political expediency or fear of backlash - has chosen accommodation over confrontation. Therefore, only time will tell whether this latest prohibition will finally stick, or fade into yet another chapter of political compromise.