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 24th, 2014.
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Hats off to those protestors for their courage to convene. How come there is no representative from PML(N), PPP or PTI?
Cowards, lazy or accomplice?
Kudos for these protestors .. someone is finally willing to push away a keyboard and stand up and make a statement.