Aaj Logo

Updated 04 Dec, 2021 02:02pm

In aftermath of Sialkot lynching, social media users calls for ban on TLP

Following the brutal torture and murder of Sri Lankan factory manager Priyantha Kumara in Sialkot on Friday, Pakistanis took to Twitter to condemn the gristly attack, ask questions of the government and also called on a ban on extremist parties.

Of equal interest, information minister on Saturday tweeted about a ticking time bomb that may destroy society if it's not diffused.

Earlier, the minister had said the government did not have willpower to fight extremism, a comment that National Security Adviser Mooed Yusuf took strong exception to.

Chaudhry previously called a TLP supporter destroying a statue of Ranjit Singh in Lahore as "shameful" and called the group "dangerous for Pakistan's image in the world."

However, the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf government is in the dock again, at least on social media, for its lax response to the threat posed by TLP.

While its leadership has distanced itself from the Sialkot incident, it has not condemned it.

The lynching has been condemned by almost all political and religious groups as well as activists from civil liberty groups but social media users are calling for a ban on extremist groups and two trends on Saturday name the TLP group as terrorists.

The image of a man taking a selfie against the backdrop of the horrific violence seen on Sialkot has particularly shaken people.

There's a lot of visible anger on Twitter towards TLP leader Saad Rizvi who was recently released as part of a negotiation with the government, details of which have not yet been made public.

One user didn't think calls for capital punishment wasn't a solution to the problem of extremism in the country.

Another user asked what could be expected if the country chose to invest in producing a certain type of leaders instead of investing in science and technology -- a reference perhaps to the dominance of Indian leadership in global companies.

The anger about how the Sialkot incident has itself defamed Islam's message of peace was equally visible on Twitter.

Of equal import was people, like this user below, asking questions about the state's role in negotiating with such extremist groups and the price society has to pay for such deals.

Read Comments