The government's decision to once again ban Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) marks not just an administrative move but a decisive moral stance against the normalisation of violence in the name of religion. The immediate trigger came after the group's latest round of protests, culminating in the Muridke mayhem. The demonstration, which began ostensibly as a religious procession, quickly turned into an orchestrated assault on the state's authority. Vehicles were torched, police officers were killed, roads were blocked, and public order disintegrated.

This was not the first time the TLP tested the limits of state tolerance.

Since its emergence in 2015, the group has repeatedly exploited religious sentiments for political gain. Born out of the controversy surrounding the execution of Mumtaz Qadri — the assassin of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer — the party presented itself as the custodian of faith. Initially drawing on the Barelvi school of thought, traditionally known for its emphasis on tolerance and spirituality, TLP instead adopted the very methods of aggression and coercion that it claimed to oppose. From Faizabad in 2017 to Lahore in 2021 and now Muridke in 2025, each protest has followed the same pattern: a religious slogan igniting a street battle, paralysing governance and coercing concessions from the state.

In any democracy, protest is a legitimate instrument of political........

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