Thread by @shemreznauman

Blowback & retaliation anticipated today (#Friday) for #PTIGovernment banning #TLP. Mosques & seminaries/madrassas continue to operate beyond #Pakistani state's authority & control. Large scale #protests by TLP supporters & sympathizers expected nationwide after #Jummah prayers.

Taking a leaf out of #France's book, #TLP supporters on #socialmedia are using the hashtag #IAmSaadHussainRizvi (#IamSaadHusaainRizvi - with a spelling mistake - is also trending).
It seems like decades ago, but does anyone else remember #JeSuisCharlie #IAmCharlieHebdo from 2015?

Not sure whether this is the 'official' account, but pretty sure this is how it starts...
#TLPProtest #TLP_PROTEST #TLPLive #TLPDharna #IAmSaadHussainRizvi
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https://twitter.com/SpokespersonTLP/status/1382936289213874176?s=19

With streets logjammed in protest & anarchy, a sputtering & dying #economy, an incompetent government running an inefficient & insensitive state, the last thing #Pakistanis needed was an ascendant #Taliban in #Afghanistan capitalizing on rising #religious #extremism in #Pakistan.

#PTIGovernment & #Pakistani leaders are sadly mistaken if they think that banning #TLP is going to solve any problems. It will only exacerbate social tensions & magnify religious + sectarian divisions. Expect greater sociopolitical unrest & extremist militancy in next 5-6 months.

What is the point in blocking #SocialMedia platforms? Just because #Pakistani #government can easily repress #FreedomOfSpeech?
Why doesn't #Pakistan work on addressing root causes of #religious #extremism & #intolerance that lead to violent militancy we see on our streets today?

I don't understand why banning #TLP or blocking social media websites & internet access is NOT like #TLPGoons calling anyone they disagree with a 'yahoodi'.
#Pakistani's MUST address societal intolerance & DEAL with #religious #extremism: STOP IGNORING IT!

https://twitter.com/basitresearcher/status/1382990014250770436?s=19

#Pakistan has enormous historical baggage when it comes to utter intolerance for difference & dissent, violent retaliation against perceived 'others', and #religious #extremism masquerading as "supremacy of #Islam".
The result? DEADLY ideological divisions

https://twitter.com/AmmarRashidT/status/1382168721813278722?s=19

Govt of #Pakistan has plethora of policy guidelines, frameworks & programs to combat #extremism: why have NONE succeeded in even denting legitimacy of religious movements led by ideologues?
Gross apathy from society AND implementation failures by state.
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https://twitter.com/shemreznauman/status/1382992234627354624?s=19

If #Pakistan really is serious about rescuing itself from the existential crisis it is mired in, #Pakistani #society at large - and apolitical ulema - must counter irrationality with reason & combat extremism with tolerance.
Otherwise prepare for strict "Sharia Law" à la #Taliban