Thread by @basitresearcher

Following TTP’s solidarity with TLP, against the backdrop of govt’s decision to ban the latter, some people are wondering the logic behind this move. TTP and TLP are two rival Sunni sub-sects. TTP has been involved in attacks on Sufi shrines across Pak in collusion with LeJ. 1/n

This is the 2nd time TTP has reached out to TLP through a public statement. TTP also issued a eulogy on TLP founder Maulana Khadim Hussain Rizvi’s demise.

a) The issue if Namoos-e-Risalat cuts across sectarian lines. 2/n

Following Salman Tasser's murder by Mumtaz Qadri, AQ's Punjab chapter assassinated then Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti to exploit the blasphemy issue and cash in on public sentiment to increase its legitimacy and attract fresh recruitments. 3/n

b) Namoos-e-Risalat has wider resonance in the public & the masses have deep religious and sentimental attachment with this issue. TTP is trying to exploit those sentiments to make inroads into Punjab and discredit the state by portraying it as weak on such sensitive issues. 4/n

c) The more obvious explanation of TTP's pro-TLP statements is the former's assumption that the latter is anti-state. There's merit in this assumption. However, the major difference is that TLP accepts Pak's constitution, practices democracy & accepts parliament, unlike TTP. 5/n

Even Jaish-e-Muhammad, a Deobandi militant group, has given more space to discussion on the Charlie Hebdo issue in its propaganda publications. Similar trends can be found in AQ and IS's publications. So this is the broader context in which TTP's statement should be situated. 6/n

This is a popular narrative TTP, like others, would like to exploit. However, this outreach is unlikely to materialize into anything meaningful. n/n