As Pakistan recovers from the harrowing Sialkot incident, the country is looking into the root causes of extremism in Pakistan. Many claim it is due to the PTI government making deals with extremist parties like TTP and TLP.
Earlier, an angry mob accused a Sri Lankan factory manager of blasphemy in Sialkot and beat him to death. Later, they burned his body.
Important to note, social media users linked TLP with the Sialkot incident. However, the group distanced itself from the lynching and condemned it.
Read more: PM Khan to spare no one in Sialkot disaster
Regarding this, PTI Senator and lawmaker Ejaz Chaudhry is currently receiving mass criticism for congratulating TLP leader Saad Rizvi on his release prior to the incident.
Senator Ejaz met TLP chief Rizvi last month as a “gesture of goodwill” and to congratulate him on his release from jail. Pictures of Ejaz hugging and presenting a bouquet to Rizvi were widely shared on social media.
When a Senator Ejaz Chaudhry met with TLP Cheif, it has all the consent from Imran khan and depicted PTI culture. pic.twitter.com/p4by08RxU5
— Khaleek kohistani (@KhalekKohistani) December 6, 2021
The meeting came after the TLP and the federal government reached an agreement after many rounds of talks and two weeks of clashes which left seven policemen and a number of TLP workers dead.
However, Monday, while talking to the media, Ejaz Chaudhry defended his decision to meet with the TLP Chief. According to Ejaz Chaudhry, only dialogue and talks can bring desired solutions.
Furthermore, he said that policemen died due to working for 24 hours. As a result, they were unable to deal with the TLP crowd.
Interestingly, Ejaz Chaudhry also revealed that he went to meet Saad Rizvi on his own and not on PM Khan’s orders.
Fawad Chaudhry criticizes Senator Ejaz
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry criticized Senator Ejaz. While talking to a private media channel in the aftermath of the Sialkot incident, Fawad Chaudhry termed the meeting as “vulgar.”
He also questioned why didn’t Ejaz Chaudhry visit the families of the martyred policemen?
“I think the manner in which Ejaz Chaudhry sahib [met] the TLP [leadership] was an absurd act. Why didn’t [he] visit the homes of the policemen who were martyred?” the Minister said.
Reacting to the strong statements, Ejaz Chaudhry said Fawad Chaudhry used inappropriate words and such language will spread more extremism.