Pakistan government accepted the demands by Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLY) in order to end the Faizabad sit-in

The government on November 27 gave in to the demands of Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLY) in order to end the Faizabad sit-in.

The agreement document — bearing signatures of Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, TLY chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi, and Maj Gen Faiz Hameed, among others — lists the following demands put forward by TLY:

1. Remove Federal Law Minister Zahid Hamid from his position immediately. "Tehreek-i-Labaik will issue no fatwa [religious decree] of any kind against him."
2. The report prepared by Raja Zafarul Haq-led committee will be made public within 30 days and whoever is named in the report for being responsible for the change in the election oath will be acted against under the law.
3. All protesters arrested between November 6 until the end of the sit-in from across the country will be released within one to three days according to legal requirements. The cases registered against them and the house arrests imposed on them will be ended.
4. An inquiry board will be established to probe and decide what action to take against the government and administration officials over the operation conducted by security forces against protesters on Saturday, November 25. The inquiry should be completed within 30 days and action will be taken against those found responsible.
5. The federal and provincial governments will determine and compensate for the loss of government and private assets incurred from November 6 until the end of the sit-in.
6. The points already agreed to concerning the Government of Punjab will be fully implemented.

The document ends by crediting Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and his representative team for their "special efforts" that led to the agreement being signed.

"We are thankful to him [Gen Bajwa] for saving the nation from a big catastrophe," the document concludes.

The agreement was also produced before the Islamabad High Court on November 27. Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, raising a number of "alarming objections", asked the government to satisfy the court on the "role of armed forces as an arbitrator" in the agreement with the protesters.

According to Rizvi, in addition to the demands mentioned on the document, the following conditions of TLY have also been accepted by the government:

1. A board of clerics led by Pir Muhammad Afzal Qadri will be set up to probe remarks made by Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah against the persecution of Ahmedis. Sanaullah will have to accept the decision made by the board.
2. No difficulty will be faced in registering cases under clause 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (blasphemy law).
3. No leniency will be given to those convicted by courts for blasphemy.
4. No ban will be imposed on the use of loudspeakers.
5. The foreign and interior ministries will take steps for the release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui after taking her mother and sister in confidence.
6. The holiday of Iqbal Day on November 9 will be revived.
7. Two representatives of Tehreek-i-Labaik will be included in the panel assigned to decide changes in the textbook board. The officials will push for inclusion of translation of the Holy Quran and chapters about Seerat-un-Nabi (PBUH) and Muslim leaders.
8. The chehlum of martyrs will be held on January 4 at Rawalpindi's Liaquat Bagh.
9. Every year, November 25 will be observed as "Martyrs of Prophet's honour day".

Pakistan on the way towards anarchy

The deal negotiated between the state, both civilian and military facets of it, and the Faizabad protesters is a devastating blow to the legitimacy and moral standing of the government and all state institutions.

Whether a decision made out of desperation or fear, the upshot is that the state has accepted that mobs and zealots have a right to issue religious edicts that can endanger lives and upend public order.

Something profound changed in the country yesterday and the reverberations will be felt for a long time. How has such catastrophe befallen Pakistan? Devastating incompetence and craven leadership by three sets of actors appear to be the reason.

Finally, the military leadership of Pakistan appears to have to let rancour towards the government in an ongoing power struggle affect its role in bringing this phase of the crisis to an end.

The Pakistan government has been humiliated and the military leadership has further improved its standing with sections of the public for helping end the protests — but at what cost to the country and its people?