A video has been doing round on social media wherein Saad Rizvi, the leader of the hardline Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party, advises the Pakistan government to stop ‘begging’ in front of other countries and instead threaten them with a nuclear bomb and demand money.
“They are sending the prime minister (Shehbaz Sharif), his entire cabinet and chief of army staff to other countries to beg for economic aid… I ask why are they doing this? They said the Pakistani economy is in danger… Instead, I advise them to take Quran in one hand and the atom bomb suitcase in the other, and take the cabinet to Sweden, and say that we have come for the security of Quran. If this entire universe does not fall under your feet, then you can change my name,” Rizvi said in the viral video.
He stated in his address that there was no need for the government to undertake talks with nations because Pakistan could coerce them through threats.
During his speech, the TLP chief further lambasted the Pakistani government for going soft on the incident in which anti-immigrant politician Rasmus Paludan burned a copy of the Quran in Stockholm, Sweden on January 21, 2023. Rizvi tore into the Pakistani government for failing to teach those who burnt the holy book a lesson.
According to media reports, the radical group’s leader made the controversial statement during a rally that was taken out by the TLP members in Lahore on January 27, 2023, to denounce the burning of a copy of the Quran in Sweden.
OpIndia had reported how amid a severe economic crisis, the TLP members had opted to take to the streets to protest the desecration of the religious Islamic text in Sweden. The video of the rally, which went viral on social media, showed several people perched atop a large trailer while hundreds more were on foot. Huge speakers were mounted on the truck, through which chants of ‘Al Jihad’ could be heard. A large police contingent was also seen forming a human chain to protect the protestors.
In his statement to the demonstrators on Friday (January 27), TLP leader Saad Rizvi urged the government to lodge a strong protest with Sweden and the Netherlands to ensure that such occurrences are not repeated again.
Tehreek-e-Labbaik, the once-banned Islamic extremist political party in Pakistan
Notably, the Islamic extremist political party in Pakistan named Tehreek-e-Labbaik has been involved in various violent protests in the recent past. In fact, last year, the Pakistani radical organization had made plans to kill former BJP leader Nupur Sharma for making ‘derogatory’ statements about Prophet Muhammad.
The Islamic organisation had in 2021, organised violent protests in France and elsewhere around the world in response to cartoons of Prophet Mohammad published by the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. The outfit had then demanded the expulsion of France’s ambassador and the release of their leader. While protesting against the Charlie Hebdo cartoon in Lahore, the members of TLP opened fire on the cops leaving at least four Pakistani policemen dead.
This particular radical outfit was banned until November 2021, when former Prime Minister Imran Khan succumbed to the pressure of radical Islamists and gave his permission to lift the ban on the extremist group Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). As a result, the organization was withdrawn from the Fourth Schedule which is the official terrorist watch list of Pakistan.
Notably, the TTP has now established itself as an indisputable power in Pakistan’s political scene. The extremist organisation even formed a parallel government in the country earlier this month.