When is an action a victory and a defeat at the same time? Perhaps there is no greater illustration of this than the government’s agreement with the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) that ended their dharna in Faizabad. While most residents of the twin cities will be happy that their ordeal has ended and normal life can resume, we must ask ourselves: at what cost?

At the outset, it must be noted that TLP’s protest against Israeli genocide is primarily motivated by personal political gain. When Israeli aggression was at its peak during the first few months of the conflict, when Pakistanis from all backgrounds united in the streets to show their displeasure, the TLP was absent. Only when those protests ended, when the conflict was at an ebb, did the religious group decide to stage its own protest at its favorite disruption spot. Once we realize the protest is self-serving, our reaction to the outcome changes. Undoubtedly, the assurances to send aid to Gaza and the commitment to host injured Palestinians are positive outcomes, but is it any different from what the government was already doing? Since the start, the government has been vocal in forums that mattered - such as the UN, the OIC, and SCO - these new “assurances” don’t change much.

Furthermore, the real cost is what the TLP has gained – legitimacy. A few weeks ago, TLP members murdered minorities and proudly declared they reserved the right to take the law into their own hands whenever they deemed fit. Now, instead of challenging this clear rejection of the writ of the state, the government sat down with these fundamentalists and negotiated a settlement that accepts their status and reinforces their power – without a word on the religious violence committed by them.

TLP’s malign presence is a blight that must be eliminated from the national ideology – not justified.