U-turn again

This refers to the news report ‘Talks with TLP moving in right direction: Sh Rashid’ (October 26). One believes that this is Shaikh Rashid’s way of justifying the government’s move. The government first jailed a few hundred ‘activists’ of the TLP, including its top leader, and accused the organisation of terrorism and disrupting the lives of citizen. The protest also led to the deaths of at least two policemen and left several others severely injured.

But then the government offered to free them all. While the government makes most of its crucial decisions out of parliament, it has agreed to discuss in parliament the demands made by the TLP regarding diplomatic relations with France, even as it has described these as impossible to meet. The government seems quite willing to slide back into a situation which, at its worst, cost Pakistan 70,000 Pakistanis lives and a $100 billion damage to infrastructure. This is simply unacceptable.

S R H Hashmi

Karachi