Pitiable patterns

This refers to the article ‘Wages of religiosity’ by Ghazi Salahuddin (October 31). The writer has well described the ugly drill which is repeated every now and then by the TLP and its followers.

Unfortunately, our leaders, and more so the present prime minister – who the writer has correctly described as a born-again Muslim – don’t take strict action against th0se who act in total disregard of religion and the constitution. And while some of these people take to the streets and cause mayhem, others stay on the sidelines, gloating over their victory. However, when they have caused enormous damage, and some possibility emerges of their punishment, powerful people, including well-known religious scholars, help the government successfully negotiate with the TLP. It is high time that such patterns were stopped as they cannot possibly be in national interest.

S R H Hashmi

Karachi