Rizvi did not create the hate, he merely exploited it and, in the process, made it even more virulentThe controversial firebrand chief of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), Khadim Hussain Rizvi, died on November 19, 2020. Unlike religious outfits like the Taliban, the TLP is less violent but, in some ways, more dangerous. Rizvi did not create the hate, he merely exploited it and, in the process, made it even more virulent, stripped off the political niceties. One of the weakest arguments I have heard against this sentiment is that Pakistanis do not vote for religious parties and are therefore ‘moderate’. Religious parties do not get a major chunk of the votes mainly because other parties also use the religion card while offering other incentives too, thereby leaving religious parties with not much to sell.

Source: The Express Tribune November 23, 2020 12:00 UTC