Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 06:51am on 15 Oct 2025,Wednesday International
Pakistan's military crackdown on Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) protesters resembles its 2007 Lal Masjid incident, raising fears of renewed violence. Armored vehicles dispersed crowds marching toward Islamabad, killing dozens. TLP chief Saad Hussain Rizvi was shot and wounded on October 14. Field Marshal Asim Munir's "hard state" approach contrasts predecessor General Bajwa's diplomacy. The 2007 Lal Masjid operation killed over 1,000 civilians, spawning Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan insurgency that claimed 70,000 lives. Pakistan faces simultaneous challenges: hostile India post-Operation Sindoor, angry Afghan Taliban, insurgencies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan, and economic crisis requiring $7-billion IMF support. TLP, Pakistan's fourth-largest party, protests Gaza situation while Munir courts US relations.
