Chapter 3 continues…

The impetus to the role of religion in governance and politics in Pakistan came in 1956, when the first Constitution was adopted formally declaring Pakistan an Islamic state. Thus, Islamic fundamentalism began germinating in Pakistan quite early in its infancy.
The first formal effort to legitimize the mullahs (religions preachers) in the Pakistani power structure was made by the military dictator General Yahya Khan in 1970. He wanted to put on the defensive the secular parties such as the Bangla Awami League led by Sheikh Mujibur Rehman (in East Pakistan).

With army’s support, the religious parties even won 18 seats out of 300 seats in the National Assembly in the fateful 1970 elections.

The Army further drifted into a nexus with religious elements when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979. Madrassas mushroomed and Mujahideen such as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Burhanuddin Rabbani began to spearhead on the call of Islam, the resistance to the Soviet forces in Afghanistan. They enjoyed sanctuary in Pakistan, and radicalized the border states of Pakistan, the consequences of which have not yet unfolded in that fragile nation.

In the mid-1990s, the Taliban, with some encouragement from Benazir Bhutto as Prime Minister, came into being and developed roots in the army ranks and cantonments. The Army began to organize regular sermons by clerics including Mufti Saeed, Sufi Iqbal, and Tablighi Jamaat members. The officer cadres in the army soon began to show signs of sympathy for the Jihadis, to acquire legitimacy in their ranks as well as with the ISI.

To be continued…