Striking at Pakistan's Roots
By Syed Amir, PhD
Bethesda , MD
In the aftermath of the torture and murder of the highly respected journalist and TV commentator, Saleem Shahzad, one wonders who will dare to stand up or write against the Pakistani Taliban, ISI, or Al-Qaeda. Speculation in the press that ISI may be implicated in his kidnapping and murder is highly disturbing, making the murder especially egregious.
Shahzad is the latest to join the list of distinguished citizens that includes Governor Salman Taseer of Punjab, Federal Minister Shahbaz Bhatti and many others, whose lives were snuffed out by brutal killers as the state failed miserably to protect them. While it was hard to find an Imam to lead the funeral prayers for the slain Governor at Lahore, five-hundred lawyers, to their eternal shame, came out to applaud his killer.
The public has now become so inured to these atrocities that they evoke little or no outrage. While every other day, thousands come out on the streets in large cities to protest against trivial causes, paradoxically there are few mourners for innocent Pakistanis brutally assassinated by religious zealots. Living thousands of miles away from Pakistan, several oceans apart in the safety of the United States, it is hard to imagine how much courage or recklessness is required especially of a journalist, with a family to support, to take on vicious killers and terrorists who operate with impunity today in Pakistan. Meanwhile, the prime minister and the interior minister pretend that all is well and show little awareness of the failures of their administration.
The brazen attacks on the Mehran Navy base at Karachi in which two maritime aircraft were destroyed, and the security forces only after great trouble and loss of life were able to regain control, is very troubling. Similarly, the blatant assault on the seat of the Pakistani army, the GHQ, was humiliating. In most of these cases, the responsibility for the attacks was claimed by the Pakistan Taliban. It is inconceivable that these assaults could be mounted without the assistance of someone on the inside. Taliban usually announce with great pride their responsibility in causing mayhem and murder of their own fellow citizens in the name of their brand of Islam.
Why attacks on the organs of the state are so worrisome? Because they are not haphazard or random -- just the opposite. They are meticulously planned and aimed at the stability of the state and its institutions. The prime objective is to spread terror, destabilize the country leading to unraveling of the state institutions. The goal is to replace Pakistan's modern structure and constitution with a theocratic state, steeped in medieval mores, and based on their fantasy of an ideal Islamic form of Government of centuries past. The selective targeting of the defense forces is cleverly designed to demoralize the army, break its spirit and discipline. Such a breakdown is not unprecedented.
In Iran in the declining days of the Shah regime, the mighty army, its spirit broken by daily, unremitting demonstrations disintegrated and melted away in a relatively short time.
In the past, many Pakistanis looked to the army when the politicians messed up. Occasionally, the brass decided to take over the Government for no reason. In all such cases, the move was well organized, peaceful and well executed. We are not likely to see this kind of takeover again in the foreseeable future, since the army and intelligence agencies are now infected with extremist and militant religious elements.
Why has Pakistan alone among the Islamic countries become a hotbed of terrorism and Islamic militancy? It attracts notorious zealots and terrorists from all corners of the world who find the environment alluring and conducive to the implementation of their evil agenda. The indigenous terrorists, often described in the local press as miscreants, have taken strong roots in some sections of the country, especially southern Punjab. They are protected by a small but significant minority that sympathizes with their cause. Most Taliban are reported to be followers of the Deobandi school of religious thought. However, the Darul Uloom Deoband in India has opposed unequivocally all forms of terrorism and has condemned what the Taliban have been doing in Pakistan or Afghanistan. The Darul Uloom was founded in1866 to provide mostly religious education and to train Imams and religious scholars. Over a century, it has served that purpose very well.
Unlike many religious madras's in Pakistan that have been generating militant so-called Islamists, the mission of the Darul Uloom Deoband in India is being reevaluated to bring it in conformity with the needs of the time. Indian Muslims have been falling far behind their Hindu compatriots in higher education and economic status. While they have invested a great deal of resources in religious education, they have neglected secular education. Consequently, young Muslims are unable to compete with others for a significant share of India's booming economy. Earlier this year, the appointment of Mullah Ghulam Mohammed Vastanvi as rector of the Darul Uloom raised a firestorm; the well-entrenched conservative clerics did not approve it. The opposition stems primarily from his enlightened ideas to modernize the syllabus and to provide the students some vocational training, designed to equip them to make a decent living.
Mullah Vastanvi came to Deoband from the University at Akkalkuwa, Maharashtra State, with strong credentials as a successful reformer and administrator. He established a chain of religious schools, on modern lines, as well as hospitals and seminaries in Maharashtra. Furthermore, he has been remarkably successful in blending modern education with traditional religious training and wanted to duplicate his achievement at Darul Uloom Deoband. Whether Mullah Vastanvi eventually will be successful in his mission is yet to be seen. However, it is unlikely that a similar effort can be launched in Pakistan. In the present political climate, it is uncertain that someone like Vastanvi can even physically survive.
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