Reconfiguration of the South Asian Polities

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has introduced a constitutional amendment to create
a new Islamic order in Pakistan and to establish a whole legal system based on
the Quran. In an uncharacteristic haste, the measure has been carried through
a Standing Committee on Law and Parliamentary Affairs of the National Assembly
despite opposition from major political parties and minority communities.

In the "true Islamic welfare state" Mr. Sharif envisages, all laws would be
based exclusively on the Quran as well as the Sunnat, the sayings of Prophet
Mohammed. The federal government will be "obliged" to enforce prayers five
times a day, collect an annual tithings, and "to prescribe what is right and to
forbid what is wrong." Mr. Sharif has said that he "can no more sit idle
following rampant incidents of terrorism, lawlessness, injustice, corruption
and mismanagement" and has declared that the time has come to take action.

Mr. Sharif’s sudden realization of responsibility and new-found faith in
"Islam" is obviously an effort to placate the restive fundamentalist elements
in Pakistan, undermine his political opponents’ programs, and to safeguard his
own hold on political power. For instance, the right-wing Jamaat-i-Islami has
recently accused Mr. Sharif of rampant corruption and economic mismanagement.
Joining hands with the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the
National Awami Party, an erstwhile ally of Mr. Sharif, the Jamaat has attacked
the government for its mishandling of the economic crisis following the nuclear
tests.

Many Islamic fundamentalist outfits and organizations have demonstrated against
the government all over the country protesting against the recent US attack on
Afghanistan and Sudan, and the alleged role of the Sharif government in it. In
fact, Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, a pro-Taliban militant Islamic group in Pakistan, has
even declared ‘jihad’ against the US in retaliation for the air strikes on
Afghanistan and Sudan. The group has criticized Mr. Sharif that he has failed
to take a clear position on the strikes, and demanded that Pakistan cut off its
diplomatic ties with Washington D.C.

So if the going gets tough, the tough go "Islamizing." The Arains, small
farmers and tenants of the Punjab, are said to have utilized "Islam" in
emerging socially and economically prominent in independent Pakistan. General
Zia ul-Haq, an Arain, did exactly that to retain his power. Now comes Mr.
Sharif, another Punjabi, so keen on making Pakistan a welfare state and
uprooting all kinds of evils from the Pakistani society. There is also some
speculation in Pakistan that Mr. Sharif wants to transform himself into
"Amir-ul-Momineen" (leader of Muslims), a title used by the Taliban chief,
Mullah Omar.

Human rights activists, opposition politicians and constitutional experts have
rightly criticized that Mr. Sharif is abusing Islam to strengthen his own
authority. Asma Jehangir, a leading human rights activist in Pakistan, has put
it tersely: "In the name of Islam, Nawaz Sharif is trying to perpetuate a
fascist rule." Although Sharif has assured the minority communities, who make
up almost 5 per cent of the country's 140 million, and women that the new
Islamic laws would not infringe on their rights, their situation would be
rather precarious.

The so-called "Islamisation Initiative" is taking Pakistan as a hostage
jeopardizing the federal framework, democratic principles, and the interests of
women, and minorities. The greater danger, however, is the possible
Talibanization of Pakistan and the contamination of much of South Asia with
this ‘madmen disease.’ Consider some of the findings of Physicians for Human
Rights in their recent report entitled "The Taliban’s War on Women". Talibans
who believe in a strict version of "Islamic law" ordered in June the closing of
more than 100 privately funded schools and projects at which thousands of girls
and young women received training which would help them support themselves and
their families. Afghan women cannot go out without being covered from head to
toe or without a male chaperon. Windows of houses and buildings in public view
have to be painted over if there are women present in those buildings.
Ironically enough, Taliban’s cruel discriminatory policies that have an adverse
impact on the health, well-being, and economic survival of women are carried
out in the same name of Islam that rose to defend, among other things, the
interests of women of that time.

Deccan Herald, a reputed newspaper in India, reports that Syed Mahamoodullah, a
Taliban official, made a statement at a seminar held in Karachi that the
Taliban "will extend support to Kashmiris" which however will be "only in jihad
and not in political arena." He is said to have contended that jihad, being a
continuous process against anti-Islamic forces, could not stop at a certain
point of time and space within or beyond one’s border. In the meantime, the
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah has appealed to the people
of his state to be ready to face the Taliban threat. The chief minister’s
statement made recently at the State Assembly has come at a time when Indian
security forces are locked in a heavy fighting against militant groups that
include native Hizbul Mujahideen, and foreign militants such as Laskr-e-Tauba
and Tehrikul Mujahideen (Harkatul Ansar).

The drift toward Islamic conservatism and religious fanaticism in Pakistan and
Afghanistan will be savored by their ‘Hindu,’ ‘Buddhist,’ and ‘Islamic’
counterparts in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The so-called "Islamisation
Initiative" and the spreading Talibanization will surely lease a new life to
the religious orthodoxies and other backward elements in the entire region.
The ongoing reconfiguration of the South Asian polities with religious
fanaticism, political conservatism, and nuclear arsenal is rather
spine-chilling.