The first question which needs asking is, will the policy of deploying numbardars for information work, since these officials are integrated into their societies, which means that they will be under greater threat of any repercussion if seen as providing information to the government? Why pretend that the government does not have information about the nefarious activities of militants in the society? The local police in Punjab and Sindh, where militancy is growing at a steady pace, are usually aware of the activities of people. The problem occurs when the police get orders from their bosses not to interfere with members of militant groups, and militants are then rescued by intelligence agencies. For instance, the report presented to the Punjab government talks about eight critical madrassas in Bahawalpur, Multan and Lodhran. Interestingly, most of these madrassas are those that have support from state agencies. Over the years, banned outfits have been, in fact, encouraged or not stopped from taking over Barelvi madrassas. In mafia style, there is turf warfare going on in almost every district with the Deobandi militant groups fighting for control over Barelvi seminaries. Some madrassas mentioned in these reports have expanded their operations to include indoctrination of women as well. And all of this happens in full view of the police and intelligence apparatus of the state. Over the past decade or so, its almost been a fad to allow construction of madrassas at the entry and exit of all major cities, town and communication arteries.
The sad part is that for years the police of the area was forced to lie to people investigating these madrassas. They continue to misguide people by claiming that these madrassas are open religious spaces where people can come and go at their own will and so there is nothing happening behind closed doors and high walls.
The Punjab government also seems to have bought into the strategy of the intelligence agencies of trying to accommodate members of militant groups by giving them public and private sector jobs. The idea is, perhaps, to take them away from the streets and divert them from active violence towards other activities. However, this strategy would also mean proliferation of radicalism in the society, which, in any case, is on an upward trajectory in Punjab. Furthermore, in the absence of a programme to deradicalise these elements, the strategy of integrating them in society may run the risk of camouflaging its further radicalisation.
Pakistani academic and author of the forthcoming Secularising Islamists, Humaira Iqtidar, may view the process as perhaps contributing to the process of secularisation of the state and society. In her recently published book, she analyses Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) as contributing to the process of secularisation of the society, though these two organisations do not believe in secularism. But based on her interviews with JI and JuD women (in particular) the author has concluded that these are actually forces of modernity that would eventually secularise the society. It seems that a similar conclusion was drawn by the Punjab government as well, in integrating the militants and militant organisations into the social bloodstream. The main flaw with Iqtidar’s analysis, however, is that it does not consider the active role of the state in building the jihadi discourse and the centrality of force and violence in the jihadi narrative. Their seemingly non-militant activities such as welfare and relief work are not an end but means to an end. The peripheral activities are primarily a cover to hide the actual work and intent of these outfits.
The impact of this flawed plan of reintegrating militant members into society in the present form is problematic. We need debate to ensure that the policy does not come back to bite us in later years.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 7th, 2011.
COMMENTS (35)
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@ My name is Khan Right now PPP is in power (a Sindh based party). How Punjab is ruling other provinces? More autonomy is given to provinces in the present regime. Please think before you write.
@mf hussain
I quite agree with you. I suspect it's our arab genes that is not compatible with man made systems/laws like democracy,secularism,gender equality,freedom of thought and expression etc.We are guided (because of our unique genetic design) by laws made in heaven by you know who I mean. We are not only different from all other humans, we are superior as well.
The biggest problem is that Pakistanis have not undestood the root cause of extremism. It is lack of proper Islamic Knowledge- be it in Barevli, Deobandi or any other sect.
Those people criticizing Saudi Salafism here should google it up and understand what pure saudi salafism means. It simply means practicing Islam as practiced and taught by Prophet (saw)- free of any innovations. Only following the Quran and Sahih Hadith, without any shrines, peers, and other innovations which are promoted in sufism.
The only right way to practice Islam is to practice it as it was at the time of Prophet (saw). To have a firm belief in Tauheed (oneness of Allah) and worshipping only Allah without any partners or channels. To follow Islam as practiced by Prophet (saw) in a correct and peaceful way is the only right way.
The main problem of Pakistan is corruption at all levels of society (including the leaders of course) and a complete lack of proper Islamic knowedge and blindly criticizing Saudi Islam. Whilst I do not agree with many aspects of the saudi society, but the Islamic creed (Aqeeda) they have is absolutely correct. Their (Saudi Arabia's) basics (in Islam) are very solid, unlike here in Pakistan where barevlism has corrupted the basics and brought in innovations and deobandism has bred illiterate killers like the taliban. mind you barelvism also has its share of killers like Qadri.
We should learn from Saudi and Egyptian Scholars and also make Arabic Compulsory in our education system so that people understand the meaning of the Quran Kareem and come out of this religious ignorance.
This country will become a Islamic Somali Wasteland. We dont have the intelligence to create modern progressive societies. Its in the genes.
If secular Pakistan is what we want our country to be, then I fail to understand why Pakistan was formed in the first place. Was India not a better option to start with....Where is two nation theory....
Excellent Article as usual from Ayesha! We are so proud of you to have honest writers like you. Kindly have your articles translated into Urdu where majority of clowns live!
@usman: I agree with you 100%. I have personally visited Ajmer Sharif a few times myself. I was astonished to know that in the lunger (meals for poor) there is never any meat. I was told to my surprise that Khawaja Sahib himself never ate meat and at his shrine that tradition is kept alive. Rajasthan is a conservative state and often ruled by BJP. Ajmer is a town with a small percentage of Muslim population and some Christians also. The large majority is Hindus and one can find mostly Hindu devotees at his shrine also. There has never been a religious right in Ajmer as both Hindus and Muslims are afraid of creating trouble in reverence to the great Sufi. Not only did Khawaja Sahib bless the beautiful city of Ajmer in his life, he is still helping bringing all the humans together. Thanks and regards, Mirza
@usman: you are right
@Hasan Abidi: spoi on..thanks
Salman Taseer was murdered by a Barelvi, the murderer is celebrated and protected by Barelvi sect. At the end of the day, all religious fundamentalist groups are the same irrespective off their affiliations and if not all majority of these groups are tools of establishment who have used them for promoting their political agenda. Ayesha is right in highlighting the Salafist state sponsored agenda but what is not mentioned is the Saudization of Pakistan. It is Saudi so called friendly money which is being used to promote Salafi madressa, same money was used in the Afghan jihad then in Kashmir and central Asia. How are we going to rid of this spreading cancer, stop Taking Saudi money. Some reader commented on Turkey, interestingly a big beneficiary of Saudi money in recent times and we can see the material shift in politics but then again they are closer to Europe and will survive the same cannot be said for Pakistan.
"Getting religion in our bloodstream."
What's the problem? I don't see why it shouldn't be. Pakistan was born because of and out of religion. Religious exclusivity was the rationale that was offered in creating this nation. Now, as someone has already commented above, do not expect 'potato' when you have sowed 'tomato'.
The history of subcontinent testifies that muslim religious leaders have predominantly backed secular forces. On the other hand the secular muslim leaders found it more effective and convenient to use religion for political purposes. This was done before the idependence and was continued to be done afterward..
So many so -called open minded writers blame Zia-ul-Haq for the proliferation of religousity in the country. while they blatantly ignore the roles of leaders like Liaqat and ZAB in this behalf. As such it is primarily a problem with the semi-practicing or non-prracticing segments of the nation whose mindsets need cleansing so they should stop using religion clandestinely to serve their worldlypurposes, promote better relations with India by setteling isssues one way or other kept alive for so long.
As regards these militant outfits, the same will come around very easily if the abovementioned other segments stop using themparticularly when Afghan war is also nearing its end.
@ Mind control well first time i agreed with you and i like it what u said all the big figure terrorist are western unversities educated.
@ mindcontrol
I agree with you.
There is dire need of paradigm shift in Pakistan's strategic depth. Banned outfitts are only banned in papers. They are fully active and their nefarious activities are in full swing like moulana Lakhvi in Jhang,Masood Azhar in Bahawalpur,Hafiz Abdul Karim(Land graber) in DG Khan and as many as you can count.All these fanatics are hiding behind religion.They are economically sound and running charities. No check and balance especially from Punjab govt.Shahbaz Sharif's request to banned outfitts, budget allocation for LT are examples of Punjab government support to remnants of Zia regime, big hurdles to normalize society.
More people have been killed & financial damage suffered by MQM led violence in Karachi then all the crimes committed on the name of religion in pakistan...surprisingly no one writes about that...... As far as I know Sipah-e sahaba only existed and what fueled their passions is the way some of the Religious groups were were targeting and maligning "Sahaba" and when no step was taken by Government Sipah-e sahaba got stronger.
In order to address religious extremism it is very necessary to take religious scholars on board specially those whose' sincerity is not questionable and whatever they suggest should be made open and strongly enforced
From where do all the sects crop up? The sects crop up when people go astray from the way of Lord Almighty and start to pay more attention to the words of the mortal, a man. Was there any sect during the lifetime of the holy Prophet(saw)? No. None whatsoever. So from where did all the sects like Hanafee, Humblee, Shafayee and the biggest divide Jaaferee crop up? It happened when people started to go astray form the way of the Lord by paying more attention to the words of the mortal, man. Yes this is the real reson cropping up of so many sects. So who is the real culprit? It is us the people. The people who abandon the way of the Lord to accept the ways shown by man. People will never be disunited when they all obey one and only one Lord. Every calamity that the people endure, is of their own making. People caling themselves Muslims are reaping the reward of turning away from the way practised by the early Muslims. The winning Muslims. Even the Arabs today are enduring slavery just because they have abondoned the way of practising the "Envy of democracy" that their own forefathers practise 1400 years ago to become winners. Winners of hearts and minds and consequently of nations after nations and lands after lands. We all need to reform ourselves and get rid of our slave mentalty and bad habits to become winners. It is all upto us. No one is going to come from France or the US to do it for us.
@Proud-Paki:
Perhaps because, using govt jobs as a hand out to any one cant be good for their self esteem and promotes corruption at the very least, and allows these people free access to govt channels, including the police and the military. You saw how that came out in the naval base in Karachi.
Economic troubles are one part of the problem. I am reminded of George Orwell's 1984 where the govt's "Ministry of Plenty" created poverty to keep people unsettled and not question the govt. We may not have a Ministry of Plenty but mismanagement, use of govt as an employment agency of the misfit and corruption is doing the job very well, thank you very much.
So my dear Sir take pride in the country for it gave birth to us, and feeds us well. But work to better it for too many suffer when they should. They suffer because we collectively condone or even support such evil as this caricature of our wonderful religion and corruption. But never equate taking pride with turning a blind eye to the ills of our society for that is living falsehood. That in my reading of the Quran, is haram.
@mazen: @Noor Nabi: @Hasan Abidi: @AnisAqeel: I agree with you all and could not have said it better. Thanks for telling the truth. Great article and the serious problem it points out. I think the process of integration of Jihadist is not a problem at all. They are already doing fine and financially better than many Pakistanis. They are already being integrated in the armed forces and Mehran Base is a proof of that. I got a chuckle when I read that JI is pushing the secular agenda. Nothing can be further from the truth. Cheers, and regards, Mirza
@Ayesha Siddiqa
@ Hasan Abidi
For instance, the report presented to the Punjab government talks about eight critical madrassas in Bahawalpur, Multan and Lodhran. Interestingly, most of these madrassas are those that have support from state agencies. Over the years, banned outfits have been, in fact, encouraged or not stopped from taking over Barelvi madrassas.
Madam and Sir,
By identifying the malady only with madrassas, whether Salafi/ Wahabi/ Deobandi or Barelavi we are again trying to cure a cancer with an aspirin. I am sure all the garlanding lawyers were not graduates of the madarassa system. And Faisal Shahzad and Tahawur Hussain Rana and Dawood Gilani certainly went to elite schools in Pakistan.
The cancer cells are being infused in the blood stream of the civil society through the text books of History and Pakistan Studies, which are compulsory part of the regular school curricula of Pakistani schools.
but the lethargy n the criminal complacency ( to the point of connivance) of the ill informed n largely ignorant masses, cant b absolved of its responsibilities towards the safeguard of the state.
Hasan Abidi saab, you can't teach 7 year olds about Yahood/Hanood/Nasra conspiracies against Islam and Pakistan, and ask them to write essays on the Joys of Jihad and then blame them for growing up intolerant and extremist.
What really surprises me is that Paklistanis are willing to have long marches to restore the judiciary and they are also willing to sit on even a longer 'dharna' to disrupt NATO supplies, but no one, repeat no one is willing to demand a reform of the school books.
The malady has metastasised to such an extent that the infected cells have become more numerous than the healthy cells.The secularisation of Pakistan, nay, the normalisation of Pakistan has to begin with text book reform.
Well I think it does not make sense taking sides in a sectarian conflict.The Barelvi movement has its own fundamentalist and armed wing as well.ST is involved in armed conflict in Karachi, in fact it absorbed most of MQM H militants .It has armed wings in South Punjab. Its involved in many killing of Deobandi figures. Its militant Fundamentalist are just as dangerous: Mumtaz Qadri was Barelvi and was egged on by noted Barelvi figures when he killed Salman Taseer. And attempts to portray them as an ancient peaceful sect corrupted by the Saudi"Salafist" virus, is Historical Revisionism.(It started in UP in 1880, around same time as the Deobandi movement). The fact that Ex Foreign Minister Quereshi actually publically said that ST was an important part of fight against Taliban is very worrying.In fact the present PPP government has consistently stoked sectarianism with many very careless statements. (See any Raza Hasan Abidi interview for reference)
South & Central Punjab conflict has more to do with Class than Religion. The landless tenants are largely from Sunni Barelvi sect, due to religious and economic reason they are ruthlessly exploited by the large landowners who also have absolute religious & economic authority over there lives as as "Pirs" or Gadhi nashins. These are the recurring faces of Punjabs politics the Abida Hussain, Fasal Saleh Hayat, Yusuf Raza Gillani, Shah Mahmood Quershi, Makhdoom Amin Fahim.As being Syeds is a prerequisite for being a Pir apparently, they are mostly Shia Muslims.The Deobandi movement exploited this situation and is rapidly expanding in south Punjab, its appeal is apparent only if the underlying economic situation is understood. This is also the underlying basis for the Shia/Sunni conflict that originated in the 80's in the sectarian flash point of Jhang.And undoubtedly many Deobandi Madrassah have gotten alot of money from the Saudis who are playing this disastrous religious cold war with the Iranians through out the Muslim World (Iraq, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria). The Iranians also fund various Madresaa and ethnic and religious organization through out the country as well to disastrous effect, prolonging sectarian and ethnic conflicts.
In my opinion the actual religious conflict is actually minimal. The MMA coalition had both Barelvi , Shia and Deobandi members. Most religious people will see much more in common in their political views(Social conservatism, Supporting the military, Anti Americanism etc). Most religious leaders are very vary of fringe militants of their sects as they know it endangers their lives the most. If foreign funding is cut to all sides and the militants groups of all sides are disbanded and deweaponised this conflict will simmer down.
This background is important to understanding this conflict. Any attempts of tar and feathering one side as a "cancer" or accusing them of acting exclusively on foreign diktats in intellectual dishonesty.Pretty disappointed with the article from an other wise astute writer.
@ Hasa Abidi
Mr. Abidi hats off to you for such a brilliant comment. Thinking minds like yourself are exactly what we need in Pakistan. I simply adore your writing style. Being a student of Business English, I truly enjoy your skills and command of expression. But what impresses me most is your knowledge of history and politics. I would like to know if you teach anywhere? You can count me in as one of your many fans like Mr. Hariharmani.
Please keep writing.
For too long we have thought we were Arabs when we are far closer to our Indian neighbors. This has led us to try to do stupid things that are not even part of our traditional culture. Look at what has happened to Punjab. Compare that with Indian Punjab. Pakistani Punjab rules over the rest of us by force. Indian Punjab rules over India through it's culture, food, clothing, and music. That's called "soft power".
Sufism of subcontinent was secular. if secular means respecting and giving space to all faiths then what great sufis viz. Baba Fareed, Bullah Shah are known for and for that matter Kabir and Baba Nanak. Our land is traditionally a secular land. This particular phase is an anomaly which will ultimately die its death let democracy prevail and this extremism will find its umbilical cord cut off.
Mr ashan Abadi,I have read your comment in T/E in several other blogg,and I find them in full agreement,as they are full of truth and insight,I'm sure you have to this sad conclusion after a lot of prolonged soul searching.If you read my writing,you will see very similar sentiment and very pessimistic,observation about the state of affair of India.For 63 years we(India/Pakistan)have wasted our time since 1947.Very ,poor Govt without any accountability,and there is no silver linning.In case of Pakistan chicken are roosting and on the case of India they are on the wings,matter of time.Does our dire opinion has any redeemtion value,I very much doubt it.We do it because we love our poor down trodden poor folks but it does not matter really.The train has left the station"Karawa gujjar gaya,gubbar dek te rah gaye"!
Bottom Line: These elements are "Sand Bags" for our Armed Forces. Remember Russia when it was USSR but was surrounded by those areas which are now mostly called "Istan" acted as sand bags. The nation must now choose between these outfits to "RUIN" our country or show respect to our Original Armed Forces.
Sufism is found in Turky aboundantly but their is secularism why because they have not a bit control of salafism in their society so it would be wrong to say that Sufism in Pakistan is a hurdle to secularism rather it is the remanant of Zia Salafism.
@ Ms. Ayesha n all those who give a damn abt this country.
Mam, this country is a clinically dead corpse, forcibly kept alive thru life support mechanisms.
The self defeating policies employed by the establishment over the past 3 decades, to achieve short term India/Afgahanistan specific goals, have brought the pakistani society to where its at.
Bu its not just the nightmare of Zia and his offshoots, that have inflicted the lethal blow to the very fabric of this unfortunate country, but the lethargy n the criminal complacency ( to the point of connivance) of the ill informed n largely ignorant masses, cant b absolved of its responsibilities towards the safeguard of the state.
U cant sow tomatoes n expect a crop of potatoes. Pakistan got exactly wat it bargained for.
Extremism in its cruelist form would only beget violence n intolerance. Expecting otherwise is just a ploy on part of the pakistani society to play the victim n innocent, as if they didnt c it coming.
Come on! V can do better than that.
By snatching every ounce of oxygen from the body of civilization and tolerance, wat v c is a dying mess of chaos, bigotry and religo-ethnic extremism.
By opening unmonitored and foreign funded Madressas at every nook n corner of this country, wat were v expecting ...an IT revolution? Jesus!
Whoever said that religion is a private matter, certainly didn’t know about our existence. So now the fundo minority decides, who is a heretic n who the believer?
And that sleeping majority crap. Well its more like a beaten into submission impotent majority. For Heaven’s sake.
Welcome to the modern day Pakistan!
By allowing outfits like Siaph e Sahaba ( & sister concern Lashkar e Jhangvi), Jamat ud Dawa & countless others to openly practice wat they preach ( & God hv Mercy if u get to know that), we Pakistanis hv brought it upon ourselves.
Nobody to blame in this one mate.
The chickens have come home to roost...............
Hasan Abidi hasanwazir1@gmail.com
The solution of integration of these elements into society as you correctly say is flawed. We are known for not thinking things through or rather not having the ability to do so, resulting in making matters worse. When we have the correct solution we lack the will to implement it or political expediency takes precedence over national interests.
i agree with noor nabi ...........
All these rifts and mafia style religious seminaries came into existence with the treason by General Ziaul Haq supported by the Supreme Court of Pakistan and latter creating a proxy war in Kashmir so many concessions had to be awarded and constitution ripped off numerous times to receive favors of religious parties. Easy solution can be (difficult for SC) that some agency or individual should bring this matter into a law suit to the Supreme court challenging that SC erred in deciding General Zia's coup d'etat was legitimate and not a treason. That way SC can also wash its sins and all religious favors given by law can be abolished for a more tolerant society. This is a good analysis by Ayesha Siddiqa.
The remnants of Zia-ul-Haq are still here in different cities of Pakistan in the form of extremist and indoctrinated radicalised aspire to inculcate their form of Islam amongst other{notably in juvenile}. One could argue that this is because the prevalence of destitution in our society, but this is not entirely true because one can see the element of extremism in well-off people as well. Then, what is the reason behind this quandary? The foremost reason is the sect system, poor as well as riches are quite easily lured by these so-called protector of Islam, in fact with this they are creating hatred in this society. On the other hand, secularist, modernist and liberals help to further this divide by seeing them as more pious and superior than these extremist. These liberals are not doing anything to assuage this dilemma, this indifferent approach of theirs will lead them too towards the quagmire. Most of them dual nationalities, so in this context they are just here to aggravate this situation further. In reality every one of us criticising the extremist, to their advantage, no one utter a single word regarding the role liberals should play in deredicalisation of this society.
"The idea is, perhaps, to take them away from the streets and divert them from active violence towards other activities.However, this strategy would also mean proliferation of radicalism in the society", writes the author.
I think this is a worst conclusion that one draw from this. Why not state the obvious that it is economic re-integration of people on wrong path. It may not be a best solution but it is the only solution which could actually work by giving these people some future hope. I am surprised to read when experts like you say that it is economic deprivation which is driving this militancy. But when government starts to re-integrate these youth you are the first one to object. It is just hillarious.
You want to secularise Pakistan and on the other hand you are part of this Peeri-Faqeeri-Sajjadanasheeni tradition. I am curious to know what can put you to sleep at night.
Zia-ul-Haq injected the most cancerous cells of Salafist thought in the bloodstream of Pakistan. These cells have metastasized into all vital organs of the state. Subsequent regimes lacked the moral courage to expunge Zia’s evil ideology from the system. What we see today is the harvest from that era and, sadly, one does not see many exit options out of this maze.