IS: the threat is real

We need to cleanse our school syllabus of militant subjects and inspire our youth to shun militancy


Editorial November 22, 2014

The Islamic State (IS) poses a serious threat to Pakistan. And it would be a folly not to take a closer look at its potential to storm our democratic barricades. No doubt the IS has reared its head at a considerable physical distance from Pakistan and currently its presence in the country appears to be not so significant. But we have, over the years, turned into a breeding ground for such distorted ideologies. First, when the Quaid-e-Azam tried to tell his nation on August 11, 1947 that Pakistan would no more be guided by the two-nation theory, but that it is now one nation and that it would not be a theocratic state, his speech was censored on the plea that it negated the two-nation theory.

Next, after his death, his not-so-very-competent lieutenants succumbed to the street power of those who were opposed to the very creation of Pakistan and adopted the so-called Objectives Resolution (OR) that had the germs in it to turn Pakistan into a theocratic state. And General Ziaul Haq completed the job by incorporating the OR into the 1973 Constitution.

Next, we inherited militant ideology and militant madrassas from the Afghan jihad of the 1980s against the ‘infidel’ Soviets. And then, two low-intensity wars were fought simultaneously for almost 10 long years, between 1989 and 1999, one in Afghanistan on the side of the Taliban against the Northern Alliance, and the other in Indian-occupied Kashmir, using militant outfits. When Pakistan facilitated the US to invade Afghanistan post-9/11, these very militants went to war against us in the name of a misguided ideology. The upshot of all this was, between 1997 and right into the current decade, the Afghan Taliban of Mullah Omar and al Qaeda of Osama bin Laden had inspired thousands of Pakistani youth and an estimated 200 militant groups are said to be operating in the country, indulging also in sectarian and religious violence.

So, it came as no surprise when it was revealed that some Pakistani militants were part of the IS from its inception. Many militants from the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi are said to be the best fighting force of the IS. If true, just imagine the bloody havoc these militants would unleash in Pakistan when they return home. Already, a movement called the Tehreek-i-Khilafat, which considers democracy to be in contravention of religion, is said to have been launched in Pakistan to establish a caliphate. These militant groups do not subscribe to the politics of our religio-political parties, which do want to see sharia enforced in the country, but through a democratic process; the militant groups, on the other hand, seem hell-bent on forcibly taking over the state to establish an obscurantist version of religion.

The threat, therefore, is very much real. We need to act and act quickly to ward off the possibility of being swamped by the local supporters of the IS. We could make a beginning by clearing the border areas of militants and securing the Durand Line by keeping round-the-clock watch on it through the not-so-costly camera-mounted drones. Next, we need to remove the trust deficit that exists between Pakistan and Afghanistan. A good start seems to have been made in this regard with the recent visit of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. We also need to cleanse our school syllabus of militant subjects and inspire our youth to shun militancy. And, of course, it is time now to reform our madrassas and close the tap of funds that they receive from abroad and also from misguided Pakistanis.

But Pakistan alone cannot overpower this menace successfully. The country that unleashed the menace by radicalising the Middle East as it unnecessarily invaded Iraq rather than first going after its nemesis — Osama bin Laden —hiding in Afghanistan, needs to nip in the bud the IS terror as quickly as possible. And simultaneously, the US needs to curb Israel’s hegemonic ambitions — the mother of all these problems — and make it see the logic in a two-state solution.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2014.

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COMMENTS (6)

whitesky | 9 years ago | Reply

when the ideology of IS and many in the society is similar ( may vary in degrees). how can you stop them to show their foot prints ?

syed baqar ahsan | 9 years ago | Reply

In Pakistan since there is less national pride so it is fun to malign with someone who sound from far distance so ISIS is mostly anti shia organisation so they have lot of sympathizers who took birth under own agencies.

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