A national malaise — religious terrorism

Madrassah reforms have been poorly implemented or not implemented at all at provincial level

Objective analysis of the phenomenon of terrorism has been extremely rare, mostly because any such analysis would reveal some very uncomfortable truths about the relationship between terrorism in all its forms and provincial and federal governance. It may be no coincidence that a report from the Ministry of Interior titled National Internal Security Policy (NISP) 2018-2023 was released immediately after the dissolution of the government. Its findings make damning reading but in terms of accountability, there is no government left to challenge. Whether the next dispensation will have the courage to act is a very open question.

What is immediately apparent is that terrorism is multifaceted and durable. The report identifies four types of terrorism — religious, sectarian, ethno-political and sub-national, with religious terrorism posing the greatest threat. Despite being banned several groups remain active, some with the avowed intention of overthrowing the state. All are in varying degrees willing and able to use violence to achieve their goals. Despite efforts, which are clearly only partially successful, funding still goes to proscribed groups. The NISP reports that building a national narrative that countervails that of the terrorist has been largely ignored over the last five years and that madrassah reforms, for long described as essential, have been poorly implemented or not implemented at all at provincial level. At the federal level there has been negligible effort to chivvy the provinces into action. Madrassa registration remains patchy at best.

All of the above indicates that the extremist narrative that is the parent to terrorism enjoys substantial support at provincial and federal government level, and that extremist sympathisers are the handbrake on reform that is applied via the bureaucracy and across the political spectrum. Terrorism is a self-inflicted wound. It is not caused by external ‘hidden hands’ though foreign hidden hands certainly fund it, and religious terrorism is here to stay. There is no concerted effort to countervail it, swathes of the population support it financially and ideologically and the political will to strangle the serpent is entirely absent, an abdication of moral values on an epic scale. We anticipate little change in the immediate future.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2018.

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