Frontline Pakistan : The Struggle With Militant Islam - Arz-e-Pak

Pakistan’s Unholy Alliance
in Afghanistan and those operating in Kashmir. Meanwhile, Pakistan
also became home to a thriving community of foreign jihadists, many
of whom were veterans of the anti-Soviet Afghan war and had stayed
there for the simple reason that they could not return to their countries
of origin for fear of persecution. The state-sponsored jihadist culture
provided them a safe haven in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Benazir Bhutto lost the battle to maintain her authority
over an increasingly radicalized society, and in October 1996 she was,
after a protracted power struggle, dismissed by the President. It was the
third time in eight years that an elected government had been dismissed
less than halfway through its term. Weak democratic institutions, lack
of a democratic political culture, politics of patronage, ineptitude
of political leadership and the military’s involvement in politics all
contributed to the continuing crisis of democracy in Pakistan.
In the subsequent elections, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
was re-elected with a large majority. Sharif was determined not to lose
power again and set about undermining the role of the presidency
and the judiciary. He used Islamic policies to bolster his own position.
Sharif introduced an Islamic sharia bill, reinforcing the Islamization
process initiated by General Zia. His exploitation of religion for
political purposes strengthened the Islamic orthodoxy and religious
militancy. That also led to an upsurge in religion-based violence.
Sharif’s preoccupation with power proved to be a fatal distraction,
as the country drifted towards an economic meltdown. The fiscal
indiscipline brought the country to the verge of bankruptcy. Sharif
had a total disregard for institutions – he neither understood nor
respected nor learnt to live with the institutions of a modern state and
followed a patrimonial style of government. Editors and journalists
were arrested and harassed for criticizing the government. Sharif had
planned to make further amendments to the Constitution, declaring
himself ‘Amirul Mominin’ (absolute leader of the Muslims).
While suppressing civil society and democratic institutions, Sharif
increased his reliance on the army to manage everything from stateowned
corporations to development work. A quarter of a million troops
were mobilized to conduct a long-delayed population census. Another
one hundred thousand were deployed to read electricity meters and
run an almost bankrupt Water and Power Development Authority,
which was responsible for electricity supply and the country’s huge
irrigation network. At one point, army soldiers were brought in to help
kill stray dogs in Sharif’s home town, Lahore. 35
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