Pakistan’s sectarian problems

Daily Times, July 11, 2006
VIEW: Pakistan’s sectarian problems —Syed Mohammad Ali

Repetitive negative depictions of Pakistan are fuelled largely by the many conflicts that plague our country. Besides lingering tensions with India and the discontent among provinces, sectarian violence continues to blemish our national image.

While the extent of sectarian violence is not large in terms of the casualties caused by it, the problem has led to a very perturbing fragmentation of the society. There is a range of sects and sub-sects embroiled in sectarian violence. Understanding sectarianism requires digging much deeper than just looking at the immediate reasons for a particular incident.

The politicisation of religion is a major reason for sectarian aspirations taking root in Pakistan. The conflict between sectarian groups is not merely ideological; often it is impelled by the desire to obtain political power. The evident patronage of the clergy by various governments has steadily raised their public profile and influence, culminating in the current setup, in a meteoric rise of religious parties. But the responsibility for helping religious parties into political power does not lie with the Pakistani state alone. During the 1980s many influential players, including the US and some Middle Eastern governments, lent support for the militarisation of religious identities for a proactive role in the Afghan jihad. The decision to use right-wing religious parties to pursue geo-strategic goals first in Afghanistan, and then in Kashmir, led to further politicisation on the basis of religion.

The International Crisis Group (ICG) blames the sectarian conflict squarely on the state policies of Islamisation and the marginalisation of secular democratic forces. Several governments in Pakistan are criticised for co-opting the religious right and continuing to rely on it to counter civilian opposition rather than empowering the people. The ICG holds the state responsible for patronising particular religious leaders who used religion as a means to create political distraction. Their pulpits were never used to highlight people’s rights and development issues. Moreover, it is pointed out that laws like the Hudood Ordinance created operational bias against women. The problems were compounded by enforcement of the Islamic law of evidence in 1984 that excluded women’s testimony in cases of Hadd crimes and halved the value of their evidence in civil matters. Non-Muslims were not even allowed to give evidence. There have been numerous cases of people being victimised under these laws.

Peripheral theological debates provide the basis for volatile divisions in the hands of those seeking power over people. Press reports indicate that sectarian zealots kill around 200 people a year across the country. Analysts have pointed out that over the years sectarian violence has spread from the more traditional rural arenas to major urban areas. The pattern of targeting high-profile opponents has expanded to include public places — even mosques — and religious gatherings. Even judges presiding over cases of sectarian militancy in anti-terrorist courts are frequently forced to hold trials in jails.

Yet because of the political utility of religious leaders, the recently announced law requiring registration of seminaries seems to have been sidelined. Whether the Hudood laws will finally be repealed also remains to be seen. There is an evident need for government to start taking measures that reflect the country’s religious diversity. Besides removing all forms of religious discrimination, there is need for invoking constitutional restrictions against private armies. Hate speech needs to be curbed to avoid extremist violence. One of the suggestions put forth in this regard is to provide constitutional and political rights to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the northern areas by finally deciding their constitutional and legal status and linking up courts in these areas to Pakistan’s mainstream judicial institutions. The tribal lashkars need to be outlawed.

Human rights organisations and legal experts continue to demands such measures. There has been a lot of loud and vocal criticism of discriminatory laws and some efforts have been made to help victims of these repressive laws — particularly minorities and women. The Human Rights Commission for Pakistan, a notable stalwart in this regard, has been recommending that instead of merely changing procedures, all laws that sanction discrimination against minorities and women should be repealed outright.

An unfortunate combination of vested interests, misplaced policies and discriminatory laws has drastically reduced the scope for a religiously tolerant state and society in Pakistan. Hate ideologies have damaged our valuable cultural and intellectual heritage. While challenging institutionalised sectarianism is certainly not easy, strengthening the common cultural heritage of Pakistani people offers a less-confrontational way to reverse hate-based indoctrination.

Some civil society organisations have begun working on conflict resolution. There are already a small number of peace activists in Pakistan. More poets, writers, artists, journalists, lawyers and young volunteers need to lend support to this movement. To diffuse tensions between different religious groups civil society groups can facilitate dialogue or support moves to remove discriminatory practices exacerbating the sectarian rifts. In addition to promoting interventions to narrow the sectarian fragmentation, more research is needed on the religious and cultural communities of Pakistan. Debates in the mainstream media to highlight our common intellectual heritage would also be useful.

The compulsions fuelling religious conflicts are certainly complex. They have multiple negative implications as well. Nonetheless, this is not a problem that will go away on own its own. It needs to be actively addressed if Pakistan is ever to become an enlightened and moderate state.

The writer is a researcher. He can be contacted at ali@policy.hu