The Pakistani state is presently confronted with myriad challenges. Some of these are consequences of misconceived policies, while others are fated by geographical location. The former category of blowbacks from misconceived policies manifestly includes the scourge of religious terrorism, communal and sectarian violence, indeed of murderous intolerance. Tragically, the nation in general, and members of the State security apparatus in particular, are having to pay in many cases the ultimate price in terms of their precious lives to curtail and combat elements such as the TTP or the TLP.
It also appears manifest that if the ambitious plans to reinvigorate the economy by, for example, developing the CPEC and reaping its promised benefits, or by enabling foreign investors to explore and mine the vast mineral wealth of Pakistan, are to be realised, it is critical to eliminate the scourge not only of jihadist violence but also of religious extremism in a decisive way. It appears to us that such malignancy cannot be eliminated from its roots through kinetic actions alone, but requires both a reconsideration and a reformulation of the national narrative.
While there appears to be no other option but to militarily confront the terrorism of such extremist elements, since their demands are fundamentally incompatible with our Constitution and our laws as a however flawed democratic polity, it may also be appreciated that crushing such elements militarily is not going to end the problem of militant religious extremism. As experience shows, the elimination of one such group or its banning leads, in time, to its re-emergence in a slightly new garb and nomenclature. And there is no dearth of recruits to their malignant cause, since the ideological, social, and economic roots that breed violent extremism remain intact after such operations and administrative actions taken within the existing ideological climate.
While the economic and social factors that lead to such extreme senses of alienation and violent expression are necessary to address, they will require a much more fundamental restructuring of the socio-economic system, one that is highly desirable but very improbable in the short term. However, the ideological and emotive environment that generates and sustains these extreme attitudes, which unfortunately our state has allowed indeed encouraged to flourish, can be addressed and contained without waiting for an overhaul of the entire economic and political system. We can do this, and we need to do this with a sense of urgency, to assist the kinetic actions to combat the terrorism and extremist violence that plague our country.
How exactly do we address this issue of curbing religious extremism and creating a tolerant mindset that is accepting of cultural diversity and of the plurality of faiths and ideologies? Furthermore, can we inculcate in our booming youth population, much of it floundering for basic survival and for a semblance of personal dignity, a sense of abiding by democratic norms, of retaining faith in the political system to deliver their betterment?
The narrative of the state unwittingly supports the extremist rejection of modernity and the militant reaction to their own disempowerment
While seemingly unconnected, the two goals identified above are deeply interconnected. The mass of disempowered and disillusioned, both rural and urban, who are generally unable to unleash their wrath on their main antagonist, the state, direct it towards the most helpless segment of our society: the religious minorities, and on targets of alleged blasphemy. The TTP and similar outfits, meanwhile, recruit from the same poorly educated, unskilled youth, often schooled in seminaries that effectively reject the entire modernity project as one that disempowers and subjugates them to a Westernised elite.
The narrative of the state unwittingly supports the extremist rejection of modernity and the militant reaction to their own disempowerment. When the state proclaims itself to be an Islamic state, which is duty-bound to enact Islamic laws, values, and justice, then why, argues the terrorist, is it wrong to upend such a state that is neither Islamic nor just? When the state narrative constantly proclaims that religion provides not only their most meaningful identity but is also the master key that unlocks all doors leading to success herein and in the hereafter, then surely their own lived misery, they reason, is due to the inability or unwillingness of the state to implement Islam as they have been taught. It is this all-encompassing view of religion that the state has itself encouraged via its narrative that is now its own key adversary.
Currently, our textbooks, our media, and representatives of the government from the lowest to highest levels constantly invoke religion to assert it not only as a basis of moral values but as a complete system that encompasses all aspects of collective life. To reorient the tens of millions of young people who are currently studying in schools or madrasahs, or are struggling to survive somewhere as low-level workers, the state will need to change its own religio-political narrative—away from that of an all-encompassing totality; away from what has indeed become an almost totalitarian overreach of ideology.
There are no perfect solutions and no perfect systems just waiting to be implemented, but there are only human-designed schemes, each carrying its own social price tag, each indeed with its own set of consequences
We will need to incorporate within our education system and our social expression that we, like all people, need to find solutions to our collective problems through our intelligence, our creativity, our compassion for each other, and our concern for our society. We need to bring the sense that there are no perfect solutions and no perfect systems just waiting to be implemented, but that there are only human-designed schemes, each carrying its own social price tag, each indeed with its own set of consequences. We create and adopt policies not because they are necessarily perfect but because they are more beneficial for the largest number of people.
And in this search for betterment, it is not the identity of our religious faith but the meaningfulness and value of our contribution that should define our stature and respect in society. Our education system, from the earliest to the highest levels, will need to incorporate and emphasise the reality of social pluralism, the diversity of faiths, the respect for differences of opinion, and their democratic acceptance. Unity, faith, and discipline have been translated by us, unfortunately, to mean command and control: to follow the dictates of indoctrination. This indoctrination, sadly, has led to manifest disastrous social and political consequences.
To put an end to religiously inspired violence or the exploitation of religious sentiment to amass political power, the state needs to reframe its own narrative. The glorification of historical or contemporary violence and the adulation of its perpetrators has bred, and will continue to breed, contempt for difference, tolerance, and dialogue. A more secular reading of history needs to be made that connects us with this land and its history, not on religious but on social, cultural, and humanitarian grounds, a sense of shared glories and sufferings.
The same reading of history reveals that this land we now call Pakistan has been inhabited for thousands of years before the coming of Islam by peoples of other beliefs: animists, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, etc. We find that the language, culture, traditions, and attitudes of our land contain indelible elements passed on from these traditions over thousands of years. We are a land inhabited by South Asian people whose borders reach Central Asia and the Near Middle East, with concomitant intermingling and cultural impact. Politics indeed can overwhelm culture, but not reformulate it. To attempt to do so is to create the kind of hysterical, schizophrenic milieu that adopts religious frenzy as an expression of social and cultural identity.
Concluding, a peaceful and tolerant society can be built on the very wasteland that is today’s Pakistan by acknowledging three major facts and incorporating those into the state narrative. Firstly, that national identity is not constructed solely from religion; secondly, accepting—indeed owning—the pre-Islamic history of this land; and finally, accepting that diversity of thoughts, beliefs, and ideas is something that defines and powers a democratic society. Uniformity and conformity are the hallmarks of an autocracy.