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| Pakistan Under Musharraf Military Regime and the Question of Religious Fundamentalism |
 PRINTABLE VERSION |
The religious parties grew with the help of the army and the state. You can say that religious fundamentalist forces in Pakistan are mainly due to the heavy economic and social help by different groups within the state. But that is only a part of the whole story. They have also grown because of the tremendous disappointments by the main political parties to offer any social help to the masses during their power periods from 1988 to 1999. The religious parties have now offered an alternative to these capitalist feudal political parties.
Can they come to power in Pakistan? Would it be like Afghanistan or like Iran? It is difficult to say that the religious parties will come to power through elections. The bourgeoisie and American imperialist forces will not allow that to happen. They can become junior partners in the power but not as the sole representatives of the people of Pakistan. The religious fundamentalist provincial government is already under threat form the Center and is not being tolerated. The ongoing popularity of these religious fundamentalists groups has also increased the hopes of the masses to solve their economic problems. Yet in the province of NWFP, the MMA government have failed to address the question poverty and unemployment. They have tried to compromise with the Center to be able to continue their government. Although a Sharia bill is been introduced in the assembly that will give maximum powers to the fundamentalist groups to monitor the Islamic functioning of the state and the public. But generally they have carried out policies dictated by the Center. The result is not very good in their favour and many questions about their credibility have arisen. Despite this experience in this province, they are making headway in the most populated province of Punjab. They are also controlling the largest city of Pakistan Karachi. At this city the Major elected during the year 2001 is from Jamaat-I-Islami. At the time when the armed forces of the country are trying to find the remnants of the Taliban in Waziristan and other parts of tribal belts, they seem to have forgotten that these Taliban also exist in cities likes Karachi. It is not the slum of this city where they have been regrouping but in fact it the seat of learning, the University of Karachi, where they demonstrated their power on November 5 2003, at the Student Teaching Center hall. Sources said that around eight to ten activists of Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba, the student wing of Jamat-I-Islami, the main religious fundamentalist party in Pakistan, attacked the hall, smashing the things on display. The attackers alleged that the exhibition was promoting obscenity and vulgarity, said a frightened student at the condition of anonymity. “I do not know what is their idea of obscenity. You can see that we had clothes on textile display, computer and posters on graphic and products on industrial designs, said a female student of final year. She said that they did not even bother to look at the materials on display but they stormed the place and smashed anything that was in their range. Incidents like this are very common where the religious fundamentalists have taken control of the educational institutions. The semi fascist thugs are found in every major city and are in growing numbers.
There are over 24000 religious institutions called Madrassas in Pakistan. Over a million students are registered in these schools. The Musharaf regime is in full support of these religious schools pleading that not all religious schools promote Jihad. The education in Pakistan is becoming more and more a business. Private schools have taken over the public schools in numbers. There are more primary school students in private institutions than the public primary schools. This is the natural result of the ever-reducing government spending on education. Less than 2 per cent of the national income is spent on education in Pakistan. But military regime can not keep the same old relationship with the religious fundamentalists as were before September 2001. Gradually, there is a bitter taste in their relationship. The MMA, the major alliance of these religious fundamentalist parties, is threatening to launch a nationwide campaign. That is on the question of democracy. The MMA alongside with ARD is demanding that Legal Framework Order (LFO) announced by General Musharaf be brought to the parliament. Under LFO, through a presidential ordinance, General Musharaf has legalized its three-year of military government and several amendments have been made in the constitution.
Relationship with India
Pakistan and India have fought three wars during the last 56 years of so-called independence from the British imperialism. At present a peace fever has taken over the main policies of Musharaf regime and Vajpa is Bhartia Junta part government in India. The sour relationship between India and Pakistan was at its peak during the last three years. No road, train, or air link was allowed by either government until three months before. Now all the routs are going to be opened within the next three months. This is mainly due to the pressure of the American imperialists and also from the masses to open up the borders.
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Writer Profile
Aftab Khan
25 years old Electronics & Computer System Engineer by Education and an activist of Human rights and Women Rights. Presently living in exile in Sweden since october 2003 due to the involvment in a campaign against the injustice in the society and undemocratic Military Government in Pakistan
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