Is Pakistan Toast?

The Western Tribal District is a semi-autonomous region. Why? Because the Pakistani government has absolutely no way to enforce its rule in the area; tribal warlords and religious fundamentalists with bullet-belts crisscrossing their shoulders call the “shots.” American drones and occasional Pakistani military expeditions seeking captives and kill-zone targets break the monotony. Taliban operatives roam freely about, drinking tea with al Qaeda operatives on seemingly permanent station.

There are two groups of Taliban in Pakistan these days, those whose battle lies in Afghanistan and those who, sooner or later they believe, will topple the shaky government in Pakistan’s capital city of Islamabad, who have taken Swat and Dir by force and mounted sorties against uniformed military units within the main part of Pakistan. They dream of a unified central Asian Islamic republic, control of the 70 to 100 nuclear weapons that experts estimate the Pakistani stockpile to be, and a launching platform against Western powers, Israel and evil Hindu India next door.

The Islamist militants in Pakistan – driven by strict and drab fundamentalism, zealous rules and absolute intolerance of religious minorities, art and music, anything that smacks of Western values, fraternization of men and women in all but the most controlled and limited circumstances – are a small minority. But since they are aggressive, have no real concern if people must die to make a point and not particularly concerned for their own safety, they have the power of well-armed unscrupulous zealots with nothing to lose. They believe that their mission is to destroy anything that conflicts with their harsh teachings, showing no mercy, reveling in inflicting pain and suffering in the name of God. Worst of all, they are slowly winning.

In the smarmy world of Pakistani politics, Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan’s oldest and most powerful religious party, dangles its votes and political influence to the power brokers at the pinnacle of elective office, even the moderates who sit atop fragile coalitions and shaky political careers. “The Jamaat's objectives are the ‘Iqamat-e-Deen’ or ‘Nizam-e-Mustafa’ - the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. The Jamaat opposes Westernization, ideologies such as capitalism, socialism and secularism, and practices such as bank interest and liberalist social mores.” Wikipedia. It is the party of the extreme, the intolerant, those who seek to stab their Islamic republic into the heart of the Pakistani body politic, to create a Sunni tyrannical power that very much mirrors the misery in nearby Shiite Iran. In exchange for trading votes, Jamaat-e-Islami gets a lot back. Their adherents are given nearly free reign to create disruptive sub-groups, planted among communities all over Pakistan, and most importantly, within even the most prestigious universities of the land.

The University of the Punjab has produced three Nobel Laureates and houses 30,000 of Pakistan’s best and brightest. It is also home to Jamaat-e-Islami’s affiliate, “the student group, Islami Jamiat Talaba (one of the largest pan-university organizations in the country), whose morals police have for years terrorized this graceful, century-old institution by brandishing a chauvinistic form of Islam, teachers here say.” (NY Times, April 20^th). What exactly does this group do? To some, it offers a voice for better food, cleaner housing and even more milk in their tea. But the trade-off is Muslim fundamentalism at it tyrannical worst. Teachers who teach what the fundamentalists oppose are threatened, even beaten; one who attempted to expel violent adherents of this fundamentalism from an environmental science class was beaten so badly that there were doubts that he would survive. The music department has yet to be able to hold a class on campus, art studies are almost impossible: “[Islami Jamiat Talaba’s] members block music classes, ban Western soft drinks and beat male students for sitting near girls on the university lawn.” The Times.

For the most part, although it is spread throughout Pakistan, Islami Jamiat Talaba is a small minority on this and most campuses, one whose slight popularity is further deteriorating, an organization that is hated and feared by teacher and student alike. But because of their political parent, Jamaat-e-Islami, they are virtually untouchable. As a result, the quality of instruction at this esteemed institution is falling like a stone; great students are no longer the rule, but a rare exception. The faculty and student body are disillusioned, bitter and scared. Physical violence is no longer aberrant, threats have become the norm. Education based on facts and knowledge is fading away almost as fast as the violence has escalated.

The sad part of this reality is that it is a metaphor for Pakistan as a nation. Ruling families cling stubbornly to power under the guise of democracy, making unholy alliances that cannot serve the people or the long-term national goals. Inter-Service Intelligence officers and high-ranking soldiers – resentful of the rich family heirs – easily make allies with the fundamentalists that would someday weed out the feudalistic moneyed class (undoubtedly to substitute their own) and impose a religious dictatorship that would elevate the humble spies and soldiers necessary to enforce the cruel decrees of religious zealots, the way they do it in Iran these days. Pakistan could all topple in days; picture the 1979 revolution in Iran. Or it might crack and erode for years. Iran didn’t have nukes in 1979; whoever takes Pakistan get s nukes on day one.

I’m Peter Dekom, and what you don’t know could kill you.