Frontline Pakistan : The Struggle With Militant Islam - Arz-e-Pak
Frontline Pakistan : The Struggle With Militant Islam - Arz-e-Pak
Frontline Pakistan : The Struggle With Militant Islam - Arz-e-Pak
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<strong>Frontline</strong> <strong><strong>Pak</strong>istan</strong><br />
a politically moderate community and had supported secular political<br />
parties. But General Zia’s <strong>Islam</strong>ization and the Iranian revolution<br />
spurred them into political activism. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Islam</strong>ic revolution in Iran<br />
had inspired Shias everywhere. Tens of thousands of Shias gathered<br />
in <strong>Islam</strong>abad in 1980 to protest their marginalization by the Sunni<br />
majority, the biggest show of strength by the <strong><strong>Pak</strong>istan</strong>i Shia community. 7<br />
It was also the period when a Shia political party known as Tehrik<br />
Nifaz-e-Fiqh Jafaria (TNFJ) (Movement for the Implementation of Shia<br />
Jurisprudence) was formed, a move reflecting the community’s newfound<br />
assertiveness. As the only Shia <strong>Islam</strong>ic state, Iran became the<br />
centre for spiritual guidance and political support for most <strong><strong>Pak</strong>istan</strong>i<br />
Shias. <strong>The</strong> military government and its Sunni allies perceived it as an<br />
Iranian conspiracy to export its revolution to <strong><strong>Pak</strong>istan</strong>. 8<br />
<strong>The</strong> divide, deepened by the actions of the state, could never<br />
be bridged. <strong>The</strong> Shia revolutionary idealism was followed by the<br />
emergence of militant Sunni sectarian organizations. Sipah-e-Sahaba<br />
<strong><strong>Pak</strong>istan</strong> (SSP; Army of the Prophet’s Companions) was formed in 1985<br />
by the fiery Deobandi cleric Haq Nawaz Jhangvi with a one-point anti-<br />
Shia agenda. 9 A prayer leader at a mosque in the central Punjab city of<br />
Jhang, he was reported to have close links with <strong><strong>Pak</strong>istan</strong>i intelligence<br />
agencies. An offshoot of JUI, SSP represented a state-sponsored and<br />
Saudi-backed movement against <strong><strong>Pak</strong>istan</strong>’s pro-Iran Shia minority. 10 It<br />
sought to turn <strong><strong>Pak</strong>istan</strong> into a Sunni state.<br />
A market district in southern Punjab, Jhang was the birthplace of<br />
organized sectarian militancy in <strong><strong>Pak</strong>istan</strong>, and the rise of SSP reflected<br />
its socio-economic division in the area. <strong>The</strong> bazaar and merchants<br />
supported the Sunni militant group in order to counter the Shia feudal<br />
aristocracy which had traditionally dominated local politics. 11 <strong>With</strong><br />
funding from Saudi Arabia and some other Arab countries and tacit<br />
support from the military regime, SSP extended its organization across<br />
the country. It had a student wing, a welfare trust and a vast network<br />
of local offices. <strong>The</strong> outfit also operated as a political party, regularly<br />
contesting elections in Punjab province. 12 <strong>With</strong> almost a million cardholding<br />
members, SSP emerged as one of the most well-knit <strong>Islam</strong>ist<br />
groups.<br />
Initially the SSP cadres came from Deobandi and Ahle Hadith<br />
madrasas, 13 which had proliferated during the anti-Soviet jihad. But<br />
later it established its own madrasas mostly in Punjab and Karachi. It<br />
also drew support from among the urban poor and middle classes and<br />
received funds from expatriates in the Middle East.