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
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
<strong>The</strong> Conflict <strong>With</strong>in<br />
101<br />
legal mechanism or a long-term strategy in place, the administration<br />
was unable to prevent the flow of funds to unregulated madrasas<br />
and other religious groups involved in extremist activities. <strong>The</strong><br />
government’s failure to curb the jihadist madrasas had largely been<br />
responsible for fuelling <strong>Islam</strong>ic extremism.<br />
Most religious schools continued to preach hatred and intolerance.<br />
As a consequence, the ranks of sectarian extremists swelled. After<br />
the failed attempts on Musharraf’s life, the administration launched<br />
raids on some radical madrasas, but such half-hearted and piecemeal<br />
measures could hardly improve the situation. Security agencies had<br />
raided sectarian seminaries only to back down under the pressure<br />
from <strong>Islam</strong>ic parties. In August 2004, the police raided a mosque and<br />
a madrasa in <strong>Islam</strong>abad to arrest the prayer leader and his brother<br />
for their involvement in terrorist activities, including collaboration<br />
with al-Qaeda. <strong>The</strong> two were not only released and charges dropped,<br />
but they also retained their government jobs despite a long history of<br />
inciting sectarian hatred.<br />
While Musharraf was praised by the international community for<br />
his role in the war on terror, the frequency and fierceness of sectarian<br />
terrorism continued to rise. <strong>The</strong> sectarian conflict in <strong><strong>Pak</strong>istan</strong> was also<br />
a consequence of the military government’s policy of marginalization<br />
of secular democratic forces. Despite his close alliance with the USA,<br />
Musharraf continued to rely on the religious right to counter the liberal<br />
opposition. <strong>The</strong> politics of expediency was also a major factor in his<br />
government’s failure to curb religious extremism and sectarian forces.