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>The</strong> Siege <strong>With</strong>in<br />
1 1<br />
Musharraf owed his triumph solely to the hardline religious groups<br />
that had hitherto been at odds with him over his pro-US policies as<br />
well as his domestic crackdown on <strong>Islam</strong>ic militants. In return for<br />
their support for his presidency, Musharraf had agreed to shed his<br />
military uniform by the end of the year. ‘<strong>The</strong>re comes a time in the<br />
lives of nations when important decisions must be taken,’ he said.<br />
‘That time has come.’ <strong>The</strong> President hoped the move would end the<br />
political deadlock, which had paralysed Parliament since the elections<br />
14 months earlier.<br />
<strong>The</strong> deal between Musharraf and the MMA had revived the<br />
traditional alliance between the mullahs and the military. 16 It also<br />
strengthened the <strong>Islam</strong>ists’ hold over the bordering provinces where<br />
the Taliban had regrouped. This ‘marriage of convenience’, however,<br />
had not deterred the more extremist elements from plotting to kill him.<br />
Ironically, the suicide attack on the President’s convoy came just a day<br />
after the signing of the deal between the MMA and the government.<br />
He was a marked man and they were after his life. Musharraf did not<br />
realize that he could not ride on both boats.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Islam</strong>ists tried to make the best of their new-found political<br />
clout. Besides pushing for the adoption of <strong>Islam</strong>ic sharia laws, the<br />
administration pledged to end co-education and close down movie<br />
theatres, which it considered to be a western violation of traditional<br />
norms and values. <strong>The</strong> administration ordered schools to replace shirt<br />
and trouser uniforms with the traditional shalwar kameez, describing<br />
the wearing of western dress as ‘un-<strong>Islam</strong>ic’. In order to <strong>Islam</strong>ize the<br />
education system, more <strong>Islam</strong>ic texts were used in school and college<br />
curricula. <strong>The</strong> MMA’s agenda to end co-education was the first step<br />
towards the total segregation of women in public life. 17<br />
<strong>The</strong>se retrogressive measures were part of an attempt to impose<br />
a Taliban-like orthodox <strong>Islam</strong>ic system. <strong>The</strong> MMA government<br />
increased the role of religion in political and social life. <strong>The</strong> Chief<br />
Minister, Akram Khan Durrani, had to grow a beard after some <strong>Islam</strong>ic<br />
leaders said he lacked this criterion of a ‘good Muslim’; under the<br />
strict sharia law, Muslim men were expected to wear beards. <strong>The</strong> MMA<br />
demanded abolition of the 25 per cent of seats reserved for women in<br />
the national and provincial assemblies, saying they had no business to<br />
be in Parliament. 18 <strong>The</strong>se measures fuelled intolerance and gave a free<br />
hand to the mullahs, who opposed female education. In Peshawar,<br />
thousands of <strong>Islam</strong>ic zealots smashed billboards carrying pictures of<br />
female models, declaring them un-<strong>Islam</strong>ic.