Pakistan’s counter-terrorism challenge is back to square one

A short term solution to a serious problem will create more havoc in the long run

The Pakistani government’s efforts to disperse hard-line Islamist protesters from the capital turned deadly last week. Scores of people have died in clashes between protesters and security forces across the country. In response to the government’s crackdown, thousands of protesters blocked main highways across the country and virtually shut down major city centers. However, on Monday morning, after the military’s intervention, hard-line Islamists called off their three-week-long sit-in but only after the federal law minister resigned from his job which was among the core demands voiced during the protest.

The way protests began with the aim of forcing the government into taking back a controversial bill that allegedly questioned the finality of Prophet Muhammad, seemingly posed a serious challenge to the country’s already complex security situation. However, the way it suddenly ended with the military becoming the central part of the negotiation process offers a chilling insight into the country’s deep ideological divisions, political elite’s rivalries and the military’s profound influence that continues to dominate Pakistan’s politics.

The use of different strands of Islam in the country’s politics has been the state’s primary tool for internal political mobilization and for external projection of its efforts and ambitions. At times, Islamists are mobilized or encouraged by the state to settle political scores. On other occasions, Islamists have been used to wage wars abroad in the name of Jihad. The recent episode of Islamists coming out to streets to protest against the government to forcefully settle an issue that in essence was a non-issue points towards a long-established approach on part of the country’s military and political elites to use Islam and Islamists to further their strategic interests.

As the next general election in Pakistan is drawing closer, the political climate in the country is heating up. About two months ago, the ruling party’s lawmakers were passionately supporting` the same religious-hardliners that have attacked their homes and the government. The ruling party for a long time has tried to play with the issue for various political and electoral reasons and in the process, has emboldened Islamists and isolated an already segregated Muslim and Non-Muslim minority communities.

Moreover, the incident also offers a grim reminder that the country’s recent efforts of counter-terrorism that involved containing the narrative of hard-line Islamists and their street power have virtually been lost. The consensus and the narrative that the country’s ruling elite was able to put together against Islamist hardliners in the country the tragic incident of the Army Public school massacre in 2014 has simply gone to waste. According to agreement that was signed between the government and the protesters, the former has accepted the latter’s demands that “no ban will be imposed on the use of loudspeakers” which came into force after the National Action Plan (NAP) against terrorism was formed about three years ago.

About two months ago, the ruling party’s lawmakers were passionately supporting` the same religious-hardliners that have attacked their homes and the government

Moreover, the government has also agreed that “two representatives of the TLY (Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah) will be included in the panel assigned to decide changes in the textbook board.” However, according to Rizvi, in addition to the demands that were made public, more conditions were accepted by the government. One of the demands says that every year, November 25th will be observed as “Martyrs of Prophet’s honour day.” So not only was the state made to surrender but the protesters have also declared the day the country was rampaged will be remembered and celebrated annually.

The country’s counter-terrorism challenge is back to square one. Once again, Islamists and their sympathizers control the narrative related to the use of Islam in the state’s working. While it has been argued that the country’s military was allegedly behind the whole agitation to weaken the government, the demands that the state has agreed to do not appear to be targeting one political party or the other.

Rather, their implications are focused on the destruction of the state. It’s logical to argue that Islamists power, particular in the province of Punjab, has exacerbated to an extent that the military itself cannot take on them when they challenge the state with an ideological narrative that resonates with millions of people across the country.

The recent shakedown of the state where right-wing Islamists demands were met by the government will surely create a new generation of Jihadists that will not only have a strong street presence and a far-right narrative which can trigger mass agitation but will also make any effort by the state to reverse the deep Islamization of the country virtually impossible.

Effectively, the state’s policies appear to be creating a future for the country that will be bigoted, and intolerant. The law minister’s resignation and the state’s surrender to a handful of Islamists may defuse tensions today but it will surely pave the way for an existential crisis for the country in the long run.