Role of Pakistan in War against Terrorism by Hassan Qadri

                                          "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists"[1]

 Said the former American President George Walker Bush on 20^th September 2001, while addressing a joint session of congress, shortly after the 9/11 bombings, moreover a resolution was passed by UN to prohibit nations from rendering any support to alleged terrorist organizations. As there was no option of neutrality, most nations were dragged into this war, unwillingly. Among such countries was the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

                                                                      Pakistan joined the American coalition during the regime of the dictator Pervaiz Musharraf and had such an important role to play in this war that it was termed the Front-line state. Regardless, it has been criticized for using Taliban groups to protect its own interests and for misusing billions of dollars of funds sent to finance the war against terrorism, specifically. As it happens Pakistan has its own concerns regarding some US operations like drone attacks, spying key Pakistani figures and other unauthorized covert strikes.  In this atmosphere of mutual distrust, the Pak-US relations have never been consistent. In spite of the fact that it has been assailed for not doing enough, and under the chants of “do more” Pakistan continues to serve this cause till now.

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·       Strategic Importance of Pakistan:

Apart from being a neighbor of the trouble struck Afghanistan, Pakistan has immense strategic value because of the neighboring Central Asian States. Pakistan provides the shortest sea route to these mineral rich yet landlocked countries. These states have oil and gas resources in abundance which could only be distributed across the world by means of pipelines running through Pakistan to the Arabian Sea. Moreover establishing an alliance with Pakistan would enable keeping an eye on growing global powers like China and India as well as the strong anti-US state of Iran and the oil rich Arab states.

·       Historical Background:

Pakistan acted as an “incubator”[2] for Mujahedeen in cooperation with US, to free Afghanistan of its soviet occupiers. After the USSR had departed (1989) so went the Americans and with them went their aid, military and economic. Hence, anarchy spread all over Afghanistan destabilizing neighboring countries as well. All this inspired a proxy war among Pakistan and India, the two power contenders of the region, which ended in Pakistan installing a Taliban government in Kabul which ruled until the American invasion of Afghanistan (1996-2001).

·       Why did Pakistan join the war:

1.      Impartiality was not an option so Pakistan could either side with the Taliban and be labeled a terrorist state and a danger to civilized world, or with the Americans and turn on its own Ally, Pakistan choose the seemingly safer option of joining “the American War on terrorism.”

2.      Pakistan was already suffering from internal terrorism in which the groups involved had their roots in Afghanistan, the Pakistani think tank saw this as an opportunity of forming an alliance against a common foe.

3.      Pakistan was globally considered a failed state and the analysts said that the country would not make another decade, Pakistan wanted to improve its image as well as it wanted to prove these predictions wrong.

4.      America while leaving Afghanistan in a lurch had also imposed some sanctions on Pakistan and Afghanistan. Joining America in united offence would have meant an end to or, relaxation in these sanctions.

5.      In case Pakistan had refused this American demand, not only Pakistan would have been internationally isolated but its worst enemy India would have taken its place as an American Ally, tightening its grasp on the region.

6.      Apart from killings based on fundamentalism, radicalism, sectarianism the political forces were also involved in a war of their own, a war against terrorism gave a perfect cover to Musharraf, the then ruler of Pakistan, to get rid of this nuisance as well.

·       Steps taken to diminish terrorism

§  Military Operations:

                                                      Pakistani military has carried out many operations to rid the nation of the menace of terrorism namely Operation Rah-e-Rast, Rah-e-nijaat, Black thunder storm and the ongoing Zarb-e-Azb.

§  Madrassa reforms:

                                         Madrassas in the west are considered nurseries that nurture fundamentalists and radical extremists thus, under external pressure and under the influence of foreign aid Pakistan sought to modernize madrassa education, particularly in Musharraf’s reign. However this project did not yield much result as only a small proportion of madrassas could even be registered.

§  Eliminating Terrorist Leadership:  “The initial lead that eventually helped trace bin Laden, according to President Obama, was provided by Pakistani security officials”[3]

Among all the nations facing terrorism Pakistan has neutralized the most terrorist leaders including Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, the 9/11 mastermind and hundreds are still behind bars in Pakistan’s or in American custody.

§  Supportive role:

                                                           Apart from handing over terrorist detainees and valuable intelligence Pakistan has forwarded its unconditional support by letting US and NATO use its airfields for logistics, reconnaissance and even drone attacks which have even been conducted inside its territory. The major supply line of the Allied-Forces is also through Pakistan

§  Afghan peace process:

                                           Pakistan has also shown keen interest in playing its role in Afghan peace process which would provide peace and stability to the entire region.

                                             

·       Pakistan’s stance towards:

§  USA:

                                           Pakistan was given the status of an Ally in war against terrorism, but the relations between the two nations have been good as well as bad at times. American aid worth billions of dollars to Pakistan is accompanied by “DO MORE” lectures, drone strikes and covert activities. On the other hand America has blamed Pakistan of harboring Taliban leaders, using insurgent groups for its own gain etc. In this atmosphere of mutual Pakistan has been cautious in its demeanor towards America.

§  Local/Domestic Insurgent groups:

                                      Pakistan and India have been at daggers drawn since the Kashmir dispute first arose, that is why Pakistan has been backing up various groups involved in Jihad or Insurgency in Occupied Kashmir namely Hizbul-Mujahideen, Harkatul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Jaish-e-Muhammad, moreover Pakistan is reluctant to operate against groups that do not concern it, a wise and cautious approach.

                                      Whereas Pakistan has not shown leniency to other extremists, challenging its sovereignty, many operations have taken place in North-West Pakistan to wipe them out of existence, like Sipah-e-Sahaba, Laskkar-e-Jhangvi, Tehrik-i-Nifaz-i-Jafriya, Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi, Tehreek-e-Talibaan Pakistan (TTP).

§  International Terrorist Organizations:

                                                    Infamous terrorist forces like Al-Qaeda, Tehreek-e-Taliban and their Allies have been repeatedly targeted by the Allied-forces including Pakistan. Pakistan has provided logistic support to the Allies and has given them precious information, helpful in identifying and eliminating key terrorist targets.

                                                  Pakistan has been accused of providing hidden support to these Groups and has been declared a safe haven for Al-Qaeeda and Taliban leaders, Al-Qaeeda leader Osama Bin Laden has been allegedly killed in his “safe house” in Pakistan.                                                                

·       Implications of Pakistan’s role in this war:

v  Public Resentment

v  Heavy financial and resource loss

v  Heavy loss of lives

v  Political Instability

v  Loss to International image

·       Timeline of Pakistan’s role in War against Terrorism

Ø 1979-1989:                                                                                                  

                                             US and Pakistan cooperate to create a generation of mujahideen to successfully oust the USSR from Afghanistan.

Ø 1990s:

                                            Pakistan supports Taliban to install a government which is a faction of mujahedeen involved in anti-Soviet activities. Musharraf takes office. Some of the mujahedeen factions return to Pakistan to start an internal Shia-Sunni conflict, the worst sectarian devastation the country has seen.

Ø 2001-2003:

                                Pakistan joins the Global war on terrorism. Musharraf forms anti-terrorism policy increasing cooperation with the US. Talibanization increases.

Ø 2004-2005:

                                US abort a mission to capture important Al-Qaeda members in Pakistani territory to protect rekations with the country.

Ø 2006-2008:

                                Musharraf conducts Lal-Masjid and Baluchistan operations killing Maulana Abdur Rasheed and Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti in both places respectively. 2008 sees the resignation of Musharraf under pressure by US and other local pressure groups.

Ø 2009-2011:

                                 Democratic government leads offences against terrorists based in Swat. Extremists are on the run following a series of military operations.

Ø 2012-2013:

                                      Following a sequence of events, (the American attack on Pakistani Salalah chechpost, killing of Osama Bib Laden in Pakistani territory and the gas-pipeline deal with Iran) Pakistani relations with US heat up so high that Pakistan threatens to leave the alliance. According to many analysts the Pak-US alliance is effectively over.

Ø 2014:

                                      Pakistan clears its intentions by commencing another anti-terrorist operation named Zarb-e-Azb.

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[1] http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html

[2] Zalman, Amy. “Terrorism Timeline: Pakistan and the Global War on Terror Pakistan Plays Friend and Foe to U.S.”  

[3] •           Ahmad, Ishtiaq. “Pakistan and the Fight against Terrorism”. Asia-Pacific Foundation and George C. Marshall European Center For Security Studies London, 5th October, 2011, page 2

History of Islamic Legislation by Hassan Qadri

                            

History of Islamic Legislation is divisible into six distinct periods or stages, which are explained below:

1.     First Period or The Era of the Prophet Muhammad or daur-alnabi (PBUH):

The first period is the period when the Holy Prophet was alive from the year 13 before Hijrah to 10 A.H. (608/609-631/632A.D.).

This Period can be further divided into two more sub-periods, namely:

·        The Meccan Period:

               The period before Hijrah when the prophet (PBUH) was in Mecca is known as the Meccan period. The period extends from 1^st Nabavi up to 1^st of Hijrah.

The main revelations in that period were regarding the fundamental beliefs of the nascent religion, like

o   Fundamental beliefs like Monotheism, Prophet hood etc.

o   Injunctions of Shariah regarding murder, burial of infant daughters alive, infidelity, hypocrisy etc.

o   Applaud able qualities like truthfulness, good behavior towards parents etc

·        The Madani Period:

                The period after the Hijrah, when the Prophet (PBUH) migrated to Madinah from Mecca is called the Madani Period. The period lasted from 1^st Hijrah until 10^th of Hijrah.

The Revelations in that period were broader in dimension than the ones in the Meccan Period, they include:

o   Obligations like Zakat, Hajj etc.

o   Penalties, punishment, remedies etc

o   Directions concerning matters of the state.

During the period of revelation in the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad, all legal ruling were derived from the following sources:

a.         THE HOLY QURAN. This is the compilation of ALLAH’S divine revelation which serves as the blueprint of the Islamic way of life. Many sections of the Quran were revealed to resolve problems arising from the increasing Muslim Community. This Method of gradual and experiential legislation was most suitable for the nomadic Arab tribes who were used to a life of unchallenged freedom.

b.         THE SUNNAH OF THE PROPHET. This consists of the acts and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad and represents the application of the Quranic blueprint in the daily life of a Muslim.

2.     Second Period or The Era of the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs (daur Al-Khilafa-al- Rashidun):

The second period is the period from 10 A.H. to 40 A.H. (631/632-660/661 A.D.). The thirty years of the rightly guided Caliphs, the period of the Companions of the Prophet (Ashab) and their immediate successors (Tabi’un). This was the  Golden Age of Islam. This was the period where the compilation of the Glorious Qur’an was made and the appointment of First Judge as well as the separation of the Executive branch of government and the Judiciary. This stage witnessed the rapid expansion of the Islamic Empire to include Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq and Persia (now known as Iran).Hence, the early Muslim community came into immediate contact with new cultures, systems and behavioral patterns which did not have specific corresponding provisions in the

Shari’ah.

Sources of Ijtehad in that era were the following:

·         Quran

·         Sunnah

·         Ijma

·         Qia’s

Confronted with situational conflicts, the Caliphs decided as follows:

a.       Search first for a specific ruling in the Holy Qur’an

b.      If there is no such ruling in the Holy Qur’an, search for a ruling from the Sunnah of the Prophet

c.       If there is no ruling in the Sunnah, meet with the major Sahabah and obtain a unanimous agreement on the solution to the conflict. This unanimity became known as Ijma

d.       If there is no unanimity, obtain the majority’s position.

e.       If the differences are great and no significant majority can be obtained, the Caliph can make his own Ijtihad, which will now be the rule in the conflict.

 Fiqh was developed or introduced at this period/stage which was based on actual rather than hypothetical conflicts. Later in the evolution of fiqh, this came to be called f iqh ul-waqi’ee.

   

3.     Third Period or The Era of Umayyad Dynasty or (daur-alnumuw wa alrush):

The third period of Muslim law is the period of the Umayyad Caliphate from 41 A.H. to 132 A.H. (661-750 A.D.). In this period, the Muslim empire was transformed from an Islamic theocracy to an Arab state. In this period there arose different parties such as the Shiahs, the Kharijites and the Sunnis. The use of ijtihad increased because of the difficulty of gathering all legal scholars together in one place because of the expansion of the Islamic Empire. The Sunnah of the Prophet was no longer readily accessible to Muslim populations far from Madinah and Makkah, the two most important centers of Islam. Hadith narratives also became widespread and there grew a tendency to falsify or fabricate them to suit personal purposes. This period marked the first attempt to compile the ijtihad and ijma of the Sahabah.  Clear-cut schools of legal thought arose which would later become the Madhahib or Schools of Law. Four of these madhahib will survive to become known as the Four Orthodox Schools of Islamic Law:

·         Hanafi

·         Maliki

·         Shafi’i

·         Hanbali

There appeared many renowned Fuqaha in various parts of the Islamic Empire like:

o   Abdullah bin Umar, Saeed bin Musayyab, Urwa bin Zubair in Madinah

o   Abdullah bin Abbas in Makkah

o   Abdullah bin Masud, Alqama, Aswad, Ibrahim Nakh’I, Abu Haneefa in Koufa

o   Abu Musa Asha’ri, Anis bin Malik in Basra

o   Abdullah bin Amar, Laith bin Sa’d, Ibn Abi Habeeb in Shaam

4.     Fourth Period or The Era of Abbasids or (daur-alizdehaar -wa -altadween):

The fourth period of the Islamic law is the period of the Abbasid Caliphate from 132 A.H. to 450 A.H. In this particular period Muslims excelled in nearly every domain of knowledge, new branches of knowledge were also discovered by profoundly talented Muslim Scholars, this development was made possible due to the support of the Abbasid Caliphs who took keen interest in flourishing different fields of knowledge. Not only the             Sunnah  of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) was compiled into  in this period but also various books on the subject of Fiqh arduously compiled by the Jurists. Like all the other scholars, the Jurists were also bestowed with gracious gifts. In rare cases the Caliph himself called upon Scholars to produce manuscripts containing codes for running the state, like the Caliph Haroon-ur-Rasheed called upon Imam Abu Yusuf  to compile Kitaab-ul-Khiraaj to run the affairs of the ever extending Empire.

                                   A large number of Ahadeeth compendiums (like the Infamous Sehah sitta) were compiled and collected in this period which gave rise to new fields of Ilm-al-Hadeeth like jarh, ta’deel. These new trends also affected the ilm-al-fiqh and such technicalities started to develop in this branch of knowledge as well. Imam Shafi’I (founder of usool-alfiqh) and Imam Muhammad are the leading Jurists of that Era.

5.      Fifth Period or The Era of Ottoman Caliphate or (daur-u-altaqleed)

The fifth period of the Islamic law is the period of the Ottoman Caliphate from 450 A.H. to 1286 A.H. In these periods the pupils of the worthy Jurists started following the madhab of their mentors as they found the rich texts sufficient to carry out the activities of Qada efficiently. In addition legal reasoning prospered as the scholars intended to study the intents, motives and reasons behind sharai’ phenomena. Moreover the practices of Jarh and Ta’deel became more significant than ever. Not everything went in the favor of Ummah as Legal disputes appeared; subsequently legal arguments were introduced to deal with these growing shenanigans which turned out be to rather unsuccessful, instead these arguments added fuel to the fire and puny disputes turned into conflicts between the Madahibs. Ijtehad in its true form was more or less abandoned and a new refined form appeared in the following Era, that is the era of Legislatine Renaissance.

6.     Sixth Period or The Era of Legislative Renaissance

The sixth period of the Muslim Legislative History is from 1286 A.H. to the Modern day. At the Dawn of the Modern Age it occurred to the Muslim Jurists that the lack of Ijtehad and the tradition of Taqleed adopted in the last period had left a wide gap, thus the Laws of Shariah were struggling to keep up with the changing modern legal trends, thus under the banner of Ottoman Caliphate (which was about to collapse) Lajnah Turkiyya released a manuscript to set out some “standards of Shariah” to mold its various laws according to the requirements of the Modern age and the foundations of this manuscript were not laid upon any madhad in particular, thus the older practice of strictly following a single madhab was not followed in its compilation.

                                                   Many Institutions were established nationally and internationally to cope with the ever-increasing requirements in the 20^th century, some of which are as follows:

o   Islamic Ideological Council, Pakistan

o   Islamic Research Institute in Al-Azhar, Egypt

o   Fiqh Council which works under Muslim World League

o   Islamic Legislative Council, Sudan

o   Islamic Legislative Council, affiliated with Organization of Islamic Conference.

Causes of Political Instability In Pakistan

By:                                                       

ALLAH Reham Abdullah                                    

Causes of  Political Instability In Pakistan

Table of Contents                                                                   

1)    Introduction                       ………………….           

2)    Causes of Political Instability     …………..                                       

a.     Law and Order Situation      ………….             

b.    Influence of establishment     ………….             

c.      Influence of neighbor countries      …...            

d.    Corruption                      .....………………                  

e.      Energy Crises                         ………….             

3)    Conclusion                         ………………...                         

                                                                  

Introduction

Political instability is defined as the process whereby the political life or atmosphere of a country or nation suddenly changes or fails. When the political situation of a state or region is not certain because it has a high possibility of changing or getting disturbed, then we say there is political instability in that state or region.

It is common knowledge that political instability retards/slow down the development and progress of a country. In order for a country to develop and move forward there should be a stable political atmosphere.

Pakistan has been facing political crisis from its birth till now. In this long period many government changed but unfortunately they all could not maintain the political environment stable. Political instability is a situation when the uncertainty among the government structure expand due to some basic causes and it eventually end up the current government. We all know when a ruling party faces this sort of uncertainty so they don’t do well for the public. They become unable to make polices for the development of the country. The internal matter gradually becomes uncontrolled. Law and order situation also become worse. The opposition parties take the advantage of this situation. They lead the public and compel them for strikes and all these things. eventually the governing government have to leave, if they don’t then there is big possibility that a dictator take the hold and all the development ,internal ,foreign policies is stopped .this is what happening in our country. And after completing 60 year we still could not find our destination and even direction.

Causes of Political Instability

                                                    Pakistan has failed to establish a political stability due to constitutional conflict, absence of stable democratic government, economic problems, and influence of establishment, influence of neighbor country, weak control on institutions, energy crises and lack of social growth etc. So law and order situation is one of the causes of political instability.

a)    Law and Order Situation

                                                     Since our country came into being existence it is facing political or law and order uncertainty. The big challenge that Pakistan confronting is among several other problems is law and order situation

The law and order situation arises when there is insecurity, threat of violence or violence arising due to a host of factors disturbing the ordinary conduct of life and businesses in a society. Organized crime and terrorism are usually viewed as two different forms of crime, increase of which directly worsen law and order. Organized crime is generally held to focus mainly on economic profit (but not always limited to it), while terrorism is said to be motivated chiefly by ideological aims and by a desire for political change.

 The law and order situation in Pakistan is alarming. There is no rite of Govt. Almost daily many target killing incidents are being observed in the different areas of Pakistan. Since last few years thousands of people are died in different bomb explosions and suicide attacks. People of Pakistan are feeling a consistent risk of security. So this led to a political instability.

b)      Influence of establishment

                                            

                                               Pakistan has been heavily influenced historically by the military. Since its independence in 1947, Pakistan has spent several decades under military rule (1958-1971, 1977-1988, and 1999-2008).

 The Pakistani military is the 8th largest in the world are well organized. Military coups are not uncommon in Pakistani history, the most recent occurring in 1999. Pakistan became officially ruled by civilian rulers in 2002 with the occurrence of parliamentary elections and the promotion of Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamalas as prime minister, a civilian. Along with the military there are two other powerful political entities, the Pakistan's People Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML). However, the military remains very influential to this day in domestic affairs as well as foreign affairs.

c)      Influence of neighbor countries

                                                            Geographical location of Pakistan is very               important and almost all of its Neighbor Countries are very important which also effects Pakistan greatly. Neighbor Countries of Pakistan with whom it shares border are; Afghanistan, Iran, China, India,

Influence of neighbor countries also effect political stability in a country, like India is violating our border and every day 5,6 civilians were killed so this also led to political uncertainty.

  Moreover, the indirectly contributing factor towards the worsening political situation is external interference of other powers for their selfish interests. In the already disturbed conditions their interference made the scenario worst. Pakistan is a rich country in terms of important minerals, gas and important coasts the quest of resources and being a gate way towards the hot waters has made Pakistan an attractive country for external powers.  

d)    Corruption

                           Corruption and mismanagement of the wealth of a country by the leaders in different institutions of the country also a cause of political instability. Corruption has over the years been shown to be one of the biggest factors responsible for political instability in many countries all over the world and as well in Pakistan. The more corrupt a country is, the higher the likelihood of that country becoming unstable.

Mass unemployment and poverty can easily trigger political instability in any country. When majority of the people in a country are impoverished and cannot find jobs to do, then they outlet their anger on the government and that leads to instability in the country. Many countries have suffered from instability as a result of this. Suppression of opposition parties by the ruling government. When members of the opposition parties are deliberately targeted and prosecuted for noapparent reason, then this can easily give rise to instability in the country.

e)      Energy Crises

                       

                            Energy resources are the backbone of social economic development of any country. It is essential for the production and making of goods and other things which contributes a lot of revenue in the budget of Pakistan. Energy is essential for running machinery in industrial facilities, industrial devices, lightening the cities and running the system of transport. Pakistan is experiencing the worst economic crisis since its creation. Factories and power looms are being closed down and the people do not have any idea what to do. There are many factors which have contributed towards the energy crisis and the government has failed miserably in solving this problem of load shedding.
Pakistan has been unable to build any major dam in the country. The population has been increasing very rapidly since 2000 and no government has started the work on the proposed Kalabagh Dam in the region. As the population has been increasing the electricity demand has also increase but the supply has remained the same. There are three other major reasons for the energy crises. They are circular debt, mismanagement of resources and corruption.

             

                      

Conclusion

There are many reasons behind political instability in Pakistan. After the failure of one policy, government does not considers its failure and announce another policy without studying the aftermaths of the last one. Party leaders have their own interest and aims. It is difficult to point out all causes of unstable Heavy taxes and unemployment are crushing the people and they are forced to live below poverty line. Load shedding, high prices, and target killing especially in Karachi city are the gift for common people. Law and order conditions are out of control and all institutions have badly failed to provide justice to a common man. A system of fair accountability would help improve the situation.
The only solution is allowing the oppressed people of Pakistan to share decision making process with transparency and accountability from top to bottom. We need to strengthen our political system and institutions, develop an active and sustainable growth, eliminate corruption, provide timely justice, enhance employment, start steps for population control, seek consensus based political solutions, and resolve ethnic, sectarian and religious fault lines.