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PAKISTAN: WATERSHED MOMENT Pakistan is inextricably linked with Afghanistan and also the Taliban. Pakistan's Interservices Intelligence Directorate worked closely with the CIA in mobilising Muslim guerrillas to fight Afghanistan's Russian invaders in the 1970s. The Taliban emerged in the early 1990s, consisting mostly of Afghans trained in Pakistani religious schools, along with Islamic veterans of the war with Russia. Much of the Taliban's funds come illegally through militant Islamist networks in Pakistan. Pakistan's President Musharraf has long defended their backing for the rule of the Taliban. The Taliban harbours USA's prime suspect, Osama bin Laden, as a guest and hero, and gives sanctuary to his al-Qaeda mujahidin camps for militants from all over the Muslim world, to train for jihad missions all over the world. After the 11 September terror strikes, the USA requested Pakistan's co-operation in dealing with the Taliban, as well as permission to use Pakistani air space for attacking Afghanistan if necessary. So Pakistan would be a buffer-zone between its own ally and a very angry superpower. President Musharraf has told the country's politicians and religious leaders however that Washington's demands can hardly be resisted. The Taliban then warned it would attack Pakistan if it aided the USA. Pakistani newspapers warn of chaos, anarchy, or even civil war in Pakistan, which is itself a base for some Islamic fundamentalist and jihad bodies. Pakistani militants are threatening to join with the Taliban militia against the US, should it attack Afghanistan. Leaders of groups uniting as the Afghan Defence Council have met in Lahore to plot their strategy. On 18 September, some 5000 students staged a highly charged rally and hundreds of police and paramilitary troops were needed to stop them from marching on the US consulate in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city. It is alleged that around half the Pakistani military have Islamist tendencies and would support the people if they rose up against President Musharraf over support for the US. Syed Ahmed Bukhari, head Islamic cleric to India's 125 million Muslims, warned from New Delhi that this 'could lead to the disintegration of Pakistan'. This is a watershed moment for Pakistan. Pakistan could, at this time, choose to stop looking towards the extremist Islamic forces for support in its policies and by co-operating with the USA possibly gain economic and financial support to rebuild the country on modern lines. That would also give the Pakistani government the support it needs to reduce the influence of the hardline Islamic clerics, enabling reform of oppressive laws like the Blasphemy Law and even the transformation of Afghanistan. Alternatively, stepped up militant Islamic zeal in Pakistan could result in serious civil conflict with corresponding harsher persecution and reprisals for Christians in Pakistan. World Evangelical Fellowship (WEF) Religious Liberty |
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