The Tinderbox Province

By Muhammad Amir Rana –

In the international gaze on the troubled north-west, religious military in the Punjab goes vastly underreported

Punjab is the most populous of Pakistan’s provinces and is inhabited by 45 percent of the total population of the country. It gets 51.74 percent of the financial resources in the national divisible pool, shapes the national political trends and is considered the custodian of the ideological and strategic interests of the country. Punjab is also a hub of religious organizations and forms contours of religious-based politics, movements and militant trends. At least 239 religious organizations are known to be operating in Pakistan. Out of these 107 have their headquarters in Punjab and almost all the remaining ones have strong network in the province.

These organizations pursue multiple agendas, the main ones include transformation of society according to their ideologies, enforcement of Shariah, establishment of a caliphate system, fulfillment of their sectarian objectives and achievement of Pakistan’s strategic and ideological objectives through militancy. Lahore, the capital of Punjab, which is considered the cultural capital of the country, can also be described as the main hub of religious organizations in Pakistan. It is the only city in the whole of South Asia where more than 71 such organizations operate. Multan is the second crucial hub in the province where 18 religious organizations have their headquarters.

The religious organizations in Pakistan have been striving to achieve their agendas since the country gained independence. The primary focus in their struggle has been on Islamization of the state and religio-socialization of society. The religious forces think that this objective cannot be achieved until they come to power. Their politics, practices and strategies have revolved around the ambition to capture power. On another level, the religio-socialization trends have increased in society. The ultimate goal of both religious goals has been to enforce Islam in all spheres of life. This is manifested in six forms: political Islamization, revivalist movements, Sufism, Tableegh and Daawa (preaching), sectarianism and militarization. One or more of these forms and tendencies can be found in all religious organizations operating in the country.

All six forms are fully exhibited in Punjab. Although all of these can be found in other provinces as well, one or two trends mainly dominate the religious discourse there. For example, in Sindh province the Sufi and Tableeghi trends dominate. In the rural parts of the country, such as interior Sindh, Sufi Islam is still popular but in urban areas Tableeghi and sectarian trends lead the religious discourse. Karachi, the capital of Sindh, is an exception where the case is remarkably similar to Punjab. The dominant trends in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan provinces are political Islamization and Tableegh. This can be attributed to the influence of Deobandis and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) there. Militancy and sectarianism nonetheless move parallel to these trends, mainly in KP.

The proliferation of religious organizations in Pakistan began in the 1970s and reached its peak during the Soviet-Afghan war in the 1980s. Until 1979, the number of religious organizations in Pakistan was 30, including seven from Deobandi school of thought, five Barelvi, four each Ahle-Hadith and Shia, while three groups who were either splinters of JI or were influenced by it had surfaced. After the 1980s, a sharp increase in the growth of religious groups was observed, and their number rose to 239 in 2002. These figures only take into consideration organizations at the national, regional and provincial level. The number runs into thousands if all small groups at the local level are counted. Among the 239, as many as 21 groups participate in electoral politics, 148 work purely on sectarian agendas, 24 are associated with militant jihad, 12 are striving for the establishment of a caliphate system and do not believe in the democratic dispensation, 18 are missionary in nature—focused mainly on preaching their sectarian thoughts—while 10 operate as charities.

In terms of geographical distribution, Punjab tops the list as 107 religious organizations have their headquarters there. Kashmir and KP follow with 48 and 43 groups respectively but these figures also include small militant groups and Taliban factions. If these are excluded the strength of religious organizations there is quite low. In Sindh, most of the religious organizations have their headquarters in Karachi. The main reasons for this include ethnic diversity, social and cultural landscape of the city, and Karachi being the economic capital of the country and the foremost donation base for religious organizations.

All major religious political parties, except Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and its four factions, have their headquarters in Punjab. The JUI concentrates more on KP and Balochistan because of its support base and has its main offices there. Most of the Deobandi seminaries and militant groups are based in Punjab. The JI and its affiliated or splinter groups have their headquarters in Lahore. Similarly, the leading Barelvi, Shia and Ahle Hadith organizations are concentrated in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan in Punjab. Most of the religious organizations prefer urban areas, especially commercial and business hubs. The seminaries largely follow a similar pattern.

It is crucial to explore this influx by religious organizations in Punjab. One clear justification usually given by experts is that Punjab has always remained the center of political movements. Even before the establishment of Pakistan, Pakistan Resolution was passed in 1940 in Lahore. Punjab was the center of gravity for religious forces as pre-partition religious movements originated from here; such as Khaksar Tehrik, the Ahrars and Jamaat-e-Islami that were nurtured in Punjab in the 1940s. Other reasons might include that the province was economically prosperous compared to other provinces in undivided India and the general public was more religiously inclined.

It is also a fact that no political or religious movement has succeeded or had an impact in Pakistan unless it got support in Punjab. The anti-Ahmedi movement of the 1950s and the 1970s, the inclusion of the Objectives Resolution in the constitution, the Nizam-e-Mustafa movement (movement for Shariah) of 1976 and the Movement for Restoration of Democracy in the 1980s are but a few examples.

As discussed earlier, the concentration of religious organizations in urban areas has economic and political reasons. But it is significant to note that the level of radicalization is also high in these areas. Similarly, security risks are much higher compared to small towns or areas where religious organizations are not strong. Lahore, Rawalpindi and Dera Ghazi Khan suffered 19 terrorist attacks in 2009. A similar trend had been noted in 2007 and 2008. Although South Punjab is highlighted as a troubled zone, the distribution of religious groups in Punjab shows the same trend across the province. The most affected districts include Lahore, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Jhang, Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan.

In these areas radicalization is not specific to a class or community, contrary to the assumption that madrassa graduates or the religiously inclined communities are more vulnerable to absorbing violent tendencies. The student wings of religious political parties, sectarian, missionary, radical and militant organizations are quite active in colleges and universities.

Subsidiaries of these organizations influence various segments of society. Almost every religious organization has a special wing for women, traders, lawyers, doctors, teachers, etc. The ratio of students of private and government educational institutions joining militant organizations is much higher than madrassa students and the latter seem more inclined towards violent sectarian organizations. Many madrassas are used by militant organizations as hideouts and operational bases. The characteristics and distribution of religious organizations in Punjab demonstrate that the problem is deep-rooted and not confined merely to the southern parts of the province or to some districts. The proliferation of religious organizations and their multiple agendas are complex and have played a role in the growth of radicalization and violence in the country.

In this context, it is significant that a survey by Pew Research Center finds many similarities in public opinion on the issue of radicalization across Muslim countries. Interestingly, Pakistan and Turkey are among Muslims states with much lower support for terrorism among the people. The people of the two countries are concerned about an increase in extremism linked to religion. The level of radicalization is higher in Indonesia, Egypt, Nigeria and Jordan as compared to Pakistan and Turkey. If support for terrorism is low in Pakistan then why is the country facing the most unnerving degree of terrorism blamed on religious extremists? A key reason is the presence of over 100 militant groups, which transform radical tendencies into violence.

This is the key difference between Pakistan and other Muslim states. In Pakistan, Punjab is the epicenter of radical organizations. The sooner the decision makers come out of a denial mode, the better.

The writer is Director, Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies