Marco Mezzera is a senior adviser at NOREF. He has 15 years of policy research experience in conflict and development issues, with a specific geographical focus on Pakistan and South-east Asia. He holds an MSc in Development Studies and has co-authored four books and written several articles and...
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Pakistan: the rising dangers
Marco Mezzera
, 24 January 2011
Summary
The assassination of the governor of Punjab in January 2011, motivated by his support for reform of Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy laws, shows that religious extremism in Pakistan is still on the rise. In this sense, the killing of a high-ranking politician from the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) cannot be regarded only as the work of an isolated fanatic. Rather, his extreme gesture is yet another alarming signal of the deep religious and sectarian cleavages that mark Pakistani society.
The population finds itself squeezed between a liberal and distant elite on one side, and the religious right on the other – and it is the right’s offering of an egalitarian populism on earth and just rewards in the afterlife that is winning converts. Almost a third of Pakistanis live below the official poverty-line, and it is no surprise that many in this position are receptive to the radical message.
Meanwhile, the PPP government has faced defections that threaten its political survival, and has been forced to rescind austerity measures promoted by the IMF, demonstrating that in Pakistan internal power dynamics are more important for political survival than external pressures. The international focus on security has led to the neglect of education and public information by the state. Religious parties have filled this vacuum by moulding the curricula to conform to their ideological positions. If the Pakistani state is unable to restore hope in a decent future for the majority of the population, the country may very well face disintegration along sectarian, ethnic or party lines and ultimately, the intervention of backward-looking military and religious elements.
This article is being published by and in association with openDemocracy
