KARACHI, March 1: Lack of governance in Pakistan is to blame for increasing Talibanisation, which can only be corrected by reviving the government’s writ and ensuring speedy justice to the people. Dr A.H. Nayyar, renowned scholar and educationist made these remarks on Thursday.
Dr Nayyar, famous for his book “Subtle Subversion” dealing with indoctrination in the curricula in Pakistan, was speaking at the PMA House while delivering the Seventh Hamza Wahid Memorial Lecture. The lecture was organised by PMA Karachi and Irtiqa Institute of Social Sciences.
The educationist said Talibanisation was a term coined to denote the rule of Mullaiyat (clerics) based on fundamentalism which subjugates intellect and logic under the vague supremacy of belief.
He said Talibanisation increased in Pakistan when the Afghan jihad was imported in the country through the military establishment and the foreign policy makers. He said there were many factors behind the increase of this menacing phenomenon in Pakistan, which included underdevelopment, low priority in education and inadequate means of production. Besides, general backwardness and internal chaos also contributed to its spread, but the major factor was lack of governance on the part of the rulers.
“I see the growing danger of Talibanisation hovering over us,” he said and this trend was caused by anarchy in Afghanistan where war lords had virtually took over and spawned various tiny administrations.
He said though, Afghanistan’s anarchy could not match what was happening in Pakistan but the day-to-day incidents and happenings in various parts of the country indicated that the trend was increasing at an alarming pace.
He said the Taliban of Pakistan and Afghanistan were virtually ruling North and South Waziristan, while their influence had spread to Dera Ismail Khan and Bajaur where religious extremists killed a doctor during an anti-polio campaign and threatened hairdressers not to shave the beards. The settled NWFP areas of Swat and Dir were also being menaced with the same ‘anarchy’.
“The incidents of occupation of a public library by the female students of a madressah and killing of a woman minister in Gujranwala show how rapidly such extremism is penetrating our urban centres. This shows the fast advance of Talibanisation and how much we are threatened,” said Dr Nayyar.
He said the clergy was ruling Iran but there was a vast difference between Iran and Pakistan, which pertained to the religious sect. “Shia sect believes in centre of command, which the Sunni sect does not and this is the reason for anarchy and warlordism,” he said.
He said the Taliban forces had also got a huge number of indoctrinated suicide bombers, which were lethal weapon in their hand through which they could challenge the authorities with maximum force.
He said the Pakistani establishment and military still had interests in Taliban but the civil society in Pakistan should not allow the establishment a free hand to devise similar policies and put the country at the mercy of extremist forces. “The military and the establishment should change their old and tested paradigms and adopt the paradigms to strengthen the country from inside and the dangers, which are threatening from within,” he said.
Dr Jaffer Ahmed, head of Pakistan Study Centre, University of Karachi, conducted the proceedings.
