A LARGE gathering of supporters organised by right-wing parties and prominent figures at the Minar-i-Pakistan, Lahore on Sunday has raised some interesting questions. To the extent that Sunday's rally was an expression of political speech the gathering was within the confines of a democratic set-up, as was a separate rally held by the Jamaat-i-Islami in Peshawar also on Sunday. And given that other parties have been holding rallies of late, Sunday's rallies could be seen as a rightful way for right-wing parties to assert their own political credentials. However, it is also necessary to remember that while the right wing in Pakistan may be exercising rights granted by the constitution and democratic principles, the parties of the far right do not have much interest in democracy as it is supposed to be practised in Pakistan. In fact, the Jamaatud Dawa, the 'moderate' face of the Lashkar-i-Taiba, which headlined Sunday's rally in Lahore does not even believe in electoral democracy, arguing that it is against the tenets of Islam.

While it isn't clear yet if the latest right-wing alliance — an umbrella group of 30-odd conservative and radical entities resurfacing in the wake of the Mohmand killings as the 'Pakistan Defence Council' — has been encouraged by the security establishment or is a self-initiative, the climate in which it has arisen is a dangerous one. With the more mainstream and secular parties fighting among themselves and the state continuing its ambivalent policy towards the West, the ultra-conservative elements in society can cash in on the growing anti-US sentiment in the country. While recalibrating Pakistan's national security and foreign policies is necessary, if the PDC's ideas were to be followed Pakistan would find itself more isolated than ever in the international community, and perhaps even on the warpath with neighbours and international powers. The anti-US, anti-India vitriol that marked the PDC rally was not just hyperbole or bombast; given the cast of characters involved, there can be little doubt that if they were in charge of Pakistan, some catastrophic decisions would be made.

In truth, however, the PDC may be less a cause than a symptom of what ails Pakistan. For two decades, from the 1980s, the Pakistani state explicitly supported a certain kind of worldview. Then, in the wake of 9/11, it may have cut many of its ties to jihadi groups and ended its explicit support for jihad but it did nothing to provide a counter-narrative. So the narrative of Pakistan as the bastion of Islam fighting against an unjust and unfair world has continued, and it has grown into an ever greater threat to the country itself.