Author: Editorial
Publication: Dawn, Karachi
Date: February 14, 2001
THE government's decision to ban
the collection of funds by jihadi organizations is a step that has been
long overdue. One only hopes that the government is aware of the enormity
of the task that confronts it, given the religious parties' assertive spirit
and organizational strength. Where a jihadi organization is an affiliate
of a political party, fund raising becomes somewhat easier, because the
party's hierarchical structure enables it to collect funds for its militant
wing. Such collections are made at mosques and at party rallies. Those
sympathetic to the party also make regular contributions to the jihadi
affiliate. Where a jihadi body is not affiliated to a political party,
it operates on its own, because there is no law prohibiting a party or
organization from collecting donations for a cause. In both cases, their
advantage lies in having dedicated cadres who effectively propagate their
cause in religious idiom or rely on literature couched in religious jargon.
More important, because these parties and groups solicit donations in the
name of religion, the response is usually quite impressive.
However, in most cases, the money
thus collected is used for purchasing arms and for strengthening the party's
propaganda network. That invariably leads to an accretion of strength to
jihadi organizations and their parent parties where they exist and gives
them a political clout that is far out of proportion to their popular standing
or their electoral strength. More important, they are not averse to flexing
their military muscle in pursuit of their objectives or when obstructed.
In fact, we have had examples where some religious parties organized meetings
and rallies where arms were in abundant display in open violation of the
law. One such meeting was even attended recently by the interior minister.
We also know how a major religious party, protesting against the Sharif
family's exile, organized a rally in Lahore in defiance of the law. Yet,
when it comes to the mainstream political parties, they are not permitted
to hold rallies. The government's lack of evenhandedness has, thus, served
to embolden the religious parties and their armed wings to defy the law
and use intimidating tactics against their opponents.
Against this reality, while welcoming
the interior minister's move, one doubts if the government has the will
and the institutional strength to take action against a jihadi outfit displaying
arms in public or collecting donations in violation of the ban. The fact
is that the religious parties have discovered their strength. In the given
context, since the two leading mainstream political parties are on its
wrong side, the military-led government would seem in no position to antagonize
the religious parties. To prove the point, on quite a few occasions in
the past, it has looked the other way while religious parties and their
militant wings have tended to act as a parallel authority issuing edicts
and ultimatums. They have also often given an impression as if they were
pursuing a foreign policy agenda of their own and dealing with foreign
governments, friends and foes, on their own terms.
All this had had a negative impact
on Pakistan's political and social scene. Given their religious power,
backed now by trained armed activists, the religious parties often resort
to violence and take the law into their own hands - as seen in the burning
of the offices of The Frontier Postrecently. At a social level, this has
led to a sense of insecurity, particularly among the minority communities
and women. In fact, the entire national scene now seems to be coming under
the lengthening shadow of Taliban-like elements. One only hopes the government
is aware of the implications of all this and has the courage, vision and
ability to take firm and timely steps to check the country's slide into
utter chaos as a result of this and other disturbing developments.
