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Home , Baluch (Uttar Pradesh), Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Federal Shariat Court, Habib Jalib, Hindko, Lahore Music Meet

of Cold Countries

iy hifcvests, sometimes moneylenders, £ sometimes calamities, self-styled masters arrive.

to hate my torrid country, i dry my wet clothes in these courtyards let me plant gold wheat in its fields let me quench my thirst at its rivers let me rest beneath the shade of its trees .let me wear its dust and wrap its distances around me i«: The sun and you can not walk side by side. The sun has chosen me for company. J Kishwar Nahecd, translated by Rukhsana Ahmad. Introduction

ocated in the north-west of the South LAsian sub-continent, is a relatively new political entity. Comprising four provinces (North West Frontier Province, , and Baluchistan) and the tribal areas, northern areas, and the state of Azad Jammu and , Pakistan represents a great diversity of topography, bio- climates, peoples, and cultures. The rural-urban division is sharp, as are the disparities between the rich and the poor. The land was the home of ancient civilisations and the meeting point of great cultures: Buddhist, Greek, Muslim, and Hindu. Consequently, Pakistan has a rich heritage of architecture, folklore, art, and music. Its people share the common traits of hospitality, warmth, and Village in Sindh province. Life in the villages of Pakistan has changed friendliness, and a strong sense of dignity. little over the centuries. Born in the ferment of change that accompanied the collapse of colonialism, Pakistan is still a society in transition. Busy street scene in , the largest city in Pakistan. Older forms of economic, social, and political organisation are under challenge, while new ones have yet to evolve. Trying simultaneously to meet the compulsions of the international market economy and the demands of its burgeoning population, Pakistan is searching for an appropriate system of governance, and struggling to define its identity. In the process it has experienced a wide range of conflicts resulting from economic disparity, authoritarianism, ethnic assertion, sectarianism, gender discrimination, external aggression, and Cold War rivalries. This book attempts to capture the many facets of Pakistan: its beauty and richness, its scars and shortcomings, its people and environment - in order to understand better a society poised between tradition and change. The land

akistan is bordered by and diverse, including snow-capped PAfghanistan on the west, China on mountains, plateaux, rivers, flood and the north, on the east, and the arid plains, a variety of forests, deserts, Arabian sea on the south. It is separated lakes, swamps and a stretch of coastline. from Tajikistan, one of the Central Asian Mountains cover more than half of the Republics of the former , by country's surface area, with three of the a thin strip of Afghan territory in the highest mountain ranges in the world: north-west. The land is geographically the Himalayas, Hindu Kush, and the

_.^._ International boundary / JAMMU provincial boundary ' AND rivers l--^ KASHMIR in ii mi railway • *»j (disputed approximate ,, territory)

AFGHANISTAN

•:.: '• Karakoram, which rise above 8000 The Indus Darya Kabul, metres. These formidable mountain tributary of the The Indus, cradle of ancient civilisations, Indus. barriers are broken by passes which have has shaped the lives of the people living acted as gateways to invaders, armies, on its banks. The Indus valley cultures refugees, fugitives, and nomads, from (2500BC to 1700BC) represent the first time immemorial to the present day. organised urban settlements in the world. Climatic conditions throughout the Culture, art, and architecture flowered. country are very varied. While some Sophisticated irrigation systems and the parts of the regions get as little as 250mm first forms of writing were part of these of rain, others, such as north-east Punjab, early civilisations. receive as much as 1000mm when the The Indus delta, covering some 3000 monsoon winds blow from July to square miles, used to be extremely fertile. September. Temperatures are similarly Thick mangrove forests fringed the wide-ranging, from -25°C at the highest coastline, there was a vast variety of elevations in winter, to over 50°C in parts marine life, and fishing communities of Sindh and Baluchistan during the' summer months. The other prominent physical feature is $Q,;t&© (ridos -deit© .died iiri the 3200km long , traversing the entire length of the country, rising in the northern Hindu Kush and Himalayan mountains, and fed by five major tributaries. The river supports the country's complex irrigation system, the largest in the world, providing silt- enriched waters to the agricultural plains of Punjab and Sindh, before finally emptying out into the Arabian Sea. prospered. Much of the area has been She was kidnapped and carried off by affected by the construction of dams Prince Omar, and during her long years during the last 50 years designed to of captivity and exile, he would taunt harness the waters of the Indus and its her about her continual longing to return tributaries. Large tracts of desert lands to her desert land, and she would became fertile, but at the same time the always reply 'Munjho muluk malir'. water flow to the sea was drastically The Potwar Plateau in northern Punjab reduced, changing the ecosystem and of and the arid, sparsely populated the delta and destroying the livelihoods Baluchistan Plateau to the south-west, of the people that depended on it. also suffer from acute water shortages. Various indigenous methods were Deserts and plateaux developed to store water. The most The Thar and Cholistan deserts in the successful was a system of underground Sindh and south of Punjab bordering irrigation tunnels, karez, used in India are marked by very low and Baluchistan, which minimised water loss erratic rainfall. But when the rains come, through evaporation. Tradition relates the deserts, particularly the Thar in that some of the tunnels still in use were Valley near Gilgit, in Sindh, blossom into a veritable paradise. functioning when Alexander the Great the mountainous north- west of There is a famous saying which is on arrived in this area. Many of the karez Pakistan. every Thari's lips: 'Munjho muluk malir' are now in a bad state of repair, but (opposite page) ('My land is a paradise'). The phrase engineers are examining the system with Carrying water, a a view to renewing it. precious commodity originated from a legend about Marvi, a in the . beautiful woman from the Thar desert. AUSON BARRETT The four provinces

akistan now consists of four Pprovinces: Punjab (63.9m people), Sindh (25.8m), Baluchistan (5.8m), and the North West Frontier Province (14.9m) In addition, there is the tribal belt (Federally Administered Tribal Areas, FATA), which for most purposes is treated as part of NWFP; and the disputed areas of and Gilgit Agency (total 3.5m). Punjab is traditionally the most prosperous and dominant province. It is the main recruiting ground for the army and home for most of the big financiers and industrialists. Punjab is also the agricultural heartland of the country and pioneer of the green revolution. Most of Punjab's farms are owner operated, although there is a feudal belt in the south of the province where tenant farmers are in the majority. The feudal structure in Sindh remains

(above) In the old quarter of the city of , Punjab. (right) Wheat field In Sindh. much more intact than elsewhere in the country, with half of farms being run by tenants. The large landlords (vaderas) dominate their areas and can still command tributary labour. One consequence of feudalism is violence and insecurity, when vaderas give protection to robber bands (dacoits) that terrorise the area. Karachi, the largest conurbation in Pakistan, is in Sindh. It is now a city of about 9 million, and beset by all the problems of an overstretched urban infrastructure: pollution, overcrowding, poor services, ethnic violence, and crime. Baluchistan is the largest yet most sparsely populated province, consisting predominantly of vast deserts and rough pastures. It is a largely tribal society, and includes a canal-irrigated zone, Terracing showing the struggle between the Baloch and dominated by small farmers, not unlike up under the snow, on a steep mountain Pushtoon tribes for control periodically northern Punjab. The rest of the province erupts into violence. The province is slope in North West is mainly mountainous, with rangelands Frontier Province. economically and socially under- and rain-fed agriculture, or small-scale developed. The arid conditions make irrigation. NWFP is also a tribal society, sustainable agriculture difficult. and 68 per cent of the farms are owner NWFP and FATA fall somewhere operated. There is a shortage of between Baluchistan and the rest of the employment and resources for the country in terms of economic and social expanding population. Deforestation is a development, although their social serious environmental problem. structure is much closer to that of Baluchistan. The south of the province

Nomad encampment, i Baluchistan. The people: an ethnic mix The riverine plains are home to the majority of Pakistan's people, the and the ; the Pathan tribes live in the north-western mountainous region; and the smaller but distinct nationalities (the Kalash and the people of Chitral, Gilgit, and Hunza) live in the extreme north. The Baluch and some Pathans live on the Baluchistan Plateau, and the Seraiki-speaking people in the south of Punjab. The Punjabis, including the Seraiki speakers, constitute roughly 55 per cent of the population, Sindhis 20 per cent, Pathans 10 per cent, muhajirs (those who migrated from India at the time of independence in 1947) 7 per cent, and the Baluch about 5 per cent. There are also several sub-groups, such as the Brohis of Sindh and Baluchistan, the Seraiki speakers of Punjab, the speakers of the Frontier, and the Persian speaking Hazaras of Baluchistan, who consider themselves ethnically distinct. All these distinct peoples represent a wide variety of culture, language, dress, art, and literature.

Gypsies, in Sindh province. Many of them work as day labourers in the fields.

Family in a village in Punjab, making rush- mats for sale.

10 (left) Woman from a community of brick- kiln workers.

(above) The village midwife, in a village near Lahore, Punjab

(left) Herdsmen in Quetta, Baluchistan.

11 A turbulent history

Hindu dynasty, the Mauryans, succeeded Alexander (325 BC - 185 BC) and founded the first Hindu Empire. Ashoka, a later Mauryan king, adopted Buddhism, the new religion flowering in the Indian sub-continent, and became the centre of Buddhism. Traces of a fusion of Greek, Central Asian, Indian, and indigenous cultures can still be seen in the ruins of city, in the Kalash valley, Gilgit, and . By the seventh century AD, Buddhism declined completely and Hinduism became the dominant religion. Around this time the Arabs, who had trade and commerce links going back for centuries, Pre-historic beginnings came for the first time as conquerors (712 Human history in Pakistan goes back to AD). By 724 AD they had established the stone age. Relics of the earliest stone- direct rule in Sindh. Muslim rule, finally age man (500,000 to 100,000 years ago) consolidated under the Mughals, have been found in northern Punjab. The continued over most of India until 1761. Baluchistan Plateau culture, developing By this time, European trading later (4000 BC to 2000 BC), extended to companies, Portuguese, British, French, Iran. This was the precursor to the Indus and Dutch, had become well-established valley civilisation (2,500 BC to 1700 BC), in the sub-continent and were spreading one of the earliest examples of organised their political influence. urban settlement. This agrarian civilisation, the largest in the ancient world, stretched along the Indus river and its tributaries from the Himalayan (above) foothills to the Arabian Sea. Excavations Seal discovered in have revealed well-planned cities in Mohenjodaro. The Harappa (Punjab), Mohenjodaro (Sindh), bull was a sacred and other sites in lower Sindh. animal in the religious rituals of Since those first Dravidian settlers of the Indus valley the Indus Valley, successive waves of civillation. The Aryan migrants from Central came inscriptions on the seal are one of the to this region. Alexander of Macedonia earliest forms of invaded with his armies in 327-326 BC, writing. defeating local rulers on his journey from Gandhara, in the north of the region, to (right) Mughal Empress, the south and west. Though Alexander , from a stayed only for two years, the influence miniature painting. of Greek culture endured much longer. A

12 Mohenjodaro 2500BC-1700BC Mohenjodaro, situated on the bank of the Indus, is one of the world's most spectacular ancient cities. Well laid-out, with wide streets and spacious houses, and a complete drainage system, the city remains a monument to an advanced and complex civilisation. Most houses were two-storeys high, with fair-sized rooms arranged around an internal courtyard and bathroom. The latter had a circular well and drain that emptied into a cess-pit from which water entered the main covered drain in the street. The artefacts, jewellery, figurines and seals found on the site reflect a highly-developed and sophisticated culture.

Colonial encounter British interests and were not always in The land that is now Pakistan has always harmony with local needs: the shift to been a passage through which outsiders cash crops like cotton to provide for the came and conquered the rest of India. British textile industry; the resettlement The fertile plains of Punjab in particular of large numbers of people from other were attractive to successive groups of areas; and the breakdown of subsistence invaders. In the period between 1798 and agricultural systems. Railways were built, 1818, the British had managed not only to for moving agricultural raw material and oust their fellow-European competitors, other goods for the British markets, but to transform themselves from traders which made people more mobile than to an imperial power that had established ever before. indirect rule over most of the region. Such modernisation brought British power was challenged by many tremendous social changes in a very short Indians - landlords, petty rulers, and period of time. The British introduced nominal princes - in an organised new systems of revenue collection, legal resistance in 1857. This is known as the procedures, forms of education, civil 'War of Independence' in Indian and services, and politics, which in turn Pakistani versions of history, and 'The affected social relationships. The powers Indian Mutiny' in the British version. The of traditionally dominant groups were resistance was crushed, India was reduced, and a new class of professionals declared a colony of Britain, and direct (doctors, lawyers, and teachers) emerged rule imposed. that modelled itself on the British. The impact of the British on the Indian During the political struggles that took sub-continent has been very deep. They place under British rule, new ideas of brought with them a world-view based democracy, freedom, and nationalism on their experience of the industrial developed, which were to provide revolution. They introduced changes in models for the systems and institutions of social and economic structures, and in governance after Independence that systems of production, which served continue to be followed to this day.

13 Pakistan's cultural heritage

s an area with a turbulent history rich in both language and literature, k the meeting place of many although Sindhi culture in Pakistan cultures, Pakistan's traditions are rich suffered considerably at Independence, and varied. The constant influx of when most of the educated, middle-class settlers, traders, and invaders from Sindhis, who were Hindus, migrated to Persia, India, China, Turkey, Greece and India. Since a large number of - Afghanistan, have all left their mark on speaking migrants from India settled in the art, crafts, architecture, dance, music, the cities of Sindh, the movement for the and literature of Pakistan. promotion of and culture has been expressed in opposition Language to Urdu. This has led to conflict, in 1972 Linguistically Pakistan is a when language riots occurred after the heterogeneous country, although all the government decision to grant special languages now share variants of the status to Sindhi language in the province. -Persian script and alphabet. Urdu , the dominant language of the is the official language, developed during NWFP, has a rich oral tradition. In the the Mughal times to serve as a common province of Baluchistan the prominent language for their eclectic army. Because languages are Balochi and Brahui. One of it was primarily the language of the the main dialects of Balochi is called educated of northern India at Makrani, from the city of Makran near the time of Independence, Urdu became the border of Iran. Brahui is the only strongly associated with Muslim Pakistani language of Dravidian origin. nationalism. English is used along with Urdu for official business and in some parts of the education system. In most of Pakistan, it is the language of the elite and upwardly mobile. Urdu has become politicised over the years. Mother tongue to the migrants from northern India (muhajirs), it has become their symbol of identity. Despite (facing page) Most people in Pakistan, men, women, and some resentment against it, Urdu has children, wears a variation of the shalwar developed, and remains the language of kameez - loose trousers and long shirt. While literature and . Some of the most fashion dictates colours and designs for sophisticated as well as popular poetry is every-day, each district has its own traditional distinctive shapes, colours and written in Urdu, and the majority of techniques, and patterns of embroidery and newspapers, magazines, and books are decoration. Saris, dhotis (a sort of sarong), published in that language. and lehengas; chooridars (tight trousers which roll up like bangles when worn) While Punjabi, the mother tongue of ghararas and other elaborate skirts are also the majority of the population, is not read worn. Styles in women's dupattas - long by many people, due to difficulties with scarves worn around the shoulders - vary the script, Sindhi, written in a variant of too, with regional differences in size and thickness. Men's hats are also distinctive - Arabic, is the most developed among the from the rolled-felt hats of Chitral, to the regional languages of the country. It is colourful, embroidered caps of Sindh.

14 15 A land of poetry

very Pakistani is a poet. Man, will launch into verses by the well- Ewoman or child, literate or illiterate, known poets in the course of ordinary Brahui or Urdu speaking, nearly conversation. Poetry is set to music in everyone has composed a few verses the form of the , where the music is some time in their lives. A Pakistani poet subservient to the words. In a mushaira, may be an old Baluch out grazing her or a ghazal concert, the audience will animals in the desolation of majestic applaud the verses they like best, and the mountains, a fisherman singing in the poet or performer will repeat them. starry night in a boat far out at sea, a Mushairas, formal or informal, Pashtun with his gun slung over his impromptu sessions with friends, are a shoulder, a brick-kiln worker at a union favourite activity for . meeting, a young college girl serious and There is a national festival to celebrate romantic, a clerk in a musty office, a the birthday of the late , rickshaw driver painting his verses on Pakistan's greatest poet. After the death his vehicle, village women at a wedding of a young woman poet, , party, a devotee at a saint's shrine, a in a car accident recently, a national day Sindhi farmer at a kutcheri (talking of mourning was declared. together in the evening), a villager at a Pakistani poets have been in the tanzeem meeting, or a poet at a mushaira political forefront of the fight against (a poetry reading session where a candle oppression, and even those who do not is passed from person to person as they agree with them politically will savour read their verse). the flavour and quality of their poetry. Some people may be too shy to recite their own poetry to you, but everyone

Hie tradition of the Sufi Popular traditions continue, almost unaffected by political upheavals. Traditional poetry, literature, art, dance, music, crafts and architecture of Pakistan reflect the influence of Sufi thought. The Sufi's quest to 'know', to 'understand' is through creative expression. Sufi thinkers have contributed much to the country's poetic heritage, and their poetry, in particular, has developed its own symbolism over time. In Pakistan it represents resistance to authoritarianism and state oppression, and of freedom of the spirit and soul. This spirit of resistance continues in contemporary times in the work of poets like Faiz Ahmad Faiz and . All the Sufi saints are remembered by their poetry.

'Reciting the names of God on your rosary, and looking pious Will never make you into a good Muslim For within your heart lie hidden, Deceit and Satan.'

Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, Sufi Sindhi poet

16 Dedication (extracts) Faiz Ahmad Faiz, regarded as Let me write a song for this day! Pakistan's greatest poet. This day and the anguish of this day For this wilderness of yellowing leaves - which is my homeland. For this carnival of suffering - which is my homeland. Let me write of the little lives of office workers of the railmen and the tonga-wallahs and of the postmen. Let me write of the poor innocents they call: workers.

Lord of all the world promised heir to all that is to come. Let me write of the farmer this Lord whose fief was a few animals - stolen who knows when; this heir who once had a daughter - Working woman (extracts) carried off They all say who knows where; I am too proud. this chief whose turban is a tattered rag That I bloom and blossom with the beneath the feet of the mighty. efforts of my own sweat and blood. Every leaf is watered by the sweat of my ... Let me write of the students brow... those seekers of the truth. I am like a tall tree. Who came seeking the truth at the Yet within me there is an ancient creeper doorstep which sometimes - of the great and the mighty. when the gales are strong - These innocents who, with their dim wants to find a strong branch flickering lamps came seeking light round which to wrap itself. where they sell naught but the darkness of long endless nights. Parveen Shakir

Let me write of the prisoner in whose hearts all our yesterdays dawned like sparkling gems. And burning, burning through the dark winds of prison nights are now but distant stars.

Let me write of the Heralds of the coming ...

Faiz Ahmad Faiz (Translation by Shooaib Hashmi)

17 Music and dance: classical and folk traditions Traditional dance and music takes two forms, classical and folk. While the classical expressions of both art forms developed under the patronage of the court or priesthood, the folk traditions are expressions of people's joy or celebration at particular times in their lives: the birth of a child, a marriage, a religious devotion, or a spiritual experience. In Pakistan, classical music and dancing have suffered neglect and deliberate discouragement under some (right) Tehreema, governments, particularly that of General classical dancer. Zia. But committed teachers continued to teach and students to learn, in an (below left) Rubina is environment that was extremely hostile. a professional folk dancer. She, her They persevered, and it was a revelation mother, and her after the end of Zia's rule not only to sister, sing and rediscover the great teachers, but to see dance for the women new young stars burst upon the horizon, at weddings. During the wedding season performers of a quality that was second they are scarcely to none. Folk music, closer to the people, has ever at home, and Ghazal, poetry sung to a musical accom- not faced any constraints, and has can earn between 500 and 5000 paniment, is very popular, as is , a continued to flourish. Folk instruments rupees for each form of devotional group singing. include many versions of the flute, engagement. Leading qawwals like the Sabri Brothers percussion instruments, including the and Nusrat Fateh Ali are not only matka, an earthen water vessel, and the (below right) Musicians playing for extremely popular in Pakistan but have chimta, a long poker. The most commonly dancing at a festival. also popularised qaivwali in the West. played instrument in Pakistan is the dhol,

18 a double-sided drum, which takes The festival goes on all day, and when several forms. The dholki is a small drum darkness falls, huge search-lights light played flat on the ground, usually by up the sky, white kites are flown from women, at any and every festive the roof tops in all parts of the city, the occasion from weddings to Basant. It is rich homes of the elite as well as the accompanied by singing and folk congested homes of the walled city, once dancing. Wedding celebrations last three the heart of Lahore town, and the festival days or more, one day being given over continues all night. to the mehndi, when the bride's hands A feature of kite flying particular to and feet are dyed with an intricate clay Punjab is a competition to cut other pattern of dark red henna, and there is people's string, and young boys chase much singing and dancing. The dhol is a after the fallen kites as booty. Kite flying larger drum, hung round the neck and around the time of Basant becomes an played with sticks, normally by a man. It obsession. Kites sell for as little as 20 is used outdoors, to dance to, or to pence and as much as £25. But the real accompany professional singers. The cost is the dor, the string. Connoisseurs tabla, a twin drum set, is used mostly for will get their string prepared the summer classical accompaniment, and is one of before, spending hours lacing it with the most complex musical instruments of ground glass to ensure its cutting edge! the subcontinent, on which every note on All over the pavements of Lahore, a musical scale can be sounded. shocking pink and royal purple string is stretched out to dry, laced, and stretched Basant: out again by sellers of dor. String for the the kiteflying festival day of Basant can cost anything from £5 Basant: the sky is full of a thousand for a large party of children to £200 for coloured kites,there are parties on the three or four adults. rooftops, blaring music and the hypnotic Women take part in all the activities of beat of the dhol, and gangs of little boys Basant, but to actually cut another yelling 'Bo-kataV and chasing something person's kite is considered somewhat just beyond the horizon. tomboyish! The phrase used for one kite The kite-flying festival is celebrated battling with another is pecha larana; and with passion and abandon in the city of the same phrase is used for a flirtation. Lahore. It heralds the advent of spring after the cold winter and is a traditional festival of the Punjab, associated originally with farmers. During times Selling kites for Basant. when the state comes under religious influences, there are efforts to discourage what is, after all, not a . Lahoris have simply ignored such attempts with aplomb. The colour of the day is yellow and everyone, especially the women, wears yellow. Yellow food is cooked, vegetables, specially cauliflower or potatoes with turmeric, yellow sweet rice (zarda, which means yellow), and Basant is a party day. People get together in open grounds or on roof tops to fly their kites. A great deal of care goes into preparing and stringing the kites before they actually fly.

19 Olympic champion in hockey, and the country has produced top-level squash players like Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan, the current world champion. Other favourite sports include guli danda, a street game which some consider to be the precursor of hockey, played with a stick and a four inch long elongated 'ball', kabadi, where two teams of players, with oiled bodies, try to slip across to each other's territory, wrestling, and buz kushi, an early form of polo played in the northern mountains. Architectural expressions Architecture in Pakistan displays great regional diversity, based on available building materials, environmental factors, and social requirements. Succeeding historical periods have had their own distinctive styles, and have influenced that of successive periods. The Buddhist Gandhara architecture, for instance, strongly influenced subsequent Hindu architecture of the (650-1026 AD). This, in turn, was assimilated in part by the architecture of the first Muslim Kings, and can still be traced in later tombs in the cities of the south Punjab. The Mughals who followed in the sixteenth century left a rich heritage of buildings with their lavish construction of imperial forts, palaces and gardens. The Fort, Badshahi mosque, Emperor Jehangir's tomb, and the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore are fine Young cricketers, Sport examples. Baluchistan. Sports play a major part in the lives of Pakistanis. Cricket has become a national The British colonists brought with passion and children can be seen playing them the building style of the the game in the streets or any open contemporary West, still to be seen in spaces available. When the national buildings like the High Court and Chief's cricket team is playing a match, life in the College, in Lahore, and Freire Hall, the country comes to a standstill. Public Hindu Gymkhana and the Sindh Club in holidays are declared when the team Karachi. wins an international game (which it often does). Cricketers like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Javed Miandad are superstars in Pakistan. Field hockey and squash are also popular, though they do not have the glamour of cricket. Pakistan has been the

20 (left) Shalimar Gardens, Lahore.

(far left) Old mosque in Karachi.

(left) Doorway, the Fort, Lahore.

(below) Shrine at Multan, Punjab.

21 The birth of Pakistan

n Indian nationalist movement The controversial demarcation line Aopposed to the British emerged with between India and Pakistan was drawn the formation of the All India National hurriedly and almost arbitrarily. The Congress in 1885. Muslims supported the process of Partition involved a massive Congress initially, but with the increasing upheaval of populations: some 14 million use of Hindu symbols and rhetoric by people crossed the new boundary: Congress, which contradicted its claims Pakistan lost six million people, mainly to be an all-India party, the Muslims Hindus, and gained 8 million Muslim became more and more alienated. refugees from India. One million people In 1906, the Muslims formed their own died in the violence which accompanied political party, the All India Muslim Partition; thousands were displaced. League. Initially, the League saw its role The influx of people from India added as safe-guarding and representing the yet another element to an already interests of the Muslims of the sub- complex racial-ethnic composition of the continent. Its early preoccupation was to country. It sowed the seeds of conflict ensure Muslim representation in the and discord for the years to come. Even parliamentary institutions that would be now the migrants of 1947 are not fully set up in post-independence India. It was integrated with the local population, the Muslim poet-philosopher, particularly in Sindh. , who first put forward the idea of Hindus and Muslims having Building a nation separate national identities. This idea , where the seat of crystallised in the 1940s into a movement government was located, had not existed demanding a separate homeland for as a political unit in undivided India. Muslims. Sindh was part of the Bombay In 1947, the British finally left. Pakistan Presidency; Baluchistan and a substantial was born as an independent state in two part of NWFP had resisted coming into parts: West and , separated the fold of the British administrative by almost 1000 miles of Indian territory. system and were largely governed by the

Jinnah's address to the Assembly: 11 August 1947

'...You may belong to any religion or caste or creed - that has nothing to do with the business of the state. We are starting in the days when there is no discrimination, no distinction between one caste or creed and another. We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one state... Now, I think we should.keep that in front of us as an ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the state...'

22 tribal codes of rival chiefs; Punjab was insecurity and threat; the assassination of the most organised and developed the first Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali province. Its major city, Lahore, had been Khan. External factors have had a strong the provincial capital and a leading impact on internal developments. For centre of education. But it was Karachi, example, the tense relationship with the tiny port city of Sindh, that was India (marred by three separate wars) has selected as the new capital. been central to Pakistan's foreign policy, Pakistan did not inherit well- and was one of the reasons for the established administrative, political, military alliance with the US, and economic, and military structures. Most unfriendly posture towards the Eastern of the assets and state machinery went to bloc countries. Events such as the Afghan India. The country had almost no war and the Iranian Revolution have had industry, or mineral resources. The a profound effect on Pakistan's internal number of professionals was tiny. The stability and foreign relations. civil and military bureaucracies, though fragmented and weak, were the only Power and politics ones that functioned. Pakistan has been ruled by military The Constituent Assembly, consisting of dictatorships for almost half its existence Muslim members elected to the Federal (1958-1972; 1977-1985). The country has Assembly and the Council of States in the seen frequent dissolution of elected Indian elections of 1946, was the primary assemblies, the banning of political political institution. The new country parties and trade unions, the curbing of faced many challenges: rehabilitation of student activities, and press censorship. refugees; reconstruction; economic As a result, the development of political development; setting up of administrative and social institutions has suffered. The institutions; and infrastructural economic consequences of dictatorship development. The most important task have been sharper inequalities between was to formulate a constitution that different sections of society, and between would embody Jinnah's vision of a non- different regions, and great concentration theocratic, liberal, democratic Pakistan, of wealth in the hands of the few. During where the freedom of speech and 's period, 66 per cent of the conscience of all citizens would be secure country's industrial capital was owned and tolerance, human dignity, and by 22 families. emancipation of women ensured. The country experimented with various The task of building a nation from forms of elections on its bumpy political scratch was indeed formidable but there path. There were direct elections; indirect was an equally vast opportunity to ones; 'basic democracy' elections remodel and develop structures of whereby a limited electoral college was governance and economic and social first voted for on universal adult management according to the needs of franchise, which in turn elected the the people. However, issues of ideology President; and non-party elections. The and politics, division of power, form of first general elections on the basis of government, tensions with India, among universal adult franchise were held in others, kept consensus at bay, and meant 1970, 23 years after independence, under that this opportunity was lost. the military government of General The disadvantages which the newly- Yahya Khan, and were acknowledged to born Pakistan inherited were have been free and fair. Stability proved compounded by a number of unforeseen elusive to civilian governments as the occurrences: Jinnah's untimely death political leadership failed again and hardly a year after Independence; the again to share power and agree on first war fought with India over Kashmir systems of governance. (1948), instilling a permanent feeling of

23 Dates and Events

1885 First Indian National Congress 1973 New Constitution approved meets in Bombay. unanimously by the National Assembly 10 April. 1906 Foundation of the . 1974 Ahmadis declared Non-Muslims. 1920 -1922 Gandhi's Non-Cooperation Campaign. 1977 Elections. imposed in certain areas. In July Prime Minister 1928 Indian women granted voting Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto arrested for alleged rights equivalent to men. election rigging. General Mohammad 1932 All India Muslim League supports Zia-ul-Haq took control and imposed women's demand for equal rights for all Martial Law nationally. people regardless of religion, caste, 1979 Promulgation of Hadood creed or sex. Ordinance, introducing so-called Islamic 1940 'Two Nation' theory articulated by punishments for crimes including Jinnah. slander, theft, rape, adultery, fornication (zina) and prostitution. 1942 - 1943 Bengal famine. 1983 Women's demonstration against 1947 Independence and Partition: 14 discriminatory laws, in Lahore. First August - Pakistan;15 August - India street protest against Martial Law. 1948 Jinnah died at Ziarat (11 1984 Islamic Law of Evidence passed. September). War with India. The Law states that in matters relating to 'financial and future obligations' the 1951 First Constitution adopted on 19 evidence of two men or one man and February by the assembly, enforced on two women will be required. 28 March 1956. Assassination of (16 October). 1985 General Mohammed Zia-ul-Haq lifts Martial Law. Number of women's 1958 - 1969 Martial Law regime; Field seats raised to 20 in the National Marshal Ayub Khan. Abrogation of the Assembly. Constitution of 1956. Imposition of Martial Law by Ayub Khan. 1986 returns to lead the Pakistan People's Party and demands 1961 Family Laws Ordinance restricts elections. polygamy, regulates divorce and raises the marriageable age for girls to a 1988 Zia-ul-Haq dies in a plane crash in minimum of 16. August. Elections held in November. Benazir Bhutto becomes Prime Minister 1962 The new . in December.

1965 War with India over Raan of Kach. 1990 Ishaq Khan dissolves the National Assembly. Benazir Bhutto's government 1970 Elections. Pakistan Awami League dismissed. Elections held. Nawaz Sharif successful in East Pakistan. takes over as the Prime Minister 1971 Military action in East Pakistan. (October) President Yahya Khan resigns and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto becomes the 1993 Assembly dissolved again. Benazir President and Chief Marshal Law Bhutto becomes the Prime Minister Administrator. again. surrenders in ; born.

24 Secession of East areas. This paved the way for a complete Pakistan military take-over, under General-Zia-ul- Events leading to the formation of Haq, Bhutto's own Commander in Chief, Bangladesh date back to 1948, when chosen for his loyalty. Urdu was declared the official language of Pakistan, even though 56 per cent of The Zia years (1977-88) the population spoke Bengali, the When Zia imposed Martial Law in 1977 language of East Pakistan. Resentment his stated intentions were to restore order among the people of East Pakistan in the country and to hold elections increased as they felt economically and within 90 days. But very soon his mission politically marginalised. The devastating changed: to convert Pakistan into a truly cyclone that hit East Pakistan in 1970 and Muslim state. Once again, Pakistan saw the Central Government's inability to the banning of political activities. respond adequately confirmed their Summary courts sent scores of people to perceptions. When the Central prison and the gallows, with no right of Government refused to accept the result defence. of 1970 elections, it was the last straw: The non-elected military dictator East Pakistan erupted with violent General Zia was regarded as an clashes between civilians and the army. international pariah, because of the A nine-month civil war followed, and the hanging of Bhutto on a murder charge; resulting exodus of refugees into India but with the outbreak of the Afghan war, gave the Indian government a reason to he suddenly became the courageous intervene. The Indian Army entered East defender of a strategic frontier against Pakistan in December 1971. After a brief communism. Military aid for the Afghan resistance a UN-sponsored cease-fire was mujahideen and the obliging Pakistan called on 17 December 1971 and the government flowed in freely from Pakistan Army surrendered. Pakistan Western governments and right-wing was dismembered and the state of groups. Private militias grew and civil Bangladesh was born. society rapidly became militarised. Ethnic, clan, and religio-sectarian The Bhutto years (1971-77) rivalries flourished. Sindh, in particular became the scene of violent ethnic West Pakistan was governed by a conflict between the native Sindhis and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) immigrant inuhajirs. government under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. His slogan had been 'Roti, kapra am makaan' (food, clothing, and shelter) and Return to democracy his politics populist. There were great General Zia's death in August 1988 in a expectations of his government, on the plane crash brought an end to a bleak part of the landless, trade unions, and phase of Pakistan's political life. But the left-wing political parties, and his home transition to democracy has not been an province of Sindh. His main opponents easy one. In the five years between 1988 ranged from the far right to the far left, and 1993 three general elections were and included the political power holders held, twice because of dismissals of in the provinces of Baluchistan and the elected governments by the President. Frontier, as well as the mullahs. An Political activity revived during the opposition coalition, the Pakistan general election of 1988. The PPP leader, National Alliance (PNA), led Benazir Bhutto, daughter of Zulfiqar Ali demonstrations and protest marches. Bhutto, was elected Prime Minister. She Bhutto tried to placate them by passing became the first woman leader in the token 'Islamic' legislation but at the same Muslim world, in recent times. The time declared martial law in certain return to a civilian dispensation did not entirely reduce the influence of the

25 military. The political deadlock between campaign in 1988. Benazir, an Oxford the three centres of power - the PM, the graduate, had been forced into a two- President, and the army - led to the year self-exile by the military dissolution of the assemblies by the government after spending five long President through extra constitutional years in prison and under house arrest. powers, just 20 months after elections. She returned on 10 April 1986 to a The 1990 elections, which were won by tumultuous welcome. Hundreds of Nawaz Sharif and the Muslim League, thousands of people lined the streets of were marred by the vehement allegations Lahore when she arrived. There was by the PPP that the elections had been singing and dancing in the streets, and a rigged. The atmosphere in the new feeling of euphoria. Her public meetings legislature remained tense. Once again, attracted mammoth crowds, including the assemblies were dissolved. October large numbers of women. 1993 saw fresh elections, this time under Benazir Bhutto's success in the the supervision of the army. The PPP and elections and assumption of office as the Benazir Bhutto were returned, but the Prime Minister vindicated people's belief electorate registered its protest by a low in themselves, particularly women turnout. However, the marginal parties, activists who had relentlessly challenged particularly the religious, gained very discriminatory laws and regulations. few votes. That, in a country where women are underprivileged, a woman, and a young Benazir Bhutto one at that, could reach the highest 'When Bibi [the young lady] wins, will public office, was extremely reassuring. It she be able to sit on the gaddi [seat]? Will was clear that for the electorate gender she give it to her husband? Will he allow was not the determining criteria for her to sit?' asked a peasant woman in leadership. That she has disappointed disbelief in a village on the outskirts of people by her inability to keep electoral Lahore during Benazir Bhutto's election promises is another story.

Benazir Bhutto and her husband at their wedding.

26 Pakistan and its neighbours

he unsolved problem of the disputed Pakistan has close links with most of Tterritory of Kashmir has persistently the countries of the , but it is soured relations between India and something of a love-hate relationship. Pakistan, preventing them from co- Pakistani workers in the Middle East are operating in ways that would contribute often at the receiving end of harsh to both countries' development. So far, employment practices and social relatively few refugees have fled discrimination, and yet most Pakistanis Kashmir, and many of those that have were fiercely opposed to the govern- come have dispersed into small ment's participation in the war with Iraq, settlements, or are living with relatives. not wishing to be in what was clearly The American influence on Pakistan seen as the American camp against a was most evident under the government major Muslim country; although Saudi of Ayub Khan 1958-68 and Zia-ul-Haq, Arabia, another powerful Muslim particularly in 1971, when India had a country, was also on the American side. military pact with the Soviet Union. Links between Pakistan and Iran are Pakistan has also had a very special strong, as neighbours and because of the relationship with China, and helped to Persian roots of the Urdu language. Large negotiate the first surprise talks between numbers of Iranians, students, refugees, China and the US, considered to be a and others, live in Pakistan, and there are great diplomatic feat. Since the end of the also Persian-speaking Pakistani Cold War, Pakistan has lost its strategic communities, mostly in Baluchistan. importance to the US as a means of Many Pakistanis felt deeply involved keeping Afghanistan as 'Russia's with the Iranian struggle against the bleeding wound'. Shah. The Shi'a branch of Islam (see p.32)

Unofficial camp for Afghan refugees, north of Quetta, near the Afghanistan border.

27 in Pakistan has strong links with Iran. Afghanistan, Pakistan continues to pay a Of late, Pakistan has been developing heavy price for its hospitality. trade, tourism, and cultural links with The majority of the refugees remained many of the Central Asian republics of in camps in North West Frontier the ex-Soviet Union, although the war in Province and Baluchistan, but a Afghanistan has somewhat constrained substantial number spread across the this relationship. country, many of them settling in Karachi. The infusion of Afghans into an The Afghan War already polarised Pakistani society, and During the Afghan War, Pakistan played their ability to obtain arms and drugs host to three to four million Afghan from the war-torn border region, has refugees. The poor of both countries created serious problems. became the innocent victims of the Cold Boring a gun barrel, War; Afghans had to flee their homes, 'The Kalashnikov culture' in Darra, a town and Pakistanis had to cope with four Arms were channelled to the Afghan famous for the manufacture of million unexpected guests. With no end mujahideen by many Western countries, weapons. in sight to the internal conflicts in principally the US, to help them in their fight against Communism. Inevitably, many of these arms went astray and were sold, some to other governments, and many to the local Afghan and Pakistani population. Weapons of all descriptions, from small pistols to rocket launchers, SAMs, and landmines, are all readily available at bargain prices in the tribal areas of Pakistan, on the Afghan border. The inevitable result of this 'Kalashnikov culture' has been an increase in armed robberies, kidnappings for ransom, and gun-battles between rival groups. The have always been a warrior people, and arms were manufactured in the town of Darra, but the most sophisticated weapon produced was a seven-shot rifle. Weapons such as this were used for celebratory firing at weddings when the groom was carrying off his bride. Now with the easy availability of Kalashnikovs (imitations are now being produced in Darra) a hail of Kalashnikov bullets are fired in the air at the departure of the bride and groom. What goes up must come down, and inevitably some of these bullets cause serious injury; a village organisation in Safiabad, Mardan, is campaigning to discourage people from this dangerous form of celebration.

28 . The drug culture jpijtother con^quelnce of the Afghan-; rrfftux has been thfe easy avail-ability . "of"heroin. PaWstop is not c-'rily tised'. ag-a staging, post for herqfn gglfrtfii, ^tia.^igh co.st has-been- |fr'Fn"svof tpe increased ,. 1rt'addiction afnprii>

only 5£-1notifred

Pl^|»g:ftf|||||;i; energy until in 1990 one of them gimned him down at the gates of the clinic he had founded. But his stairrited'me. for not commitment to rehabilitation of .. *l^^f^^ addicts and his fight against those ^ ffom heroin addiction has ^|| Inspiration to those who cq^)ft]ue his work today.

J^^|||(enM:afi'tlJe;Milo Centre. • • O'Qentre apart .'*•- passer-by discovered a heap of pUJf d# by flie-roadslde. ||JrtBfr:W,:inie|*: areas;of B|r*:sn%i|i'some: remote, areas of ^ ^"iipoi(ig6|iieAgovernmen* destroys ^^^j«^|||:dts5covered, ft is a high v^^lPI'ijftracllveio poor farmers, d friendly/" - . i^^yfi^piplf^sif'i

sSmtemmi.ta

29 ZEKRA HASSAN

O Hie school in the camp having an education, and I am right here For ten years, the Khairabad camp with them. They are delighted they have sprawled on the outskirts of Quetta: row other children to play with. And they upon row of small, mud-roofed huts, come and go from school in safety. In the bleak and dusty, with no amenities. It last days before we left Kabul, we lived was home to several thousand refugees. in constant terror.' They were unregistered, and therefore With no permanent site, the school had no official refugee status, and were moves every few months. The present not entitled to any material support. school building has only one room, the Many of them lived in home-made rest of the children study packed into the shelters of tattered cloth, even during the tiny courtyard. There is not even a single Quetta winter, with the snow piled high blade of grass: 'There is not time to even on the ground and temperatures below plant a tree, before we are asked to move freezing. again by the landlord,' says Ghulam The men either worked as day Rasool. labourers in Quetta or were involved in The 364 children in the school, 120 of the business of war. In 1991, the uneasy whom are girls, pay a small fee, out of peace in Afghanistan offered a fragile which the rent is paid for the school hope to refugees, and the Khairabad building, and the teachers share the tiny camp quickly emptied. But less than a sum left over. But Latifa and the other year later, most of them had been forced teachers feel they must go on: 'Even if to return. The school building had been we could afford it, if we sent our razed to the ground, but the camp leader, children to Pakistani schools, they would Agha Majeed and the teacher, Ghulam have to study in a foreign language, and Rasool, were determined to restart a then how would they readjust to Afghan school. society? We are waiting for peace. Let A group of young volunteer teachers peace come and we will be on our way offered their help, many of them new home. I really need every penny I can refugees from Kabul. Latifa, for example, earn, but this work is a labour of love, to wanted her three young children to ensure that our next generation does not attend school, and offered to teach at the grow up illiterate and uneducated. They school herself. 'At least my children are are, after all, the future of Afghanistan.'

(facing page) Afghan refugee children at the school In the Khairabad camp.

(left) Two of the young teachers In the school.

31 Islam and Islamisation

slam originated from the same part of with the keepers of the Ka'aba, the most I the world as other great religions, the sacred shrine of the Muslims, in Mecca, Middle East. Muslims believe that their Saudi Arabia. The Shi'as have a strong Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon concept of the clergy as spiritual leaders; him) comes from the same line as while the Sunnis consider the clergy to Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus, all of be only religious scholars and whom are recognised as prophets administrators of the mosques. bringing the same message from the same God, Allah. The Muslims own the People's Islam religious texts of the Torah, the Bible, and While most Pakistanis (96.7 per cent) are the , as part of their tradition, and Muslims, at its inception the country did consider Jews and Christians as 'Ahl-e- not see itself as a religious or theocratic Kitab', or 'people of the book'. state, but as a place where people could The basic affirmation of the Islamic practice their religion and pursue their faith is There is no God but the One lives without fear of discrimination and God, Allah, and Muhammad is his persecution. The proportion of Christians prophet.' (La Ilaha Ilia Allah, (1.6 per cent) is small and that of Hindus Muhammad ur Rasul Allah.) Muslims even smaller (1.5 per cent). Also present believe that Muhammad is the last in Pakistan is a small but influential and prophet. The Muslims, however, are not controversial sect, the Ahmadis or homogeneous. The majority of Muslims Qadianis. The Ahmadis were declared in Pakistan are from the Sunni sect, non-Muslims in 1974 for not accepting which is further divided into many the basic Islamic tenet that Prophet schools of thought. A significant Muhammad is the last in the line of minority belong to the Shi'a branch of Prophets. The community since then has Islam, also subdivided into fiqah or faced considerable persecution, religious schools. especially during General Zia-ul-Haq's The schism among Muslims occurred time, when stringent laws were passed in AD 658 over the succession to against them. Muhammad, as the Caliph. The Sunnis People's religion is part of their believed that the Caliph should be personal lives - they perform rituals, chosen from the broader Muslim celebrate festivals, commemorate community, while the Shi'as believed auspicious days, visit mazars for mental that he should be a descendant of the peace, and enjoy devotional music. But Prophet. Through succeeding centuries, the business of day-to-day living is the Sunnis have come to represent the governed by the practicalities and establishment, with religion closely demands of the material world. Even identified with the state, and social relationships are defined more by discouraged reinterpretations of Koranic customary practices and cultural norms law by scholars. Shi'a Islam has tended than by religion alone. to be associated with new thought, For most Pakistanis, Islam gives a radical movements, and more liberal sense of community and identity, an interpretations of the rights of women. important one among other identities. It is more closely identified implies a moral and ethical code. It

32 demands certain rituals: many Pakistani Muslims. Views about women within Friday prayers, men (but by no means all) pray at the Islam are as varied as views about Karachi. mosque on Fridays, and many more pray women in any other context, ranging during the month of Ramazan. Most from the arch-conservative extreme to urban and many rural people fast during Feminist Islam, of which the Pakistani Ramazan. The two Eids are important academic, Dr Riffat Hassan, is a celebrations. The festival of Eid ul Fitr is prominent example. Pakistan boasts a celebrated after the fast, and Eid ul Azha woman Prime Minister, women pilots, commemorates the sacrifice of Abraham, women taxi-drivers, and women in every and is celebrated at the time thousands sphere of life; as well as women who are of pilgrims perform the pilgrimage in locked within the chadar (veil) and the Mecca. Muslims who can afford it chardivari (the four walls of the home); sacrifice an animal, and the meat is they are all Muslim women. divided into three shares: one for the family, one for relatives and friends, and State Islam one for charity. Part of Pakistan's particular brand of The vast majority of Pakistanis observe political development has been the the prohibition of alcohol, although transition from people's Islam to state hashish and tobacco are more socially Islam. Over the years Islam has become acceptable than in Western society. central to the political life of the country, Marriage, death, and birth are often used as a legitimising tool for surrounded by rituals, some religious, unpopular governments, unpopular others social and cultural. actions, and new social movements. Outsiders to Islam often consider that Muslim identity, the primary unifying women have a low status in Islam, but factor for the citizens of Pakistan, has this view would not be shared by many been exploited by the religious right.

33 Initially, this was not taken seriously by the media, educational institutions, and the non-theocratic leadership, who trade unions. believed that a liberal, democratic Even after the restoration of political system was well within the democracy, and the repeated electoral parameters of an Islamic state. rejection of religious parties by the The political use of Islam increased people, the rhetoric of Tslamisation' mainly because of the lack of consensus continues. The influence of politicised among political elites, as a way of religion is so strong that every gaining support from religious groups. In subsequent government feels bound to the process, the latter began to play a demonstrate its commitment. more critical role in political affairs. However, it has been most interesting Under Zia's leadership, the politicisation for Pakistanis to observe, in view of the of religion increased, because he had no West's paranoia about Islamic electoral mandate for his continued rule. fundamentalism, that, in many cases, When Zia came to power, Iran was fundamentalists have received the full engaged in a violent struggle with its backing of Western countries, when it Shah, who was propped up by the US; suited their purposes. The mujahideen Afghanistan was on the brink of its holy were allies in fighting Communism in war with the communists; Pakistan had Afghanistan; and General Zia-ul-Haq, been through its honeymoon with standard-bearer of state Islam, received capitalism under Ayub Khan, and its generous American aid; the Saudi populist socialist rhetoric and paralysing government, with its own brand of 'nationalisation' policy under Bhutto. The Islamic fundamentalism, was an political context was ripe for a third way, acceptable ally during the war with Iraq. specific to Pakistan. Among the legislation enacted in the Although few held fundamentalist name of Islam are the Ordinance against views, most Pakistanis gave tacit support the Ahmadis and a Blasphemy Law. The to whatever was cited in the name of former makes Ahmadis liable to Islam, not realising the lengths to which punishment for referring to themselves the religion would be exploited and the as Muslims and to their places of prayers level of prescriptiveness that the as 'mosques', or making public calls for government would introduce. Religion prayers (azaan). The Blasphemy Law was seen as a family and personal matter, covers derogatory statements about and Islam had been interpreted and Prophet Muhammad. The prescribed practised in a thousand different ways. penalty is death. These two laws have Only under a totalitarian government led to extensive victimisation. Since the could certain options be declared Blasphemy Law is very vague and unacceptable, and a single fundamental ambiguous about the content of text proclaimed to which everyone must derogatory remarks it has been conform. repeatedly invoked to settle personal or Zia's rule marked the coming together political scores. To try cases under of the obscurantists' world view with Islamic Law, a parallel judiciary, the that of the state. The religious parties, Federal Shariat Court, was created. The who before and since never fared well in PPP government has expressed its elections, were for the first time part of intention to review the laws introduced the state machinery, in positions of by General Zia-ul-Haq, but currently power, and able to procure advantages none have been repealed. for themselves. Land and money was Could Pakistan become another Iran or now easily available for religious schools Algeria? The links of Pakistan's religious (madarasahs), religious groups were militants with those abroad is a cause for recruited in zakat committees, to allocate concern. But despite the capacity of the compulsory religious taxes, they entered religious parties to bring pressure on

34 The Faisal Mosque, . government, to stop traffic or to shut for Islam is very strong but equally markets, the over-riding fact is that these strong is their rejection of those who parties have not succeeded in increasing would define Islam for them, or are seen their popular vote nor their presence in to be using Islam to further their own parliament. For most people the feeling vested political interests.

35 Women and Zia's policies The first Islamisation legislation i was the (197^) There is no question that the These cover theft, drunkenness, j "islamisation' package designed by adultery, rape, and bearing false Zia and his political alties was witness, and prescribe maximum singularly damaging to women. But it punishment for each. Under this liw, must be stressed that Zia's definition women's evidence is not permissible of islamisation was extremely for maximum (hadd) punishment, controversial, essentially a layman's though for lesser punishments uneducated opinion, and has been (tazeei) it may be admissible. The widely criticised by the extreme right, most serious aspect of the law is by Islamic scholars, and by that it does^not make a distinction in the level of proof required for the progressive schools of thought in crimes of adultery (zina) and rape Islam. (zina-bil-jabi). To conclusively provja either, four male Muslim eye- ! witnesses of good repute are I required. The equating of adulter with rape has had extremely neg« tive implications for women. Innumerable women, particularly the uneducated and underprivileged, have been imprisoned on false charges, or flogged, under this law, while the perpetrators of the crime of rape have escaped punishment. The Law of Evidence (1984) j requiring 'The evidence of two mfen, or one man and two women so tl lat if one should forget, the other ma> remind her* In financial transacti )ns, unless the woman is appearing it an official capacity (Article 17), had similar negative implications, evisn if in reality the law is rarely invoked. It establishes a stereotype of won* en as mentally inferior, unreliable a id inconsistent A number of directives were isteued by Zia, regarding the dress code,, gender segregation, campaigns i against obscenity, covering of tfe head by female announcers on "V, banning of sports for women, a separate university for women, in end to foreign postings of worn* n in the foreign service, and (Smiting women's recruitment in banks other public services. Not ell- measures were impiemeMed; % -dress code', for been enforced.

•"•'' . women fr$rii «i* con$« ~ " ' '** .Islam wear ^ftVefopihg

36 Resisting Extremism I There are two mosques In the small village of Goth Janjano, one for Sunnis and one fof1 Shi'as. Six Hindu families also live i|i the village. There is considerable potential for religious tensions, but local! community leaders are dedicated to resolving any conflicts and kjeeping communication op^n between people of different sects ind faiths. 'in the last days jof Muharram there's a lot of grie;f and sorrow,' says Muhammed Suksh, one of the village leaders. 'This is when we relive the death of the grandson of the Prophet. During this time we have a session of ijnourning every evening. At this time even the Hindus join us, which helps to bind the community together. 'I want to share a fear of mine with you: every Friday, optside speakers from the Shi'a and jSunni sects come to the village and t^ilk at the mosques. I have erjcouraged a Surini and a Shi'a to get fleeted on to our village committee, 4o that they have to. work together anp1 achieve positive things. I've organised other committees so thatj both sects have to work together, orie on health, one on registering births and deaths, and so on. If we can't slop it [i.e. the divisions being created by outsiders] kt of hand, [things win get in Every village in Pakistan, however small and remote, has its own mosque. The mosque Is not only a place of to telem the tide.We worship but acts as the social centre series pf leotures in the of yillage life. This mosque is. in a She moment ab.out hurr»a.n . southern Punjab. " h l trted'

37