Pakistan’s Frankenstein

Much will depend on how Pakistan responds to pressures it may face from the Trump administration

The enchanting melody of Dama Dam Mast Qalandar, rendered by musical legends like Noor Jehan, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen, the Sabri brothers and Runa Laila, has kept many of us enthralled for decades. It was based on a poem composed by Amir Khusro and modified by the 13th century Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, whose humanitarian teachings influenced Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs alike, for centuries. Lal Shahbaz is buried in Sehwan in Sindh. As a mark of respect, the last Shah of Iran, Reza Shah Pahlavi, donated a gold-plated main gate for his shrine. The shrine is visited annually by over a million pilgrims—Hindus and Muslims alike.

The evening prayers at the shrine, especially on Thursdays, are marked by Dhamaal, a meditative dance ceremony. It was during the Dhamaal on February 16 that a suicide bomber struck, killing 88 devotees and grievously wounding over 250. The events leading to this attack go back to developments in 1979, when Ayatollah Khomeini’s Islamic Revolution in Iran coincided with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Pakistan’s President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and the ISI joined the CIAsponsored and Saudi Arabia-financed jihad against the Soviets. Saudi money pouring into Pakistan led to the emergence and strengthening of Wahhabi-oriented armed extremists in Pakistan and Afghanistan, which not only challenged the Soviets, but also targeted the Shia and Sufi-oriented groups, including the influential and then dominant Barelvis.

The events of 9/11 and the subsequent US intervention in Afghanistan have led to increasing Wahhabi influence in Pakistan. While the ISI supports the Afghan Taliban, the army was forced to crack down on Pakistani extremist Wahhabi groups, such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Lashkare-Jhangvi and others, for challenging the writ of the government, especially in the Pashtun tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. Periodic attacks against Shias and their places of worship in Gilgit-Baltistan, Balochistan and the Pashtun tribal areas have continued. Pakistani military operations against the TTP have displaced around one million tribals, with large numbers fleeing into Afghanistan.

These tribals, many linked to the TTP, have decided to challenge the Pakistan army and government. They have made common cause with extremist Wahhabi outfits and attacked Pakistan army and government installations. As in the past, they have targeted Shias and the so-called heretics, like the Sufis.

Pakistan has blamed the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), said to be an affiliate of the TTP, for the Sehwan attack and called on the Afghan government to act against the group. The Pakistan army has also shelled places within Afghanistan said to be camps of the JuA. Pakistan’s army chief has demanded Afghanistan ensure that 76 alleged terrorists, said to be in Afghanistan, be repatriated. Afghanistan has protested against cross-border shelling by Pakistan and reiterated allegations that the Afghan Taliban uses Pakistani territory to indulge in terrorism on Afghan soil. Pakistan is faced with both Afghanistan and India accusing it of promoting cross-border terrorism. This diplomatic tangle will inevitably take substantial time and effort to resolve. Much will depend on how Pakistan, emboldened by Chinese support, responds to pressures it may face from the Donald Trump administration.

Meanwhile, scores of people in Sindh have defied terrorist threats and visited the Sehwan shrine. One looks forward to the day when Indian pilgrims and tourists can visit shrines like Lal Shahbaz Qalandar’s, the Sadhu Bela Temple in Sukkur, and the Katasraj temple in Chakwal, while Pakistani pilgrims receive similar access to Sufi shrines in Ajmer and elsewhere in India. The writer is former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan