Pakistan: Contemporary Affairs

Pakistan’s sociopolitical environment is influenced by a number of substantial tensions that often increase internal division and civil unrest. The majority of Pakistani Muslims are Sunnis, and there is a large Sufi influence still active in rural areas, primarily in Punjab. A smaller but growing group of Deobandis are strongest in Pashtun areas. These groups are influenced by Wahhabi theology, a much stricter interpretation of Islamic jurisprudence compared to the more liberal Hanafi School of Islamic Jurisprudence that dominates South Asia. Many Deobandis consider the Barelvi Sufis and their emphasis on religious pluralism and syncretism heretical; in recent years, Islamist terrorist groups have destroyed many Sufi shrines in the Sindh and Punjab provinces. The religious divide in Pakistan is exacerbated by ethnic, tribal and linguistic divisions which mirror the nation’s political cleavages. Increasing public disaffection with the US influence on the Pakistani government during and the US-led War on Terror, and specifically with the drone attacks in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, has propelled country toward religious extremism. Pakistan temporarily closed NATO supply routes into Afghanistan and ceased diplomatic relations with the United States in November 2011 for four months. In addition to political conflict, the persecution of religious minorities is escalating in Pakistan. Shi’as, Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus, and Zoroastrians periodically face persecution by both unofficial Sunni groups and the government. Government persecution of Shi’as was demonstrated in March 2012, when the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) created a new religious category for Ahmadis titled “Qadiani” (a pejorative name referring to the hometown of Ahmadi founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad), stoking fears of further persecution and discrimination in their community.