Editorial
The story of Pakistan and Afghanistan is deeply tied to religious and ideological movements that reshaped their social and political fabric. The Taliban movement, born out of Afghanistan’s religious-tribal culture, soon found ideological resonance in Pakistan. It was not just seen as a militant struggle but was glorified as an “Islamic revival.” This glorification allowed Talibanism to seep into Pakistan’s intellectual, religious, and social consciousness under the guise of faith.
During the 1990s and the post-9/11 years, several Pakistani religious groups, madrassas, and media outlets framed the Taliban model as the purest form of Islam. Such ideological conditioning eroded values of tolerance and diversity, pushing the society toward rigid dogmatism. Debate became dangerous, dissent became heresy, and intellectual curiosity was replaced by emotional conformity.
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Pakistan’s state, in pursuit of unity and legitimacy, used religion as an ideological pillar. This state-led “ideological engineering” gave birth to a culture where religious interpretation was monopolized by select groups. Gradually, this nurtured extremism and rigidity — the soil in which Talibanism thrived. The current Taliban hostility towards Pakistan, including deadly border attacks, exposes the fallacy of viewing them as “strategic or religious allies.” Once empowered, such groups recognize no boundaries or sovereignty.
Pakistan must now accept that enforced ideological uniformity is a weakness, not a strength. A state that dictates faith ends up curbing its own future. The path forward lies in intellectual pluralism — a society that encourages questions, scholarship, and dialogue, true to the Islamic spirit of inquiry and justice. Religion should unite through ethics and compassion, not divide through power and coercion.
