Afghanistan: Pakistan braces for more ‘Islamization’ after Taliban victory

The Taliban’s capture of Kabul in 1996 gave impetus to Islamist militant groups across the planet , but the country that was most suffering from the increase of fundamentalism in Afghanistan was its neighbor, Pakistan.

Not only did the victory of the “students” (the Taliban in Arabic) embolden extremist and militant groups in Pakistan, some people within the South Asian country also saw it as a “divine” sign.

Fed up with the country’s mainstream political parties, who had did not deliver to the folk , the demand for shariah and a Taliban-style government had started echoing across Pakistan.

Political Islam, thus, gained tremendous strength within the Muslim-majority country, and therefore the hardline Wahabi version of Islam became even more popular thanks to the increase of the Taliban.

As the country’s military establishment was backing the Islamists at the time, experts said the surge in support in Pakistan for the Taliban was a natural outcome of state policies.

Twenty years after the US and allied forces toppled the Taliban regime, the fundamentalist group is back in power in Afghanistan. Analysts say that Pakistan is sure to be suffering from the Taliban triumph.

Deja vu?

When the militant group first came to power in Afghanistan, Pakistan saw a sudden spike in jihadist outfits and non secular seminaries. Sectarian clashes also increased sharply within the country, with militant Sunni organizations targeting members of the Shiite sect and other minority groups.

“Pakistani authorities and Sunni extremist groups are still backing the Taliban, which could fuel sectarian tensions within the country,” Ahsan Raza, a Lahore-based political analyst, told DW.

Raza says these tensions could escalate within the coming weeks. “The success of their ‘ideological brothers’ in Afghanistan has given them a lift ,” pertaining to Pakistani Islamist groups.

The withdrawal folks troops from Afghanistan and therefore the subsequent Taliban takeover of the country has also reinvigorated the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TPP), a gaggle banned by Islamabad thanks to its violent attacks on civilians and security forces.

Islamabad has urged the Afghan Taliban to make sure that the TTP doesn’t use Afghan soil to launch attacks inside Pakistan. Despite the Taliban’s assurance, the TTP has already intensified its attacks on Pakistani troops.

Analyst Said Alam Mehsud said that he believes terrorist attacks are likely to extend not only in northwestern areas of Pakistan but across the country.

Renewed demand for Shariah imposition

Religious groups are demanding the imposition of shariah in Pakistan more vigorously than before.

In the late 1990s, religious parties took to the streets to force former premier Nawaz Sharif to introduce more Islamic laws. Experts say that extremist parties could launch an identical campaign to further Islamize the country.

Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, a former parliamentarian and leader of the religious Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party, told DW the victory of the Afghan Taliban would have a positive impact on Pakistan and therefore the region. “The demand for the imposition of Shariah would gain momentum,” he said, adding that the country was created to uphold Islamic values.

“There is not any harm if Shariah is imposed here also ,” he added.

Kishwar Zehra, a Pakistani legislator, told DW that some religious groups, spurred by the Taliban triumph, have already started campaigning against liberal groups and ladies activists.

“I think they need the facility to pressure Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government into passing retrogressive laws,” she added.

Pakistan’s ‘pro-Taliban’ government

Khan’s center-right government is already facing criticism for cozying up to spiritual extremists and introducing regressive legislation in parliament.

Khan, who has long supported the Taliban, has been severely criticized for his “misogynistic” views. In June, he faced backlash following comments that appear to place the blame for sexual assault on women.

“If a lady is wearing only a few clothes, it’ll have an impression on the lads , unless they’re robots,” Khan said during an interview for news website Axios, aired by US broadcaster HBO. He proceeded to mention that this was “common sense.”

Khan had made the comments roughly two months after an identical controversy. During an issue and answer briefing with the general public , Khan had said that the increase in sexual violence in Pakistan was thanks to the shortage of “pardah,” the practice of veiling, within the country.

“The civil society is opposing the ‘Talibanization’ of Pakistan, but unfortunately the state is supporting them. It could end in increased suppression of journalists and NGOs,” Asad Butt, president of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, told DW.