Effects of Islamic Cold War in Pakistan
Pakistan has been the prey of many cold wars. The one we are going to look over has more impacts than any other. Its consequences hit the upper level as well as the lower level of society. No one knew there would be a cold war in the Islamic world. Pakistan being a neighbour, became a stage of this tension. This essay embraces the aftermath of the Cold War in the Islamic World in Pakistan.
“A cold war is a state of conflict between nations that does not involve direct military action but is pursued primarily through economic and political action, propaganda, acts of espionage or proxy war waged by surrogates.” (Wikipedia Contributors, 2019)
Cold War in the Islamic world is a fight over geopolitical dominance between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Pakistan are the high points of this war.
In 1977, democratically elected President of Pakistan Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto overthrown by an engineered coup. Gen. Zia ul Haqq; the mastermind of the coup, wanted to transform Pakistan into a theocratic state. His beliefs were leaner towards Wahabism. KSA supported him in his tenure. This how Pakistan became a victim of the cold war in the Islamic world.
In 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini, a religious cleric, dethrone the secular monarchy of Muhammad Raza Shah Pehlevi (Shah of Iran). He made Iran a theocratic state. The problem with revolution is that it gets shipped. It could be shipped by arms, shipped by rebellion, or shipped by rumours. Iran used the most unusual way to export its revolution; religious sentiments of people. Saudi Arabia and Iraq had the same fear of importing unrest from Iran (Vox, 2017). Ayatollah Khomeini detests the Saudi Monarchy and used to criticize its policies. Soon after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, both countries went into a cold war.
On December 24, 1979, USSR invaded Afghanistan. It was an alarming sign for the USA and its allies. Saudi-Arab backed by the USA profoundly invested in Pakistan. The motive behind this was to open thousands of madrassas spreading the Wahabi doctrine. Taliban were made to retaliate against the Soviet invaders. Militants were recruited by brainwashing young children in these madrassas. They came from every corner of the Muslim world, but their headquarter was in Pakistan where they get trained. Soviets left Afghanistan in 1989, leaving a political vacuum behind. Northern Alliance and Taliban who cross swords against the Soviets, were fighting for power. Iran supported the Hekmatyar meanwhile Saudi Arabia assisted Mulla Umar. Consequently, a sectarian war emerged in Afghanistan as well as Pakistan.
Why in Pakistan? Pakistan inhabited by demographics of both Sunnis and Shias sects of Islam. Sunnis are closer to Wahhabism because it is a subbranch of Sunni Islam. They supported KSA. Meanwhile, Shias ran toward Iran. Militant groups of both sides formed, backed by their respective competitor of the cold war. That marked the beginning of mass genocide. Sipah-e-Sahabi and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi used all-out hate speech against Shia. On the other side, Sipah-e-Muhammad committed crimes against Sunnis. The 90s of Pakistan was a dark era.
Pakistan keeps close military ties with Saudi Arabia, granting widespread support, firearms, and training for the Saudi armed forces. In the 1990s, Pakistan had defence deals with Saudi Arabia, which led Pakistan to the Saudi Camp. Pakistani soldiers have been stationed in Saudi Arabia to protect the divine sites of Islam. Pakistan has also been providing training to Saudi soldiers and pilots (Wikipedia Contributors, 2020). By this Saudi interference in Pakistan’s foreign policy and international affairs increased.
In 1998, Al-Qaeda attacked American embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya (CNN Library, 2013). As a consequence of this, the CIA was in search of Usama Bin Ladin. Taliban gave Bin Ladin political asylum. On-demand of the USA, the Taliban denied handover him. This mistake begins a war against terror (by western) in Afghanistan. Within a month, the USA had control over Kabul. Bin Ladin had escaped to Pakistan, and Mulla Umar had a bounty on his head. Approximately 5 million Afghan refugees emigrated to Pakistan, leaving their homeland, money, shelter, and all assets there (Kronenfeld, 2008).
Pakistan remains the patron of the USA in its War against Terrorism. Taliban and Al Qaeda leaders were unhappy with this act. They started to attack Pakistan and its people. These events gave birth to TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan). This group has been involved in many human rights crimes and terror activities in Pakistan, including the APS attack in Peshawar. Suicide bomb attacks on Shia mass gathering by these terrorist organizations started. Annual attacks on Ashura Processions were common. Iran supported the USA against the Taliban and also recruit Pakistani boys in Zainabiun Front fighting in Syria and Iraq. When militants return to Pakistan, they create a military insurgency by their terrorist activities. These events led us to the death of 35,000 to 50,000 Pakistani citizens. Hazara Community faced the most lethal and fatal consequences of sectarianism.
Critical scrutiny of history would tell us more than that. Pakistan came into being in the name of Islam, the first Islamic Republic in the world, where the law will be concise of Democracy guided by the Sharia. Military interventions in the civilian bodies deviated from its course and pavement for its development. Pakistani were never like this radical and conservative. All was the grace of Gen. Zia-ul-Haqq; the longest-serving head of state and dictator of Pakistan. His radical policies and irrational determinations were the main elements of the fall of Pakistan.
Furthermore, the war between Iran and Saudi Arabia was over geopolitical dominance. Why did they use their sects and kill one another? The Shia-Sunni divide is not religious. They have been living together in the Arabian Peninsula for more than a thousand-year. The Shia-Sunni demarcation is merely political. Iran and Saudi Arabia claim to be the head of the Muslim world. They have a responsibility to withhold these sensitive points in their geopolitical rivalry.
We can presume that the Cold War in the Islamic World has undermined the value of Islam in the world. Countries bordering Iran and Saudi Arabia were the ones with the most casualties. Pakistan should not have offered its shoulder and loyalty to anyone’s gun. Its foreign policy should be autonomous. Islam is a religion of peace, a pigeon with olive. Such acts of irresponsible administrations make the moral values of Islam questionable.
References
CNN Library. (2013, October 6). 1998 US Embassies in Africa Bombings Fast Facts. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/06/world/africa/africa-embassy-bombings-fast-facts/index.html
Kronenfeld, D. A. (2008). Afghan Refugees in Pakistan: Not All Refugees, Not Always in Pakistan, Not Necessarily Afghan? Journal of Refugee Studies, 21(1), 43–63. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/fem048
Vox. (2017). The Middle East’s cold war, explained. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veMFCFyOwFI
Wikipedia Contributors. (2019, October 11). Cold war (general term). Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_war_(general_term)
Wikipedia Contributors. (2020, October 19). Pakistan–Saudi Arabia relations. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan%E2%80%93Saudi_Arabia_relations#:~:text=41.5%20million%20oz.-
