Pakistani Deep State and the Illusion of Peace

• The well known ISI is the mastermind of most of the strategies, and it works in tandem with the military forces in realizing its goals and accomplishing its missions.
• ISI happens to be the main source of finance for all the terrorist groups and organizations that operate in Pakistan, they are referred to as “good terrorists” in the circles of the intelligence establishment.
• They are the main hawkers, wheeler-dealers, peddlers, brokers, middlemen and agents who work as a bridge between the Military and Islamist clergy.
• The most unidentified and often neglected amongst the circles of Intelligentsia are the notorious zamindars of Pakistan who are the most medieval and exploitative section of people in South Asia.
• Pakistan strongly believes and espouses the doctrine of Ghazwa-e-hind, which means the end of Hindu civilization, and the establishment of the Islamic State in Hindustan or India.
• Dealing with a notorious rogue nation of Pakistan in terms of modern-day diplomatic and political negotiations has become next to impossible.

I was listening to Arif Mohammed Khan, in one of his speeches, where he reveals the conversation between Mosses and Allah, which are mentioned in the Hadiz,( one of the holy books of Islam ). In it,  Mosses said to Allah, “ Oh Allah, when you become agonized with our people, capture everything from us, but leave our brains( intellect) alone. Allah replied, “No! When I get agonized, the first thing that I take away from people is their brains, rest falls apart and collapses on its own”.

Perhaps the problem with the “acronym-ised” territory of Pakistan, which unfortunately became a nation-state in 1947, has lost the power of critical and rational thinking. ( A Hadiz revealed previously, has come true). If we turn back, to the dark pages of history, and read the tragic story of partition and its origins, all that a normal and a sensitive person would get is a handful of tears, or probably, into traumatization. Because the doctrinal basis of the creation of Pakistan is Hindu hatred and persecution. In fact, it would be a surprise for most people to know that Pakistan was the first Islamic state. Long before ISIS ( Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). Because it has claimed 1 million lives, during the partition in 1947 and 3 million lives during the Bangladesh liberation war in 1971, and most of them were the Bengali people. It is, in many ways a multiplier effect of violence, brute naked savagery rattled with the ugliest form of troglodyte behavioural patterns, in the history of India’s civilization.

The origins of Pakistan in British India

Alongside the Non-Cooperation movement, that was led by Gandhiji, the Khilafat issue sprang up alarmingly, as Turkey witnessed a gruesome treatment by the British in the first world war. Since the Sultan of Turkey was considered the spiritual leader of the Muslims, it was considered to be a direct attack on Islam, and the perception of  “ Islam being under threat” came about. Thought the Ali Brothers, who spearheaded the Khilafat movement in India ( Khilafat: An ancient form of Islamic state), did not actually have any idea, of creating a separate State for Muslims, this movement sowed the seeds of an institutionalized division, between the Hindus and Muslims, and more importantly, the doctrine of a separate identity of the Muslim community in the subcontinent took a steep radicalized face. This radically infused Islamism gained strong political immunity, when the Muslim majority provinces, started electing the leaders of the Muslim league mainly. This led to the demand of the state of Pakistan. On 23rd of March 1940, in the Lahore session, the Muslim League, under the leadership of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, passed a resolution to partition India and create Pakistan for Muslims. One lakh Muslim delegates took part in this session. When Congress under the leadership of Gandhiji raised the slogan of “Quit India”, to the British empire, Jinnah raised the slogan “ Divide and Quit”. This was the level of uncompromising determination, the Muslim league portrayed then.

Soon after the 2nd world war, the demand and agitation for Independence of India and partition of Pakistan arose parallelly. This culminated in the Formation of Pakistan with Bengal and Punjab provinces being amputated from the territory of India.

Decoding the Pakistani Deep State

The deep state, is believed to be a clandestine network entrenched inside the government agencies, and supposedly controls state policy behind the scenes, while the democratically elected process and the government office-bearers are merely figureheads who are either co-opted or become the spokespersons to the deep, entrenched, establishment. In simple terms, the deep the state represents “the state, within a state”.

The components of the Pakistani Deep State:

1) Military establishment and the ISI

2) Bureaucracy or the power elites of the civil service

3) Zamindars or the Feudal landlords

4) The Islamist Clergy or Clerics

All these sections share essential commonalities. Most of them share a Punjabi ethnicity, Urdu as a language being artificially superimposed upon themselves, have subjected the entire Population of Pakistan to a linguistic genocide of Punjabi, Shindi, Python, Kacchi, Baluchi, Memni, Gujrathi and a bunch of other regional languages. So, basically, these are a set of strange people,  who hate themselves ethnically and believe to be the decedents of Turks and Arabs, who were the invaders to the Indian subcontinent from the high lands of central Asia. The most important shared commonality is Political and Constitutionally sanctioned Islamism. Islamism is a fascist ideology that uses Islam as a political tool to establish its realm and to fulfil the dream of a worldwide Caliphate. By definition, an Islamic state lays the ground for end-of-times battle to eliminate or dominate all non-Muslims, in particular, Jews and Hindus, referred to in the Islamist parlance as “hanoodwaYahood”. In the case of Pakistan, they follow the doctrine of “ Gazwa-e-Hind”, which aims to wipe out the Hindu civilization from the world.

Military establishment and the ISI

It is famously or rather infamously referred to in Pakistan that, “in republics, the state has the army, but in Pakistan, the army has the state. It is an open secret in at least the contemporary parlance of Geopolitics.   In 1958, General (later field marshal) Ayub Khan took over the reins of Pakistan. Since then, the military has shaped the destiny of Pakistan, either directly or indirectly. Towards the end of the The 1960s, Ayub had strengthened the military’s hold over the State machinery and inaugurated a Constitution establishing a presidential form of government, elected by “basic electors” – a concept which was as vague as it sounds. Meanwhile, India had begun to take baby steps into the world of democracy. Proving critics wrong, India successfully held four general elections. The Centre, aided by several states, also introduced legislation to implement land reforms, albeit with limited success. From the 1950s onwards, when ethnic sentiments emerged in East Pakistan over the alleged economic and cultural indifference by Pakistan’s western wing. Separated from each other by over a thousand miles, religion was the only common factor between the two wings of the country. 

The obsession with the theory meant that ethnic and language issues were never given serious consideration. Since the establishment of Pakistan, it was amply made clear that Urdu would continue to be the national language of the newly carved nation-state. Federalism as an idea never took off in Pakistan. In 1955, four provinces of the western wing – Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – were unified under the One Unit scheme to bring “parity” between the two wings of Pakistan. The plan also nullified the numerical advantage of the Bengalis, ending up alienating the eastern wing. The controversial scheme was ultimately scrapped in 1970. The Anti-Bengali sentiment transgressed the economic realm too. The eastern wing was discriminated against in the allocation of central funds, with western wing receiving 70 per cent of the funds between 1950 and 1970. All these factors forced Awami leader Mujibur Rahman to seek more autonomy in the 1960s. However, Pakistan’s military dictatorship brooked no dissent as Mujibur and fellow leaders were jailed for their demands. Things reached the nadir when Bengali nationalists declared independence in March 1971. Nine months later, Bangladesh was born. While “Indira’s India” was flirting with authoritarianism, a truncated Pakistan finally saw the dawn of democracy under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

The deep state, is believed to be a clandestine network entrenched inside the government agencies, and supposedly controls state policy behind the scenes.

In 1973, Bhutto became Pakistan’s first democratically elected leader after drafting the country’s third Constitution. For the first time in Pakistan’s political history, a government pursued an ideology-based policy. Bhutto embarked on a socialist sojourn, nationalizing heavy industries, addressing labour issues, implementing two phases of land reforms – with limited success and improving ties with the Warsaw Pact countries. In the process, Bhutto created a political ideology called “Bhuttoism”. It was probably the only time in the subcontinent’s history when both countries seemed to be on the same page on the question of economy. While India applied the brake on authoritarianism with electing the Janata Party, Pakistan applied reverse gear to return to dictatorship. On 5 July 1977, General Muhammad Zia ulHaq overthrew the democratically elected Bhutto government. The racoon-eyed Zia cruelly put his former boss Bhutto to death in an obscure murder case and went on to rule for 11 years. Lacking a constituency of his own, Zia introduced Sharia law in a bid to gain the approval of Islamists. While reneging on his promise to hold elections till 1985, Zia consolidated the military as part of Operation Cyclone – the covert US plan to back Mujahideens in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan. Zia’s policies created the mullah-military complex – a byword for rabid Islamisation of the State machinery. The dominant moderate voices were sidelined while Islamism gained ground in Pakistan. The general was also single-handedly responsible for the rise of Pakistan as the “motherboard of terrorism”. 

When Zia was planning a non-party election in 1985, Rajiv Gandhi had just won the largest ever mandate in India’s history. India and Pakistan were again at the crossroads of destiny in the mid-90s. While India was struggling with coalition politics in its 50th year of Independence, Pakistan had elected its most powerful government. In the February 1997 elections, Nawaz Sharif secured his second term as prime minister with a two-third majority.1998 will go down in history as the year that changed the strategic balance of the region. India conducted its first thermonuclear tests — Shakti I and II — on 11 and 13 May, while Pakistan followed up with its own tests, codenamed Chagai I and II on 28 and 30 May. A day before Atal Bihari Vajpayee was to take oath as the leader of the first majority-enjoying the coalition government in India’s history; General Pervez Musharraf deposed Sharif on the night of 12 October 1999. And the reason for Vajpayee’s ascendency to power and Sharif’s downfall was the same: Kargil War. While the bane of terrorism binds India and Pakistan, Pakistan’s sponsorship of terrorism sets India apart. In 2013, Pakistan saw a democratic transition of power for the first time – a significant event in the country’s chequered democracy. However, no Pakistan prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term. The one who was expected to break the jinx – Sharif – was dismissed by the Pakistan Supreme Court on corruption charges and disqualified from contesting elections. He is currently languishing in prison and his bitter rival Imran Khan is set to be sworn in as the next Prime Minister.

Though the army does not seem to be taking over the reins of the country anytime soon, its influence on the government is only expected to get stronger now.

The well known ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence ) is the mastermind of most of these strategies, and it works in tandem with the military forces in realizing its goals and accomplishing its missions. ISI happens to be the main source of finance for all the terrorist groups and organizations that operate in Pakistan, they are referred to as “good terrorists” in the circles of the intelligence establishment. ISI also plays a vital role in assisting the recruitment process and training of these terrorists. The ISPR( Inter-Services Public Relations), a less familiar organization, which officially is the media wing of Pakistan is the main propaganda machinery of Pakistan, that controls virtually all the media houses in Pakistan, both print and virtual, also spread venomous perceptions and influence the opinion of the world, mainly to flair up anti-Indian sentiments, with well crafted vicious lies and fabricated narratives.        

Though the army does not seem to be taking over the reins of the country anytime soon, its influence on the government is only expected to get stronger now. There are also some sources within the Pakistani Media, that says, Army does not want to do a coup anymore, because it has created the power structure, in each and every fabric of the Pakistani power structure that, without the approval and sanction of the Army Chief, no one can sit on the chair of the Prime Minister of Pakistan. So, it can easily be assumed that future Prime ministers will be mere subordinates, to the Generals or stooges in the absentia of any real power.

Bureaucracy or the power elites of the civil service

They are the main hawkers, wheeler-dealers, peddlers, brokers, middlemen and agents who work as a bridge between the Military and Islamist clergy. This network includes diplomats as well. This network acts as the defender in chief of all the un-holy Political and Economic acts that Pakistan commits on its soil and also abroad, it is this part of the deep state that constantly works towards bringing in international funding and military assistance across the world. As an Institution, it resembles the housekeeping staff of a Hotel that cleans up the washrooms and disposes of the garbage. It plays a major role in hosting and organizing all the Indo-Pak cultural ties programs such as the Aman Ki Asha, which was held a couple of years ago. Any artist or actors who knock the doors of Bollywood, seeking opportunities need to be approved by this cartel of top Bureaucrats and be sanctioned finally by the ISI, which indeed tells us how much trust we must be levied on the artists who enter from Pakistan. Moreover, they are a set of feudal elites who are soaked in vicious circles of nepotism, corruption, opportunism, and quid-pro-quos, to become filthy rich and acquire an everlasting sphere of influence in all sections of Pakistani society.

Zamindars or the Feudal landlords

Perhaps the most unidentified and often neglected amongst the circles of Intelligentsia in India and the world are the notorious zamindars of Pakistan. They are the most medieval and exploitative section of people in South Asia. Each one of them owns huge tracts of land about an average of 150-200 hectares of land. Most people who work in their lands are bonded labourers. It is estimated that close to 90% of the agricultural labourers in  Pakistan are bonded labourers. It is very important to mention them in the deep state structure as they act as the typhoons and undeclared dons who run the Politics of Pakistan, who form the main source of funding and financing the parallel economy( Black market) of Pakistan. This chain of finances is spread over from the military to bureaucracy and clerics to terrorist groups. So, it is quite evident that the Zamindars form the epicentre of Pakistan’s malicious and notorious nexus of the rampant mafia that finances the deep state of Pakistan.

The Islamist Clergy or Clerics

This is the section of people who became the ideologues of fascist Islamism which became the first Islamic state in the world who’s prime identity was based on the religion of Islam. The entire movement of the Islamic State of Pakistan, gained a violent momentum, in pre-independent India “Haat me lota much me paanlekerahege Pakistan” (With a Tumbler in the hand and paan in the mouth, we will at all cost have a Pakistan) “ Urdu-sthan Banega Pakistan” (Pakistan will become the land of Urdu). Soon after the partition, incidents of rape and genocide of religious minorities became common. Incidents like Hindu women being tied to a pole, naked, gang-raped, their breasts being cut off and left alone to bleed to death, became common in the streets of Karachi. These events were, espoused, sponsored, advocated, sanctioned, championed and deliberated by the clerics of Pakistan. Even today the status of women in Pakistan is no better. They were instrumental in literally wiping out the Hindu and Sikhs, who lived in that land, for millennia, in peace and tandem, with multilingual, multi-religious and multi-ethnic communities.

Today there are hardly any Hindu, Sikh or Christian leftovers in Pakistan, even though some exist, they live in extremely hostile socio-political conditions, hiding their original religious identity. The mullas, Maulans, Imams, muftis and qadis literally run a theocratic state in Pakistan, without any checks and balances. They play an instrumental role in brainwashing the youth of Pakistan to join the armed jihad and are the religious figureheads of the Islamist terror groups and fundamentalists of Pakistan like Laskar-e-taiba, Jamat-ud-dhava, Jaish-e-Muhammad Hizbul mujahedin. They are the masterminds, strategist-in-chiefs, and Ideological faculty of the terror groups and activities across the world and particularly in India.

Doctrine of Ghazwa-e-Hind

Pakistan strongly believes and espouses the doctrine of Ghazwa-e-hind, which means the end of Hindu civilization, and the establishment of the Islamic State in Hindustan or India. Supposedly in one of the controversial Hadiz of Islamic theology, there is a mention of Ghazwa-e-Hind, Gazwa, in Islamic parlance, is a holy war led by the Prophet himself, which means it has a complete sanction to be sacred by the virtue of Allah. In that specific hadiz, it is supposedly mentioned that to attain “qaum-e-qayamat” which means the end of times or establishment of peace, two armies would head in two specific directions, one towards Rome, i.e. Modern Europe and another towards Hind, which is India.

Today there are hardly any Hindu, Sikh or Christian leftovers in Pakistan, even though some exist, they live in extremely hostile socio-political conditions, hiding their original religious identity.

The army headed for European destruction is ISIS( Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) and the the second army must be the Pakistani State is the belief that is vehemently indoctrinated into most Pakistan, and only after this process is complete, the Muslims will receive a permanent seat in Jannat ( heaven). Clerics in Pakistan constantly preach through their sermons and fatwas, that “ Pakistanis should consider themselves fortunate that Allah has bestowed the honour to wage the war against India to them”. “

The genesis of Pakistan was prophesied to defeat India and Hinduism at the hands of Pakistan”. When a country has waged war 4 times officially, occupied Half of Kashmir’s territory illegally has amputated, punctured, bled and continues to bleed India, constantly through its proxies and non-state actors, we are talking about establishing peace with them, and have become frustrated and ham-stringed with our own efforts. So it’s not a paradoxical state of nature, that India is unable to come to terms with, but with the dichotomy of peddling with a modern democratic nation-state, and the medieval theocratic feudal state, which aims to destroy the former.  

Conclusion

Dealing with a notorious rogue nation of Pakistan in terms of modern-day diplomatic and political negotiations has become next to impossible. India must slowly and steadily work for the dismemberment of the Islamic State and the deep state of Pakistan. In the present socio-political conditions that Pakistan is traversing, establishing peace seems an absolute illusion. Although Pakistan is facing diplomatic isolation across the world and is losing its credibility, not only as a safe haven to terror but also as a political entity, Indrageust works more aggressively and strategically to amputate Pakistan, into several autonomous political entities, so that the backbone of its Islamism can be steadily broken. Pakistan is a living testament to the bankrupt idea of an Islamic State. The success of its enterprising and hospitable citizens stands in contrast to the failure of the state. Imagine the possibilities of a Pakistan free from the shackles of its Islamist tormentors.

_{(The author has a MA in political science from Bangalore University and is pursuing MA in international relations from Annamalai University. His areas of interest include Indian foreign policy, global diplomacy, geopolitics, Indian strategic thought and national security studies. Views expressed are author’s own)}

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Viswapramod C

Viswapramod is a PhD Scholar at the Department of International Studies and Political Science, Christ University, Bangalore. He has an MA in International Relations. Views expressed are the author’s own.