Abdollah Kamali [1]
The present article first reviews the causes of instability in Pakistan and then it discusses about some major problems in Pakistan which affect the peace and security in southeast of Iran. The article focuses on four issues: Sunni schools, Islamic fundamentalism, terrorism and Baloch nationalism. It concludes that Iran’s southeast security question partly relies upon Pakistan.
Introduction
Pakistan is the second most populous Muslim country with a Sunni majority and a Shia minority. It is bordered with Iran through Sistan va Balochestan which is situated in the southeast of Iran. Unlike Pakistan, Iran is a Shia majority with a Sunni minority. However, Sistan va Balochestan is home to a majority Sunni Baloch and non-Baloch Shia. The religious and ethnic violence in Pakistan are threatening the security in southeast of Iran. The occasional religious violence against the Shia and the Balochi separatist movements in Pakistan are two major problems for Iran.
Instability in Pakistan: Causes
It is believed that four major factors are responsible for instability in Pakistan. First, under the administration of Zia-ul-Haq (1977-1988) religious organizations had been exploited. Religious groups began to fight against one another and consequently this led to fundamentalism and terrorism in Pakistan. Second, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the subsequent developments such as the flow of refugees into Pakistan have led to social, political and religious unrest in Pakistan. Third, external factors have also fanned the flames of fundamentalism. For example, foreign support, both economically and politically, have been extended to the rogue elements in Pakistan mainly by the Saudis and the Americans. Fourth, in the meantime, military establishment has played an influential role in politics throughout the history of Pakistan. Presidents brought in by military coups ruled in 1958–1971, 1977–1988 and 1999–2008.[2] This has disrupted the democratic process in Pakistan. Today, Pakistan is entangled with religious fundamentalism and terrorism. The influence of Sunni schools, Islamic fundamentalism, terrorism and Baloch nationalism, as shall be discussed briefly in the following paragraphs, more or less are threatening the security in southeast of Iran.
Islamic Sunni Schools
According to a report by Islamabad’s Institute of Policy Studies, “Pakistan has 6761 religious seminaries where over a million young men are taking religious training.” Another account, however, shows a much bigger figure. According to the Interior Ministry, “there are 20,000 religious schools in Pakistan with nearly three million students.”[3] Whatsoever, Islamic schools in Pakistan are out of the government’s effective control. There is no academic control over the teaching or religious materials. The so-called educational materials are designed only for ideological propaganda. There is a belief that these schools are run with financial support from the Saudi or Kuwaiti governments, some departments of the Pakistani government and local wealthy people. Likewise, in the southeast of Iran, Sunni schools are the center for traditional and religious education which are run by various Sunni clerics who mainly belong to Deobandian School. Iranian state does not effectively interfere with the teaching syllabuses of the Sunni schools. Although some of the leading Sunni schools’ teaching materials are not confined to the Quranic teachings, many other schools teach only Quran with superficial interpretations. There are some common ideological features among the schools in Pakistan and the Sunni schools in southeast of Iran. These ideological similarities quite often indicate Sunni fundamentalism; they are not in accord with the Shia principles.
Islamic Fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a concept or movement which tends to return the society to a former value system. Islamic fundamentalism in Pakistan, as pointed earlier, began in 1980s. Zia ul-Haq used Islam to justify his power. He radicalized the Islamic society. Such Islamization increased the tensions between the Sunni and the Shia. But, reports indicate that violence has become overwhelmingly one-sided as Sunni militants have waged brutal campaign against the Shia. Balochestan of Pakistan is known to be one of the main centers of violence against the Shia. Proximity to Afghanistan has made Balochestan a nexus of Taliban militancy, fostering the emergence of domestic Sunni extremist groups.[4] Anti-Shia sentiments and fights against the Shia in Pakistan has become a major concern for Iran, mainly because the conflicts between Shia and Sunni in Pakistan can undermine the relations between majority Shia and minority Sunni in Iran. Although [compare to Pakistan] violence and conflict between Shia and Sunni is not normal in Iran, ideological rivalry between the two is obvious. This ideological factor along with the ongoing violence against the Shia in Pakistan someday may drag “Sunni-Shia conflict” into southeast Iran.
Terrorism
After the revolution in Afghanistan, the U.S. and Arab provided funds to the Jihadists. They caught roots in Pakistan, glowed the fire of militancy, sectarianism, fundamentalism, lawlessness and terrorism. The gruesome killings and other organized crimes were all committed in the name of Islam by trained militia. Consequently, religious terrorism or “Islamic terrorism” as it is called so by some western experts was introduced in Pakistan.[5] Since government of Pakistan paid no sufficient attention to deal with this problem, it resulted in more terrorism between the Sunni and the Shia which has remarkably increased in recent times. According to some sources, “Over 400 Shia were killed in 2012 alone.”[6] Such terrorism against the Shia has inspired some Iranian Sunni Baloch insurgent groups to adopt almost similar strategy against the Shia in southeast of Iran. Since 2004, for example, a few fundamentalist Sunni insurgent groups such as Jundollah and Jaishuladl appeared in southeast of Iran. Their ideology and methods of terror have been similar to the methods of Al-Qaida and Taliban. Until recently, these fighters had mainly targeted the Iranian police or security forces. But, today they are adopting more aggressive methods such as suicide attacks, not only against the Iran’s police or security but also against the Shia civilians.
Baloch Nationalism
The question of Baloch nationalism or separatism is one of the troubling issues for the central government in Pakistan. In 1947 when Pakistan gained its independence, Eastern Balochestan too declared its independence. However, in 1948 Pakistan annexed the Eastern Balochestan. Since then, this provoked the Baloch to rebel against Pakistan. Therefore, the idea of Baloch nationalism and the active presence of Baloch separatist groups in Pakistan, and the struggle to separate Balochestan from Pakistan are the ongoing conflicts between the Baloch nationalists and the government of Pakistan. Such political tendency, however, does not exist in Sistan va Balochestan among the Iranian Baloch. The Iranian Baloch consider themselves originally Iranian. Yet, a small section of Iranian Baloch particularly those in exile support Baloch nationalism.[7]
Iran’s South East: Impact
The influence of teaching materials at the Sunni schools in Pakistan over the young talibs (Sunni) in southeast of Iran is notable. These materials have been written by those Sunni clerics who either have been graduated from Deobandian and Wahabi schools or have been influenced by such schools. The Sunni fundamentalist concepts are evident in these materials. There are thousands of talibs studying at different Sunni schools in southeast of Iran. Many believe in a fundamentalist form of Islam. In a way, this can be regarded as one of the major factors that has resulted in religious terrorism; a terrorism based on false concept against the Shia which occasionally occurs in southeast of Iran. However, as pointed above, the impact of Baloch nationalist movements [in Pakistan] on the Iranian Baloch has not been serious. The concept of Baloch nationalism is not popular among the Iranian Baloch. Nevertheless, a destabilized Pakistan someday may highlight the threats of Baloch nationalism in Iran; it can insecure the southeast of Iran. Iran often accuses Pakistan of not being able to secure the border. Iran also believes, the U.S. and Israeli elements support Sunni militancy in southeast of Iran. Pakistan, on the other hand, has accused India and the U.S. of supporting the Baloch rebels to destabilize the country. Whatever, these threats in southeast of Iran partly are beyond the Iranian reach. Pakistan is responsible partly. These problems also have some regional and international roots.
[1] The author is a postgraduate fellow in Political Science from the Islamic Azad University (Iran). He can be contacted via email: abdollahkamali682@gmail.com
[2] BBC. “World: South Asia Pakistan’s Army and Its History of Politics” (10 December 1999).
[3] For more on this statistics, see: Ahmed Khaled, “Islamic Extremism in Pakistan”, Journal of South Asian (Lahore, Oct.-Dec., 2003).
[4] Phelim Kine. “Pakistan’s Shia Under Attack”. thediplomat.com/2014/07/pakistans-shia-under-attack
[5] For more on the issue, see: Malik Mohammad Tariq. “The Rise and Impact of Islamic Fundamentalism in Pakistan after the Soviet Invasion in Afghanistan with Special Reference to KPK and Balochistan”. Balochistan Review. Balochistan Study Centre, Quetta (Vol. Xxiv No.1, 2011).
[6] AFP. “2012 bloodiest year for Shias in Pakistan” (19 February 2009). The Times of India. “Bomb kills four at Pakistan Shiite funeral: police” (17 January 2013).
[7] Ahmad Reza Taheri. A Sociopolitical Study of Iranian Baloch Elites: 1979-2013 (Zahedan, TECODH. July 2014). 99-103.