CSS & PMS Pakistan Affairs | The Struggle to Define Pakistan’s Ideological Identity – Part 2
The following article for CSS & PMS Pakistan Affairs is written by Miss Iqra Ali, Top Pakistan Affairs Coach. She learnt writing from Sir Syed Kazim Ali, Pakistan’s best CSS and PMS English essay and precis teacher with the highest success rate of his students. This solved question is attempted on the pattern taught by Sir to his students, scoring the highest marks in compulsory and optional subjects for years.
Introduction
The role of Islam in Pakistan’s politics and governance has remained deeply ambiguous even a decade after independence. Was Pakistan meant to be a modern Muslim-majority democracy inspired by Islamic ethics, or an explicitly Islamic state guided by religious law was the uncertainty allowed all political regimes of the country to manipulate religion for political ends. The Part I of the series explored the first institutionalization of religion through the Objectives Resolution (1949), the use of jihad rhetoric in the Kashmir conflict, and early attempts to consolidate power by defining ideological boundaries in the foundation years of Pakistan (1947-1958). This second part shed light on the Ayub Khan era (1958–1969), a period when religion was selectively instrumentalized to justify authoritarian modernization, suppress political opposition, and even militarize national sentiment. To make it clear and more helpful for students, the topic would contain other parts too; the links of other parts are attached in the end of this article.
Ayub Khan and Political Exploitation of Islam (1958–1971)
Legitimizing Modernization through Selective Religious Symbolism
Ayub Khan, despite being a self-proclaimed modernist and secular-leaning leader, strategically exploited Islam to legitimize his military rule and undermine opponents. He employed selective religious symbolism to legitimize his modernization agenda. Initially, he made an effort to confine the traditionalist ulema to their limits, and he was not willing to accept their claim that a constitution could be regarded Islamic only if it was drafted by them.
“This was a position which neither the people nor I was prepared to accept”
Friends not Masters – Ayub Khan
However, when he faced strong criticism from religious lobbies, he amended it to declare Pakistan an Islamic Republic, thus conceding to religious groups. Towards modernisation of the society, the constitution provided for twin institutions, an Advisory Council of Islamic Ideology (ACII) and Islamic Research Institute. Concerning the ACII the prefix ‘Advisory’ was in line with Ayub Khan’s policy to keep the ulema at arm’s length, but the use of the word ‘ideology’ was to open a Pandora’s box and was misplaced because it carried a distinct meaning in political Islam, dominated by the orthodox Sunni position about what may be referred to as Islamic system This dual strategy, marginalizing Islamist parties politically while co-opting Islamic rhetoric, helped Ayub present his regime as both modern and authentically Islamic, though critics argue it further entrenched the state’s habit of instrumentalizing religion for political legitimacy.
Delegitimizing Fatima Jinnah through Islamic Rhetoric
Likewise, when the first term of General Ayub Khan as President was coming to an end, he again announced the presidential elections on February 14, 1965. Though initially, the presidential elections were not a serious affair for Ayub Khan as he was fully confident of his clean victory, it turned into a serious business for him because Ms. Fatima Jinnah was unanimously nominated by his opposition as its presidential candidate. Alarmed by her growing popularity, Ayub deliberately played the religious card to discredit her candidacy. Government-sponsored religious clerics issued the fatwa against the headship of a female leader in a Muslim state despite the fact her supporters all over the country, the decision of Ms. Fatima Jinnah to contest the elections was a life throwing news who warmly welcomed it because they highly respected her as being the sister of Baba-e-Qoum (Father of the Nation), Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
Interestingly, this stance faced resistance from prominent religious scholars themselves. Maulana Maudoodi and the Majlis-e-Shura of Jamaat-e-Islami issued a counter-fatwa, arguing, based on the Qur’an, Hadith, and Islamic jurisprudence, that female leadership was permissible under circumstances, thus legitimizing Fatima Jinnah’s candidacy. Despite this defense, Ayub’s manipulation of religion significantly influenced public opinion, creating religious opposition strong enough to weaken Jinnah’s position and secure his own controversial victory.
Recasting History through an Islamic Lens
Ayub Khan’s regime undertook a systematic effort to reshape Pakistan’s ideological narrative, beginning with a major overhaul of the education curriculum. History textbooks were rewritten to portray Pakistan not as the product of a pluralist, postcolonial constitutional struggle but as the inevitable culmination of Islam’s arrival in the subcontinent, thereby legitimizing the state as a natural Islamic homeland. This narrative deliberately erased shared Hindu-Muslim cultural heritage and instead emphasized Hindu hostility as an enduring threat. Ayub himself reinforced this perception in his autobiography, asserting
“India particularly has a deep pathological hatred for Muslims and her hostility to Pakistan stems from a refusal to see a Muslim power developing next door.”
Militarizing Ideological Sentiment
The ideological framing extended beyond the classroom into Pakistan’s security doctrine through the militarization of Islamic sentiment. The 1965 war with India was officially cast in religious terms, with propaganda glorifying it as a jihad to protect Muslim brethren in Kashmir. The Pakistan Army’s Bureau of National Reconstruction explicitly recommended mobilizing irregular fighters with strong Islamic ideological motivation to conduct asymmetric warfare, especially against India.
“My fellow countrymen…the 100 million citizens of Pakistan whose hearts have been reciting the shahadah will not rest quietly until the canons of our enemies have been silenced forever. Indian politicians have failed to realize that they are messing with the wrong people.”
Ayub Khan Public Speech (1965 War)
Bottom Line
In sum, Ayub Khan’s era demonstrated how religion could be selectively molded to legitimize authoritarian modernization and militarized nationalism. This manipulation deepened the state’s ideological entanglement. The article is continued in the next parts.
For Reading More Parts of the Series
| The Struggle to Define Pakistan’s Ideological Identity – Part 1 |
| The Struggle to Define Pakistan’s Ideological Identity – Part 2 |
| The Struggle to Define Pakistan’s Ideological Identity – Part 3 |
| The Struggle to Define Pakistan’s Ideological Identity – Part 4 |
| The Struggle to Define Pakistan’s Ideological Identity – Part 5 |
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