The Role of Ideological Distortions on Ensuing Extremism in Pakistan

Abstract

Pakistan has been struggling to accommodate itself by combating extremism and militancy. The state has been destabilized by intermingling of religion with politics against the vision of the founding father, generating violence on the socio-political landscape under the umbrella of religion. The state’s inefficiency in effectively countering extremism has deepened the social divide and exacerbated economic challenges and harmed national image globally. The existing literature concerns with political and security facets of extremism overlooking the ideological distortions shaping the religious debate. This paper is an attempt to fill this gap by critically examining the role of theological-cum-historical factors on current state of extremism. It also assesses the efficacy of state response and deficiencies of state mechanisms in exploring strategies for effectively handling extremism. The central research question is: How these ideological distortions contribute to extremism and what measures should be taken to counteract them? The study is undertaken using qualitative analysis by exploring historical cleavages under discourse analysis. The paper provides ‘ideological evolution’ of extremist tendencies and examine counter-extremism policies. The study finds out that ideological narratives have greatly contributed to rise in extremism and militancy in Pakistan.