| In addition to being Muslim, they mean? Isn’t being Pakistan enough of a reason? |
[NEWAGEBD.NET] Since 1958, Pakistain’s political history has, time and again, been interrupted by her military generals, who exerted their might and discretely colluded with political parties. The first such intervention on part of its army was as early as 1958 when general Ayub Khan abolished the constitutional regime of 1956. Subsequently, the military staged three coups in October 1958, July 1977 and October 1999.
A most significant aspect of Pak politics is its total, unflinching commitment to the religion of Islam, which had served as the basis of seeking a nationhood in order to safeguard the interests of the Moslems in the Indian sub-continent. A recurrent theme in the military and civil life in Pakistain is that every citizen should be mindful of adhering to the principles and code of conduct prescribed in Islam. It is regarded as the way to safeguard and preserve one’s dignity and honour.
The former president, also former general, Zia ul Huq used to say that the gift of western education should not be considered an end in itself and that a Pak must not be merely ’a professional soldier, an engineer, or a doctor’, but must use this to become ’Moslem soldiers, Moslem generals, Moslem doctors, Moslem officers and Moslem men’. Thus, Islam became a core public policy in the state affairs, and Pakistain was officially declared an Islamic republic. |