A major rift has erupted publicly between the Pakistan military, the real power centre of the country and the Islamic religious scholars. The religious leaders are questioning the unhindered powers, life-long immunity rendered to the military leader Asim Munir as per the latest 27th constitutional amendment. The rift and dissatisfaction is so deep that it has begun to surface in the public domain and the religious scholars are speaking out their objection and intolerance in the media. This is also a testament to the growing nature of authoritarian or draconian rule in Pakistan under the aegis of Asim Munir, who is devoid of any accountability, which has apparently irked the Islam religious scholars itself.
A senior cleric of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl(JUI-F) has publicly criticized and challenged the life-long and blanket legal immunity rendered to Asim Munir as per the 27th constitutional amendment. The religious scholar Mufti Taqi Usmani has questioned the religious and ethical grounds behind the blanket immunity rendered for the authoritarian military leadership of Pakistan. Mufti Usmani asserted that there is no ethical or religious justification for the unaccountable powers rendered to Asim Munir. The Islamic principles don’t accept such unhindered authority.
The religious leader criticized such blanket protection as ‘haram’, meaning forbidden under the Islamic treatise. Islamic principles do not allow any individual to enjoy such life-long immunity. He can be a common man, general, ruler or even a caliph himself, said Mufti Taqi Usmani. The sweeping and non-negotiable powers given to Asim Munir thus has created widespread discomfort and criticism within the religious and political elite of Pakistan. The apprehensions raised by the Islamic scholar testifies the arrogance of Asim Munir who has thwarted even his religious principles, which he asserts to be adhering to. For the sake of consolidating his power and hegemony he has debunked his religious principles and faith.
The JUI-F religious outfit has also criticized the Shehbaz Sharif government for exploiting the Quranic principles and virtues of Islam just for the sake of providing power and immunity to Asim Munir. Maulana Fazal-ur-Rahman, the chief of JUI-F religious organisation also believes that the civilian government in Islamabad under the puppet leadership of Shehbaz Sharif is merely symbolic and the real power or the actual decision making authority lies with the military leadership under Asim Munir. The 27th constitutional amendment renders sweeping powers to Asim Munir who has been appointed as the First Chief of Defence Forces(CDF) for Pakistan and enjoys gaint powers without any accountability. He is immune from all the criminal prosecution and civil litigation.
The JUI-F also believes that it is used by the government just for the sake of religious endowments, street influence and media marketing. However, it is thwarted and kept away from the real decision-making process. Thus the Deobandi clerics are in fact mounting pressure on the JUI-F leadership to distance itself from the political structure of Islamabad and Rawalpindi which is characterized as un-Islamic and who are projecting to be Islamic only for political gains, but not in reality.
The latest row thus reflects a deep crisis in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan which is hitherto disintegrated in terms of economic crisis, political instability, separatist claims in Balochistan, PoJK and other regions. The emerging rift between the political setup and the religious core mirrors a greater and escalating fissure in Pakistan not just in politico-economic terms but also in religious lines.
