Zia-Ul-Haq And Islamization of Pakistan : A Constructivist Critique

Pakistan witnessed various important changes in the social, cultural military and political domains during the regime of Zia ul Haq. This paper tries to make Constructivist interpretation of the impact of his regime. It critically analyses the identity shifts and interest alignments in his regime. His regime may have been beneficial in some ways for Pakistan like hurting India and increasing the Pakistani influence in Afghanistan. However, it proved to be costly for Pakistan in long run as it increased sectarian conflicts in Pakistan and dented its image as epicentre of Terrorism. The paper also uses hypothesis of Insignificance of Commons to denote the relative irrelevance of one identity when it is used to bind large group with great factions as that identity lacks the power of differentiation. This hypothesis points out the limit of Islam in unifying Pakistan. The paper delves into strategic aspects of regime of Zia ul Haq in context of U.S.S.R. invasion of Afghanistan followed by U.S. counter in terms of armed religious mobilization of groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Keywords:
Insignificance of Commons, Constructivism, Strategic Depth, Sectarian Conflicts, Islamization