Ellen Johnson says that by freeing Dr. Shaikh, Pakistan would send the world community a clear signal that it is serious about fighting terrorism and dealing with the conditions which give rise to it...

he importance of Pakistan in helping to curb international terrorist groups, including Osama bin Laden's shadowy al-Qaida network, could create new momentum in the effort to free Rationalist physician Dr. Younis Shaikh.

   Bin Laden's group is ensconced in Afghanistan, which shares a long border with Pakistan and several other nations. Policy makers see the cooperation of Pakistan and its head of state, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, as a keystone in getting to some of the al-Qaida cells, and possibly even bin Laden and his top lieutenants. The situation is especially complex, though, since bin Laden is under the protection of the religious Taliban regime which is in control of 95% of the Afghanistan countryside and its capital, Kabul. The Taliban enjoyed the support of Pakistan, which through its intelligence service sent weapons, personnel and other aid during a decade-long civil war that began with the defeat of invading forces from the former Soviet Union.

   Now, in a classic case of "blowback," Pakistan finds itself under internal assault from Islamic fundamentalists who see the Musharraf government as an obstacle in establishing a Pan Islamic theocracy. One symptom of that struggle has been the use of blasphemy laws in Pakistan, which prohibit any statements which question or "insult" Islam and its founder, the prophet Mohammed. It is estimated that up to three hundred people have been charged and imprisoned under the statutes, but so far no one has been executed. Those acquitted of the accusations, though, inevitably become targets for fundamentalist hit squads.

   Since his arrest in October, 2000, Dr. Shaikh has been imprisoned and late last month was convicted under the blasphemy charges. Shaikh, 46, had delivered a lecture at a medical school in Islamabad where he discussed pre-Islamic customs. He noted that Mohammed and his family did not observe traditional Muslim practices such as shaving body hair or circumcision prior to receiving a religious revelation. Students complained to an organization of clerics, which in turn demanded that the government prosecute Shaikh under the repressive statutes.

   Now, Pakistan finds itself as the object of international attention after last Tuesday's plane attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, and the Pentagon building in Washington, DC. Religious conflict is nothing new in Pakistan, however. The modern Pakistani state emerged from the 1940 Lahore Resolution which called for the creation of independent government entities in areas of South Asia where Muslims were a majority. In 1947, Pakistan was spun off from India, which remains overwhelmingly Hindu. It was a geopolitical jigsaw puzzle, though, with East Pakistan and West Pakistan becoming a bifurcated nation nearly 1,000 miles apart. The eastern section, which consisted of one province, later gained independence and is now Bangladesh.

   Religious, political and cultural difference still define the region. Following two decades of stormy experimentation with democracy, Pakistan slipped into corruption under Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who set the goal of making the country a nuclear military power through the so-called "Islamic bomb." On July 5, 1977, the military seized control and Chief of Staff Gen. Muhammad Zia ul-Haq imposed martial law. He and his military government became players in the waning phases of the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union. After reneging on promises to permit and abide by the outcome of fair elections, Zia was killed in a plane crash in 1988 which took the lives of 28 of his key officers, along with a U.S. Brigadier General and the American ambassador.

   The daughter of the former Prime Minister returned from exile and entered the stormy world of Pakistani politics. Over the next several years there were charges of corruption involving several coalition governments, and on October 14, 1999 Gen. Musharraf declared a state of emergency, suspended all elections, and appointed himself as Chief Executive. Despite promises of reform, though, Musharraf was to reap the consequences of Pakistan's support for the religious Taliban faction which eventually triumphed in the bloody civil war in Afghanistan. The Taliban recruited heavily in the network of squalid refugee camps which had sprung up along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The "holy warriors," as the Taliban became known, were composed of a small cabal of fundamentalist clerics and a rag-tag army of Muslim guerrillas who sought to purge Afghanistan (and the rest of the region) of secular, non-Islamic influences.

   The Taliban has been in control of Afghanistan since 1996 when it stormed into the capital, Kabul, and instituted what is likely the world's most ruthless theocracy. Women are banned from the workplace and educational institutions. Men must visit the mosque five times a day for prayer, and a stringent dress code is enforced for all with females made to wear the cumbersome "burqa" which covers them from head-to-toe. Movie theaters and television have been shut down, and cleric-led check points stop travelers and search for evidence of western contraband. A notorious "neighborhood watch" surveils the citizenry, and rules concerning prohibited behavior have multiplied to the point of absurdity. Card games, chess, wedding parties and even owning caged song birds have all been banned.

   Even other Muslim nations consider the Taliban regime to be too ruthless for their own tastes, and fear that it could give Islam a bad image. Ironically, the new U.S. assault on terrorism which is focusing on Osama bin Laden and his Taliban hosts, will rely on Muslim nations that have poor records in the area of human rights. Los Angeles Times reporter Robin Wright recently noted how Saudi Arabia, a linchpin in American military and political strategy in the region, is probably the world's number two offender regarding rights for women.

   All of which brings our attention back to Pakistan and Gen. Pervez Musharraf...

   ¶    Pakistan is plagued by underdevelopment and poverty, the very factors which comprise part of the "swamp" in which religious terrorist groups thrive. The country is rich in natural gas reserves and other energy sources, including hydroelectric potential, but lacks capital. Another drain on financial resources is the cost of Pakistan maintaining its 610,000-member armed forces, the eight largest in the world. U.S.military aid ended in 1990. Pakistan has nevertheless developed short-range nuclear weapons, including missiles capable of hitting India. One concern has been the fate of those weapons should an Islamic fundamentalist coup take place.    ¶    Religious fundamentalists are highly organized, and Musharraf has "blinked" in several confrontations with the clerics. Parties with a strong religious base include the Awami movement (ANP) and the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI). Pakistan "needs to free secularists like Dr. Shaikh, and allow secular institutions, including social movements, to achieve an even greater role in the country's affairs," says Ellen Johnson, President of American Atheists.

   ¶    There is a linkage between Pakistan's possible role in resolving the situation with bin Laden and the Taliban regime, and Musharraf's internal policies. "Freeing Dr. Shaikh would be a clear signal to the West that Gen. Musharraf is serious about combating Islamic extremism; but he can't do that without 'draining the swamp' in which that extremism thrives, and standing up for basic rights found in the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights," Johnson added.

   ¶    Should those supporting Dr. Shaikh and other victims of Pakistan's blasphemy laws back off in light of the terrorist attacks last week? Johnson says "No."

   "Right now, Pakistan is under considerable international pressure." The United States, for instance, ended most economic aid and military assistance in October, 1990. Former President Clinton canceled a scheduled visit in 1998, and Musharraf's military coup in October, 1999 brought additional U.S. sanctions. Pakistan desperately needs U.S. assistance and renewed commercial and diplomatic ties.

   "If Pakistan wants to take advantage of this opportunity and normalize relations with the U.S. and other western countries, it can begin by trying to stand up to its home-grown Islamic fundamentalists," says Johnson. "Americans would applaud that kind of change, and see Pakistan as a government fully engaged not just in fighting international terrorism, but dealing with some of the root causes as well."

   In the last 48 hours, Pakistan has agreed to demand that the neighboring Taliban regime hand over Osama bin Laden. Musharraf and nominal President Rafiq Tarar are also giving American officials clearance for overflights and the possible presence of ground troops.

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