Pakistan: The return of the Amir-ul-Momineen

Nawaz Sharif who once came close to proclaiming himself as "Amir-ul-Momineen" (Defender of faith & Leader of the faithful) through constitutional changes, prior to being removed from power by General Musharraf, seems to have been sent back to Pakistan by the fundamentalist regime of Saudi Arabia, as a counter weight to Benazir Bhutto who is seen as a progressive, secular candidate backed by western powers.

His return will clearly further divide the nation of nuclear-armed Pakistan, where the society is already becoming increasingly polarised along on the lines of extremism and liberalism, in the context of interpretation of Islamic teachings.

In the forthcoming elections Nawaz Sharif will probably be backed by right-wing pro-Taliban leaders such as Imran Khan and hard-line religious parties such as Jamat-e-Islami, who have been trying to invoke the anti-western emotions amongst the masses in order to limit any electoral successes by secular parties such as Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, and the MQM which represents the largely educated populace from the southern cities, along with other smaller ethnic nationalistic yet progressive parties, all united in their opposition to fundamentalist views.

It would be worth watching the space between now and the elections, where the Charter of Democracy signed between Sharif and Bhutto might even be reincarnated, now that both Sharif and Bhutto seem to have come back after striking a "deal" with the President General. This would leave right-wing parties in a dilemma, whether to continue their support for Sharif or abandon him for siding with Bhutto, and indirectly with the General.

In the meanwhile, those living inside as well as those outside of Pakistan should now be very alarmed at the recent turn of events as this wrangling between political forces may eventually lead to right-wing pro-Islamist parties taking advantage and gaining sufficient political power which would give them access to Pakistan’s nuclear command and control structures. Sadly, the world can only wait and watch, and hope that the outcome of the January general elections is sensible and does not lead the region and the wider world towards chaos and disaster.