Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization

Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization

On December 2, 1978, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq delivered a nationwide address on the occasion of the first day of the Hijra calendar. He did this in order to usher in an Islamic system to Pakistan. In the speech, he accused politicians of exploiting the name of Islam, saying that "many a ruler did what they pleased in the name of Islam."

After assuming power and arresting former leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on charges of murder, the task that the government was facing was how to gain legitimacy . Since the Islamist parties were already against Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, they had the most influence on Zia-ul-Haq's government. It was announced the government would enforce Nizam-e-Mustafa (Islamic System), a 180 degree turn from Pakistan's predominantly parliamentary law, as a preliminary measure to counter what he saw as a lack of true Islam in Pakistan. Sharing the ideology of the wahabi sect, Zia advocated purging Islam of what he considered to be impurities and innovations. He wanted to create a hard-line Sunni Islamist state. His reforms were unpopular with Hanafi and Shia sects who faced widespread discrimination and human rights abuses during his rule

General Zia announced the establishment of Sharia Benches. Speaking about the jurisdiction of the Sharia Benches, he remarked, "Every citizen will have the right to present any law enforced by the government before the 'Sharia Bench' and obtain its verdict whether the law is wholly or partly Islamic or un-Islamic."

But General Zia did not mention that the Sharia Benches' jurisdiction was curtailed by the following overriding clause: "(Any) law does not include the constitution, Muslim personal law, any law relating to the procedure of any court or tribunal or, until the expiration of three years, any fiscal law, or any law relating to the collection of taxes and fees or insurance practice and procedure." It meant that all important laws which affect each and every individual directly remained outside the purview of the Sharia Benches. However, he did not have a smooth sailing even with the clipped Sharia Benches. The Federal Sharia Bench declared rajm, or stoning, to be un-Islamic; Zia-ul-Haq reconstituted the court, which then declared rajm as Islamic.

A referendum on the programme was held in 1984, with a reported 98.5% voting in favour, however, the election was largely a farce.