Religion should not be allowed to come into Politics. Religion is merely a matter between man and God”. (Jinnah, Address to the Central Legislative Assembly, 7 February 1935)
In the name of Humanity, I care more for them [the Untouchables than for Mussalmans. Jinnah, Speaking about the Shudras or Untouchables, during his address at the (All India Muslim League session in Delhi,1934.)
But make no mistake: Pakistan is NOT a theocracy or anything like it. (Jinnah, Message to the people of Australia, 19 February 1948)
In any case, Pakistan will not be a theocratic State ruled by priests with a divine mission. We have many non-Muslims, Hindus, Christians, and Parsis but they are all Pakistanis. They will enjoy the same rights and privileges as any other citizens and will play their rightful part in the affairs of Pakistan. (Broadcast talk to the people of the United States on Pakistan recorded February 1948).
Jinnah envisioned Pakistan to be a secular state his views were expressed in his (policy speech on 11 August 1947). You are free, you are free to go to your temples, and you are free to go to your mosques or any other place of worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion, caste, or creed that has nothing to do with the state’s business.
We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one state. Now I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the state. (Jinnah, August 11, 1947 –chairing the constituent assembly.)
Mohammad Ali Jinnah wanted Pakistan to be a secular, democratic, and progressive country. Pakistan was secular from its inception till 1955 after which it adopted a constitution in 1956 becoming an Islamic republic and adopting Islam as a state religion. There was a petition in the supreme court by 17 judges in 2015 to officially declare the nation as a secular state.
The main principles of Secularism in the Pakistani constitution were incorporated into its fundamental rights which were granted under various articles 20, 21, 22 & 25 of the constitution
(a) Article 20: Freedom to profess religion and to manage religious institutions.
(b) Article 21: Safeguard against taxation for purposes of any particular religion.
(c) Article 22: Safeguards educational institutions in respect of religion, etc.
(d) Article 25: Equality of citizens.
Charles Taylor narrates that the first secularization wave occurred in medieval Europe in 1500, resulting in the formation of nation-states and the birth of industrial capitalism in the nineteenth century.
He also mentioned that in Pakistan the state building was on his colonial and imperial legacy
Yasser Latif Hamdani the author of a new biography of Jinnah, severely criticized Imran Khan for using the term the State of Medina. Hamdani says The truth is, at no point did the All-India Muslim League or its president Mahomed Ali Jinnah invoke Medina or speak of a theocratic State of any kind.
The entire idea of Pakistan had to do with a Hindu-Muslim counterpoise on secular issues such as representation, jobs, and so forth. Religion was just not the point.
In her book, The Federal Cabinet of Pakistan, Professor of history, Nauman Kiran Imran, provides the names of the men who constituted Pakistan’s first federal cabinet
Thus, the country’s first cabinet headed by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan was entirely picked and constituted by Jinnah.
Formed on Aug 15, 1947, the cabinet initially had eight ministers. The names of two ministers stand out Sir Zafarullah Khan (minister of foreign affairs & commonwealth relations), and Jogendra Nath Mandal (minister of law). Sir Zafarullah Khan was an Ahmadi and Mandal was a Hindu.
Mandal was a Hindu from Bengal. He belonged to the scheduled caste of Hindus in India and had joined Jinnah’s AIML believing that in Pakistan, his caste would be able to flourish more than they would in an India dominated by higher-caste Hindus.
On Aug 11, 1947, when Pakistan’s first Constituent Assembly chose Jinnah as governor-general of the new country, Jinnah asked Mandal to preside over the assembly’s inaugural session.
So what was the country’s first federal cabinet discussing?
Prof. Imran, in her book, scrutinizes the minutes of the cabinet meetings to inform that much was discussed about the importance of the ideal of developing Pakistan as a democracy based on the British model.
Prof. Imran’s interpretation of these cabinet meetings suggests that the cabinet members also saw Jinnah as a man who had conceived a country built on Muslim nationalism, but one that was to be driven by a pluralistic code of governance and statehood with all of its ethnicities and religious groups made part of the nation-building process.
What went wrong
Various government authorities have used religious beliefs in their quest for governmental authenticity and power. However, the intensity of violent extremism has increased manifold since Pakistan’s alliance with the US in the latter’s strategy of countering Communism in South Asia and particularly in Afghanistan.
The consequences of the emergence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the 9/11 attacks against the US, and the resultant US War on Terror on Pakistan are far higher than anticipated.
Pakistan’s alliance with the US has deeply shaken the social fabric of its society.
Pakistan has suffered a great deal in terms of lives, economic opportunities, and damages to infrastructure. The loss of lives accounts for more than 81,000. According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan, Pakistan incurred US$106.98 billion in direct and indirect costs owing to terrorism.
Pakistan bore damages to schools, hospitals, and other infrastructural facilities due to its partnership with the US in the War on terror
Liberals, educated middle class, intelligentsia, and the masses in Pakistan believe the country being a theocratic state is not a good idea. This philosophy has been responsible for the rise of umpteen militant Islamist movements in the country. Though the right-wing parties have never been able to form a central government in Pakistan.
Jinnah was a Western-educated liberal and had no desire to create an intolerant Islamic state.
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