Since its founding, Pakistan has struggled with increasing influence of religion in every aspect of life, including politics, economics, and culture. Over time, systematic Islamization has tilted the country toward religious authoritarianism, where unelected clerics and religious hardliners exert outsized influence over law, politics, and daily life. This trend has not only eroded democracy but also endangered the rights and safety of minorities, women, secular thinkers, and anyone who dissents from religious orthodoxy.
The Constitutional Embedding of Religious Authority
Islamization was not just a cultural shift — it was written into the law.
The 1973 Constitution officially declared Pakistan an Islamic Republic and introduced provisions requiring all laws to conform to Islam. It barred non-Muslims from holding the offices of President and Prime Minister, and established the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) — an unelected body tasked with ensuring legislation aligns with religious principles.
This legal framework entrenched religious control over the state, allowing clerical authorities to influence laws, public policy, and the judiciary far beyond democratic accountability.
Zia-ul-Haq’s Regime and the Acceleration of Islamization
The process of Islamization reached a new intensity during General Zia-ul-Haq’s military dictatorship (1977–1988).
Through the introduction of Hudood Ordinances, stricter blasphemy laws, and the formal exclusion of Ahmadis from Islam under constitutional amendments, Zia institutionalized intolerance and created powerful legal tools for the persecution of religious minorities and dissidents.
Under Zia, the Pakistani state aligned closely with conservative clerical factions, empowering religious leaders to serve as enforcers of morality and gatekeepers of citizenship.
The Islamization of Education and Long-Term Radicalization
Education was weaponized to promote a narrow, hardline Islamic identity. School curricula were rewritten to glorify jihad, erase non-Muslim contributions to history, and encourage suspicion toward religious minorities.
Generations of students were raised with sectarian narratives, creating a deeply radicalized society where religious conformity was seen as a national duty and religious diversity as a threat.
Institutionalized Clergy Power: Council of Islamic Ideology
The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) continues to exert major influence over Pakistan’s legislative process.
This unelected religious body has blocked progressive reforms — including those related to women’s rights, child marriage, and minority protections — by declaring them “un-Islamic.”
Instead of acting as neutral advisors, clerical bodies have positioned themselves as gatekeepers of public morality, constraining democratic decision-making and modern lawmaking.
Street Power and the Rise of Radical Clerical Movements
Beyond formal institutions, clerical groups maintain immense “street power.”
Movements like Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) have shown they can paralyze cities, force government capitulation, and incite mob violence under the pretext of defending religious honor.
The rise of such movements — often operating outside traditional political parties — shows how deep clerical control now runs, extending from mosques into the heart of public life and national security.
State-Sponsored Sectarian Militancy
During the 1980s and 1990s, the Pakistani state supported radical religious groups to serve geopolitical objectives, particularly in Afghanistan and Kashmir.
These policies strengthened militant clerical networks inside Pakistan, fueling sectarian violence and exporting extremism across borders.
The long-term blowback has been devastating: emboldened extremist factions now turn their violence inward, targeting Shias, Sufis, Christians, Hindus, Ahmadis, and even other Sunnis.
Suppression of Intra-Muslim Diversity
Islamization has not only oppressed non-Muslims but also targeted diversity within Islam itself.
Shia Muslims, Sufi practitioners, Ahmadis, and progressive Sunnis have faced discrimination, violence, and erasure.
Pakistan’s once-diverse religious landscape has been narrowed to favor only the most rigid and conservative interpretations of Islam, often dictated by clerical factions aligned with power.
The Blurring of Religion and State
While Pakistan maintains the appearance of a constitutional democracy, the boundary between religion and state has all but dissolved.
Religious legitimacy increasingly trumps constitutional values, and policies are judged not by human rights standards but by their compliance with hardline religious orthodoxy.
Challenging religious laws or questioning clerical power is portrayed as treasonous — silencing debate, endangering reformers, and paving the way for a hybrid system of authoritarian rule under the banner of faith.