Government By Islam

Abstract

For most of its young political life, beginning with the partition of British India in 1947, Pakistan has been in some sense an ally of the United States, a signatory to military agreements, and a recipient of foreign aid. The government of General Zia ul Haq, established by a military coup against the government of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, has now been in power for a full seven years. Two developments have attracted U.S. attention to Pakistan during this period: first, the Soviet invasion and occupation of Pakistan's neighbor, Afghanistan, in 1979; and second, the call on the part of Zia's government for the establishment of an Islamic regime. Despite a certain unease with that ideological goal, Americans—particularly in the wake of Afghanistan—have seen their interests firmly tied to the stability of the current regime and are currently in the midst of providing it with one of their largest military and development packages, some $3.2 billion. Clearly, the policy of Islamicization has not been an obstacle to the relations of Pakistan and the United States. In what sense, however, can the policy be called Islamic?