Will Pakistanis liberate themselves from the rule of the military-mullah alliance?

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*

At the stroke of midnight on August 14–15, 1947, British colonial rule came to an end, and India gained its long-awaited independence—albeit a fragmented one—with the creation of two nations: India and Pakistan. The partition of India, rooted in the two-nation theory and driven by reactionary religious forces, was enabled and brought to fruition by British colonial powers before their departure. The culturally diverse population of Hindus, Muslims, and other religious communities had coexisted in harmony for centuries.

However, this communal harmony was disrupted by the Minto–Morley Reforms, also known as the Indian Councils Act of 1909, which institutionalized communalism in India by granting separate electorates to the Muslim population. This division was further deepened by the Government of India Act of 1919 and the MacDonald Award of August 16, 1932—both of which reinforced communal, religious, and social electoral boundaries, fueling the eventual partition of India along religious lines. Thus, the roots of the Hindu-Muslim conflict—and the broader geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan—can be traced back to the British colonial policy of divide and rule.

After independence, India chose a liberal, secular, and constitutional democratic path, committed to upholding its principle of unity in diversity. In contrast, Pakistan became the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, suppressing its religious, linguistic, cultural, and social diversities. Pakistan’s landed feudal elites seized state power, using religion as a tool of governance, often in collaboration with the military. American imperialism and remnants of European colonialism supported Pakistan’s ruling elites—particularly the alliance of religion and the military—to hinder the growth of progressive democracy in the region and facilitate continued resource exploitation. The Military-Mullah nexus that dominates Pakistan today is a product of local feudal structures, British colonial legacy, and American imperial influence. This alliance has militarized the minds of the people by providing religious justifications for authoritarianism, thereby stifling the development of civilian democracy, democratic values, and working-class consciousness.

The various forms of terrorism witnessed today—both globally and within Pakistan—are the outcomes of historical, geopolitical, and ideological alliances shaped by feudal elites, religious reactionaries, European colonialism, and American imperialism. These forces have long worked to suppress Pakistan’s working class, denying them their rightful share of land and resources. Regional, religious, ethnic, and social conflicts are exploited to sustain the hegemony of the ruling class, led by Pakistan’s Military-Mullah alliance, which continues to serve capitalist and imperialist interests.

As the popular saying goes: Most countries have an army, but in Pakistan, the army has a country. This reflects the military’s control over national resources and its deep influence on the daily lives of the people. The Pakistani military not only dominates the nation’s economy but also its politics. A rich army governs poor citizens under the guise of stability, systematically destroying productive and creative forces essential for generating and mobilizing resources. Therefore, the struggle for democracy, emancipation, peace, and prosperity in Pakistan ultimately depends on the ability of the working masses to break the grip of the Military-Mullah alliance and dismantle its reactionary narratives.

The fight for civilian and democratic supremacy in Pakistan hinges on radical and progressive movements aimed at liberation from feudalism, neocolonial imperialism, and religious reactionary forces. This struggle, in turn, depends on the rise of class consciousness among the working people. Only through the awakening of working-class awareness, organized resistance, and sustained struggle can society reverse militarization and dismantle the dominance of the Military-Mullah alliance.

It is time to reclaim Pakistan’s progressive civilizational legacy through a working-class movement that challenges and defeats feudal landlords, neocolonial powers, and imperialist forces. The future of Pakistan depends on the working class’s ability to confront and overcome these reactionary forces—forces that perpetuate war, terrorism, and conflict to maintain their grip on the country’s resources. The victory of the working-class struggle is essential to advancing emancipatory politics, establishing lasting peace, fostering prosperity, strengthening democracy, and securing egalitarian rights for all citizens.

Long live the working-class struggle for a peaceful, progressive, and prosperous Pakistan.

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*Academic based in UK

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