Religious radicalisation is typically driven by a range of factors, including historical animosities, socio-religious divisions, and economic grievances; however, it becomes most dangerous when actively promoted and manipulated by the state for its own objectives. This has been the case in Pakistan. While the country’s founding ideology—the ‘two-nation theory’—can arguably be seen as having inherent elements of religious extremism, it was during the regime of General Zia-ul-Haq that such tendencies fully materialised, with devastating repercussions for both Pakistan and the wider South Asian region.

The late 1970s and 1980s marked a pivotal period in Pakistan’s modern history, as the developments during these decades profoundly transformed not only its own society but also had serious implications for the wider region and the world. This era witnessed seismic events such as the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the ensuing US-backed Islamist militant response, the Iranian revolution which installed a fundamentalist regime, and the military takeover by General Zia-ul-Haq in Pakistan.

Upon seizing power, General Zia initiated a sweeping Islamisation of Pakistani society by enacting laws and educational reforms aligned with a conservative and fundamentalist interpretation of Islamic jurisprudence. He facilitated the rapid expansion of madrassas, especially those affiliated with the Deobandi tradition (a more austere branch of Sunni Islam), which became instrumental in both mobilising fighters for the Afghan Jihad and in advancing domestic social radicalisation.

Professor Eamon Murphy, a prominent scholar on Pakistan, highlights the dramatic increase in madrassas during Zia’s rule, from 900 in 1971 to 8,000 registered and over 25,000 unregistered institutions across the country........

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