Radical Islamism

Elke Hoff is the South Asia expert in the liberal Free Democratic Party, led by Philip Rösler. She is a regular visitor to Pakistan. She spoke to Deutsche Welle about the deteriorating security situation.

Deutsche Welle: When did you last visit Pakistan?

Elke Hoff: I was there from Christmas until New Year 2010.

So you were able to get an impression of the spread of Islamist influence in the country?

It was my eighth visit to Pakistan. As a politician focusing on security policy I am particularly interested in the security situation. Since the storming of the Red Mosque (in 2007) I have witnessed a considerable deterioration of the political situation and naturally of the security situation in the country itself. What I find particularly problematic is that attacks are now being directed against the Pakistani people themselves. You can see that Islamabad has now developed into a fortress. My conclusion is that the situation has worsened dramatically.

When one speaks with Pakistanis about the situation they tend to say that the spread of radical Islamism was triggered by external factors and that it is not Pakistan's fault. They argue that it was caused by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and by the US response after 9/11. And of course they point out that after all the Americans created the Taliban. What is your view on this when you look back at the past two decades?

Of course, one cannot explain it away like that. For sure, the Taliban are children of the Cold War, but on the other hand the desperately poor education system in Pakistan cannot be ignored. There are not enough schools, no national curriculum and this means that a large number of religious schools, the madrassas, Koran schools, have emerged. The result is indoctrination and a large number of poorly educated people or people without any education at all. Pakistan has failed to deal with this and has thus failed to prevent the spread of radical Islamism.

In Islamabad, one often hears that Pakistan does not want to risk damaging its ties to the Taliban because after the withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan or in the event of a possible war with India they may be needed. That is of course a disastrous situation. One also gets the impression that the Pakistani intelligence service, the ISI, is a state within a state which shapes security policy. What impression did you get while you were holding talks in Pakistan?

The military and the intelligences services have a very strong position in the country. The civilian government is weak. We should not forget that Pakistan is a relatively young nation and that the political situation is impacting upon the processes of nation-building. I think the West has made a mistake in the past by not taking enough notice of what is happening in Pakistan and not following the development of democratic institutions closely enough. On the other hand, I must acknowledge that the military has - thank God - prevented the country from falling apart. One must also note that the military has exercised great political restraint in public. Of course it is important that functioning democratic institutions do emerge one day. For this to happen the country must overcome feudal structures and understand democracy to mean participation and not just supporting a few family clans who determined the country's policies. Pakistan has now reached a position in its development as part of a globalized world which - with such a young population - cannot be sustained indefinitely. At some point, the problems may resolve themselves but I hope that this does not end in an escalation of violence of the kind we are currently witnessing in the Arab world.

Interview: Grahame Lucas