Earlier this year, the Pakistani government officially declared the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as “Fitna al-Khawarij,” requiring all government institutions to utilize the tag for militants in official correspondence.
The rebranding exercise, aimed at highlighting the true nature and ideology of the TTP, stresses that militants have severely distorted the image of Islam. A notification issued by the Interior Ministry states the term “Khariji” should accompany the names of all terrorists, further banning the use of religious titles such as Mufti and Hafiz for individuals associated with terrorist organizations. The overall exercise aims to combat terrorism by delegitimizing it and its ideology.
The Kharji tag stems from the Paigham-e-Pakistan, a consensus fatwa issued in 2018 and signed by more than 1,800 religious scholars belonging to all Muslim sects of Pakistan. Endorsed by the Imam-e-Kaaba and Cairo’s Al Azhar University, the fatwa bans all armed resistance, including Jihad, against the State of Pakistan. It states that no individual or group can declare war against the state of Pakistan or declare functionaries of the Government of Pakistan, personnel of armed forces and law enforcement agencies as non-Muslims and liable to be killed. It stresses that anyone who fights against Pakistan is an outlaw, and notes that such attacks are heinous crimes in sharia as well.
While appreciable, the rebranding exercise only tackles one aspect of militancy—and not even the most important one. Lacking is committed effort to target the finances of militant groups. Pakistan’s geographic landscape and porous borders increase its vulnerability and risk to terrorist financing, resulting in it being placed on the Financial Action Task Force’s grey-list for several years. Having overcome that challenge, Pakistan must learn from that experience and implement anti-terror legislation that cut off the lifeline of terrorist groups. If the government can achieve this, it would tame the monster of terrorism and fully protect its political and economic sovereign rights.