POLITICS OF RELIGION IN PAKISTAN IN THE CONTEXT OF HUMAN RIGHTS Hidayat Ur Rehman
Pakistan came into being on the basis of religion, therefore, from the first day of its national life Islam has played a dominant role in its politics, law and society. The Islamic Republic has a constitutional commitment to Islamization and no law contradictory to Islamic Sharia can be created. The paper questions Islam as the raison d'être of Pakistan and explores other motives for the Islamization of politics and constitutional commitment to Islamization. The paper also analyses the human rights situation in Pakistan by tracing its political history from its inception until the present day as well as exploring the role of Islam within the politics of Pakistan. Furthermore, this paper argues that the more politics is ‘Islamized’, the worse are the consequences for human rights of weaker segments of society; for this end it critically discusses some pieces of legislation as well.