Vision for a Secular Pakistan?

This article will bring to light the transformation of the Pakistani state from a relatively tolerant to an unstable state dominated by militancy and violence. In the formative phase of Pakistan, the notion of religious extremism was almost non-existent as the founder of the country, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, made it clear that the new state would not be theocratic in nature. However, after his demise on September 11, 1948, his successors failed to curb the forces of religious militancy that not only changed the nature of the Pakistani state but also succeeded in making it a monolithic religious state in which non-Muslims were disqualified from seeking the highest positions in the state structures. This article also aims to examine the vision for a secular order in the context of Pakistan while relating it to the management of conflicts.