ABSTRACT
Since its founding in 1947, Pakistan is a country which has drawn upon the faith of Islam to justify its existence, employing it as a signifier of cultural difference in the context of the Indian subcontinent and later as a political ideology following independence. However, the country has moved cautiously, seeking to develop a sense of common purpose in between a religiously informed national identity and liberal democratic ideals. This discourse achieved primacy while forming the structure of government, envisioned in the process of constitution making. Different interests and ideals of democracy were to be reconciled by giving vent to the principles of Islam in its doctrinal form. In short, leaders of Pakistan sought to use Islam to provide an opening for articulating religious concerns in a political context. This chapter examines these issues in the context of the relationship between religion and political parties in Pakistan.
