An Assessment of Role of Úlemā in Democratization Process in Pakistan

The Úlemā are always recognized as having a high degree of competence and they are able to deal with matters of religion. Historically, it has been proved that the Úlemā always played a crucial role in the development and functions of Islamic societies. Úlemā had also been the architects of the Islamic education system. The role of Úlemā had been significantly debated and contested during pre-modern and modern periods. Úlemā of Pakistan is politically and legally have sound positions. Úlemā are vocal and have influence in their areas. They are blamed for the backwardness and conservativeness of the Muslims. But at the time of the elections it is difficult to make a winning alliance without the help of Úlemā. In different regimes either civil or military they remained active in the politics of Pakistan. One could see their crucial role from the Objectives resolution to the recent past Lawyer’s movement of 2007 where the Úlemā stood by the civil society and other groups for the restoration of Judiciary in Pakistan. In this article the researcher has tried to find out role of Úlemā in democratization process in Pakistan. This study will be important to evaluate the performance of Úlemā in different eras.