Pakistan doesn't fit into the definition of an Islamic country or territory (dar al-Islam). To determine if a country is Islamic or not, one does not consider the personal religion of its people, or its rhetoric and slogans. Rather, one should consider its ruling system that structures the country, defines its institutions and laws and determines its collective way of life. According to the classical scholars, both Quran and Sunnah stipulate for a country or territory to be Islamic the ruling system should be khilafah, comprising the appointment of a single ruler who is given total authority to implement the sharia. The territory should always be growing, borders eliminated until the entire world comes under Islamic rule. Institutions like bayt al-maal should ensure the welfare of the needy and circulation of wealth, qadhis dispense justice and masajid are central to community worship and living. Pakistan on the other hand is a republic, a secular feudal nation state, where it legislates laws in a parliament, enforced through corrupt judicial structures implemented by the British, adopts nationalism to define its territory with fixed borders, and bases its economy on feudal relations where much of the poor live in indentured conditions where wealth is concentrated in the hands of the rich. Islam is used rhetorically as and when secular elites seek public support. Anyone who claims, Pakistan is an Islamic country, other than in name or due to a Muslim majority population, should review its ruling system.
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