Correlation between Third Positionism and the Iqbal’s Concept of Nationalism: A Case Study of Sectarian Demography and Interfaith Harmony in Gilgit-Baltistan

Abstract

Third Positionists believe that an ethnic community in any region has the right to get political and economic control over the resources under the territory where it stays. Broader concepts of German and Italian nationalisms (on the bases of socio-cultural, traditional, phonetical and biological identities) usually denote Nazism and Fascism respectively are considered as the early implicated examples of this school. Likewise, the formation of Pakistan as per Iqbal’s concept of religion-based nationalism is also counted as an implication of Third Positionism where Iqbal replaced broader German or Italian identity with ‘Islam’ and ‘Muslim nationhood’ and dreamed to get a separate homeland for British Indian Muslims where they would have to practice their Islamic-disciplined national life. This study presents Third Positionists’ viewpoint about Iqbal’s religion-based nationalism and analyzes its expected implication in Gilgit-Baltistan during the 21^st century where some banned militant organizations not only consider Ismaili-Shia community as a non-Muslim or ‘Kafir’, but try to trigger ethno-sectarian conflicts with Ismaili populated areas. In this context, this study also investigated socio-political and economic developments under different agencies of the Agha Khan Development Network (AKDN) in Pakistan, machinations for the Agha Khan State, and the predicted negative impacts of ethno-sectarian conflicts in Gilgit-Baltistan on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).