The Pakistani state would want us to believe that it supports the fight against terrorism, that it is an important ally of the US in eliminating terror masterminds, or that it does not support the rapid Islamist radicalisation movement that is sweeping the country. Nothing can be further than the truth.

In what could have been dismissed as a joke if not for its sinister context and intent, Pakistan’s federal minister for railways, Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, announced a bounty of $100,000 for those who would kill the filmmaker behind the mindless short film Innocence of Muslims, which has created an unprecedented uproar across the Muslim world. Even if Bilour was talking in his personal capacity (the bounty will be paid by him personally, he claims), it shows how Pakistan’s government is infused with those who, instead of showing restraint by defusing an explosive situation and an ability to unite the country, are able to make statements that incite religious hatred.