Pakistan, Nov. 10 -- Disagreement with a government is a natural part of politics, and at times it can become intense. But Maulana Fazlur Rehman has now started taking aim at the state itself, and that is a deeply troubling development.

At times, he makes unfortunate remarks about the state itself. At other times, he mocks the martyrs. And now he has turned matters as purely strategic as a curfew into a subject of political debate and criticism.

When a politician turns the state into his adversary, he commits a grave mistake. Maulana Fazlur Rehman is making precisely that mistake.

There is a rather peculiar attitude toward the state in Maulana Fazlur Rehman's politics. To examine it, we need not rely on hearsay or scattered accounts. I...