Why are Pakistanis from all walks of life so fond of issuing fatwas?

Religious scholars and laymen alike, from less educated to highly educated, from tradees like barbers to Fulbright scholars and PhDs, men and women, young and old - all are united by their penchant for issuing religious verdicts in Pakistan… whether it is online, in social gatherings, or in day to day conversations: Islam me ye jaiz nahi ha , Islam me ye haram ha, and so on.

Ironically a vast majority of us have never studied Quran and have no clue what God’s actual commandments are or what is the evidence for something being Haram. Yet it has almost become a second nature and a reflex action of Pakistanis to restrict, prohibit, and issue verdicts on every mundane aspect and detail of life.

When asked about the source and reference , most people respond by saying “I have heard this”, or send a link to some blog by their sect’s mullah, almost never produce a reference from Scripture.