Pakistan Is A Challenge To Global Security

May 16, 2010 - PRLog -- The latest issue of Indian Military Review (IMR) says that military rule in Pakistan (with spurts of tyrannical rule) has led to creation of multiple power centres within the political system in Pakistan. There is lack of consensus and proper coordination between various wings of the government - the elected government, the army and Intelligence. The Army very often calls the shots and also overrides the government's decisions at times.

There have been instances of breach of faith between the government and the military resulting in coups. The Army in Pakistan is undoubtedly at the centre of the decision making process and the sad part is, that it is not free from the influence of religious fanatics. There is internal wrangling between different regiments on issues of ethnicity and origin. The Taliban found support in the Pakistan army because of this bent of mind which proved quite conducive to fundamentalist forces.  

According to an article by Dr Priyanka Singh in the May 2010 issue of Indian Military Review, Pakistan is a loose federation, functioning under the grave shadow of the Taliban threat. The nexus between the Taliban and Pakistan was not built in a day. The complicity between the two dates back to the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. Since then, the Taliban ideology and militancy has made strong inroads in the country leading to the prevailing conditions, which have proved favourable to hard-line ideologues.

Secessionist movements and political unrest in provinces such as Balochistan and Sindh constitute the second fault line in Pakistan. The Baloch province has been simmering with violent demands of statehood under the Baloch Nationalists movement and is probably the weakest link in the Pakistani state system. Peace in Balochistan is a remote possibility in view of the government's inflexibility and the intensity of the insurgents' demands. The provinces of Punjab and Sindh are engaged in a battle on sharing of waters and ownership of natural resources. Other issues revolving around representation in the civil services and the army have been constant irritants between the two provinces. This has led to inter-state tensions on a large scale.

The Pakistani state has played ethnic differences in pursuit of its political ends. For example, in Gilgit Baltistan, which is presently under Pakistan's control, the establishment engineered a conscious effort to change the demographic composition by encouraging influx of Sunni settlers in the region, which was primarily Shia dominated. Full-fledged involvement of the government in fanning the ethnic fire has led to political and social unrest in most provinces, including the region which comes under Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK).

The least the US could do it to ensure the aid to Pakistan is not misused to nurture terrorists, especially against India. Being the principal supplier of aid to Pakistan, the US probably is in the best position to command the direction of its domestic and foreign policies and maintain the desired balance between the civilian government and the army to ensure success in counter terror goals.

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IMR is a monthly magazine published from New Delhi and devoted to national defence, homeland security and military technology.