Transformations in the Middle East: Implications for Pakistan

Since the beginning of war on terror world has realized not only the geo-strategic importance of Pakistan but also the fact that it can play a decisive role in bringing end to this war for good. Mean while with every passing day regional dynamics are becoming more intricate and complex, therefore new challenges have emerged. Hence in order to deal with them Pakistan requires extensive preemptive pragmatic approach. In war on terrorism Pakistan became an important US ally and got this natural edge over India by being the neighbor of Afghanistan. With the imminent US exit from Afghanistan and emerging India-Afghanistan nexus, Pakistan is pondering over to make much needed political paradigm shift which would bring long term internal stability and would lessen the involvement of non-state actors in damaging the internal and external security configurations of Pakistan. From 2001 to 2014, the region of South Asia has witnessed several changes ranging from harsh natural calamities, mounting economic crunches, changing security paradigm and above all the birth of new forms of terrorism. Moreover in general a new sense of insecurity and uncertainty has also prevailed across all the nations of South Asia. Although Global War on Terror is being fought on the western neighbor of Pakistan i.e. Afghanistan, however ironically the main protagonist and sufferer in this war has been the non-NATO ally of USA i.e. Pakistan. However even after a decade of war the victory of USA in Afghanistan is yet to be seen even though a lot of al-Qaeda recruiters and fugitives have been arrested or killed but the peace in war torn country of Afghanistan seems like a distant dream. On the other hand, Pakistan is slipping in a deep quagmire day by day and hopes for peace in this war affected country is nowhere to be seen. The biggest challenge faced by Pakistan since 2010 is to deal with the domestic pressure of curbing the terrorist activities and radical elements and the international demands of controlling the cross border terrorist infiltration from Afghanistan and to participate more actively in war on terrorism. Though Pakistan has been fulfilling its part of the deal nevertheless it has ended up making more enemies than friends not only domestically but also on the regional front. Despite of all the sacrifices, losses and adversities, the master

Ksiegarnia Akademicka Publishing eBooks, 2015

Pakistan, although it is not an Arab state, has long lasting contacts with the Arab World. They arc based on the same religious and cultural foundations and deep economic contact as well. Many Pakistanis work in the Gulf States. Pakistani military has been training and supporting armed forces of such countries as c.g. Jordan. So the ideas of The Arab Spring have influenced young elites of Pakistani society somehow. The goal of the article is to show similarities and certain differences between the political situation in Pakistan and Arab states (csp. Egypt as comparable by the size and population, and role of military in politics too). Phe Author tries to answer the question whether something like the Arab Spring pos sible in Pakistan and/or maybe something like that just has happened.

Contemporary South Asia, 2012

Over the past 10 years, Pakistan has passed through some of the most turbulent and difficult times in its history. The war in Afghanistan post 9/11 has put Pakistan on the front line of the war on terrorism and provoked violent Islamic militancy within Pakistan and some grave policy choices for Pakistan itself. Riven in addition by the natural disasters of earthquakes and floods and hobbled by political instability, economic woes, and deep social, religious and ethnic divisions, Pakistan has reached a point of great flux with important national and regional changes imminent. This collection of six essays focus on critical elements of this flux -political Islam, militancy and religious minorities, political patronage and democracy, the economic impacts of the floods and Pakistan's relations with the US and its regional foreign policy -to identify key trends which will shape Pakistan's future.

Pakistan, a nation of 185.5 million people and a neighbor to Afghanistan, India and China -- in other words, a country of paramount strategic importance -- is in danger. Unlike other failed states, both a democratic government and a semblance of civilian infrastructure remain intact, and yet the nation is ranked #10 on the 2010 Foreign Policy and Fund for Peace's Failed States Index. Out of the 12 axioms that govern the index, Pakistan scores especially poorly on 'Security Apparatus,' 'Factionalized Elites,' 'Group Grievances,' and 'External Intervention.' A truly failed Pakistani state has grave implications for the international community. In addition to posing terrible physical, economic and humane costs to Pakistani society and citizenry, which constitutes the sixth-most populous nation in the world, a full-blown failure will surely lead to an explosion in militancy that places destabilizing pressures on sensitive neighboring countries. In this paper, I present a reform strategy to overhaul the country's political and economic stability and ensure security, while building on the country's robust elements. Some priorities of this approach are: i) the immediate provision of necessary services and security to disenfranchised groups such as women, minorities and rural peoples, ii) better enforcement of property rights to promote economic development, iii) increased transparency and accountability while reducing bureaucracy, iv) reformation of rules currently governing the security arms of government, v) improving communication between various branches of the state and iv) expanding access low-cost technological developments such as mobile phones in ways that can both empower the Pakistani people and reinforce the pursuit of institutional reform. The rules of the state must change to better reflect the nature of Pakistani society. I first express the policy goals of this strategy and briefly explain the ideology behind the strategy. I then provide a brief history of the nation, survey relevant statistics and identify key players. I will elaborate in detail the challenges facing Pakistan, and the questions we must consider when dealing with these challenges. I finally deliver my proposals to achieve each one of these policy goals, as well as my plans for their funding and implementation. I conclude with an overview of the anticipated effects of a fully-implemented strategy, and some finishing thoughts.

Journal of International and Global Studies, 2012

Picking up Ahutosh Misra and Michael E. Clarke's edited volume, one is first struck by the cover image of a demonstration featuring gun-toting Pakistani youth and bearded men, with banners held aloft against an overcast sky. The image is one that has been popularized by mainstream media due to the central place that Pakistan has come to occupy in what is known as the "War on Terror." Coupled with the title of the book, the image draws the readers' attention to the instability of Pakistan and the lurking threat of its collapse. Yet, if one looks carefully at the image on the cover, the faces of those youth, with guns held high, are striking for their widegrinned smiles, as if they are posing for the camera, trying to appear angry and tough but unable to hold back their light-hearted laughter. The discrepancy between what the image on the cover intends to portray and how the youths in the photograph may perceive themselves is reflective of a broader paradox in which the security threat Pakistan poses is a presumed truth, regardless of not only the ways in which the U.S. has "created" this truth but also the ways in which the people of Pakistan may perceive their own involvement in the "War on Terror." However, seeing that this edited volume is a result of a three-day conference organized by the Griffith Asia Institute and held in Brisbane, Australia in November of 2009, where "security experts" from Pakistan, India, Australia, and the United States addressed "some of the most pressing challenges facing the country," it is not surprising that such paradoxes are not addressed in the text (p. xvi). While the "mediatization" of Pakistan's role in the "War on Terror" is not addressed, Misra and Clarke have set out to pull together a series of papers that do address the domestic, regional, and international challenges facing Pakistan. In the preface, they begin by pointing to the 2.5 per cent GDP growth rate, double-digit inflation rate, and US$56 billion in foreign debt. They write that there is unanimous recognition that the failure of the state would have devastating consequences for international security "and must be prevented at all costs." At the same time, the picture that emerges from the essays is that while Pakistan does face significant challenges, the state is unlikely to collapse. The first five of the book's twelve chapters focus on Pakistan's domestic sphere. Ashutosh Misra begins with a look at the interplay in Pakistan between the three forms of government (FOG): military dictatorship, democracy, and Islamism. Using a stability-instability model in which these three forces compete with each other and engage in co-option, he argues that the interplay between these three forms of government lies at the core of Pakistan's political instability. The author suggests that for the sake of Pakistan's stability, this jostling among political parties must cease; still, he acknowledges that "this may only be possible when one of these FOGs becomes self-reliant and does not have to align with the other two in order to stay in power" (p. 3). Misra concludes his essay by pointing to developments within Pakistan's judiciary system and by asserting that such developments reflect positively on the future of democracy in Pakistan. The conclusion of the first chapter provides a fitting transition to the excellent second chapter by Tasneem Kausar. Kausar focuses on the Pakistani judiciary system during the 2007 lawyers' movement and provides a helpful historical overview of the Pakistani Supreme Court and its historic role in the development of democracy in the country. Underscoring the historical significance of the strides made by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in helping the court establish "its own identity, [secure] its legitimacy and [win] its independence" (pp. 28, 32),

The Geopolitics, 2024

National security doctrines evolve gradually, shaped by institutional factors unless disrupted by drastic events. For example, the war in Ukraine has dramatically altered global security paradigms almost overnight. However, most changes in national security are incremental, influenced by state actors, interest groups, perceptions, and institutions. Once embedded in a nation’s structure, these doctrines become robust and resistant to change unless major events force a re-evaluation.

This article provides an overview of Pakistan's recent tumultuous political history, including the revolt of urban professionals, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and the elections on 18 February 2008 which led to the subse- quent installation of a civilian-led party government. Pakistan's return to civilian rule intensified the power struggle among the political parties to recast alliances, redefine opposition-government relationships, develop rules of power-sharing with the military and, most importantly, envision building a sustainable strategic partnership with the United States. The paper then analyzes how the U.S. has begun to reassess the substance and meaning of this relationship from a narrowly focused military-to-military relationship to a more comprehensive partnership, deepening its scope and scale with the goal of supporting the democratic transi- tion in Pakistan.