PAKISTAN: A LAND OF INSTABILITY

In maths, we used to study A parallel to B and C to D or A coincides with B and so on. I never knew a country would suit this parallel and coincide formula. Pakistan, a country in South Asia, has run parallel to stability and has always coincided with instability. Wherever instability goes, Pakistan follows it, or Pakistan has designed itself in such a way that instability follows Pakistan now. Pakistan evades stability, peace and progress, and its reasons lie in the inception and early years of Pakistan and what followed thereafter, as Pakistan finds itself intoxicated with instability every now and then. Pakistan was born in 1947 and hasn’t tasted stability since and this became a pattern for the years to come and continues till date and the reasons are multiple: terrorism, corruption, internal issues, security issues, radicalisation, political polarisation, weak foreign and diplomatic ties, national priorities, management, human rights violations, economic woes and the Pakistan military.

It starts with political instability. Right after four years of its birth, Pakistan had its first PM assassinated. Seven PMs served in the first eleven years, including five Prime Ministers who changed in a rapid span of just about three years, from 1953 to 1958. The constitution got changed multiple times, a PM was ousted or hanged, collectively fuelling the instability of the country. Imagine the level of instability of the country: no PM has ever completed his/her five-year term in office. Another major reason is Pakistan’s economy. The ailing economy has further worsened the instability crisis. The political turmoil never let the economy settle. Failed policies, poor management, exploitation, improper implementation, misuse of funds, addiction to foreign loans and aid, inflation, IMF dependence, unemployment and poverty have further deepened the instability crisis of Pakistan.

Terrorism. You mention Pakistan and terrorism don’t join, impossible. For decades, Pakistan has harboured terrorism and used it against India, especially Kashmir, killing hundreds of Indian forces and innocents. But the snake Pakistan milked against India; now bites its own master, Pakistan. Every day, Pakistan witnesses a lethal terror attack. Terrorism has let non state actors grow, shaping hostile policies, misdirecting funds to terror groups and building a vast network of those who didn’t hold positions but held power, a power they got from Pakistan’s ISI and powerful military. This created an environment of unrest and turmoil inside Pakistan, propelling the country onto the expressway of instability. Another one is weak foreign policy. Pakistan’s passport is among the weakest, lowest and poorest performers in the world. This gives a stark sign of how weak foreign and diplomatic relations Pakistan enjoys. Weak foreign relations mean no foreign investment, no jobs, no strengthening of the currency, no growth in the economy, ultimately contributing to instability.

Radicalisation is another layer in the labyrinth of Pakistan’s instability. Pakistani politicians and stakeholders have let religious fanatics grow to the limits it pleased and sufficed them. Religious intolerance grew to such an extent that the percentage of minorities dropped drastically post 1947. Attacks on minorities: Hindus, Christians, Shias, Ahmadis, Sikhs and ethnic groups in the name of religion, blasphemy and desecration allegations are common. Religious organisations believe they own the country, the law and the whole nation, giving hostile sermons openly without fear, assuming they have state patronage. This only happens when the state uses you for its own purposes; you tend to behave as if you own the show. Imagine a country whose own citizens get killed and the law doesn’t save them. How can that achieve stability?

Now comes the real players, the kingmaker: Pakistan’s powerful military. Pakistan has had four military takeovers and has lived over three decades under military rule. It is not the powerful or important institution of Pakistan, but the most powerful and most important one. It decides its fate, elections, foreign ties, policies and governance. Earlier, it used to be a coup; now terms like silent or constitutional coup and Pakistan’s constitutional militarism occupy the space. Now things have changed. Acts are passed, amendments are made and the constitution is moulded in the army’s favour. There is a coup along with a democracy which appears fragile or fabricated. There is an elected PM, but the COAS holds the cards. The army has squeezed the political and economic space in Pakistan, killed political pluralism, and the PM’s primary focus remains to save his chair, not work for his nation. The Pakistan Army has built an economic empire through its money minting machine, Fauji Foundation. It has strong footholds in banking, real estate, fertiliser, cement and so on. An army is doing a corporate job. The army has misbalanced the power dynamics of the country. Funds, preferential budget allocations and priorities have all been stacked up for the army, leaving the poor to suffer.

There are numerous other reasons, like the Balochistan insurgency, PoJK turmoil, KP, PoGB, stained human rights records, national priorities where you buy advanced weapons but people remain hungry, poverty, inflation, clashes of interest, the presence of large non state actors, corruption, weak implementation, internal security lapses, political polarisation and misuse of funds. All together, these contribute to the instability of Pakistan, financially, socially and politically. Many believe Pakistan is unstable beyond repair and will live like this, and is designed for this, which presumably seems to be a true prediction.