File photo by Nazar Ul Islam
National security is a multi-faceted issue, which successive governments in Pakistan have largely left to the Pakistan Army to handle, especially as any civilian attempts to examine it risk infringing upon the civil-military equation. The incumbent government, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, is unlikely to offer any deviation, adopting a pragmatic approach that has traditionally ignored Parliament’s responsibility to ensure transparency and accountability of the actions of all state institutions. But with resurgent terrorism—much of it originating in neighboring countries—and an ongoing economic crisis, it has become necessary to consider Pakistan’s “doctrine of strength,” which calls for the state to retain a dominant position with regards to its geographic position.
In the west, Pakistan is threatened by the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which operates from Afghan soil, with Kabul making clear it has no desire to take any steps to prevent this. Rather, officials of the Afghan Taliban have encouraged Islamabad to resolve the matter through dialogue, even as Pakistan is demanding a complete surrender and renunciation of violence from the TTP. This back-and-forth has led to a deterioration in ties between the neighboring states, though Islamabad is hesitant to sever all relations, as re-engagement could become difficult at a later stage.
In the east, Pakistan’s ties with India have yet to recover from the events of 2019, and barring a major change in the foreign policy of both neighbors, the situation would likely persist in the near future. With Iran, Pakistan aims to maintain positive ties, but treads carefully to avoid sanctions from the U.S., hampering efforts for sustainable trade. A confluence of these factors has pushed Pakistan to lean toward the Gulf states and China, while maintaining ties with Western states that monopolize the leadership of global lenders.
The prevailing world order calls for economic prosperity as a prerequisite for national security; a fact Pakistan has come to realize, albeit somewhat late in the game. To achieve this, it must enable trade with all its neighboring states, even if it means stepping back from the nationalism that has come to define much of its defensive posturing.