SubscriberWrites: Pakistan, the not so new abnormal

Pakistan remains a rogue, unstable state—fueling terror, collapsing economically, and threatening global security. It’s time the world stopped enabling its dysfunction.

Pakistani flag | Representational image | Wikimedia Commons

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“The fundamentals of the state are either failing or questionable, and this applies to both the idea of Pakistan, the ideology of the state, the purpose of the state, and also to the coherence of the state itself,”

• Stephen P Cohen, 2011

Mr Cohen could have said this at any time since Pakistan’s birth, and it would ring true. Pakistan was born with a congenital defect (two-nation theory).  The world thought the cleaving of Bangladesh, would have cured it of the disease. Unfortunately, the patient has not recovered.

Since 1947 it has started and lost more wars than any other nation. It has experienced a dozen successful and unsuccessful coups. For more than 75% of its life it has been under direct or indirect military rule. Their last five elected prime ministers, including Imran Khan, currently their most popular politician, have been jailed. 

Over 2.5 million young Pakistanis are students in Madrassas, mostly run by fundamentalist clerics. At least three reports of the International Crises Group (ICG) – 2002, 2003 and 2004 have taken the nexus between militancy and the madrassas as a given. Conservatively if only 1% of such students graduate as radicalized youth every year, we are looking at the production of 25,000 jihadist cannon fodder annually. Is it any wonder that Pakistan’s major export is terrorism. Simultaneously, it also appears to be in competition with erstwhile Yugoslavia to violently break up into its constituent parts. 

Pakistan is headed for bankruptcy. The country is essentially running on foreign debt. This debt needs to be regularly refinanced or rolled over. Creditor countries have little hope of ever recovering their loans. The IMF has bailed out Pakistan 24 times so far. A 2021 United Nations report even called the Pakistan military the country’s largest conglomerate, noting its deep entrenchment in the civilian economy.

Pakistan was, is, and for the foreseeable future will continue to be, an abnormal state. 

“When your rival neighbour, a nation that’s volatile even at the best of times, is experiencing severe political stress, bouts of large-scale unrest, and especially concerns about the cohesiveness with the army leadership, then you should be worried,” 

• Micheal Kugelman, 2021

The world, (even Pakistan’s so-called “supporters”) would be better of without it. Ideally, we should call for the dismantlement of Pakistan by the UN. However, its friends in high places (UN Security Council) may not go along. Until then we are on our own. 

We could start with establishing a Department for Dismantling Pakistan (DDP). 

Charter for DDP:

Seek denuclearization of Pakistan (like Ukraine in 1996)

• Nuclear weapons are in the hands of a corrupt, self-aggrandizing army that has lost every war it started and is back-seat driving a dysfunctional government of a country on the brink of another bankruptcy. 
• This a world-scale disaster waiting for a rogue General. 

Complete abrogation of the Indus Water Treaty.

• IWT was drafted and agreed with expectation of peaceful cooperation between the two countries. Despite many friendly outreaches attempted by virtually all India PMs, Pakistan has always spurned peace. 
• They have stymied every attempt by India to use western river waters that were rightfully Indias to use. 
• On the other side of the sub-continent, China is busy usurping the waters of the Brahmaputra. 
• A fresh IWT should be considered only once peace returns between us, and China signs a satisfactory Brahmaputra Water Treaty

Support separatists in Baluchistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and POJ&K.

• Do unto others as they have done to us 
• The Balochis have been fighting for freedom since 1947. 
• The Sindhudesh movement needs just a little push.  
• In the 1947 referendum to decide its future, the major political parties of NWFP (now Kyber Pakhtunkhwa) boycotted the referendum because it did not have the option of becoming independent or joining Afghanistan. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ended up in Pakistan by mistake! Afghanistan will thank us for this.
• We have to bring POJ&K home anyway.

Act against countries and organizations that routinely support Pakistan actions.

• President Erdogan, seems to believe he is a direct descendent of the Ottoman Caliphs, and it is his manifest duty to lead the Muslim world. 
• Turkey has been the main supplier of drones, rocket launchers and other arms and ammunition to Azerbaijan during their wars to take over parts of Armenia. Sounds familiar?
• According to social media reports, Indian tourists are already shunning both these countries. We need to officially ban tourism to these places.
• Boycott all trade with the two countries.
• OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) has been a steadfast supporter of Pakistan, no matter what it does. 
• India has a lot of goodwill in the Islamic world. Our EAM should work towards getting Pakistan suspended from the OIC.

Blacklist foreign companies that supply military/dual use equipment to Pakistan.

We should start by immediately blacklisting such Chinese and Turkish companies. Thereafter, every year, other companies can be added to the blacklist, especially those in areas where we are or become self-sufficient.

These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.