This curbs the power of the military to control the activities of government and the judiciary. In historical terms Pakistan has only recently separated from democratic India. Many Muslims supported Congress, the party of Nehru and Gandhi, before separatist ideas took hold within segments of the Muslim community leading eventually to partition, and pluralism was part of the founding ideal. The roots of Pakistan are thus different from many countries whose people have no democratic traditions.
However, the foundations began to be undermined as a result of conflicts between ethnic groups and between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. In the face of weak governments, the army became the one institution which was capable of providing national unity and security, often at the price of freedom. This led to tension between the army and the civil authorities, and a kind of division of labour in which governments governed but the army remained the most powerful institution in the country, a state of affairs which has continued up to the present day.
Perhaps the most important aspect of the political process for nation building is that the main parties have at times enjoyed popular support drawn from all quarters of the population thereby providing an alternative basis and a more liberal one for national unity in comparison with that of the army. The army rulers, since the time of General Zia al Haq, have often tried to create a basis for legitimacy and power by embracing Islamism. This path led to the creation of the Taliban, which was ultimately counter-productive as the Taliban invited in Al Qaeda, a move which led to the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
The army has since worked with the US to defeat the Taliban, and in so doing conducted a military campaign in its own tribal areas, which stirred the wrath of indigenous elements, resulting in the creation of a home-grown Taliban which posed a massive threat to the nation. Pakistan’s possession of nuclear weapons makes it one of the most important countries in terms of danger to security and stability with which the west has to deal.
The military has worked hard to contain the Taliban threat, with considerable success in South Waziristan. North Waziristan, the home of the Haqqani Taliban, is still a source of major problems. The US is walking a tightrope; it has allied itself with the military in order to combat terrorism, while at the same time supporting democracy in the country as a whole. The Kerry-Lugar bill of 2009 provides aid to Pakistan for, among other things, democracy promotion, not just the usual no-questions-asked military assistance.
At the same time the aborted car bomb attack in New York’s Times Square has created strains in the relationship between the two countries. The US has warned of ‘severe consequences’ if a successful terrorist attack which can be traced back to Pakistan takes place on US soil.
The military, despite its campaign against the Taliban, has used home-grown Islamism as a tool for the control of internal dissent, as authoritarianism has alienated both people and parties and has led to demonstrations in support of democracy. During the rule of General Musharraf 60 judges who in their duties resisted Musharraf’s designs were fired, resulting in mass protests. The dismissals and the army’s presidential control of parliament propelled the two main parties, the PPP and the Muslim League into an alliance against the generals, and to change the constitution in order to prevent army control of the democratic institutions of state. The recently passed 18th amendment has brought about the desired changes.
Though Pakistan is often derided as a failed state, it has certain things going for it which, for example, most countries in the Middle East do not. Asian politics is less motivated by religion than in the Middle East; the people’s passions are mostly secular ones. There is a greater sense of national loyalty and identity in Pakistan than in many Middle Eastern states. Pakistan is a large and diverse country, which makes it hard to rule by force; its hope lies in its diversity, its political culture and the will of its people.