It’s widely accepted that Pakistan is not a “normal” country, in the sense that while it has all the trappings of normalcy including a parliament, political parties, elections and so on, it’s also true that the country remains under the army’s grip and no government has ever completed its full term.
Here’s something else: the ideology of Pakistan, never actually defined although the late president Ayub Khan said it was Islam, precedes the current constitution adopted in 1973. Meaning the ideology is actually above the constitution.
It also defines the mindset of the Pakistan army which sees itself as the guardian of the nation’s physical and “ideological frontiers”.
Ideology explains a lot about present day Pakistan, says Dinkar Srivastava, former diplomat and author of Pakistan: Ideologies Strategies & Interests. He was a guest on The Gist and said the book was two years in the writing and explores how ideology has led Pakistan to where it currently stands:
“Contempt for democratic norms, encouragement of groups in their use of force, refusal to accept the modern state system and perpetual confrontation with India.”
But the army’s legitimacy is under increasing strain: recall the events of May 2023 when there were mass attacks on military installations including the celebrated one on the Lahore corps commander’s residence.
But the army continues on its merry way, appropriating more than 14% of the national budget regardless of the impact it is having on the nation. The civilian government of Shahbaz Sharif, under the army’s thumb, is unable to pay its way much less fund development programmes.
Srivastava believes there was a quid pro quo in the ease with which Pakistan got an IMF loan and the lunch hosted by President Trump for Field Marshal Asim Munir. Clearly, Pakistan will be expected to play a role in terms of helping the US pursue its future plans with regard to Iran.
