PAKISTAN’S ruling elites have long regarded the country’s geographical location as a strategic asset enabling it to project itself as a significant regional player and bolster its geopolitical position. But location cuts both ways. It has also been a liability.
Few countries have faced the headwinds from their geography as Pakistan. An overbearing and hostile eastern neighbour, contested borders inherited from colonialism, unresolved Kashmir dispute, volatile neighbourhood and a western neighbour roiled by strife and foreign interventions, all combined to create a permanent security dilemma. That dilemma drove the country’s enduring search for stability. Pakistan’s long-standing strategic nightmare was having to confront two ‘hot fronts’ simultaneously. The imperative to avert this shaped its strategic thinking, security policy and strategy.
The tyranny of geography always weighed heavily on the country. That has not changed. What has changed is the scale and gravity of the threat. Pakistan now faces a three-front security challenge — from India on its eastern frontier, from cross-border terror attacks emanating from Afghanistan and unrest, terrorism and militant violence at home.
The most troubling aspect of the internal security situation is that never before have two of Pakistan’s provinces been so destabilised at the same time. In the past, both saw violence. But it was localised, confined to specific areas, not province-wide. Never before did Azad Jammu and Kashmir erupt with violent public protests as being witnessed today. The use of coercion and strong-arm official actions have only worsened the situation.
