Political Economy of Pakistan

Nadia Hasan

Start from the present

Taliban Attacks in Pakistan (NY Times)

Class Dismissed (NY Times)

Some basics…

Independence on August 14, 1947East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and West

Pakistan4 provinces: Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, NWFP3 territories: Azad Kashmir, Federally

Administered Tribal Areas, and Gilgit-BaltistanNational language is Urdu - but most people

speak Punjabi (60-70%)

Basis of Unity

Recap: PartitionWhat were the circumstances around

Partition?What were the justifications for

establishing a Pakistani state?

Basis of Unity

Basis of unity for the Pakistani nation-state: “Muslims are a nation according to any definition of a nation, and they must have their homelands, their territory, and their state.” (Jinnah, 1940)

“We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equals of one State…I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense…but in the political sense as citizens of the State” (Jinnah, 1947)

Basis of Unity

3 constitutions since independence (1956, 1962, 1973) each reiterating the importance of Islam

The last iteration (1973) of the constitution came after the cessation of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1971

Role of religion in the State

Creation of Pakistan was/is often conflated with survival of Islam in the subcontinent

But does this mean that Pakistan is an Islamic state governed by Islamic Law?

Role of Religion in the State

The Ulema were against the creation of the Pakistani state because they were not interested in sovereignty based on territorial/cultural definitions

However, when Pakistan gained independence, they were/are very vocal about the formal implementation of Islamic law in Pakistan

Jamaat-i-Islami party is a major proponent of this vision of the Pakistani State Maulana Maududi (founder of Jamaat-i-Islami Party): “Political

power is essential for protecting the Islamic system of life from deterioration and perversion…for the enforcement of all those laws that require the sanction of the state and the judiciary for their operation”

Role of Religion in the State

The various degrees of state secularity/religiousity of different governments demonstrates the difficulties, at the state level, to articulate the role of Islam in the state

Zia-ul-Haq’s government (1973-1988) came closest to implementing Shariah law through its ‘Islamization programs’, but no federal government has fully implemented Shariah Law

Shariah Law has existed, however, in certain territories

Women in Pakistan

Zia-ul-Haq’s ‘Islamization’ policies had detrimental effects for women especially through a set of law called the Hudood Ordinances

A vocal and vociferous women’s movement emerged during Zia’s rule

Women’s movement in Pakistan struggling to articulate a balance between Islam and secularism

Religious Minorities

Ahmadiyyas (1984 law proclaiming Ahmadiyyas non-Muslim)

SikhsHindusChristians

Economic Minorities

There are overlaps with religious minorities But the greatest discrepancy can be seen along

provincial lines, which also translates to ethnic lines

Punjab is largest and wealthiest province, also has largest presence in the military

Karachi, a port city, is a commercial hub, also dominated by Mohajirs i.e. non-Punjabi migrants from different parts of India during partition

Economic alienation of NWFP and Balochistan and also Sindh (exception of Karachi)

Political Economy of Defence

Ayesha Jalal (1995) has argued that Pakistan’s overdeveloped military has had determinative effects on Pakistan’s political economy

She argues that there is a key difference between the political economies of India and Pakistan: India has a ‘political economy of development’Pakistan has a ‘political economy of defence’

Political Economy of Defence

First decade after independence, Pakistani military and civil administration took up 3/4 of the federal budget

Military governments Ayub Khan (1958) Zia-ul Haq (1977) Pervez Musharraf (1999)

Political Economy of Defence

Class aspect of military is tied to the extent to which the military has been able to infiltrate key economic structures/entities

Military presence can be felt in: housing developments, agriculture, transportation, oil/gas, defence production, hospitals, schools

Greater upward mobility for military personnel and their families because of access to better social services (schools, hospitals)

Political Economy of Defence

“Dominance of non-elected institutions in Pakistan…points to a disjunction between state power and class power” (Jalal, 144)

Support of landowning families alongside failure to bring about effective land reforms

Mutually constitutive relationship between dominant social classes and military i.e. members of military entereing dominant social classes, and dominant social classes being protected by military

Political Economy of Defence

Why military overdevelopment?

Pakistan: On a Razor’s Edge

Opposition to military

The military has been met with opposition from other political parties

But many of the same parties have often worked in tandem with the military to secure their power

The times where political parties have emerged in opposition to the military is connected to the degree of economic marginalization in the country

Opposition to military

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (Pakistan People’s Party) took power in 1971 in the context of unrest in rural areas, including rural Punjab

“Roti, kapra, aur makaan” - bread, clothes, and shelter

(1971-1977) Glimmer of democracy Bhutto legacy (dynasty) is very strong but is

also often romanticized (ex. treatment mohajirs) Post-Zia - “constitutional coups”

Strategic Importance of Pakistan in International Relations Pakistan’s neighbours - Afghanistan, Iran,

India, China Cold War War on Terror Not separate from overdevelopment of

military

Conclusion: Where are we now?

Military operations in the Swat and Waziristan

Displacement of 2 million people (refugee camps, other cities)

Relationship with US