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, 1947
 East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and West
Pakistan
 4 provinces: Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, NWFP
 3 territories: Azad Kashmir, Federally
Administered Tribal Areas, and Gilgit-Baltistan
 National language is Urdu - but most people
speak Punjabi (60-70%)
Basis of Unity
Recap: Partition
What 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)
Sikhs
Hindus
Christians
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