Thread by @HammadSGill

An excerpt from "Pakistan A Hard Country" by Anatol Lieven.

#PakistanAHardCountry

#AnatolLieven

When compared to India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka, things therefore do not look so terrible.

Pakistan is in fact a great deal more like India – or India like Pakistan – than either country would wish to admit.

Reference :

Pakistan A Hard Country.

Why army is the strongest institution in Pakistan?

The name Pathan recalls this great scholarly
tradition as well as the glorious military history of resistance to British conquest, both of which are crucial to
understanding developments among the Pathans of the
present age.

The modern Islamist political groups r trying 2 replace the clan & patronage politics of the ‘feudal’ landowners & urban bosses with their
own version of modern mass politics, so far with only very limited success.

The population of Pakistan has become 10X what it was 100 years ago.

This dependence on the Indus is the greatest source
of long-term danger to Pakistan. Human beings can survive for centuries without democracy, and even
without much security. They cannot live for more than
three days without water. The World Bank's 2004 report states :

According to a 2009 study by the Woodrow Wilson Center drawing on a range of different works, by 2025 population growth is likely to mean that Pak’s annual water demand rises to 338 billion cubic metres (bcm)
– while, Pak’s water availability is 236bcm -the short fall of 100bcm.

A British civil servant and ethnographer, Sir Denzil Ibbetson, after an official career lasting decades in the Punjab, he wrote about a strong system of Kinship :

"The only thing I know is that I know nothing, and I am not quite sure that I know that."

Iqbal Akhund wrote :

"The Pakistani Muslim thinks of himself as heir
to the Muslim empire, descended from a race of
conquerors and rulers. There is therefore a streak of militarism in Pakistan’s ethos, even at the popular level."

Why the anti-US sentiments grew in Pakistan after 1989?
➡ Sanctions on Pak.
➡ Leaving a mess in AFG, after the fall of USSR.
➡ Washington's tilt to India
➡ Nuclear partnership with India
➡ Pressuring Pak, but ignoring India
➡ Support for dictators
➡ Invasion on AFG & Iraq

Pakistanis tend greatly to exaggerate the degree
of hands-on control that the US can exert over Pakistani governments.

Mahatma Gandhi said :
[ Highlighted text below]

So great was religious enthusiasm(during the Khilafat Movement) that in
1920 some 20,000 Muslims attempted to emigrate
to AFG, as the last independent Muslim state left
standing.They were eventually expelled by the Afghan authorities after having been robbed of their possessions

The decisive moment for d demand for Pak came with the Govt of India Act of 1935
& the elections of 1937 which followed. Congress made informal promises to the ML that the 2 parties would form coalition govts in provinces with substantial Muslim minorities, but it never happened.

Jinnah in the end was bitterly disappointed with the ‘moth-eaten’ Pakistan that he eventually received.

Jinnah and the League leadership were completely unprepared for the realities of complete separation from India.

➡In 1950's, Ayub Khan imposed 'One Unit' to avoid Bengali dominance
➡ Yahya Khan abolished 'One Unit'
➡ Bhutoo rejected Mujeeb's 6 Points
➡ Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman emerged as a Bengali nationalist leader
➡ Mismanagement of 1970's Bhola Cyclone turned Bengali against West Pak

➡In Dec 1970's elections, Awami League won 160/162 seats in East Pakistan and PPP won 81/138 seats in West Pakistan

➡ A series of moves & counter moves took place in following months

➡ On 25 Mar 1971 started Operation Searchlight, the beginning of the end of United Pakistan

Unlike India, Pak lost its founding leaders in the first few yrs, which left a power vacuum for local elites & opportunistic politicians.Even if Jinnah lived, it wasn't sure that the Muslim League could continue 2 decide the fate of Pak.Bcoz its vote bank was left behind in India