What’s the Problem With Pakistan? – By Stephen P. Cohen, C. Christine Fair, Sumit Ganguly, Shaun Gregory, Aqil Shah and Ashley J. Tellis
By Stephen P. Cohen, C. Christine Fair, Sumit Ganguly, Shaun Gregory, Aqil Shah and Ashley J. Tellis
Publisher: Foreign Affairs
This article is a Foreign Affairs roundtable discussion on the causes of instability in Pakistan and what, if anything, can be done about them.
During the roundtable, the experts discussed several topics including:
1) who holds power in Pakistan and what is the relationship among the government, army and intelligence services,
2) what do the Pakistani security services want and how does supporting political violence and extremism fit into their agenda,
3) what are the most important U.S. interests in Pakistan and how can they be advanced by Washington and
4) given all of these questions, what are the implications of recent developments such as the Swat valley deal and the Sharif-Zardari confrontation.
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/discussions/roundtables/whats-the-problem-with-pakistan
Tags: army, government, instability, Pakistan
Short URL: http://tinyurl.com/ycxznyt
The issue is simple and straight forward.
Pakistan tried all it could, in last six decades to wrest Kashmir from India, but failed. Moreover, any move to seek a solution to Kashmir issue has been further complicated by Pakistan ceding 50,000 sq. kilometres of Aksai-Chin to China.
In order to fight India, Pakistan wants to have control over Afghanistan, to have strategic depth. But Afghanistan, historically never had friendly relation with Pakistan, never recognized the Durand line separating the two. And Afghanistan is historically friendly with India.
Pakistan’s actions in the past were bolstered by the generous economic and military aid it received from the Americans.
Pakistan’s behaviour will not change as long as it continues to receive the generous American billions without any strings attached.
Bottomline is, the Americans are pulling the strings to control the developments in the Indo-Pak relations, to suite their nation interests in the great game being played-out in the region. To put it simple terms, the Americans would like to see a stronger and friendly anti-China partner in India, double crossed with a plient Pakistan.