Securing Pakistan

The authors exposit likely developments in Pakistan's internal and external security environment over the coming decade; assess Pakistan's national will and capacity to solve its problems, especially those relating to security; describe U.S. interests in Pakistan; and suggest policies for the U.S. government to pursue in order to secure those interests.

The respective policies of the governments of Iran and Pakistan pose serious challenges to US interests in the Middle East, Asia and beyond. These two regional powers, with a combined population of around 300 million, have been historically intertwined in various cultural, religious and political ways. Iran was the first country to recognise the emerging independent state of Pakistan in 1947 and the Shah of Iran was the first head of state to visit the new nation. While this relationship shifted following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and tensions do exist between Sunni Pakistan and Shi'i Iran, there has nevertheless been a history of cooperation between the two countries in fields that are of great strategic interest to the US: Afghanistan, nuclear proliferation and terrorism. Yet much of this history of cooperation, conflict and ongoing interactions remains unexplored. Alex Vatanka here presents the first comprehensive analysis of this long-standing and complex relationship.

Few dimensions of dealing with Pakistan are the source of as much frustration as the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, the subject of this Council Special Report commissioned by the Center for Preventive Action. Daniel Markey analyzes the unique challenges of this region, which has long been largely outside Pakistani government control. He argues that the United States must work with Islamabad to confront security threats and improve governance and economic opportunity in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), something that could reduce militancy. The report lays out a cooperative, incentives-based strategy for the United States that would aim to increase the capacity of the Pakistani government and its security institutions, foster political and economic reform, and build confidence in the bilateral relationship. At the same time, the report outlines alternatives to be considered should this positive approach fail to advance U.S. interests. These alternatives, be they coercive sanctions to induce Pakistan to act or unilateral U.S. action against security threats, could bring some short-term progress in dealing with significant threats -- but at the cost of bringing about a more hostile Pakistan that would cease to be a partner of any sort.

This title was first published in 2002. Policy-makers in South Asia, the Middle East and the Asian Pacific, decision-makers in the OECD countries, organizations and specialists in academe, will all find this publication indispensable. It presents an integrated model of national security that emphasizes military and non-military determinants. In the light of this model, it analyzes Pakistan’s defence policies over the last half-century and proposes a radical reform of Pakistan’s military organization. In addition to offering a comprehensive look at national security, this book provides coherent, interrelated analysis of the key issues such as political leadership, social and economic development and foreign policy.

This book details the domestic security concerns of Pakistan, encompassing the dangers of insurgencies, the effects of religious extremism and terrorism, and the malfunction of its political institutions. In recent years Pakistan has emerged as a major security concern for the United States. The acts of terrorism that originate in Pakistan and its culture of extremism cause serious apprehension for the international community as well. Pakistan's ability to combat extremism within its borders and its policy towards Afghanistan will also play a large role in determining the success of U.S. military actions in Afghanistan. This volume will be the first to deal with a variety of emerging security issues of the country and their regional and international implications. This volume examines the issues of utmost importance for Pakistan's stability and strategic balance, and explains their significance from the global perspective. Each chapter in this book addresses specific security challenges of Pakistan, both domestic and international.

The authors offer a comprehensive examination of Pakistan's internal security environment and the effectiveness of its criminal justice structures and assess the impact and utility of the principal United States initiatives to help Pakistan strengthen its internal security.

Stabilizing and securing Pakistan's border with Afghanistan is a key goal of the Global War on Terror, and vital if the threat from Al Qaeda to the United States and the world is to be mitigated. Despite the effort of more than six years and expenditures of billions of dollars-some of it in aid to Pakistan for its own efforts in this measure-the goal remains unmet. This frank report, from the United States Government Accountability Office, assesses the current lack of a comprehensive plan for achieving this important objective and lays out a plan for moving forward. From the military element of such an effort-including the training and equipping of frontier corps-to the law-enforcement challenges of implementing border security to how diplomacy and economic development can help. Anyone who wishes to more fully understand the prosecution of the Global War on Terror will find this essential and informative reading.

Since 2002, destroying the terrorist threat and closing the terrorist safe haven along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan have been key national security goals. The U.S. has provided Pakistan with more than $12 billion for a variety of activities, in part to address these goals. About half of this amount has been to reimburse Pakistan for military-related support, including combat operations in and around the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. This report provides background info. on Pakistan; the status of U.S. gov¿t. efforts to develop a comprehensive plan; and info. on the goals, funding, and current status of U.S. efforts to use various elements of nat. power (i.e., mil., law enforce., dev¿t. and econ. assistance, and diplomacy) to combat terrorism in Pakistan. Illus.