Pakistan: Hard and Soft State Conundrum

Prof Gull Wani

In an extraordinary meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Pakistan’s Army Chief General Munir called for Pakistan to become a “hard state” to overcome the various challenges facing the country. The immediate trigger was the hijacking of the Jaffar Express and the killing of 25 passengers on March 11, 2025. General Munir emphasized, “How long will we continue to sacrifice countless lives in the style of a soft state?” His remarks sparked a candid debate in Pakistan’s media about the nature of the Pakistani state and its future trajectory. The fact of the matter is that Pakistan needs a benevolent state at peace with itself and its immediate neighbours.

Nature of the Debate

The concept of a “hard state” in the context of Pakistan was used by British author Anatol Lieven in his acclaimed book Pakistan: A Hard Country. He posits that Pakistan is divided, disorganized, economically backward, corrupt, violent, unjust, savagely unjust to its minorities, and home to extremely dangerous forms of extremism and terrorism”. The book was published in 2011 and therefore is not directly connected to the contemporary debate. After General Munir’s exhortation, some prominent persons with intimate knowledge of the workings of the Pakistani state passionately wrote on the nature of the state and suggested the needed course correction.

Author and columnist Zahid Hussain stated that Pakistan appears to fit the definition of a “predatory state,” operating a system in which a narrow elite has captured power for its own interests. Indeed, the elite capture of the state has been a recurring theme in many books written about Pakistan and other South Asian countries, and the debate has intensified in contemporary neoliberal times, which needs a separate discussion. Zahid’s analysis rests on the power structure within Pakistan and the manner in which margins and different minorities experience exclusion and peripheralization, thus leading to a crisis of nation-building in the country.

Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi argues that a “hard state” is not necessarily a competent or strong state. A competent state performs the core functions of governance where instruments of governance are robust and people have trust in the state. Former Ambassador Ashraf Jehangir Qazi also disagrees and advocates for a Nelson Mandela-type initiative to heal Pakistan and bring about national reconciliation. Mr. Qazi calls for turning the light inward and not finding national excuses for maximizing power by one institution, which has had terrible consequences for national cohesion. He laments that today, the whole of Pakistan has become Baluchistan, while Pakistan is being transformed into “Greater Punjab.”

A deeper analysis suggests that Pakistan needs to become a normal state, prioritizing internal harmony, equity, and inclusive economic growth. It is crucial that the state moves away from India-centrism in its policy priorities. Secondly, civilian supremacy must be ensured under all circumstances, and the country should seriously work towards internal harmony and grand reconciliation. If the country is at peace with itself, it can ultimately find peace in its immediate and extended neighbourhood.

India Obsession

For long-term stability and nation-building, the Pakistani state needs to overcome what many writers call “Indophobia.” Its political and military leadership needs to shun India-centrism, which leads to one-dimensional thinking in the country. The leadership crisis in the country, right from its inception, has created its own set of problems. The late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto once wrote to Benazir Bhutto that after “Quaid-e-Azam, only Suhrawardy and your father had the grit and gravitas to navigate the ship of the country. Leadership is the art of communication and also the power to shape public opinion on issues having potential to divide and polarize the country. Bhutto mobilized the crowds with every note as he spoke to them when he said, “Do you now recognize Bangladesh?” The crowds said yes. True, leaders need to raise their society to their vision. The English historian Alfred Cobban rightly called the partition a “non-solution to an insoluble problem.” Much before Atal Behari Vajpayee went to Pakistan and visited Minar-e-Pakistan, former PM Jawaharlal Nehru exhorted on January 24, 1948: “If we had wanted to break Pakistan, why did we agree to partition?” In an interview with Nai Duniya (July 30-August 5, 2012), Prime Minister Narendra Modi unequivocally opposed the idea of Akhand Bharat, arguing that it would eventually turn India into a Muslim-majority state. “I am happy with India’s current borders.”

When countries remain engaged for a long time, they eventually learn to solve their problems. Speaking about his book “Why India Matters” at the Indian Institute of Management, Mumbai, on January 30, 2024, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar observed: “Every country has problems in the neighbourhood. Eventually, they reach an understanding. It is in the nature of politics that we take strong stands, but diplomacy works differently.” Earlier, when he travelled to Pakistan to attend an SCO meeting, he kept his word and promise to be ‘civil’ and ‘courteous.’ His predecessor late Sushma Swaraj at one time emphasised that there is no full stop in diplomacy.

Internal Harmony

Internal harmony cannot be achieved in a vacuum; it is deeply rooted in the socio-economic and constitutional structure of a country. Former Pakistani Finance Minister and Wharton School alumnus Miftah Ismail described Pakistan as a “one percent republic,” where the overwhelming majority of people have no opportunity for upward mobility. In his widely acclaimed book “The Economy of an Elitist State”, economist Ishrat Husain states that “just one percent of the population, constituting the elite, maintains a stronghold on state institutions.” This power elite has consistently resisted reforms in land ownership, the tax structure, and governance-fostering the emergence of a rentier state. The situation is further complicated by a crisis in the contemporary political economy, where a national security state continues to expand its influence despite a weak economic foundation. Needless to note that Urdu poet Habib Jalib had long signalled the rise of a narrow power elite in Pakistan:

“Bees gharanay hain abad, aur karoron hain nashad,

Sadr Ayub zindabad, Sadr Ayub zindabad.”

(“Twenty families have reaped the benefits of development, while millions suffer the pain of poverty.” President Ayub Zindaabad, President Ayub Zindabad)

Road Ahead

We live in a world where no country can truly progress while clinging to tribal values. We yearn for a knowledge-based society in which the elite invest in research labs, new technologies, and educational institutions-not in madrassas that produce half-educated youth. In the United States, billionaires like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs rose to the top through sheer talent and hard work, without any connection to a large zamindar family. Pakistani physicist and public intellectual Pervez Hoodbhoy observes that Pakistan’s education system is broken. He advocates for inviting tenders from countries such as Finland, Singapore, and China to reform the education system. The successful bidder, he observes, should be given control of primary, middle, and high schools for at least ten years. It is shocking that a historic city like Lahore received just 2,350 foreign tourists in 2015. It should be noted that tourism and trust go together. The Amman Declaration of 2000 states that travel and tourism are the foremost global peace industry.

In this context, Ambassador Ashraf Jehangir Qazi has proposed a Nelson Mandela-style initiative to heal the nation and bring about national reconciliation.

As I conclude this column, I am reminded of Mahatma Gandhi’s eternal words: “An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.” The philosopher Bertrand Russell used to say: “War doesn’t determine who is right but who is left.”

(The author is a Kashmir-based Political scientist with specialisation on South Asia)

The post Pakistan: Hard and Soft State Conundrum appeared first on Daily Excelsior.

News