Political Economy of Pakistan

1. Political Economy of Pakistan Nadia Hasan

2. Start from the present • Taliban Attacks in Pakistan (NY Times) • Class Dismissed (NY Times)

3. 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%)

4. Basis of Unity • Recap: Partition • What were the circumstances around Partition? • What were the justifications for establishing a Pakistani state?

5. 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)

6. 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

7. 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?

8. 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”

9. 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

10. 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

11. Religious Minorities • Ahmadiyyas (1984 law proclaiming Ahmadiyyas non-Muslim) • Sikhs • Hindus • Christians

12. 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)

13. 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’

14. 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)

15. 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)

16. 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

17. Political Economy of Defence • Why military overdevelopment? • Pakistan: On a Razor’s Edge

18. 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

19. 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”

20. 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

21. Conclusion: Where are we now? • Military operations in the Swat and Waziristan • Displacement of 2 million people (refugee camps, other cities) • Relationship with US