Pakistan’s Role and Interests in South and Southwest Asia

Abstract

T history of Pakistan since independence in 1947 has been fraught with troubles, both domestic and international, to the point that it is sometimes considered to be in a permanent state of crisis. This may be an exaggeration, but it is apparent that Pakistan has yet to establish either an internal political system or an external security system that has demonstrated any substantial survival capacity or that serves Pakistan's interests in responding to a difficult and threatening international environment. This has vastly complicated Pakistan's efforts, first, to define its role and interests in South and Southwest Asia, and second, to devise appropriate policies in this respect. There have never been easy options available that were so much more attractive than the alternatives as to make decisionmaking a relatively simple operation; and this has probably never been more the case than today, when the external threats to Pakistan's survival as a nation state are probably more diverse than ever before. The range of policy choices may be broader, but they are also less satisfactory in terms of reliability in meeting Pakistan's needs. Most of this essay will be devoted to an analysis of the options available to Islamabad on security issues and how these affect Pakistan's relations with neighboring states. But I will introduce this subject with a discussion of Pakistan's regional identity with South and Southwest Asia, since this has had a considerable influence on decisionmaking in Islamabad. Pakistan occupies a highly strategic position between South, Southwest, and Central Asia, and thus belongs to all three regions. While this does provide some advantages, on the whole the