JOURNAL OF DEFENCE STUDIES

Pakistan: Crisis of Confidence & Credibility

Professor Chintamani Mahapatra is Chairman, Centre for Canadian, US and Latin American Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
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  • October 2011
    Volume: 
    5
    Issue: 
    4
    Focus

    Pakistan has all the signs and symptoms of an ailing State that may not be able to sustain itself at the current rate of deterioration. It suffers from the crisis of confidence at home. People, an important constituent of the elements that defines a State, are fast losing faith in their governing institutions. The most revered institution in Pakistan, the military, failed to detect foreign forces barging into their territory and executing an operation killing Al Qaeda supremo Osama bin Laden throwing up questions about their competence. Internally respected intelligence wing of Pakistan, ISI, has been suspected of complicity in providing hideout to Osama. The democratically elected Government has been accused of inability and inefficiency in handling natural disasters. The society is divided and the economy is foreign aid dependent. America’s friends abroad—the US and China in particular have questioned the commitment, honesty and reliability of Pakistan as an ally. Pakistan’s acceptance of massive US aid and then its support to anti-US terrorist networks has increased anti-Pakistan sentiments in the US. China is supposedly an all-weather-friend of Pakistan, yet it has asked for assurances from Islamabad against Pakistanlinked terrorist activities in Xinjiang province. Pakistan today is afflicted with the crisis of confidence and credibility.

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