Where does Pakistan’s trouble come from?

Despite the lack of authority on the part of national or civilian governments, the civilian government nonetheless sees itself as responsible for the armed forces and the defence sector. The intelligence agency and the military both insist on maintaining a say in the country’s dealings with other nations, making it difficult for the civilian administration to make progress on its development ambitions.

Due to the military’s refusal to let the civilian government in Pakistan make policies from a civil perspective, economic development is stifled, the value of the rupee declines, and foreign investment is discouraged.

Furthermore, the majority of Pakistan’s development budget is funded by foreign sources rather than domestic sources, and the military continues to receive the bulk of the country’s tax revenue.

Firstly, it is clear that no civilian administration in Pakistan has ever finished its term before it was overthrown, either by a coup d’état or allegations of corruption. In order to effectively complete their term in office, they have to set plans for development to advance the country and improve the overall situation.

The military and intelligence agencies, however, prevent the civilian government from establishing peace and prosperity for its citizens by fomenting conflict and instability among the nations in order to increase their own incomes.

Even on a global scale, when Pakistan’s position in regional events is significant, the United States or other major player nations will meet with the Pakistani army chief. The promotion of instability in the region immediately around Afghanistan, for example, serves two purposes: on the one hand, it attracts international contributors; on the other, it keeps the Pashtun tribes involved in battles and bloodshed.

The primary motivation for this objective is to maintain the status quo in the bordering tribal regions of Afghanistan, while also sending a message to nations in the region with an interest in the battle against terrorism. Pakistan’s armed forces want to utilise this excuse to get access to the anti-terror financing provided by the United States and other Western nations.

That the Pakistani military opposes worldwide recognition of the present Afghan government’s leader is illustrated by this fact. The stability of the region will benefit from the recognition of the Afghan caretaker government, and the Afghans may begin reaching out to the international community directly.

Because of this, many of Afghanistan’s neighbours are relieved that the focus is on Kabul rather than on them. Pakistan’s military, on the other hand, would prefer that Afghanistan remain either under sanctions so that Kabul becomes poor, and the Afghan market remains so depressed that Pakistani goods may be distributed there.

There was no bloodshed in the tribal regions throughout Imran Khan’s administration, and the civilian government strengthened its authority throughout the tribal areas. Furthermore, Khan publicly stated his opposition to military conflict. Even though the army was pressuring him, he still wanted Afghanistan to be at peace with its tribal inhabitants. The present generals of the country’s army have gained tremendous positions in the past 40 years, during which Afghanistan was at war and the funding of the conflict occurred through the military. This was detrimental to the interests of the Pakistani army.

Through this, the army’s top brass was able to amass enormous fortunes. From the day of the Soviet invasion to the end of the American invasion, Pakistani generals profited from the conflict in Afghanistan. Islamabad has fostered an environment favourable to a perpetual conflict in Kabul, which is necessary for these generals to reap the rewards of their efforts. In response, they deposed Imran Khan and established the Sharifs as leaders.

Since the Sharif family has military backing, they support the war, and were in power in the 1990s; after Dr. Najibullah’s government was overthrown, they disbanded the Afghan army on Burhanuddin Rabbani; in Kabul, they backed fighting between Mujahideen groups; and since the Taliban have taken over in Afghanistan, the Pakistani army has tried to overthrow Khan’s regime in Pakistan because it was opposed to the war,  and the Sharif family is in favour of war, and to lead the de facto government in Afghanistan towards a deadly course, reminiscent of the 1990s, within its top officials.

So that the money may flow to Islamabad, the Pakistani armed forces are attempting to wrest control of Afghanistan away from the Taliban caretaker government. That’s why, despite all its natural wealth, Pakistan remains a failing state. To avoid becoming a nation reliant on foreign financing, the crisis of transition and the emphasis on sustainable development might serve as an alternative. To top it all off, the military ought to promote order and stability rather than anarchy.

Hanan Habibzai

Investigative journalist and veteran of international reporting Hanan Habibzai has written extensively on the US invasion of Afghanistan, the collapse of the Taliban rule, and post-Taliban events, such as the emergence of militancy in the country.

After earning his Master of Arts in Global Journalism from Coventry University, Hanan began publishing articles about the conflict in Afghanistan and regional politics in various outlets. These include the BBC Afghan Stream, Pajhwok Afghan News, Reuter’s news agency, the Washington Post, Veterans Today, and other regional and international publications.

Hanan, fled Afghanistan in 2008. He attended Coventry University in the United Kingdom and graduated with a master’s degree in Global Journalism in 2011. Currently, Mr. Habibzai is a doctorate fellow in educational studies and educational leadership at Unicaf. He spent nearly a decade reporting from Afghanistan for the BBC and Reuters (2002 to 2009). Notably, he covered the invasion of Afghanistan and the fall of the Taliban government in 2001 for international media outlets.

From 2009 to 2013, he also worked as a journalist for Radio Free Europe out of London. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan when he was young necessitated a move to Pakistan. His years of hiding in hiding paid off when the United States spearheaded an invasion that drove him back to the United Kingdom.

As a journalist, he traversed the length and breadth of Afghanistan, seeing first-hand the widespread hunger and suffering of the Afghan people, especially women and children.

UK-based organisation Helping Orphans was established by Hanan Habibzai in 2016. He took charge of the organisation freely since he knew that helping others was his true calling. The orphans and the disadvantaged people of Afghanistan benefit from his charity’s sustainable development programmes, and he hopes to one day be financially independent.

hananhabibzai.com/