Implications of Pakistan’s India-centric Security Policy

Pakistan’s security policy is defined, articulated and implemented by the country’s army. This is a problem at many levels, mostly because the security policy history is full of shortsighted mistakes, delusional adventurism, and a narrowly defined concept of national interest. Pakistan’s reputation as an exporter and facilitator of terrorism is mostly in line with the Pakistani state’s historical actions. In order for Pakistan to function as a stable, democratic and constitutional state, it would have to change the way it imagines itself and its role in the world at large. But the Pakistani military is not going to hand its monopoly over security policy to anyone in the foreseeable future, because the military mind has proven itself to be largely incapable of doing this. This has serious implications for India.