In social contract theory, John Locke opines that rights to life, liberty, and property are the fundamental promises that the sovereign state will ensure for the people. But the US-led western entities and India doesn’t leave any stone unturned in por­traying Pakistan as a fail­ing state or failed state, while negatively describ­ing it as a state full of internal problems such as poverty, terror­ism and corruption. They exagger­ate that the majority of the people of the country are sans food, medi­cation, sans shelter and education.

Occasional tensions from New Delhi in the east and a troubled Afghan border offer another chal­lenge in the west. Nevertheless, Pakistan’s armed forces and ISI have successfully broken the back­bone of the foreign-backed terror­ists. Peace has been restored in Balochistan and other vulnerable regions. Notably, India was open­ly opposing the CPEC and China’s OBOR or BRI; the US also joined New Delhi. Regarding some recent terror attacks which also include Balochistan, sources suggested that some militants of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is based in Afghanistan, have entered Pakistan from Afghanistan. While constant efforts are being made to completely isolate Pakistan as was evident from the attempt at putting Pakistan on the FATF grey list for a long time. But the coun­try came out of it successfully. Un­fortunately, what is harming Pak­istan is widespread corruption, weak institutions of accountabil­ity, criminalization of politics, dis­array among institutions and con­ventional personalized rule. It is noteworthy that since April 9, 2022, when the former Prime Min­ister Imran Khan and the Chairman of the PTI was ousted through the vote of a no-confidence motion, the then joint opposition-an alliance of the PDM, the country has been facing political instability which is rapidly worsening economic cri­sis. In this context, several undem­ocratic moves by both the PTI such as public protests and brutal crack­down of the present government against the PTI and the latter’s ‘Jail Bharo’ (court arrest) movement are further being manipulated by the country’s external enemies.

Both the PTI and PDM also held each other responsible for the present political instability and severe economic crisis. Khan re­mains firm on early elections while accusing PDM of using de­laying tactics. Now, the Supreme Court, Lahore High Court and Is­lamabad High Court are dealing with the date of elections, includ­ing other related matters. When governors of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa did not declare the date of elections amid delay from the Election Commission of Pak­istan, President Dr Arif Alvi on February 20, this year announced April 9, 2023, as the date for hold­ing polls in these two provinces. Now, the country is facing a consti­tutional crisis. Regrettably, under the cover of so-called democracy, some irresponsible leaders of the PTI and those of the ruling parties have changed their political differ­ences into political enmity. They have been rapidly registering cas­es and lodging FIRs against each other by ignoring the country’s multi-faceted crises and challeng­es—continued dependence upon the US-led developed countries for financial aid. Now, besides Imran Khan—Defence Minister Khawaja Asif of the PML-N on February 18, this year claimed that the country has defaulted—standing on one’s own feet was crucial for Pakistan to stabilise itself—the solution to our problems lies within the coun­try. The IMF does not have a solu­tion to Pakistan’s problems. Imran Khan and some analysts have re­peatedly opined that Pakistan will become Sri Lanka which has been facing severe political unrest and multiple economic crises after it was declared a default. Despite all of this, Pakistan is not close to total paralysis which will convert it into a failed state like Somalia.

It has a strong army that has suc­cessfully established the govern­ment’s writ all over the country despite difficulties. Undoubted­ly, apart from some US-led west­ern countries, including Israel and particularly India are waging a hybrid war against Pakistan. No­tably, Pakistan has an ideal stra­tegic location with the best to­pography—vast agricultural land which produces crops of various kinds, and precious minerals, es­pecially in Balochistan. The coun­try has skilled workers and man­power. And Pakistan’s all-weather friend China has already thwarted evil designs of the US-led entities who want to make our country a failed state, as Beijing has invest­ed billions of dollars in econom­ic terms, besides supporting Is­lamabad strategically with joint ventures, entailing defence of the country. Now, a new cold war has started. Meanwhile, a new bloc led by Russia, China, Turkey and Iran is emerging. Islamabad is likely to join this bloc instead of the Amer­ican-led bloc of the western coun­tries. Pakistan’s enigma is how it manages its political system. The answer can be found in its people, who hold the country together. They are undoubtedly driven by patriotism, which runs despite the nation’s divisions. So long as the society remains strong, Pakistan will never be a failed state.

Sajjad Shaukat
The writer focuses on international affairs and is the author of the book, “US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations”. He can be reached at sajjad_logic@yahoo.com