SecondSecond Khan MemorialMemorial Lecture

Re-imagining

Husain Haqqani Former Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States Director, South & Central Asia, Hudson Institute Washington D.C

Centre for MMAJ Academy of International Studies

The Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Memorial Lecture instituted by the Centre for Pakistan Studies, MMAJ Academy of International Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New in the memory of the legendary figure Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan is an initiative to propagate the values he stood for.

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, the great Pashtun leader is still remembered in for his role in the national movement. The values he stood for still remain relevant for contemporary times. Born in , North- West Frontier Province in 1890, he is known for his non-violent opposition to British rule during the final years of the Empire on the Indian sub-continent. In his early career, he wanted to uplift his fellow through the means of education. It was during his tireless work to organise and raise the consciousness of the Pashtuns that he came to be known as Badshah Khan, the ‘King of Chiefs.’

A lifelong pacifist and a follower of , he also came to be known as the ‘Frontier Gandhi.’ He was deeply influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence and forged a close, spiritual, and personal friendship with him. In 1929, he founded the (Servants of God) known as the Red Shirt Movement among the Pashtuns. The Khudai Khidmatgar was founded on a belief in the power of Gandhi’s notion of . It espoused non-violent nationalist agitation in support of Indian independence and sought to awaken the Pashtun’s political consciousness. His goal was a united, inde- pendent, secular India.

After the Partition of the sub-continent, due to his opposition to authoritarian rule, he spent most of his time in prison and exile. In 1956, in association with some of the East Pakistani leaders he founded the Na- tional Awami Party – which was banned in 1958. He was arrested and upon his release left for Afghanistan and returned to Pakistan only in 1972. He died in 1988 after a long illness.

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s political legacy is to be cherished. He is renowned amongst the Pashtuns and internationally as a leader of a non-violent movement. He is credited with his tireless advocacy of peace in the region. This great leader held no official post during his lifetime and worked tirelessly for the uplift- ment of his people. He was also a strong champion of women’s rights and education. He promoted educa- tion and social service through the work of the Khudai Khidmatgars.

He was an ardent believer in the common destiny of the people of both India and Pakistan. Apart from this, his commitment to democracy and non-violence made him a legendary South Asian to be celebrated de- spite the borders in contemporary South Asia.

In 1985, he was nominated for the Nobel peace prize and in 1987 he became the first non-citizen to be awarded India’s highest civilian award – the .

The inaugural Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Memorial lecture titled A Vision for Pakistan in the 21st Century was delivered by Mr. , President of the , Pakistan and the grandson of Badshah Khan. The Second Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Memorial lecture was delivered on 11th August 2014 by Ambassador Husain Haqqani, former Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States and Director, South and Central Asia, Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C. His lecture was titled Re-imagining Pakistan. The programme was chaired by Prof. Talat Ahmad, Vice Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia. 02 1

Second Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Memorial Lecture

wrote, adding, “A conceited young man in the audience kept on heckling him. But Gandhiji did not get angry; he just laughed and went on talk- ing. The young man interrupted again and again, but Gandhiji only laughed. This made a deep im- pression on me, and when I returned to my lodg- ing, I told my companions about it. ‘If only our Muslim leaders could remain as calm and unper- turbed as Gandhiji, the leader of the ,’ I said.”

According to Bacha Khan, he was put off by the haughty response of Maulana Mohammed Ali when he spoke to him about Gandhi’s patience t is an honour for me to be invited to deliver and self-control. “Mohammed Ali Saheb did not I the Second Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Memo- react as we had hoped he would. He became very rial Lecture at Jamia Millia Islamia. annoyed and said: ‘And who do you think you are, you Pathans from the back of beyond, to One of the great tragedies of the Partition of the come and tell me how to behave?’ Then he got sub-continent has been the development of sepa- up and left the room. We were very disappointed rate narratives of history in India and Pakistan, and hurt. After that I did not want to attend the which do not do justice to several great men. Khilafat Conference anymore.” Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan – or Badshah Khan or Bacha Khan, as he is lovingly known, is one of If the conceit of the Khilafat leadership brought them. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan close to Gandhi, his disappointment with the Muslim League made Just as most Indians know little about the early him an ally of the . contribution of , Quaid-e- Bacha Khan saw the British, and not other Indian Azam to Pakistanis, to the demand for self-rule in communities, as the enemy of the Pashtun people British India, most Pakistanis remain ill-informed he led. about the struggle of Bacha Khan against British imperialism. The Muslim League leaders did not confront the British during the course of the Second World Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was a towering figure War as they saw the British as protecting Mus- in Indian, and later Pakistani history. He spent lims “in order that they could fight the Hindus.” more years in prison for his beliefs than Nelson Mandela, first under British rule and later under By his own account, Bacha Khan’s Khudai Khid- dictatorships in Pakistan. Bacha Khan was pun- matgar Movement had not joined the Congress ished by the British for demanding freedom from until the Muslim League turned down its request foreign rule. After independence, he was pun- for support against the British. “Now we were ished in the new state of Pakistan for questioning desperate,” he wrote. “A drowning man has no its elites and their policies. choice but to catch any straw to save himself. We were very disappointed with the Muslim League. had embraced the philoso- So we asked our two friends to contact the Con- phy of non-violence. In his autobiography, he ex- gress leaders and request them to help us. In their plained how he saw Mahatma Gandhi at a Con- meeting with the Congress leaders our friends gress moot while attending a conference of the were told that the Congress would be prepared to in Calcutta and began to like give us all possible help, if we, from our side, him. “Gandhiji was addressing the meeting,” he would agree to join them in the struggle for the 03 2 Pakistan Studies Programme, Jamia Millia Islamia Centre for Pakistan Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia

freedom of India.” Bacha Khan, along with some other leaders like Bengal’s Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, opposed Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan became one of the the conjuring of this ‘ideology of Pakistan.’ He most influential Muslim leaders of the sub- had opposed Partition but after the Partition he continent who opposed the idea of Pakistan. Oth- said: “Now that the existence of Pakistan is a fact, ers included Maulana and Dr. and the Congress and the Muslim League have Zakir Husain, co-founder and Vice Chancellor of both accepted that fact, I only wish to serve my this University. Sixty-seven years later, when the country and my people, without asking for a share existence of Pakistan is a reality that cannot be in anything. My people are now loyal citizens of undone, it should be possible for us to objectively Pakistan and we will do our bit for the reconstruc- examine the arguments of Muslim opponents of tion and the progress of the country.” the Muslim League. But as he wrote himself, the “Pakistan Govern- Unfortunately, that has not been the case in Paki- ment was not impressed.” stan. The Pakistani establishment has evolved a particular narrative of what led to Pakistan’s crea- It accused Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan of disloy- tion and any discussion of it from a different per- alty to Pakistan. It is a tragedy that this great free- spective is treated, not as history but as an attack dom fighter spent more time in prison in the inde- on the country’s foundation. pendent state of Pakistan than he had even under British rule. After mobilising support for the demand for Paki- stan, and establishing it as an independent coun- According to Bacha Khan, “Though we did not try, successive Pakistani leaders have chosen to commit any crimes, the treatment the Pakistan keep alive the divisive frenzy that led to Partition. Government meted out to us from the very begin- If Pakistan was attained with the slogan ‘ in ning was more cruel, and more unjust than any- danger,’ it has been built on the slogan ‘Pakistan thing we had suffered under the rule of the for- in danger,’ creating a constant sense of insecurity eign infidels. The British never looted our homes, among its people. but the Islamic Government of Pakistan did. The British never had stopped us from holding public meetings or publishing newspapers, but the Is- 3

Second Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Memorial Lecture

his brings me to the topic of today’s lecture, T dedicated to the memory of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan. But first a word about why I chose ‘Re-imagining Pakistan’ as the theme for today’s presentation.

Almost every discussion of Pakistan, especially in India, inevitably tends to be about the logic and raison d’etre of the country’s creation.

The process of partitioning a sub-continent along religious lines did not prove as neat as Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah had anticipated. Mr. Jinnah was a lawyer who saw Partition as a lamic Government of Pakistan did both… I could solution to potential constitutional problems in an go on and on, but what is the use?” independent India.

In the end, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was as dis- In his first address to Pakistan’s Constituent As- appointed with the reality of Pakistan as he had sembly on 11 August 1947 – exactly 67 years ago been unsupportive of the idea of Pakistan. “I am today – Mr. Jinnah had said: afraid I do not entertain any friendly feelings for Pakistan,” he wrote in his autobiography. He con- I know there are people who do not quite agree tinued, “Pakistan was founded on hatred. She was with the division of India and the partition of born not of love but of hatred and she grew up on the Punjab and Bengal. Much has been said hatred, on malice, on spite and hostility. Pakistan against it, but now that it has been accepted, it is was created by the grace of the British in order the duty of every one of us to loyally abide by it that the Hindus and the Muslims might forever be and honourably act according to the agreement at war and forget that they were brothers. Pakistan which is now final and binding on all… One is unable to think in terms of peace and friend- can quite understand the feeling that exists be- tween the two communities wherever one com- ship. She wants to keep the Pakistani people un- munity is in majority and the other is in minor- der control by making them live in a nightmare of ity. But the question is, whether it was possible riots, assaults, and ‘holy’ war.” “My religion is or practicable to act otherwise than what has truth, love, and service to God and humanity,” been done. A division had to take place. On Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan emphasised. “Every both sides, in Hindustan and Pakistan, there are religion that has come into the world has brought sections of people who may not agree with it, the message of love and brotherhood. And those who may not like it; but in my judgement there who are indifferent to the welfare of their fellow- was no other solution, and I am sure future his- men, those whose hearts are empty of love, those tory will record its verdict in favour of it. And who do not know the meaning of brotherhood, what is more, it will be proved by actual experi- those who harbour hatred and resentment in their ence as we go on that it was the only solution of India’s constitutional problem. hearts, they do not know the meaning of relig- ion.” It is clear from Mr. Jinnah’s statement that he

only saw Partition as a constitutional way out of a I take this opportunity to salute the memory of political stalemate, as he saw it, and not the be- Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan – Bacha Khan – and ginning of a permanent state of hostility between his family and followers for keeping aloft the flag two countries or two nations. of a pluralist, tolerant, democratic Pakistan under difficult circumstances. This explains his expectation that India and Paki- * * * stan would live side by side “like the United 4

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States and Canada,” obviously with open borders, Benedict Anderson, in his book Imagined Com- free flow of ideas and free trade. It is also the rea- munities, defined a nation as “an imagined politi- son why the Quaid-e-Azam insisted that his Mala- cal community, imagined as both inherently lim- bar Hills house in Bombay be kept as it was so ited and sovereign.” According to Anderson, a that he could return to the city where he lived nation is a socially constructed community, joined most of his life after retiring as Governor-General by the imagination of people who perceive them- of Pakistan. selves as part of that group. Many writers, includ- ing Salman Rushdie, have argued that Pakistan We all know now that Partition and the birth of was “insufficiently imagined,” given the ambigui- Pakistan was not simply the end of an argument ties inherent in the demand for Pakistan. about constitutional options, as Mr. Jinnah had thought. The entire country was plunged into As a Pakistani born well after Partition, and who communal violence, hundreds of thousands of has known no other homeland, I understand much people from both sides were butchered and mil- of the critique of Pakistan. But I am unable to dis- lions had to flee their homes. pense with the idea of home and millions like me now know only Pakistan as their country. We are Instead of living as good neighbours like the willing to discuss its history objectively and chart United States and Canada, India and Pakistan a different future for Pakistan but for us Pakistan have gone on to become adversaries in a state of is our homeland, which we will defend and im- constant war, a situation that has not benefitted prove. either country but has damaged Pakistan even more. Pakistan’s median age today is 21, which means that 90 million of its 180 million inhabitants are The territory that constituted Pakistan was undi- less than 21 years old and have not seen either the vided India’s economic backyard and could not 1947 or the 1971 separation of immediately provide trained manpower to lead Bangladesh. For the sake of these young Paki- the new country’s administration or military. stanis, a re-imagining of Pakistan is needed, going While many Muslims migrated from India to beyond the bitterness of the 1947 Partition and Pakistan as a result of the violence that also drove the subsequent disasters inflicted upon Pakistanis Hindus and Sikhs out of Pakistan and Muslims by their own rulers and leaders. mainly out of Punjab, others moved to take ad- vantage of economic and employment opportuni- ties in the new country. For several years after independence, higher educated migrants from In- dia – Muhajirs, as opposed to sons of the soil – secured better jobs and higher positions in the new state of Pakistan.

Over the years, Pakistan evolved into an Islamist ideological state, a short-cut to resolving the com- plex inter-ethnic, social and economic dynamics among its peoples. After the loss of its eastern wing, which became Bangladesh in 1971, Paki- stan has been completely dominated by one ethnic group, the Punjabis, who tend to favour the ideo- logical model for Pakistan and are heavily repre- sented in the military, the media, and the bureauc- racy.

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Second Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Memorial Lecture

rom its inception Pakistan was seen as an F anachronism by many. It also assumed per- manent hostility from India whose leaders were opposed to Partition and had predicted the demise of the new nation. The dispute between the two nations over the Himalayan territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which remains unresolved to this day, enhanced Pakistan’s confrontation with In- dia. Unsure of their fledgling nation’s future, the politicians, civil servants and military officers who led Pakistan in its formative years decided to exacerbate the antagonism between Hindus and Muslims that had led to Partition.

Very soon after independence, “Islamic Pakistan” Pakistan, like any other nation, is not a monolith. was defining itself through the prism of resistance Its people have energy, talent and aspirations for a to “Hindu India.” The attitude of some in India good life like anyone else. Most foreign visitors helped create that binary. to Pakistan, including Indians, will tell you of our Short of resources and burdened by inheriting a hospitality, our warmth and the capabilities of large army, Pakistan also sought great power al- individual Pakistanis they meet. lies to help pay for the economic and military de- One can disagree over or even be agnostic about velopment of the new country. The Partition of whether the creation of the state of Pakistan in British India’s assets in 1947 had left Pakistan August 1947 was a tragedy or not. But there is no with one-third of the British Indian army and only doubt that the failure of Pakistanis to create a 17 per cent of its revenues. The military started more tolerant and democratic state and the diffi- out as the dominant institution in the new state, a cult reconciliation between India and Pakistan dominance it has perpetuated over the years. have proved catastrophic. After several years of exercising behind-the- Ever since their nation’s creation, Pakistanis have scenes influence, General assumed felt compelled to defend their nationhood and to power directly in 1958 and ruled through martial constantly define and re-define their identity. law. Three further direct military takeovers fol- Pakistan’s unfortunate history may justify the de- lowed. The military has directly or indirectly scription of Pakistan as being “insufficiently dominated Pakistani politics and set Pakistan’s imagined,” but imagination is by definition not a ideological and national security agenda since finite process. An entity that is insufficiently 1958. imagined can be re-imagined. Just as the imagina- tion “can falsify, demean, ridicule, caricature and Some scholars attribute Pakistan’s troubles to its wound,” it can also serve to “clarify, intensify and inception and the ambiguity about what it means unveil.” to be a Pakistani. In the words of one of them, “It is the country’s problematic and contested rela- Several Pakistanis are working, albeit with great tionship with Islam that has most decisively frus- difficulty, to re-imagine Pakistan as an inclusive, trated its quest for a coherent national identity and pluralist, democratic, modern state that works to- for stability as a nation-state capable of absorbing ward the well-being of its own people, instead of the challenges of its rich and diverse society.” being preoccupied with endlessly defining itself, especially in relation to its neighbours. The success of the Jihadi experiment against the Soviets in collaboration with the United States * * * 6

Centre for Pakistan Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia

The country’s most powerful institution, the mili- tary, is having to contend with several parallel insurgencies and is no longer able to fully ensure order or security. Islamist extremists have become sufficiently emboldened to attack the army head- quarters and major military installations. Al- though almost 36,695 Pakistanis have been killed by terrorists since 2008, both civilian and military leaders have yet to demonstrate resolve in con- fronting the challenge of terrorism.

Pakistan is strategically located at the crossroads of three significant regions: the Gulf, Central Asia and much of the non-communist world encour- and South Asia. It borders Iran, Afghanistan, aged Pakistan’s strategic planners to expand Ji- China and India, all of whom are important for had against India, and into post-Soviet Central different reasons. Pakistan’s economy is stagnant, Asia. Pakistan’s sponsorship of the in Af- its population is increasing rapidly, and its institu- ghanistan, and the presence on its territory of tions of state are too tied to a national ideology Islamist militants from all over the world, was the rooted in Islamist discourse to be able to address outcome of its desire to emerge as the centre of its multi-dimensional challenges. global Islamic resurgence. With terrorists trained in Pakistan showing up all Ironically, not all Pakistani leaders supporting this over and in places as far from one another strategy were motivated by religious fervour. In as Mali and Indonesia, Pakistan’s change of di- most cases, they simply embraced as a rection is now a global concern. International as- politico-military strategic doctrine that would en- sistance, especially from the United States and hance Pakistan’s prestige and position. some from China and Saudi Arabia, has brought Pakistan back from the brink in the past. But ris- The focus on building an ‘ideological state,’ how- ing Xenophobia and Islamo-nationalism — exhib- ever, has caused Pakistan to lag behind in almost ited prominently after the discovery of Osama bin all areas that define a functional modern state. At Laden in a Pakistani garrison town — make con- the moment the ‘insufficiently imagined’ Paki- tinued U.S support for Pakistan difficult. In recent stan, is the world’s only nuclear-armed Muslim years, China has also been restrained in its sup- country that has been described as slowly sliding port for Pakistan because of concerns over pres- towards state failure for at least the last two dec- ence of Uighur Jihadists. ades. It is no longer easy for Pakistan’s military or ci-

vilian elite to create a semblance of stability with As a Pakistani, it offends and worries me that the covert arrangements with the United States or rest of the world sees my state as being constantly with China. Distrust between the erstwhile allies on the brink of failure. I am not willing to retreat is at an all-time high. A Fox News Poll in 2012 into a shell and blame the rest of the world for showed that 74 per cent of Americans do not view asking tough questions about my country. I, along Pakistan as an ally and want to cut off all aid to with my other countrymen, want to find answers Pakistan. A recent Pew Poll showed Pakistani dis- to the world’s tough questions. The return of cha- approval of the United States at 59 per cent, com- otic democracy has exacerbated Pakistan’s ethnic, pared with 80 per cent with an unfavourable view religious and social divisions even as it has had of the U.S in 2012. The same poll shows that only the positive effect of giving its people a voice. 30 per cent of the Chinese people have a favour-

able view of Pakistan. Pakistan ranks among the 7

Second Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Memorial Lecture

countries least liked in the U.S in a Gallup Poll, nal factors has led to what may be described as alongside Iran and North Korea. ‘the Pakistan crisis.’

If the influence of Islamists in Pakistan continues Some scholars attribute the military’s continued to rise, it would most likely be increasingly adver- interest in political power to its institutional busi- sarial towards the U.S and the west. Islamist en- ness interests. Others offer more sympathetic thusiasm for creating an Islamic East Turkestan views of the military’s role, suggesting that Paki- would not sit well with China. This would only stan’s complex circumstances, rather than design, increase Pakistan’s isolation. have shaped Pakistan’s history including the mili- tary’s ascendancy. Most agree that the military In any case, Pakistan’s direction as a nation can- remains and is likely to remain the dominant pol- not and should not be determined by the U.S and icy-maker in Pakistan and is unlikely to easily other outsiders and the principal actors in this change its worldview. In all crucial areas, the role process would have to be Pakistanis. Pakistan has of Pakistan’s intelligence apparatus, principally faced a deep crisis of identity and suffers from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is significant chronically weak state institutions. Its fears about as the covert driver of Pakistani policy and any its viability and security have led it to seek alli- change in Pakistan’s direction would involve un- ance with the U.S on the one hand and to pursue a derstanding of the ISI’s objectives and methods. nuclear deterrent and sub-conventional military capability (i.e. Islamist terrorism) against India Pakistan’s deep state insists on defining Pakistani (and Afghanistan), on the other. nationalism narrowly and focuses on delegitimis- ing all those who offer alternative visions for the Despite the constant re-writing of constitutions, country as traitors. Its strength lies in creating the Pakistan is far from developing a consistent sys- illusion of virtual unanimity in Pakistan on criti- tem and form of government. Political polarisa- cal issues such as relations with India and Af- tion persists between Islamists and secularists, ghanistan, the role of Islam, and atti- between civilians and the military, and among tudes towards the rest of the world. different ethnic and political groups. Political fac- tions have often found it difficult to cooperate The disproportionate focus on ideology, military with each other, or to submit themselves to rule of capability and external alliances has weakened law, often with the aid of a military intelligence Pakistan internally. One element of national apparatus that plays a behind-the-scenes role in power – the military one – has been developed at exaggerating political divisions to justify military the cost of all other elements of national power. intervention. The country’s institutions, ranging from schools and universities to the judiciary, are in a state of Pakistan’s military, which dominates the Paki- stani state even in the presence of an elected gov- ernment, has developed a policy tripod that in- cludes emphasis on Islam as a national unifier, hostility towards India as the principal foreign policy objective and an alliance with the U.S that helps defray the costs of Pakistan’s massive mili- tary expenditures. These policy precepts encour- age extremist Islamism and obstruct Pakistan’s evolution as a normally functioning state. Paki- stan’s pursuit of strategic objectives dispropor- tionate to its capacity has been inadvertently en- couraged by its alliance with the U.S. This con- vergence of potential internal collapse and exter- 8

Centre for Pakistan Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia

general decline. The economy’s stuttering growth is dependent largely on the flow of concessional flows of external resources. Pakistan’s GDP stands at $ 222 billion in absolute terms and $ 547 billion in purchasing price parity – the smallest economy of any country that has so far tested nu- clear weapons.

Pakistan today suffers from massive urban unem- ployment, rural under-employment, illiteracy and low per capita income. Twenty-two per cent of the population lives below the poverty line and another twenty-one per cent lives just above it, resulting in almost half the people of Pakistan be- ing very poor. It is little comfort for Pakistanis growth rate of 1.5 per cent, Pakistan needs for- living in poverty when they are told that poverty eign as well as domestic investment in addition to across the border in India or Afghanistan is even drastic changes in local laws all of which need starker. Soon after independence, 16.4 per cent of broad political consensus and stability both of Pakistan’s population was literate compared with which are lacking. 18.3 per cent of the much larger population in In- With almost 40 per cent of its population urban- dia. For almost fifteen years, Pakistan made no ised the government spends around 2.6 per cent allocation for literacy in its national budget. By on public healthcare. As a result social services 2011, India had managed to attain 74.04 per cent are also in a state of decline. On the other hand, literacy while Pakistan’s literacy rate stood at Pakistan spends almost 6 per cent of its GDP on around 55 per cent. What was a 2 per cent differ- defence and is still unable to match the conven- ence in literacy rates has expanded into a 20 per tional forces of India, which outspends Pakistan 3 cent difference in 67 years. In 2009, Pakistan al- to 1 while allocating less than 3 per cent of GDP located 2.7 per cent of its budget for education to military spending. and the school life expectancy in Pakistan is seven years. A staggering 38 per cent of Paki- Over the decades, Pakistan has managed to evade stanis between the school-going age of five and crises and failure status primarily because the in- fifteen are completely out of school. ternational community has bailed out Pakistan.

With a population of 180-190 million out of There is an alternative vision of Pakistan as a plu- which 60 per cent fall in the working age category ralist, multi-ethnic, modern democratic Muslim of 15-64 and another 35 per cent under 14 years state functioning under rule of law for the mate- of age, Pakistan has a demographic dividend rial well-being of all its citizens. which can also turn into a demographic night- mare. The low literacy rate and inadequate invest- But in recent years, those articulating or support- ment in education has led to a decline in Paki- ing this alternative vision have been marginalised stan’s technological base, which in turn hampers as a result of the dominance of Pakistan’s national economic modernisation. Textiles are the coun- discourse by Islamists and Islamo-nationalists. try’s major industry but despite being a major cot- Re-imagining Pakistan involves changing the na- ton-producing nation, Pakistan has been unable to ture of the Pakistani state, from an ideological become a leader in value-added textile products. Islamic one to a state that is pragmatic in defining its national interest and functional in attaining it. With one of the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios in the The first step in re-imagining Pakistan would be world of around 9 per cent, a GDP growth rate to abandon the narrow ideological paradigm of ranging between 1.7-2.4 per cent and population Pakistani nationalism. Pakistan is here to stay and 9

Second Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Memorial Lecture

no one in the world wants it dismembered if it “We are Pakistanis because our forebears re- functions effectively as a responsible international solved to create an ” – will help member. Armed with nuclear weapons Pakistan change the milieu in which various Islamist ex- does not need to live in fear or insecurity. The tremist and Jihadi groups recruit and operate in state of insecurity fostered in Pakistan is psycho- Pakistan. logical and should now be replaced with a logical self-confidence. Once the state has resolved to end support to all Jihadis and is reconciled to a pluralist Pakistan Once pluralism and secularism are no longer dirty open to multiple visions for the country’s future, words in my country, and all national discussions extremists would have to contend for Pakistani need not be framed within the confines of an hearts and minds rather than having a captive fol- Islamist ideology, it will become easier for Paki- lowing generated by a national narrative taught in stan to tackle the Jihadi menace. It goes without schools and promoted by the national media. saying that there should be no support from the state for any militant Jihadi group based on false Pakistan must also overcome archaic notions of strategic premises. Jihadi terrorism is now a national security. Instead of viewing ourselves as threat to Pakistan and must be eliminated for a ‘warrior nation’ we should see ourselves as a Pakistan’s sake. ‘trading nation’ that can take advantage of our location for economic purposes. Pakistan could The shift away from ideological nationalism to easily be the trans-shipment route for goods and functional nationalism – “We are Pakistanis be- services between India, the Middle East and Cen- cause we were born in Pakistan” as opposed to tral Asia. It could have oil and gas pipelines run- ning through it, with attending benefits. India and Afghanistan would be major trading partners in- stead of being viewed as permanent enemies or strategic threats. High literacy, global connec- tivity, increased agricultural and industrial pro- ductivity, and a prosperous citizenry would be the goals of the state in a re-imagined Pakistan.

These objectives would replace Pan-Islamism, Jihadism, and pursuit of parity with India and strategic depth which have been Pakistan’s unat- tained ambitions of the past.

Only by re-imagining itself can Pakistan find peace with itself and its neighbours and stop be- ing viewed by the rest of the world as a troubled state, a failing state or a crisis state.

I wish and pray that this process of re-imagination can overtake the tide of extremism and intoler- ance which is currently sweeping my country.

Thank you!

[All quotes attributed to Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan are from Abdul Ghaffar Khan, K. B. Narang and Helen H. Bou- man, My Life and Struggle: Autobiography of Badshah Khan (Delhi: Hind Pocket, 1969)] Second Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Memorial Lecture

About the Centre for Pakistan Studies

The Centre for Pakistan Studies, at the MMAJ Academy of Interna- tional Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi was established as a programme in 2004. It was upgraded to a Centre in April 2014.

Pakistan is not only India’s most important neighbour and im- pinges heavily on India’s national consciousness and security but also is an interesting case study of political development in South Asia. Its internal social, economic and political dynamics are complex. Its attempt to create a national identity, social cohesion and uneven economic development are reflective of the prob- lems faced by many of the Third World countries. Pakistan’s en- gagement with Islam and ideology, civil-military relations, its strategic ambitions and regional policies present interesting challenges to scholarship. Despite a shared history, cultural and linguistic heritage, Pakistan is also one of the most difficult secu- rity challenges for India. Pakistan is not only of interest to schol- ars but also policy makers. The Centre for Pakistan Studies hopes to not only promote a greater understanding of Pakistan but also inform public policy. The Centre encourages interdisciplinary re- search focusing on history, sociology, contemporary politics, trade and economics, geopolitics, security and foreign policy and also popular culture and literature of Pakistan.

The objectives of the Centre for Pakistan Studies are to: • Promote Indian understanding of Pakistan in historical and contemporary perspectives. • Develop scholarship, build capacity and expertise on Pakistan. • Stimulate debate in public domain in India for policy-making. • Network with similar institutions. • Publish regular research findings.

The Centre for Pakistan Studies offers the following three op- tional courses in the M. Phil programme: Political Development and Foreign Policy of Pakistan; State and Civil Society in Pakistan; and Military and Politics in Pakistan. In the last few years, the Centre has organised several seminars, panel discussions, round- tables, guest lectures by scholars and other eminent personali- ties from Pakistan to develop a greater understanding of the re- gion and Pakistan.

The coordinator of the Centre is Prof. Ajay Darshan Behera.

Centre for Pakistan Studies MMAJ Academy of International Studies Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi 110025

URL: http://www.jmi.ac.in