London, Penguin Books 2012 (ISBN 978-0-141-03824-7), 566pp
Sometimes we read a book to acquire information or to find answers to the questions which have already occupied our minds. In my experience, this was a book which not only provided me with a massive amount of evidence on Pakistan, but also helped to answer many questions which I had.
There is a massive amount of evidence gathered through observations along with hundreds of interviews with politicians, military officers, police and different authorities, as well as lay people from different walks of life and street gossip. This is a remarkably rich piece of work not only for political scientists, but also for sociologists and anthropologists. Presenting a detailed picture of the country, descriptively, analytically and critically, is beyond the simple work of an outside observer. The close relationship the author had developed in the long period not just as a journalist but also through his ancestral connections to the colonial institutions, has allowed him to open many gates closed to others and to dig deeply for many untold stories from the past.
The author has moved away from a common sense and conventional assessment of Pakistan issues. He has strongly challenged the well established thesis of “failed state” regarding Pakistan and uncovered further dimensions of the country’s complex political and social issues. This is very different from other influential works on Pakistan such as Tariq Ali’s work (1983), which had questioned the survival of Pakistan in the post Bangladesh era. Rashid Ahmad’s work about Pakistan on the brink (2013) is another work on a similar topic.
Lieven has covered many important aspects of Pakistan’s history, religion, military and power structure as well as provincial roles in the Federal system. The chapter on the military is interesting in many ways because the military has always been at the centre of discussions on Pakistan.
Based on the observations, interviews, and intensive personal contacts the author had with military officers and politicians, it is suggested that the Pakistani military is by far the most modern, most efficient and least corrupt organisation in Pakistan. By using a huge part of the budget and facilities, the officers’ morale is boosted and they proudly identify themselves as Pakistanis. Pakistani nationalism, to them, is based on faith in Islam and hostility towards to India.
For many in Pakistan, Lieven argues, the army is Pakistan and Pakistan is the army, which is standing far away from society in clean and highly organised cantonments. He quotes Voltaire’s comment on Prussia that states have armies, but Pakistan’s army has a state. According to the author, the structure of the Army is too complex to be associated with Punjab alone, as it was inherited from the British tradition that focused on the Punjab and Pashtun areas for conscription. Of all well-known Pakistani military rulers, only Ziaul Haq was from Punjab, while others were either from Pashtuns or Mohajers.
Regarding ISI the author suggests that ISI had established itself as a strategically formidable organisation during the Jihad in Afghanistan and considered by many as the eyes and brain of the Army. There are some conflicts between the Army and ISI but ISI has a very crucial role in strategic decisions made regarding Afghanistan, India and Islamic insurgents in Pakistan.
The author believes that in spite of suggestions made by Pakistani and Western analysts, the difference between civilian and military regimes has been very small and the state, regardless of whoever claims to rule it, has been weak. However, the society in its various forms has been strong (Lieven, 2012, p. 12). This strong society is seen in form of kinship networks which are the main subject of loyalty for local people. In the context of weak and corrupt state institutions, and oppressive and violent police, these networks are strong and in turn weaken the state further. Therefore, the local bosses are the main source of protection for the local communities.
According to the author, the most modern organisation which is not based on kin relationships is the Army. The modern political organisations have roots in Mohajer communities, mainly the Jama’at Islami and Mohajer Qawmi Movement (MQM), which is an autocratic and disciplined organisation. Other political organisations are based on dynastic and kinship relations and lack modern structures and professional cadres.
Although Pakistan has used Islam to define its nationalism, there are diverse religions in Pakistan. The Islamists have failed to build large political parties in Pakistan and the support they have received throughout the history of Pakistan, has been very limited. The role of the saints (pirs) have been very powerful in society, and to some extent dominated Pakistan’s politics. In many respects the boundaries between Sufism and Shi’ism, in Pakistan, are unclear. Most militant Islamic groups such as Taliban Pakistan are growing because of widespread distrust of the Pakistani state for the unjust, corrupt and inefficient system. For that reason the people, who even dislike the Taliban, argue that Taliban justice is better than being under the Pakistani system. But it seems that the Islamists, particularly Laskar-e Taiba, similar to Taliban in Afghanistan have been great assets for Pakistan. The military and ISI have used the Islamic groups as instruments to undermine separatists.
The author has paid attention to federal units in order to explain the main features of each area including Punjab, Sind, the Pattans, and Balochistan in greater depth. These chapters are also very interesting because they reveal different aspects of economy, political structures and weight of each province in Pakistan. While Punjab is the most populous, prosperous, and most economically advanced area, according to the author, its dominance over other areas has been exaggerated by the smaller and weaker ethnic groups.
If we summarise Lieven’s (2012) views on Pakistan, then we may choose this sentence:
Pakistan is divided, disorganised, economically backward, corrupt, violent, unjust, often savagely oppressive towards the poor and women, and home to extremely dangerous forms of extremism and terrorism- ‘and yet it moves’, and is in many ways surprisingly tough and resilient as a state and a society. It is also not quite as unequal as it looks from outside. (p. 4)
From any perspective we judge, tthis is an excellent work. However, the author sometimes becomes too close to the whole phenomenon of Pakistan, and is unable to distance himself enough from images that the Pakistani Army and Pakistani officials may create. This position sometimes makes him less enthusiastic to look at the problems from other perspectives and see the whole picture of contradictions, failure and oppression; for example, in Balochistan, where there is a big challenge for the Pakistani army currently.
References
Ali, T. (1983). Can Pakistan survive?: The death of a state. Pelican Books.
Rashid, A. (2013). Pakistan on the brink: The future of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the West. Penguin Books.
