ABSTRACT
The sixth chapter directly addresses the central question of this book. In light of the evidence presented here, this chapter argues that Islamabad persisted with its military-centric national security state because it provides a privileged role to the Pakistani military elite in the state affairs. Since Pakistan’s independence in 1947, the perceived threat to national survival has enabled the country’s military elite to build a hyper-military-industrial complex in which the Pakistani military exercised overall economic and political control of the state. This military-industrial complex has played a major role in preventing any reform of the military’s self-serving national security state. However, this security approach has largely failed to adapt to the radically transformed security environment of the post-Cold War era. This failure to adapt has not only exacerbated external threats but also fuelled new internal insecurity problems and created something of an internal-external threat nexus facing Pakistan. Moreover, it has created political instability that led to weak civilian institutions, socio-economic problems, and a fragile democracy in the country.
