ABSTRACT
The basic premise of this chapter is that Pakistan, dealing with plethora of political and socio-economic challenges, faces the necessity to reframe its historically inherited objectives to emerge as a modern state, capable of managing the existing and forthcoming problems. A major shift in domestic and international policies is necessary if Pakistan wants to enhance the chances to upgrade its position in the regional security landscape and improve its international image, tarnished by support for the jihādist proxies. The army-mullah nexus and compliant politicians nurture the ideology of the two-nation theory, which serves as a core pillar of Pakistan's unrelenting territorial revisionism. As a result, over seven decades after the state's inception, Pakistan is still immersed in the resource-consuming quest of controlling Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (IaJK). The key stakeholders acting as the self-proclaimed ‘guardians’ of Pakistan's national interests, successfully undermine the role of progressive politicians and civil society. Meanwhile, Pakistan needs professional tackling of multi-dimensional problems: dealing with radicalisation, energy crisis, poverty, providing quality education with equal access, and developing innovation-oriented economy, with support for Pakistani companies, in order to boost employment rate and development.
The uncertain status of PaJK (Pakistani-administered Jammu and Kashmir) needs to be properly addressed, as it results in temporary provisions, underpins the political and socio-economic ambiguity, and gives an exclusive opportunity to the authorities to uphold centralised control and repressive policies in these regions.
