ABSTRACT
Pakistan is a plural society in terms of both ethnic and religious variety. Its record of political management of pluralism has been at best mixed and in general far from satisfactory. The efforts of the ruling elite for bringing about a consensus on the rules of game have collapsed several times. It is true that India represents pluralism at a much larger scale and has been able to keep a modicum of democracy in place for half a century. On the other hand, Pakistan has suffered through a lingering crisis of civil-military relations, which adversely affected the agenda for national integration. The military’s overt and covert role in the business of the state has cultivated a spirit of intolerance for sub-national identities.
