Why is Security Sector Reform (SSR) so critical for Pakistan? What are its SSR challenges how can these be addressed? Pakistan has suffered recurrent political upheavals and security threats that have undermined attempts to build strong democratic institutions. SSR efforts have been hindered by poor governance, by a lack of governance reform and accountability and by civilian regimes’ appeasement of the military. The unprecedented security pressures Pakistan now faces necessitate a more modern and broader approach to security sector governance. Political and economic stability needs to be established by developing and implementing an effective internal security strategy. This should involve ensuring the stringent accountability of Pakistan’s intelligence services and police force and changing their image.
Pakistan’s efforts to pursue SSR have been sparse and piecemeal, and Pakistan has remained focused on traditional security issues due to the magnitude of the conventional threats it faces. However, the country’s security environment has been subject to convulsive internal and external changes since 9/11 due to its pivotal role in the global war on terrorism (GWoT).
Pakistan’s biggest problem has been the repeated breakdown of democracy with its replacement by military rule. The prolonged effect of four martial regimes over 60 years has contributed to the near-collapse of Pakistan’s judicial, constitutional, and political institutions.
The security sector and governance agencies currently face their most serious internal and external challenges since 2007. Internally, the military has developed a pervasive role across government. The military has undertaken a range of civil administrative tasks effectively and the country is now dependant on this effectiveness. Externally, policies of appeasing external powers to gain domestic and international support have had drastic implications for the country. The security and security governance challenges facing Pakistan include:
- Gun-running, narcotics smuggling, organised crime, sectarianism and ethnic militancy, rooted in Pakistan’s support to the CIA-sponsored jihad in Afghanistan during the 1980s and now pervasive.
- Insurgency in Waziristan, political unrest in Balochistan, and widespread resentment against the government’s alliance with western forces resulting from Pakistan’s front-line role in the GWoT. The government is perceived as working against its own people.
- A crisis of the judiciary, with mass public action by lawyers and a repressive response by the authorities culminating in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007.
- Standstill in peace negotiations with India following the November 2008 terrorist attacks on Mumbai, for which India held Pakistan responsible. The Composite Dialogue Process between the two countries was resumed but progress is painfully slow.
The pressure on Pakistan’s security sector to protect the nation’s borders, people, and nuclear arsenal is unprecedented. The revival of an independent and impartial judiciary is essential. Further policy recommendations include:
- Continuing dialogue and confidence-building initiatives with India over nuclear weapons. Pakistan’s transparency on this issue and high level of command and control are considered to be exceptionally good.
- Reducing dependence on military involvement in civilian affairs and its direct involvement in politics. This must involve strengthening democratic institutions so that they will not be subservient to any one bloc.
- A focus on process in dealing with security sector governance. Pakistan’s problem is not lack of structures for reform of governance, but in corruption, abuse of power, and the fact that available resources are inadequately accessed.
