Do We Really Belong?
Dear Mr. Editor,
Does Pakistan really belong to a "South Asian community" as many pundits and theorists like to espouse?
As a Pakistani myself, my answer is no. Indeed, we do share an important part of our modern history with India. But this is as far as it goes. We really have very little in common in terms of geo-cultural ties with the rest of South Asia -- India, Bangladesh,Sri Lanka, and Nepal.
Geo-strategically speaking, Pakistan is a borderline state, stretching Indian subcontinent, Central Asia and the Middle East. We do have a common troubled history with India. But we also have binding cultural, racial, and historical ties with Central Asia and the Middle East -- the two regions that are Pakistan's natural extensions lending it its cultural and strategic depth.
This is a fact that Pakistan's defense and strategic affairs community is increasingly embracing the post-Cold War period. The current military-led government of Pakistan is also working to institutionalize its vision as part of Pakistan's 21st-century policy.
A publication like yours espouses a critical strategic view -- suspiciously received by many quarters in Islamabad -- of assimilating Pakistan in an Indian-led and dominated South Asia.
Islamabad, Pakistan