Significance of Pakistan

 

Peter the Great died fifty-one years before the birth of the United States. In his much-talked-about will- Le testament de Pierre le Grand, Peter advised his successors: 

“Approach as near as possible to Constantinople and India. Whoever governs there will be the true sovereign of the world. Consequently, excite continual wars, not only in Turkey, but also in Persia and, in the decadence of Persia, penetrate through the Persian Gulf as far as India”. When Peter the Great referred to India, he had in mind, like Alexander the Great and the ancient Greeks, the land now known as Pakistan. 

His troops advanced into Punjab, where they were confronted by Porus, the region’s king. Alexander defeated Porus and the Pauravas during the Battle of Hydaspes (Modern Jhelum, 127 km from Islamabad-Pakistan’s capital) but that engagement was possibly the Macedonians' most costly battle. Alexander continued his eastward march. His troops, increasingly exhausted, homesick, and anxious by the prospects of having to enter uncharted waters, mutinied at the Hyphasis (Beas)River, refusing to advance his push further to the east. Hyphasis roughly forms the boundary between present-day Pakistan and India. 

 The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is located in South Asia. With a population of over 241.5 million, it is the fifth most populous country in the world. Islamabad is the nation's capital, while Karachi is its largest city and financial centre. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country in the world by area, and the second-largest in South Asia. Bounded by the Arabian Sea on the south, the Gulf of Oman on the southwest, and the Sir Creek on the southeast, it shares land borders with India to the east; Afghanistan to the west; Iran to the southwest; and China to the northeast. It shares a maritime border with India and in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman, respectively. To the northwest, Pakistan is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor. 

Pakistan’s strategic importance lies in its geographical location at the intersection of South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East. It shares borders with important nations, including Afghanistan, China, India, and Iran, making it a pivotal player in regional stability, trade routes, and global power dynamics, particularly in matters of security and energy interests.

 Pakistan’s geographical location acts as a bridge connecting the South Asian subcontinent with Central Asia. This geographic linkage plays an important role in trade, energy, and connectivity routes. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a prime example of this significance, as it connects the Chinese city of Kashgar to Pakistan’s Gwadar Port, providing China access to the Arabian Sea and, subsequently, the Indian Ocean. 

Pakistan is also the only nuclear power in the Muslim world, with around 100 nuclear bombs in its arsenal. Pakistan’s quest for the bomb started after the 1971 War with India which resulted in the emergence of Pakistan’s eastern wing as the sovereign Bangladesh. The 1971 war was caused due to a power struggle between the Awami League, the Army, and the Peoples Party. This power struggle degenerated into a civil war, which was exploited by India to dismember Pakistan. After WWII, Pakistan was the only country that was dismembered through armed aggression. 

Pakistan has added importance to the multicultural and pluralistic societies of the US and Europe for being the only country in South Asia that solidly stood with the West during the Cold War. This happened when countries like India were” sitting on the fence” hobnobbing with the erstwhile Soviet Union. Despite stumbling through the minefield of political instability for most of its 76 years of existence, Pakistan is a fragile yet functioning democracy. Although it has miserably failed to nurture a democratic culture, Pakistan is better than the theocratic regimes of Afghanistan, Iran, and the Gulf states. 

 Pakistan also holds greater promise and acceptance than the secular yet authoritarian regimes of Central Asia, governed by the ex-communist party bosses, that came into existence after the unraveling of the Soviet Union in the summer of 1991. Also, despite having close relations with China after getting rebuffed by the US at the fag- end of Ayub Khan’s rule (1958-1969), Pakistan, through the last half a century, kept itself close to the democratic ideals of the West. 

According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Pakistan has the 6th largest diaspora in the world. The Ministry of Emigration and Overseas Employment data, released in 2023, tells that more than 10.80 million people have moved abroad since 1990. The vast majority, over 4.7 million, reside in the Middle East. The second-largest community, at around 1.2 million, lives in the United Kingdom, followed by the United States (especially New York City, Chicago, and New Jersey) in third place. This is a growing diaspora that provides a vast array of services to their host countries. 

 Pakistan is an English-speaking country where English is the second and, de facto, the official language. It is also the language of business and higher education. What happens in Pakistan impacts the region that stretches between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean