The ‘Know Your Region’ series is designed to support unit and individual professional military education on the Indo-Pacific region. It’s important for all serving members of our military to have a foundational knowledge of the countries and issues in the Indo-Pacific.

One this page:

  • Summary
  • Politics
  • Diplomacy
  • Pakistan and its Neighbours
    • India
    • Afghanistan
    • China
    • Iran
  • Pakistan and Australia
  • International forums

Political history

Pakistan gained independence on 14th August 1947. The creation of Pakistan was based on Muslim nationalism, although Pakistan's founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, envisioned the country to be a relatively secular state in which minority and woman’s rights were upheld. Pakistan was formed at a time when regionalism and federalism plagued the country's provinces and there was little unity.

After independence, Liaquat Ali Khan became the first Prime Minister and Muhammad Jinnah became the first Governor-General. The newly formed Pakistan consisted of two territories, West-Pakistan and East-Pakistan, with India in the middle. The government immediately faced serious challenges. Just two months following independence, the first Indo-Pakistani war began in the Princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. In January 1949, the conflict was eventually settled with the assistance of the United Nations. Both sides agreed to a ceasefire line, a withdrawal of troops and a plebiscite to record the will of the people. However, almost immediately after signing the agreement, hostilities resumed, and the plebiscite was never held.

In the early days, Jinnah and Khan did the groundbreaking work of developing Pakistan’s foreign policy and writing the country’s first constitution. While the new government was determined to stay neutral during the Cold War, visiting the US before Russia proved to be a fateful decision that would damage Pakistan’s relationship with Moscow for years to come.

In 1948, after serving less than two years as the leader of Pakistan, Jinnah died of tuberculosis. Two years later in 1951, after surviving an attempted coup, Khan was shot dead by an Afghan militant for unknown reasons. He was posthumously given the title Shaheed-e-Milat ('Martyr of the Nation') and is honoured as one of Pakistan's greatest prime ministers.

In 1956, Iskandar Ali Mirza became the country’s first president under a newly formed constitution. His presidency, however, was marred by political instability which led to the dismissal of four prime ministers in only two years. Unable to gain the necessary endorsement to continue his rule, Mirza suspended the constitution and imposed martial law against his own party’s administration. He enforced this through his army commander General Ayub Khan who then dismissed him 13 days later and assumed the presidency himself. Mirza’s actions greatly weakened Pakistan’s democratic institutions, which would haunt the country for decades to come.

President Khan formed a military alliance with the United States, and in 1963 started a second offensive operation in Kashmir to claim Indian controlled territory. The conflict eventually ended with little accomplished. Both countries, fearful of an all-out war, began to pursue a nuclear weapons program to protect themselves against a devastating attack. Khan is best known for kickstarting the country's development by privatising state-owned industries, liberalising the economy, and building hydro-electric stations and reservoirs that massively expanded agricultural production. Pakistan was also a leader in the space race, launching an unmanned space mission in 1962.

Despite his government’s many successes, failing to address unfair tax rules and addressing growing elitism led to social discontent. Although he won a second term in 1965; by 1967, the rising cost of food saw mass demonstrations across the country and in 1969 he resigned, handing over the reins to his junior Commander-in-Chief, Army General Yahya Khan. To this day, Ayub Khan remains the country's longest-serving president and second-longest serving head of state.

On 26th of March 1971, East Pakistan claimed independence. This led to a brutal crackdown by the Pakistani central government on Bengali dissenters, later referred to as the Bangladesh Genocide. After intense fighting, the Pakistan Armed Forces eventually surrendered to the Bangladesh-India liberation forces, and up to 93,000 Pakistani soldiers and officers became POWs, the largest since World War II. The official war ended in just under nine months on December 16, 1971, with Pakistan defeated and losing its eastern part, which is now Bangladesh.

Shortly after the conflict ended, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) became the next president and imposed emergency rule. His government drafted the current constitution of Pakistan in 1973, after which he transitioned to the prime minister's office. During the early 1970s, the country was on the brink of civil war with several nationalist movements – the largest being in Balochistan province. While the Pakistan military gained control, ideological schisms caused splinter groups to form and steadily gain momentum. In addition to transitioning Pakistan to a Parliamentary democracy, Bhutto is also famous for rapidly advancing the country’s nuclear weapons program.

In the lead up to the 1977 elections, Islamic religious scholar, Maulana Maududi began to advocate for the Bhutto government to be overthrown. Encouraged and supported by Maududi and other hardline religious leaders, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq staged a coup against Bhutto, of whom he had once been a loyal supporter. Bhutto was later controversially executed in 1979. Under Zia's military dictatorship, strict Islamic law was imposed, military spending outpaced development spending, and most forms of western culture were suppressed.

Democracy returned once again in 1988 with general elections held after President Zia’s death. The PPP was returned to power and Benazir Bhutto – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s daughter – became the first female prime minister as well as the first female head of government in a Muslim-majority country. American sanctions against Pakistan were already hurting the economy when the situation worsened with the state currency losing a currency war with India. Pakistan entered a period of stagflation, and Bhutto’s government was dismissed after only 20 months by the conservative president Ghulam Ishaq Khan, who supported Nawaz Sherif and his 'Islamic Democratic Alliance (IJI) government.

Benazir Bhutto returned as prime minister in 1993 for a second term, with a pledge to oversee economic privatisation and the advancement of women's rights. She later lost the 1997 elections and went into self-imposed exile following multiple corruption charges. In 2007 she returned to Pakistan and initiated a third bid for office but was assassinated before the election. Her death sparked riots across the country. While al-Qaeda was suspected of planning the attack, others thought the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence may have been involved.

The president at the time of Bhutto’s death was Pervez Musharraf. He was also the commander of the military which he used to impose martial law. Under his presidency, the middle class expanded; however, democracy and the rule of law was undermined. Public dissenters were harshly punished, women and minorities continued to be heavily discriminated by state policies, and religious fundamentalism increased. He was succeeded in 2008 by Bhutto’s husband, president Asif Ali Zardari, and prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. Both leaders were controversial – Zardari was facing a string of corruption and money laundering charges at home and abroad, and Gillani had recently been released from a six-year jail term, also on corruption charges.

The country suffered an economic crisis in 2010 after devastating floods caused widespread damage. The government was forced to slash spending and secure loans from friendly countries to keep the country afloat. In 2013, Pakistan and China signed several agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) including the long-term China–Pakistan Economic Corridor plan, maritime cooperation and satellite navigation. Although corruption charges continued to mar his presidency, Zardari would become the first elected president in Pakistan to complete his tenure in September 2013.

His successor, Mamnoon Hussain from the PML-N, is one of the few presidents not embroiled by controversy. In 2017 Hussain blasted the leadership of his own party, saying that the government had taken a loan of PKR 14,800 billion but no new schools or hospitals had been built.

Arif Alvi became the 13th president in 2018 and remained in office until 2024. On 3 April 2022, he dissolved the National Assembly of Pakistan on the advice of then Prime Minister Imran Khan to prevent a no confidence vote that intended to remove Khan from the office of PM. The assembly was eventually reinstated, Khan was removed, and Shehbaz Sharif (Nawaz Sherif’s younger brother) became the new Prime Minister. In May 2023, Khan was arrested and sentenced to a lengthy jail term on corruption charges which he claimed were politically motivated.

In 2024, Zardari was elected for a second term as president with Shehbaz Sherif as prime minister.

Politics

Pakistan is a federal parliamentary republic in which provincial governments enjoy a high degree of autonomy and residual powers. Executive power lies with the national cabinet which is headed by the prime minister. He works with the bicameral parliament and the judiciary. Stipulations set by the constitution provide a delicate check and balance of power-sharing between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the government.

The head of state is the president and is chosen by the electoral college for a five-year term. The president was a significant authority until the 18th amendment passed in 2010, which stripped the presidency of most of its powers. Since then, Pakistan has shifted from a semi-presidential system to a purely parliamentary government.

Pakistan is a multiparty democracy, where several political parties compete for seats in the national and provincial assemblies. In the aftermath of the Fall of Dhaka in 1971, a two-party system developed between the PPP and the PML-N with several minor parties.

Pakistan Law

Pakistan's legal system is a combination of Islamic law, common law, and statutory law. The 1973 Constitution of Pakistan serves as the supreme legal document, outlining fundamental rights, the structure of government, and the framework for law-making. The judiciary is independent and includes the supreme court, high courts, and lower courts. While the legal framework incorporates elements of Sharia, especially in matters of family law and personal status, the application of laws can vary significantly based on regional practices and interpretations.

Politics and the Military

The Pakistan Armed Forces have historically played an influential role in the country's politics, with three major coups between 1950 and 2000. Although efforts have been made to separate military and political powers, they both continue to influence each other. In a recent example, Prime Minister Imran Khan gained the prime ministership in 2018 with the backing of the military but was subsequently removed from power in 2022 after losing that support. The military’s longstanding involvement in politics has in part eroded the people’s trust in government institutions. 

Diplomacy 

Pakistan has extensive trade relations with the European Union and with many countries globally. As of 2023, Pakistan does not recognize two other United Nations member states (Armenia and Israel) and its ties with India have remained frozen since 2019.

Pakistan and India

Pakistan-India relations are complicated by a mix of historical grievances, territorial disputes, and cultural ties. The core issues stem from the partition of British India in 1947, which led to the creation of Pakistan and India, and the ensuing conflict over the Kashmir region. Periodic skirmishes and wars, notably in 1947, 1965, and 1999, have heightened tensions, while numerous attempts at dialogue have often faltered due to political instability and mutual distrust. Despite these challenges, people-to-people connections, cultural exchanges, and economic ties offer glimpses of potential peace. In recent years, ongoing dialogue on trade and security has been complicated by incidents of violence and nationalist rhetoric, leaving the future of the relationship uncertain.

Pakistan and China

China is the only neighbouring country where the relationship has been very positive, with both countries sharing geopolitical interests. China has been Pakistan's most reliable ally, particularly with military and defence collaboration. Economically, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has significantly strengthened ties by bringing billions of dollars in investment to Pakistan’s infrastructure, energy, and transportation sectors. Politically, both nations support each other on key international issues, with China backing Pakistan on Kashmir, and Pakistan supporting China’s stance on Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang.

Pakistan and Afghanistan

Pakistan-Afghanistan relations have been relatively hostile. Afghanistan has never recognised the Durant Line that separates both countries and has laid claim to Pakistani territory based on historical tribal boundaries. The border, which crosses a vast mountain range, is porous and allows for significant people movement. This is especially true in times of conflicts, where refugees and militant groups seem to move relatively freely back and forth.

On occasion, Pakistan has been accused of playing a double game in Afghanistan, supporting various factions to exert influence while battling its own insurgency. Efforts at collaboration, especially in trade and counterterrorism, have been undermined by accusations of collusion with militant groups. The rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan and their return to power in 2021 further complicated the relationship. In 2023, Pakistan accused the Taliban of supporting terrorist attacks on their territory and has engaged the US for counterterrorism assistance.

Pakistan became a key ally of the US during Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan by providing support to Afghan mujahideen groups. This alliance bolstered Pakistan's influence in the region; however, it also contributed to the rise of various militant factions, including the Taliban. Following the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, Pakistan found itself in a complex position, balancing its support for the Taliban while cooperating with the U.S. in counter-terrorism efforts.

Pakistan and Iran

Pakistan-Iran relations are influenced by geographic proximity and shared cultural ties. Both countries share a lengthy border and have engaged in various economic and trade initiatives, including plans for gas pipelines and regional connectivity projects. However, sectarian differences have been an issue which has caused tension – Pakistan is predominantly Sunni, while Iran is largely Shia. Iran has expressed concerns over militant groups operating along its border, while Pakistan has been critical of Iranian influence in Afghanistan. Both countries have made efforts to enhance diplomatic and trade relations and to stabilise their partnership.

International Forums

Pakistan actively participates in various international forums to promote its interests and engage with global partners on pressing issues. As a member of the United Nations, Pakistan plays a significant role in advocating for peace, security, and development, often highlighting issues such as Kashmir and climate change. It is also a participant in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) that focuses on economic collaboration and regional stability.

For more information on Pakistan politics, see the resources below:

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