Pakistan,land,people And Society 5b2s3l

Pakistan:Land,people and society

The geo political context • East of persian gulf and in close proximity to Russia,china and india has given rise to its being termed as a garrison state in which military is inevitably overdeveloped. • History has profoundly been influenced by its mighty neighbour india • While pakistan territorial dispute with india over kashmir over six decades it also inherited another border dispute with afghanistan. • In july 1949 afghan parliament formally renounced durand line border which british had negotiated with Amir abdur rehman in 1893 to demarcate frontier of Raj. • Kabul laid claim to the territories it had lost to pakistan • It occurred in the context of afghan for pakhtun nationalists across durand line in pak who sought to create their own pakhtunistan state

• 31st august was earmarked in afghansitan as official greater pakhtunistan day • Kabul’s posture exacerebated pak’s insecurty which was already fevered by 1947-48 clash with india over kashmir. • Within less than a decade of independence pak and afghan became part of competing cold war alliance system within region. • Pakistan became member of US Central treaty organization (Cento) • India and afghan retained the fiction of non alignment they received increasing amount of aids of USSR • During cold war and post 9/11 pak has found itself in front line of an international conflict because of it geographical location

• Region’s geopolitics since 1980’s have brought pak economic benefits but high costs in of internal stability • Blow back effects of weaponization, influx of afghan refugees and afforded to militant and sectarian expressions of islam • Since 9/11 pak has feared encirclement as a result of growing indian development assistance to afghan which it had hoped to dominate itself • By end of 2007 india was second only to US in provision of aid • Tribal area that comprise 7 protected agencies of Bajaur,khyber,kurram,mohmand,orakzai and north and south waziristan form a 280 mile wedge of mounatinous land along this sensitive eastern border with afghansitan

• Pakistan continued colonial strategy of regarding tribal areas bordering afghanistan as buffer zone in which rule was indirect and stability provided through political agents working through tribal jirgas. • Further legacies were provision for imposition of collective punishment under FCR and absense of permenant military presence in tribal heartland • Another historical inheritance which predated colonial era was raising of tribal revolt by charasmatic muslim leaders in pakhtun tribal areas abutting afghanistan • Jihad against sikh rule led by Syed ahmed barelvi.\ • Hadda mullah jihad against against british in 1893 and 1897 were in response to colonial encroachment into the region. • Revolts continued in this region down to the end of colonial era including the campaigns by faqir of ippi

• Sixth five year plan declared FATA to be least developed area of pakistan with an dult literacy rate of just 15% • Pakistan’s geopolitical location provides economic possibilities as well as strategic dangers • TAPI which was agreed at ashgabat in dec 2010. it could eventually supply 30 billion cubic meters of a gas a year from the Caspian sea region • The pipe line would have to cross strategically sensitive areas of south eastern afghanistan including helmand and balochistan • It would not only provide transit route fees of upto 160 million a year and jos for aghan but clean fuel for both india and pakistan

CLIMATE • Pakistan location makes it vulnerable to vagaries of annual monsoon • 2010 floods affected the economy badly • Ealier major flooding of 1993 almost completely depleted country’s financial reserves. • Rural population of south punjab and sindh is vulnerable to inundation from mighty indus river • Those inhabiting tribal and frontier areas can fall victim to flash floods emanating from kabul river and its tributaries • Deforestion has increased the risks. • Droughts however could also be caused by climate change • There is between 10-15% decrease in annual rainfall amounts in country’s coastel belt and plains.

• Issues of water management and disputes over water both between provinces (sindh and punjab) and between india and pak are likely to become increasingly important. • Diseases arising out of inadequate water supply and sanitation along with human costs ,economic costs of over 100 billion a year. • Around 600 children die each day from water born diseases. • Inefficient water use and management alongside rising population mean that pakistan could be running dry by 2025 with an annual shortfall of anything upto 100 billion cubic meters(having incalculable human and political costs) • 2010 maplecroft environment risk report ranked pak 16 out of 170 countries at risk from climate change.

• Pak felled in extreme risk category headed by india and bangladesh and alos included ne[al and afghanistan from the region • The year 2010 saw new record temperature set in pak of 53.5 degrees centigrade • There is an annual temperature rise of between 0.6 and 1 degree celsius in comparison with historical levels

Natural resources • Sindh contains one of the largest coal reserves • Balochistan largest copper reserves • Fourth highest cotton crop in the world and fifth largest dairy production increasingly exported to middle east • 2009-10 economic survey reported energy shortages caused a loss of more than 2 percent of GDP. • Pak need to develop a capacity of 20,000 MW in ten years at a total cost of $32 billion in order to overcome energy shortages • Building this capacity out of indigenous resources will have political ramifications

Population