Today’s national security policy must navigate ideological divides, maintain a diversity of views, and balance policy options to create a conducive national and international environment to protect vital national values and interests against existing or potential threats. A review of existing literature on such policy suggests that a contemporary national security policy is prescriptive, concerned about the future and focus on producing policy alternatives. It is not meant to be subservient to domestic politics and immediate foreign policy challenges as a grand national strategy. Pakistan’s own National Security Policy 2022-2028 (NSP 2022) is portrayed as a people-centric, revolutionary, and first-of-its-kind policy document, ideally suited to solve all the problems in one go. It also mentions concepts such as ‘human security’ and ‘economic security among others, as great ideas.
But we are constrained to point out that the National Security Division (NSD), overwhelmed by the feeling of being important and making urgent and sensitive decisions, used an elitist approach and dictated national security priorities in a non-consultative and secretive drafting process. Such undemocratic behaviour by the NSD only gives the message that we should assume dishonesty as part of the national security paradigm and expect potential abuse of national security policy to cover up lies based on the political elite’s electoral and self-interests. Even more disturbing is that the NSP has downgraded national defence to bare militarisation. Such an approach goes against what Pakistan’s security establishment has been advising the political elite for many years: i.e. there is no military solution to Pakistan’s internal problems.
The repeated advice given by the security establishment tacitly indicates the need to detach national defence from internal long-standing political discontent and contentious issues. It may be seen as an attempt to distance itself from political instrumentalisation by politicians. However, national security policies are not purely military documents; they are primarily political, and the military component (not the national defence) is only one of its many utilities. Therefore, contemporary NSPs ought to identify and cater to various internal challenges to protect the national values and interests to shape the international climate. Pakistan is not new to such documents; previously, the National Internal Security Policy (2018-2023) also introduced peace and development as a singular strategy for internal security.
Ongoing internal conflicts and prevailing violence challenge the legitimacy of Pakistan’s national government and political elite. Traditionally, the Pakistani political elite has managed the country in a ‘belligerent peace’ state with conventional tactics and strict control of power and resources. However, given the current internal and international context, Pakistan’s national government has reached a state of policy panic and intellectual bankruptcy, where finding durable political solutions is not part of its thought process. Despite abstract inclusion of concepts, the internal aspect of the NSP 2022 failed to separate internal challenges from conventional warfare. And so, instead of identifying the characteristic of actual conflicts, instead resorted to prescribing old school militarism confusingly wrapped in ‘human security’ and vague foreign policy objectives. As a result, the NSP 2022 and strategic priorities failed to present policy alternatives to counter existing internal challenges and satisfy people, their needs, and expectations.
In many contexts, the manipulative political elite intentionally connects national security policies to either development or economic prosperity, so their hold on power is justified, and actions to limit citizens’ participation have a legitimate cover. A credible national security policy must address the question of development, underdevelopment, conflicts, and destabilising forces alongside other challenges and define which values and interests need to be protected first. It is a grand policy with a transparent national process. Unfortunately, it seems that NSP 2022, through its content and approach, fortifies a ‘politics of exclusion’ – which is certainly not a revolutionary idea but a continuation of the status quo.
Over the years, policy gap and party politics-based priorities have blurred the distinction between internal and external affairs and severely undermined national defence. A continuation of such an approach with NSP 2022 is yet another political tactic of the ruling elite to undermine national defence, using elegant concepts such as ‘human security’ to confuse the debate without defining whose security and development is being referred to!
Pakistan has the added complication of an ongoing emotional discussion on national security between the liberal and conservative intellectuals. Liberals consider militaristic influence as corrupting society, and conservatives believe this saves society. In this complex environment, one can only achieve a state of security, but certainly not ‘human security’. NSP 2022 demonstrates that the current political elite is deeply interested in maintaining the status quo and refuses to address the challenges of fundamental political and social cohesion.
A process-based policy formulation approach, coupled with sincere attempts to ensure meaningful participation and transparency, are prerequisites to counter complexity. The policy must have the ‘whole of the nation’ approach and holistic strategic priorities that are interdependent and mutually reinforcing to address deep-rooted challenges and promote a conducive environment for a national dialogue on contentious issues. The strategy must contain value-based guarantees to bring people to the centre and clarify objectives. A genuine national security policy considers military and nonmilitary solutions and contemplates steps necessary for reducing conflict and risks internally. It introduces policy options and proposes alternative means to address internal challenges.
Pursuing a positive peace requires a national peace architecture, institutionalised capacity to analyse internal problems, and robust early warning and prevention mechanisms as part of Pakistan's national security policy. Given the current situation, Pakistan as a nation-state is still a work in progress where institutional, economic, and structural foundations are not settled. Resilient societies are the ones who demonstrate their ability to foster greater social and political cohesion in addressing these institutional, economic, and structural imperfections. It becomes worst when government demonstrates an unwillingness to address differences and root causes of discontent equitably and inclusively.
Therefore, a national security policy must provide options for Pakistan to move away from merely reacting to challenges, and focus on their prevention. Such a grand policy is incomplete without policy options for operational prevention to mitigate urgent threats and structural prevention to address long-term issues of governance, inequality, perceived injustices, economic, social, and political stability. Only by settling internal challenges amicably can the government have the internal and external legitimacy that it needs to play a constructive role in national defence and respond to emerging global challenges.
But we are constrained to point out that the National Security Division (NSD), overwhelmed by the feeling of being important and making urgent and sensitive decisions, used an elitist approach and dictated national security priorities in a non-consultative and secretive drafting process. Such undemocratic behaviour by the NSD only gives the message that we should assume dishonesty as part of the national security paradigm and expect potential abuse of national security policy to cover up lies based on the political elite’s electoral and self-interests. Even more disturbing is that the NSP has downgraded national defence to bare militarisation. Such an approach goes against what Pakistan’s security establishment has been advising the political elite for many years: i.e. there is no military solution to Pakistan’s internal problems.
The repeated advice given by the security establishment tacitly indicates the need to detach national defence from internal long-standing political discontent and contentious issues. It may be seen as an attempt to distance itself from political instrumentalisation by politicians. However, national security policies are not purely military documents; they are primarily political, and the military component (not the national defence) is only one of its many utilities. Therefore, contemporary NSPs ought to identify and cater to various internal challenges to protect the national values and interests to shape the international climate. Pakistan is not new to such documents; previously, the National Internal Security Policy (2018-2023) also introduced peace and development as a singular strategy for internal security.
In many contexts, the manipulative political elite intentionally connects national security policies to either development or economic prosperity, so their hold on power is justified, and actions to limit citizens’ participation have a legitimate cover
Ongoing internal conflicts and prevailing violence challenge the legitimacy of Pakistan’s national government and political elite. Traditionally, the Pakistani political elite has managed the country in a ‘belligerent peace’ state with conventional tactics and strict control of power and resources. However, given the current internal and international context, Pakistan’s national government has reached a state of policy panic and intellectual bankruptcy, where finding durable political solutions is not part of its thought process. Despite abstract inclusion of concepts, the internal aspect of the NSP 2022 failed to separate internal challenges from conventional warfare. And so, instead of identifying the characteristic of actual conflicts, instead resorted to prescribing old school militarism confusingly wrapped in ‘human security’ and vague foreign policy objectives. As a result, the NSP 2022 and strategic priorities failed to present policy alternatives to counter existing internal challenges and satisfy people, their needs, and expectations.
In many contexts, the manipulative political elite intentionally connects national security policies to either development or economic prosperity, so their hold on power is justified, and actions to limit citizens’ participation have a legitimate cover. A credible national security policy must address the question of development, underdevelopment, conflicts, and destabilising forces alongside other challenges and define which values and interests need to be protected first. It is a grand policy with a transparent national process. Unfortunately, it seems that NSP 2022, through its content and approach, fortifies a ‘politics of exclusion’ – which is certainly not a revolutionary idea but a continuation of the status quo.
Over the years, policy gap and party politics-based priorities have blurred the distinction between internal and external affairs and severely undermined national defence. A continuation of such an approach with NSP 2022 is yet another political tactic of the ruling elite to undermine national defence, using elegant concepts such as ‘human security’ to confuse the debate without defining whose security and development is being referred to!
Pakistan has the added complication of an ongoing emotional discussion on national security between the liberal and conservative intellectuals. Liberals consider militaristic influence as corrupting society, and conservatives believe this saves society. In this complex environment, one can only achieve a state of security, but certainly not ‘human security’. NSP 2022 demonstrates that the current political elite is deeply interested in maintaining the status quo and refuses to address the challenges of fundamental political and social cohesion.
A process-based policy formulation approach, coupled with sincere attempts to ensure meaningful participation and transparency, are prerequisites to counter complexity. The policy must have the ‘whole of the nation’ approach and holistic strategic priorities that are interdependent and mutually reinforcing to address deep-rooted challenges and promote a conducive environment for a national dialogue on contentious issues. The strategy must contain value-based guarantees to bring people to the centre and clarify objectives. A genuine national security policy considers military and nonmilitary solutions and contemplates steps necessary for reducing conflict and risks internally. It introduces policy options and proposes alternative means to address internal challenges.
Pursuing a positive peace requires a national peace architecture, institutionalised capacity to analyse internal problems, and robust early warning and prevention mechanisms as part of Pakistan's national security policy. Given the current situation, Pakistan as a nation-state is still a work in progress where institutional, economic, and structural foundations are not settled. Resilient societies are the ones who demonstrate their ability to foster greater social and political cohesion in addressing these institutional, economic, and structural imperfections. It becomes worst when government demonstrates an unwillingness to address differences and root causes of discontent equitably and inclusively.
Therefore, a national security policy must provide options for Pakistan to move away from merely reacting to challenges, and focus on their prevention. Such a grand policy is incomplete without policy options for operational prevention to mitigate urgent threats and structural prevention to address long-term issues of governance, inequality, perceived injustices, economic, social, and political stability. Only by settling internal challenges amicably can the government have the internal and external legitimacy that it needs to play a constructive role in national defence and respond to emerging global challenges.