Since independence from British India in 1947, Pakistan has experienced multiple interstate and intrastate conflicts including three wars with India over the territory of Kashmir. Pakistan is currently embroiled in a number of conflicts on several fronts. This summary outlines security challenges in Pakistan beginning with a brief history of conflicts since independence.
Indo-Pakistan War of 1947
Pakistan became an independent state in 1947 when the colony of British India was partitioned into one predominantly Muslim state consisting of two geographically separate regions - East and West Pakistan (present-day Pakistan and Bangladesh) and one predominantly Hindu state (present-day India). Partition caused massive refugee flows and intensified communal Muslim-Hindu violence. It also gave rise to the ongoing territorial dispute between India, Pakistan, and China over control of the Kashmir region. The border territories have endured armed clashes in at least six different periods ranging from a few weeks to several years.
The interstate conflict over the territory of Kashmir broke out for the first time in 1947 when both India and Pakistan laid claim to the area. In January 1948 the United Nations (UN) Security Council adopted Resolution 39 (1948) establishing the UN Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) to investigate facts and mediate the dispute in Kashmir. The Security Council enlarged the membership of UNCIP through Resolution 47 (1948) and recommended various measures including the use of observers to help restore peace. The first team of unarmed military observers deployed to the region in January 1949. The Karachi Agreement of 27 July 1949 established a ceasefire between India and Pakistan and tasked UNCIP with supervision along the ceasefire line. Since 1951, the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan has monitored the Line of Control (LOC).
Indo-Pakistan War of 1965
In Operation Gibraltar, Pakistani volunteers infiltrated the Kashmir valley anticipating the provocation of a Kashmiri insurgency. Fighting lasted for five weeks and the war ended on 23 September 1965 after India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire brokered by world powers and implemented through UN Security Council Resolution 211 (1965). The ceasefire did not hold and India and Pakistan negotiated the Tashkent Declaration on 10 January 1966 whereby they agreed to a number of terms, including a return to pre-conflict positions on their respective sides of the Line of Control (LOC).
Bangladesh War for Independence and Indo-Pakistan War of 1971
The Bangladesh War for Independence began following the 1970 Pakistani election and eventually resulted in the secession of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Events related to this conflict also led to a war with India in 1971.
Pakistan held elections in 1970 under the authority of the Legal Framework Order, aiming to create a representative form of government following a year of martial law, with a new constitution to follow. The Awami League (AL) won an absolute majority, winning all its seats in East Pakistan. The Pakistan People’s Party, based in West Pakistan and led by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, came in second, dominating in the west. The AL electoral victory promised it control of the government. However, party leader Sheikh Mujibur Rehman was not granted the premiership by the president and power-sharing negotiations ensued. Rehman suggested he become prime minister of East Pakistan while Bhutto be made prime minister of West Pakistan, supporting the party’s platform of decentralized government and increased provincial autonomy.
In March 1971 the AL launched a campaign of civil disobedience, immobilizing the east. In response, army units directed by West Pakistan launched a military operation in East Pakistan that was followed swiftly by a declaration of independence by Bengali nationalists and civil war.
Bengalis formed a paramilitary force—Mukti Bahini (Liberation Army)—to fight against the West Pakistan army. India provided refuge to nearly 10 million East Pakistanis displaced by the conflict and provided economic and military support to the Mukti Bahini forces. On 23 November 1971, Indian troops entered East Pakistan, and West Pakistan responded by declaring war on 3 December. The allied forces of the Indian army and the Mukti Bahini defeated the West Pakistan forces deployed in the East on 16 December 1971. Following Pakistan’s surrender, East Pakistan seceded and the state of Bangladesh was born.
Conflict in Balochistan
Pakistan has experienced periods of internal armed conflict with separatists in the province of Balochistan, near its border with Iran. Ethnic Baloch tribal leaders have fought for more autonomy, including independence from Pakistan.
In 1973 the Balochistan provincial government, supportive of local grievances against the state, was dissolved by the Pakistani government; the ruling National Awami Party was subsequently outlawed in 1995.
An armed insurgency was active in 1974–1977 led by the Balochistan People’s Liberation Front. A negotiated settlement in 1977 ended the conflict leading to the withdrawal of government troops and release of militant leaders.
The conflict resumed in 2004 when new Baloch groups again challenged the government. Subsequently, groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army, Balochistan Republican Army, and Baloch Ittihad have been fighting the government, with 2009 being the most recent period with significant casualties.
Ongoing issues include control over the exploitation of natural resources, concern over national development projects accruing little benefit to local populations, poverty in the region, and threats related to ethnicity and tribal powers.
1977 Military Coup
Pakistan’s general election in March 1977 provoked widespread protests and public disorder. The Pakistan National Alliance of opposition parties refused to take their seats in parliament alleging voting irregularities. Despite a strong majority, the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was removed from office by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in a bloodless coup and martial law was declared. Bhutto was executed in April 1979 following his conviction for conspiracy to murder a political opponent. Mass demonstrations and international condemnation followed his death.
The most prominent legacy of General Zia-ul-Haq’s military regime was a state-driven Islamization that brought reforms to the legal and education systems, gave support to right-wing religious parties, and created extremist groups to fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan.
After Zia’s death in a plane crash in 1988, a civilian government resumed power. However, Pakistan’s military continues to influence key areas of public policy.
Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM) Conflict
The intrastate conflict between the MQM and the government stemmed from issues concerning governance and the perceived isolation of the Mohajirs outside of Pakistan’s circle of political elites. The first incidence of conflict took place between the government and the MQM in 1990. The MQM, claiming to represent the Mohajirs, Muslim Urdu-speakers originating from India and living in urban areas of Sindh province, demanded more autonomy and recognition as a constituent ethnic group of Pakistan. This intrastate armed conflict was active in 1990 and again in 1995–1996.
In 1992 the MQM split into two factions—the minority group retained the name Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM-H) while the majority renamed itself the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM-A). The MQM-A is currently a major political party in Pakistan.
In 1996, violence in Karachi and other cities began abating as soldiers and the police intensified their crackdowns on the MQM-A, which was led by Altaf Hussein, and the other MQM groups. Intercommunal violence amongst the various Mohajir factions has at times exceeded the bloodshed between MQM and the government.
In 2007, fighting resumed between the government and the MQM groups, who promoted the replacement of the Pakistani system of government with an Islamic caliphate. Infighting amongst the various MQM factions is widely believed to be the main source of organized violence in Karachi at present.
1999 Kargil Conflict
From May to July 1999, Pakistan and India were involved in the Kargil Conflict, an armed conflict between the two countries in the Kargil district of Kashmir.
The incursion into Kashmir was planned and executed during General Pervez Musharraf's tenure as the Pakistan army’s chief of staff under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The Indian army, later supported by the Indian air force, recaptured a majority of positions on the Indian side of the LOC, which had been infiltrated by Pakistani troops and militants. Facing international diplomatic opposition, Pakistan’s forces withdrew from their remaining positions on the Indian side of the LOC.
The Kargil conflict derailed the Sharif government’s peace initiative with India, which had begun in February 1999.
The most recent episode of conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir ended in 2003 through a ceasefire but the issue has not been resolved. The countries are currently in a standoff despite the resumption of peace talks in 2010.
1999 Military Coup
Prime Minister Sharif claimed that his government had not been sufficiently consulted about the Kargil campaign and he encouraged senior army officers to challenge General Musharraf’s authority. At the same time, the government was increasingly unable to address the country’s economic and law and order problems and was perceived as corrupt and reckless. In October 1999 General Musharraf ousted Sharif in a military coup. Sharif then went into exile.
In April 2002 Musharraf held a constitutional referendum and secured his role as president for five years. The Constitution was amended to legitimize General Musharraf’s presidential role on condition that he relinquish his role as head of the Army before 2005. Subsequently, Parliament passed a bill permitting him to remain as both army chief and president until 2007.
Musharraf imposed a state of emergency and suspended the constitution on 3 November 2007 amid a climate of deteriorating security and challenges to his dual role as army chief and head of state. He imposed house arrest on more than 50 superior court judges and detained thousands of prominent lawyers, journalists and political leaders, including PPP leader Benazir Bhutto. Bowing to domestic and international pressure, Musharraf resigned as army chief on 28 November, retaining the presidency and promising elections in January 2008. The Constitution was restored on 15 December 2007, but Musharraf refused to reinstate the judges.
Musharraf announced his resignation on 18 August 2008 after the coalition government threatened to initiate impeachment proceedings. This ended the military-backed administration and power was ceded to a civilian government.
Global War on Terror and Insurgency in the Northwest
The Musharraf government joined the US-led coalition in the Global War on Terror following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US. Pakistan has supported the US against al-Qaida since 2001 and the government of Afghanistan against the Taliban since 2004. In both cases conflict has taken place on Pakistani soil, where both al-Qaida and Taliban fighters have maintained bases and training camps. Various non-state armed groups have taken refuge in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province (previously the North-West Frontier Province). Pakistan has historically supported a number of militant groups fighting in its border states, including the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The fluid nature of insurgency in northwest Pakistan is complex, with militant groups as different as al-Qaeda, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, the Haqqani Network, and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) finding refuge in various parts of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province (KPK). Widely considered to be inter-connected, militant groups are often united under a similar ideology and by their determination to fight “foreign” forces in Afghanistan. However, agendas can be different, at times even competing, and alliances and loyalties shift.
Since 2001, the Pakistani military has targeted militant groups in a number of military operations. These operations have been conducted at varying intensities and frequency due to multiple factors, one frequently mentioned being the military resources. Other security forces active in the region are the Frontier Corps, the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI), and tribal militias. The military and the ISI have often been publicly criticized by various foreign governments, including the US, India, and France for their reluctance to extensively engage in the region and eliminate the insurgents' safe havens.
It is widely believed that the US also conducts operations inside Pakistan. Since 2004, drones—unmanned aerial vehicles—have targeted militant strongholds. The drone strikes have intensified in the past two years with 117 attacks reported in 2010. The US military and Central Intelligence Agency, officially operating in Afghanistan, are the only forces known to deploy drones in the region. However, Pakistan does not officially permit foreign troops to engage in military operations within the country.
Despite increased efforts by Pakistani security forces, al-Qaida terrorists, Afghan militants, foreign insurgents, and Pakistani militants continue to find safe havens in portions of FATA, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan.