IMG_1721.JPG

Pakistan's former Ambassador to USA, Hussain Haqqani, delivered a talk on “Pakistan: Democracy, Modernism, Jihad” before a distinguished gathering at Vivekananda International Foundation on August 13, 2014. Ambassador Haqqani who is currently the Director, South and Central Asia, at the Hudson Institute in Washington, said that Pakistan's foreign policy is a function of the state of insecurity whose roots can be traced back to the origins of the demand for Pakistan and the worldview of the leaders of the Muslim League. From ‘Islam in danger’ being the rallying cry for mobilising support for the demand for Pakistan, to ‘Pakistan in danger’ once the demand was fulfilled was a natural progression. This was further buttressed by giving it an ideological twist that had to be protected at all cost. According to Amb. Haqqani, Pakistan has constantly and consciously cultivated a sense of insecurity among the people, and this has fostered an ideological baggage on the Pakistan Army which it finds impossible to shed.

A lively discussion followed Amb. Haqqani’s brilliant exposition of political and security challenges that Pakistan faces as a result of its ideological orientation. He also highlighted the threat that international jihadist movements like ISIS pose to the subcontinent especially given the attraction of the idea of a caliphate for the subcontinental Muslim.