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Origins of the Conflict in Pakistan

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Conflict in Pakistan, Pakistan Afghanistan

Conflict in Pakistan

Despite the Taliban being pushed out of power in Afghanistan in late 2001, units of the hard-line Islamist militant group remain entrenched along the frontiers of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Instability in the Pakistani government diverted attention from the developing battle for control of the region. This Guide looks at the modern history of Pakistan, and provides resources for understanding the conflict.

Origins of the Conflict in Pakistan

The Indian subcontinent was partitioned in 1947 after the British pulled out with the intention of giving Muslims in the area their own homeland. The original Pakistan encompassed today’s Bangladesh, as well as the present-day Pakistan. The former, known as “East Pakistan,” seceded in 1971 with the help of India. Yet the borders did not clearly demarcate predominantly Muslim areas from Hindu ones, namely the disputed region of Kashmir. Wrangling over control of the country erupted into two of the three India-Pakistan Wars.

Top Sites for the Origins of the Conflict in Pakistan

The BBC’s ‘Country Profile: Pakistan” delineates major events in modern Pakistani history and how they tie in to the current conflict in the country, including lingering ethno-religious conflicts in the region. It also includes fast facts about Pakistan such as population and the national flag.
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Encyclopedia Britannica has a profile of Pakistan creator Mohammed Ali Jinnah, including his time with India’s Muslim League, his negotiations with Indian leader Mohandas K. Gandhi to create a state for Muslims on the Indian subcontinent, and eventual founding of the secular state of Pakistan.
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The Council on Foreign Relations has an article from the Center for Contemporary Conflict on the decades-long conflict between India and Pakistan, and how it took precedence over the oft-tenuous relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan in international foreign policy. After the end of the Cold War, the relative lack of attention on security concerns in that border region provided a fertile ground for instability, the paper argues.
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For background on the situation in Afghanistan, see findingDulcinea’s Web Guide to the Conflict in Afghanistan.
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The Pakistan Conflict Today

In October 1999, General Pervez Musharraf took over the Pakistani government in a military coup, deposing President Nawaz Sharif, who succeeded Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the head of the center-left Pakistan People’s Party. Originally Musharraf’s coalition supported Afghanistan under the Taliban; however this changed following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Still, Musharraf’s term was marred by growing polarization between secularists and Islamist conservatives.

Top Sites for the Pakistan Conflict Today

FindingDulcinea explains the situation surrounding the death of Benazir Bhutto, the two-time prime minister of Pakistan. Ousted twice, she was imprisoned five years and left Pakistan in 1999 on counts of alleged corruption. The charges were dropped as part of a U.S.-brokered deal between Bhutto and the Pakistani government under Musharraf, paving the way to Bhutto’s October 2007 return. Yet in the time between her return and Musharraf’s declaration of a state of emergency a month later, Bhutto’s relationship with the president had deteriorated. Bhutto was assassinated Dec. 27, 2007, while campaigning in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi.
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FindingDulcinea wrote in October 2008 about Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party prevailing in the country’s 2008 elections, with Yusuf Raza Gillani becoming Pakistan’s prime minister and Bhutto’s widower, Ali Asif Zardari, taking up the presidency. Early on in Zardari’s term, his efficacy in controlling the country’s security situation had come into question, however. 
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At the same time, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has been a frequent target of Western criticism because of its alleged support of the Taliban, and is largely believed to be out of Zardari’s control. The Economist wrote in October 2008 that although the ISI has gained international plaudits for finding Islamist insurgents after Sept. 11, 2001, it still has maintained the use of the Taliban to push for control in Afghanistan and Kashmir. Two months earlier, the ISI was dogged by accusations that it helped to orchestrate the July 7, 2008, bombings of the Indian Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, findingDulcinea reported. 

A mutual challenge for both Zardari and Perez Musharraf is the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA), tribal lands lining the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which have proven to be a conundrum for conducting military operations in the Pakistani government due to the ambiguity in who controls the area. Recently, reports of tribal leaders joining the fight against Taliban forces have aided Zardari’s efforts in the region.
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The Impact of the Current Crisis in Pakistan

In mid-February 2009, in a bid to quell violence between the government and the Taliban, Pakistan allowed for the institution of sharia, or Islamic law, in the Swat Valley region near the country’s border with Afghanistan. Meanwhile, fighting in the Swat Valley has led to a humanitarian crisis in the region.

Top Sites for the Impact of the Current Crisis in Pakistan

FindingDulcinea explains the crisis in the Pakistan’s Swat Valley region. As of May 2009, the Pakistani military had effectively formed a blockade around the area as part of its fight to contain some 5,000 Taliban militants. The blockade has translated into a humanitarian disaster, with civilians unable to leave and medical and food supplies kept out of the area.
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The Voice of America reported on May 25, 2009, that Taliban forces had agreed to stop attacking Pakistani forces in the Swat Valley region. Falling short of calling it a cease-fire, Taliban spokesperson Muslim Khan said that forces would not impede the way of civilians returning to Mingora, the main city in the area. The United Nations estimates 2.38 million people have been forced to flee the Swat Valley region because of Taliban/Pakistani army fighting.
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The BBC has a detailed map showing the area ravaged by the fighting between the Taliban and the Pakistani army.
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