Militarization of the State

Pakistan inherited a powerful and pervasive bureaucratic tradition from its colonial administrators. The military has played a crucial role in government, due to several factors such as the country's strategic geographical location and the potential for international border disputes and separatist movements inherent in the manner in which the sub-continent was partitioned in 1947. Military leaders have created their own international support networks and since 1958, in alliance with the established bureaucracy, they have controlled Pakistan's political and economic decision- making. An examination of the course of Pakistan's history from General Ayub Khan through decades of martial law and periods of party-based government demonstrates how the military interventions have repeatedly subverted and arrested the evolution of the democratic process. Despite the fact that there has been no direct intervention by the military by imposing martial law, it continues to dominate decision making in the critical areas of foreign policy and defence. In addition it has become a powerful economic force and, with a stranglehold on successive bankrupt civil governments, continues to drain the public exchequer.