PAKISTAN’S NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY (2022) – GENESIS AND ANALYSIS

Abstract

With supranational, international, and local bodies accentuating Pakistan’s deteriorating security conditions, it becomes worthwhile underscoring the series of events that culminated in the promulgation of the National Security Policy (NSP), to begin with. Whilst doing so, a litany of questions arise: was it internal factors that prompted such a policy or external factors - or a combination of both? More importantly, was the passage of the NSP a monolithic, standardised, straight forward process, which involved little to no backlash or a herculean endeavour on the behest of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan? With such questions looming, this research paper presents critical analysis elucidating the factors - both historic and present - endorsing the NSP, in addition to the theoretical rationale that underpins it. From classic to contemporary paradigms, from realism to constructivism and postmodernism, the holistic, all-encompassing nature of this paper lends weightage to a diverse array of theories, as opposed to swearing by one, in acquiescence with how multifaceted the political realm is and thus, the policy making process that falls within its ambit. Alongside conceptual justifications, this paper cites noteworthy real-life examples - from the Indo-Pak animosity, to the post-cold war tensions, and Pakistan’s debilitating economic and political imperatives.  

Fayyaz, Dr. Shabana. 2023. "Pakistan’s National Security Policy (2022) – Genesis and Analysis." Strategic Thought 2023 (5): 69-80.