Pakistan and the Taliban: It’s Complicated

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The country of Pakistan and the Taliban go way back. In fact, Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI), a government agency, was responsible for training the first wave of Taliban fighters in their madrassas or Islamic schools. Of course, after September 11th and subsequent pressure from the UN and US, Pakistan’s government renounced the Islamic extremist group and promised to clear the country of the Taliban.

Today, the Taliban still have a strong presence in Pakistan and are openly supported by a prominent Pakistani political party. So, what’s the deal? Is Pakistan promising one thing to our face and supporting the Taliban behind our back? Well, it’s complicated.

Survey of Pakistan’s History

It’s important to understand Pakistan’s tumultuous past in order to understand the presence of the Taliban in the country and how it maintains its hold today.

The State of Pakistan contains around 132 million people. Pakistan’s many ethnic nations coexist under a constitution drafted in 1973 and reinstated in 1985. A shared Islamic heritage further unites these ethnic groups as over 95 percent of Pakistanis profess Islam. The highly homogenous religious environment is no accident: when the British left in 1947, the area was split into India and East and West Pakistan. The primary reason for this partition was the separation into states based on religious belief, India for Hindus, Pakistan for Muslims. In 1956, West Pakistan became the Islamic Republic of Pakistan we know today, and in the early 1970’s East Pakistan became Bangladesh.

Since its independence in 1947, Pakistan has been governed by both military and civilian governments. Pakistan’s military has played a major role in shaping the modern political system and the laws that comprise it. There have been three periods of rule by military presidents: 1958–71, 1977–88 and 1999–2008. One of these military presidents, General Ziaul Haq, reinstated Pakistan’s suspended constitution in 1985; but not before he added an amendment giving the ruling president power to dissolve governments and elected parliaments. From 1988 four consecutive presidents dismissed elected governments until the powers were revoked in the late 1990’s. In 2002, Pakistan’s last military president, General Pervez Musharraf, restored the powers, again granting presidential control over elected parliaments. President Musharraf resigned in late 2008, amidst allegations of dictatorial abuse and bipartisan calls for his impeachment.

Pakistan’s Modern Political Economy

Pakistan is a modern democracy with a bicameral legislature; its Senate and National Assembly are multi-partied. An electoral college selects the president and his prime minister is elected by Pakistan’s National Assembly.
 
Asif Ali Zardari is the current president. He is the widower of Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan’s famed, two-term prime minister who was assassinated in 2007. Asif Ali Zardari’s prime minister is Yusuf Raza Gilani, a contemporary of Benazir Bhutto and the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party; he was jailed for 5 years during the Musharraf administration. President Zardari like his predecessor, General Musharraf, has pledged to join forces with other governments fighting the problem of Islamic militancy.  This has become a central issue for modern Pakistan as many militant groups have been found to operate out of Pakistani borders. Recently, Pakistan was implicated in the November 2008 attacks on Mumbai, India. Pakistan is currently heavily involved with the United States’ war on terrorism, as many elements of the Taliban have moved into tribal areas of Pakistan following their expulsion from Afghanistan where they ruled from 1996 until 2001.

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