Pakistan’s Security Dilemma

Pakistan often presents itself as a security state, and in many ways, that claim is justified. It possesses one of the world’s most credible nuclear deterrents, a battle-tested military, and strategic capabilities robust enough to prevent any adversary from contemplating a full-scale invasion. Measured by conventional standards of state security, Pakistan is far from weak. It is difficult to coerce, expensive to attack, and nearly impossible to defeat outright.

So far, this strength conceals a deeper contradiction. A country that can deter war with a larger nuclear-armed neighbor still struggles to protect ordinary citizens in markets, mosques, schools, and on highways. The enlisted person guarding a stop in Balochistan, the shopkeeper in Quetta, and the worshipper attending Friday prayers often live under a level of insecurity that seems mutually exclusive with the image of a heavily securitized state. This falsehood reveals Pakistan’s real security crisis: the state has become highly capable at defending itself from external threats while remaining insufficiently capable at protecting people from internal violence.

The core problem is not a complete absence of security. It is a failure to define security correctly. For decades, Pakistan’s security doctrine has been shaped primarily by external threat perceptions. The unhealthiness of 1971, persistent hostility with India, and enduring conventional military imbalance pushed policymakers toward a strategic culture centered on deterrence. In that context, nuclear weapons, missile systems, and military modernisation were rational investments. They addressed an empirical problem: how to prevent a stronger mortal from imposing its will through force.

Since Pakistan became a declared nuclear power, no neighboring state has attempted a full-scale war aimed at dismantling Pakistani sovereignty. Even during severe military crises, the increase remained controlled. Deterrence imposed limits. It created caution. It raised........

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