Two new AAN papers explore the situation in Afghanistan’s neighboring country Pakistan. While the first briefing provides a look back on the AfPak strategy, a term already dropped again barely one year after it was invented, the second briefing deals with the deepening crisis of Pakistan’s young but already elusive secular democracy.
The first one, by eminent regional expert Karl Fischer, puts latest developments in Pakistan in a historical and geostrategic context and highlights those aspects of the new US strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan (formerly termed ‘the AfPak Strategy’) that are more relevant for Pakistan. It shows predominant Pakistani reactions to these issues: of government and political leaders, representatives of the military as well as some prominent members of the media and academia. The material also offers some basic conclusions and policy recommendations.
The second paper, by Ann Wilkens, former Swedish Ambassador to Pakistan and Afghanistan (2003-07), current President, Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA) and member of the AAN Advisory Board, addresses the deficit in attention for the deepening crisis in Pakistan which is overshadowed by the discussions about exit strategies from Afghanistan. While the secular democracy a silent majority of Pakistanis has voted for in the elections of February 2008 is already proving elusive, the army has since reemerged as a major political actor and the Taleban are gaining ground.
These papers are the first of AAN’s Policy Briefing series in 2010.
Read Karl Fischer’s report here and Ann Wilkens’ here.
