Keeping in view Copenhagen concept of broader security discuss the debates of “security and

Welfare state” in Pakistan

The Copenhagen School, a highly dominant School in the field of International Relation and
Security Study appeared in 1990s. The leading scholars in this School Barry Buzan, Ole Wæver,
and Jaap de Wilde have challenged the traditional concept of security which focused on state-
centrism and military.
The Copenhagen School rejects the idea of security threats as objective realities. According to this
School, the security is a socially constructed concept. Issues become 'securitized' through speech
acts, when an actor with authority declares an issue an existential threat, stating extraordinary
measures beyond normal politics. The School broadened what could be considered 'security'
concerns. In addition to the traditional military sector, they emphasized on Political Sector,
Economic Sector, Societal Sector and Environmental Sector.

Political Sector: Threats to the legitimacy and stability of governance systems.

Economic Sector: Threats to access to resources, markets, and economic stability.

Societal Sector: Threats to the sustainability and core identity of traditional communities, often
based on religion, culture, or ethnicity.

Environmental Sector: Threats to the environmental systems upon which human well-being
depends, such as climate change or resource scarcity.

Apart from this they also elaborate following concepts in term of security study.

Referent Objects:

The Copenhagen School shifted the focus from only protecting the state as the 'referent object' of
security. Other referent objects can be equally valid, like an individual, an ethnic group, or the
global ecosystem

Securitization as Process:

it's a political process with these key elements i.e Securitizing Actor, Speech Act and Audience.

Securitizing Actor: The person or institution with the authority and social acceptance to label an
issue as an existential threat.

Speech Act: The words or actions that move an issue from normal politics to the realm of
emergency, legitimizing extraordinary measures.

Audience: The target group (e.g., the public, elites) that must accept this security framing for
securitization to succeed.
 Part-II

“SECURITY AND WELFARE STATE” IN PAKISTAN

1. Traditional Military Security

Pakistan has had a complex history of involvement of military in government since its
independence from 1947. Military take over the government several times as first in 1958 by
General Ayub Khan followed by General Zia –ul-Hq in 1977 and subsequently by General Pervez
Musharraf in 1999. 03 long periods of rules by military has developed a culture in Pakistan where
the military palys a significant role in national politics.

Significant reason behind this military role in Pakistan’s National Politics is its regional security
environment. Since the Independence of Pakistan, its relation with India is problematic especially
regarding Kashmir dispute which kept military security the major National priorities. From 1947 to
uptill now a numbers of wars have been occurred between Pakistan and India particularly in 1947,
1965, 1971 and Kargil war of 1999 increased the military threat.

Moreover, the bad security envoirment in neighbouring country of Afghanistan since 1980s from
the invasion of Soviet Union followed by rise of Taliban in 2000s has significantly changed the
security implications for Pakistan. The current wave of terrorism from bordering country
Afghanistan further play a vital role in military’s intervention in National Security.

Due to the regional threats mentioned above, the state of Pakistan had allocated a big portion of its
Annual National Budget for defense. To enhance its defense keeping in view the hostile regional
environment focus remained on military spending and this effect the others critical sectors such as
education, healthcare and social services etc. The routine of budget allocation and such importance
of military and defense reinforce the concept of “Security State”.

Such intervention of military in government effects the other fields of society, for instance even in
the government of civilian military play a vital role in formulating National Policies.

The role of military centrality leads to:

i. Imbalance between Civil and Military as the role of military dominance undermines role
of civilian institutions and affects the process of democracy.
ii. It affects freedom of speech and can limit the debate in public sector regarding societial
issues e.g social justice, human rights etc.
iii. It also leads to social disparities by hindering economical growth as much of the budget
used in military and defese spending which reduce the investment in social sectors.
2. Political Security
The repeated military coups and governance disrupted the process of democracy in Pakistan which
leads to political instability. The political instability arises from following factors:

I. As during the military rule democratic institions like parliament & senate have been
dissolved and civialian leadership have been removed from their responsibilities which
disrupts the democratic process.
II. By limiting political freedom, debates, assembly and press hinder the dvelopemnt of
civil society.
III. During military governance norms and practices linked with democracy like checks and
balances, audit & accountability and transparency are grind down. This affects the
political culture and trust of the public in democratic institution lasting long term
effects.

Apart from this military role / governance also created never-ending debate about balance between
civilian and military influence as during even civilian rules, the influence of military remained on
key policy areas especially related to National Security and defense. The influence of military on
key institutions like intelligence services and bureaucracy limit the control of civilian. Additionally,
the domination of military keep focus on traditional military concerns ignoring others important
area of society such as economic & human security etc.
It is pertinent to mention here that weak civilian rule has weaken the civilian institution to work
effectively and repeated interruption by the military in continuity of democracy reduce the
implication of long-term policies. The democratic institutions were facing hardship by the
perception in society that military is better suited to lead and this perception will further lead to
military involvement in Pakistan’s Politics.

3. Societal Security
As far as societal security is concerned, various ethnic groups such as Punjabis, Sindhis, Pashtuns,
Baloch and Muhajir etc. having different cultures as well as languages are residing in Pakistan.
Apart from this, as Pakistan is a Muslim States but also consisting a number of Sunni Muslim and
Shia Muslim population and others community such as Christian, Hindus, Sikhs and others. This
diversity oftenly leads to societal tensions which enhance the rate of societal security. Pakistan has
been facing religious extremism and sectarian violence since last few decades leading to conflicts
between Sunni and Shia Muslims, target killing and attacks on religious groups. In recent years
groups like Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan attacked on various places and such
acts of terrorism increase significant threats to societal security.

To address these challenges, efforts are needed to enhance the sense of National Identity by using
forums like education centres, medial for promotion of unifying National Narrative. Understanding
could be fostered through dialogue among leading religious scholars of respective ethnic groups
and to motivate them on shared values, common goals etc. Moreover, there is dire need to
strengthen the Law enforcement System to mitigate this discrimination and to build trust to counter
these threats of societal security.

4. Economic Security
Presently Pakistan is facing complex challenges in the field of economy that are contributing to
instability such as increasing unemployment and inflation. Problems like inflation reduced the
purchasing power of people to fulfil their Basic Needs which can lead to political instability. The
rate of tax collection in Pakistan is very low as little number of people are filler and paying tax. The
less tax collection, high spending on military and defense leads to fiscal deficits, therefore, the
fiscal deficit increased the public debt and reduces the ability of government to invest in important
sectors such as infrastructures and social services. High unemployment creates social unrest and
motivates citizens to crime and radicalization. Apart from this economical instability reduce the
people trust and create political instability.

5. Environmental Security
Environment has vital impact on the stability of economy as well society, here in Pakistan, the
environmental security is oftenly undermined but reality is that due to geography of the country and
structure of socio-economic, Pakistan in vulnerable to environmental risks. Climate changed posed
a serious threat to Pakistan as it will enhance the water security, food security and human security
as well. Glaciers in Hamalayas Range and Karakoram Range are melting due to climate change and
the rate of melting increasing every year which will lead to unpredictable water flow in Indus River
and also affect the agriculture and water availability of the citizens. Additionally, rising
temperature is increasing heat-waves which have bad impact on people’s health as well as
agriculture. Apart from this, Pakistan is also vulnerable of the risk from rising sea levels which will
affects the lives of people residing in coastal areas in Provinces of Sindh and Balochistan.
Moreover, the earthquakes and floods are also caused of loss of human lives as well as damage of
infrastructure as experienced in recant years.

WELFARE STATE
Keeping in view the Copenhagen School of Thought, the Welfare State’s concept is about proving
various social services and supports to the citizens for their well being by their respective state.
Services like Health-Care, Education, Public Safety Services and others are fall in it. As far as
Pakistan is concerned, various steps have been taken in the field of welfare, some of them are
written below:-

I. Firstly, the founder of Pakistan Qauid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah advanced the idea
of welfare state in Pakistan as one can clearly traced it from his speeches. In his
 speeches, he emphasized on social justice, equality and rule of law, provision of basic
needs to its citizen.
II. The focus of the policies of Former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was towards
welfare state and socialism in 1970s as can be seen from his policy of nationalization.
But followed governments, Civil and Milatry, tilted towards the policy of privatization
and market orient.
III. In 2008, during the tenure of People’s Party (the political party of late Zulifqar Ali
Bhuttoo), a social safety programme was also started having name Benzir Income
Support Programme (BISP), after the name of former Prime Minister of Pakistan
Mohtram Benzir Bhutto, to provide financial support to the families having very low
earning especially women.
IV. A Large-Scale Social Welfare Initiative under the leadership of former Prime Minister
Imran Khan, PTI in 2019 was started under the umbrella of EHSAAS PROGRAM
aiming to provide social protection to the citizens of Pakistan having various
programmes such as provision of Cash, Health Security, Free Education, Training
School to teach professional skills as well as Langar Khana etc.
V. Apart from the facts mentioned above, there are various disparities in welfare and social
sectors across regions and groups. The people living in Rural areas have very limited
access to Healthcare and Education.
VI. Rapid growth in population in Pakistan increased the demand of Public Services as
existing facilities are inadequate to meet the requirements and due to poor economical
condition and reliance on foreign aid and loans, Pakistan government took austerity
measures and reduced spending on welfare projects.
VII. Aparantly, lack of adequate infrastructure and shortage of skilled professionals in the
field of education and healthcare reduce the delivery of services.
VIII. For the social welfare of the people of Pakistan, the government should revisit its
policies regarding allocation of budget, less spending on military and defense and
enhancing the share of other societal sectors.
IX. Improvement in infrastructure, enhancing education standards, building hospitals and
others healthcare facilities alongwith capacity building programmes for professionals
can pave a way towards welfare state.
References:
i. People, States and Fear: An Agenda for International Security Studies by Barry Buzan
ii. Security: A New Framework for Analysis by Barry Buzan, Ole Wæver, Jaap de Wilde
iii. https://bisp.gov.pk/
iv. https://ehsaasprogram8171.com.pk/
v. Pakistan: A Hard Country by Anatol Lieven
vi. Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military" by Husain Haqqani