Pakistan: Recent Developments
Pakistan was born as an explicitly Muslim state, and the wrestling between its secular and Islamic natures has never been so pronounced as in recent years. Its other sources of unrest, including the military's role as the arbiter of power — there have been four coups in its 60 years of independence — its rampant corruption and political instability, have been joined by the rise of Islamic militant groups that control of parts of the country's western half and have launched attacks in the heart of its largest cities.
The antiterrorism alliance between the United States and Pakistan, always complicated and often shaky, was plunged into a crisis by the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011 by American special forces operating deep inside Pakistan.
Pakistan was born as an explicitly Muslim state, and the wrestling between its secular and Islamic natures has never been so pronounced as in recent years. Its other sources of unrest, including the military's role as the arbiter of power — there have been four coups in its 60 years of independence — its rampant corruption and political instability, have been joined by the rise of Islamic militant groups that control of parts of the country's western half and have launched attacks in the heart of its largest cities.
The antiterrorism alliance between the United States and Pakistan, always complicated and often shaky, was plunged into a crisis by the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011 by American special forces operating deep inside Pakistan.The fact that Bin Laden had been hiding for years almost in plain sight in a medium-sized city that hosts numerous Pakistani forces an hour's drive from the capital underscored questions about whether elements of the Pakistani spy agency knew the whereabouts of the leader of Al Qaeda.
That the United States did not give warning of the raid and Pakistani forces were not able to detect or stop it deeply angered and humiliated the military's leadership, its rank and file and much of the population. The infiltration three weeks later of the nation’s largest naval base by Qaeda commandos was another blow to the standing of the military, traditionally the nation's most revered institution.
American officials have sought to use the Bin Laden killing to push the Pakistani army to greater efforts against the Taliban and Al Qaeda. But its leadership has rebuffed those requests, and in June, according to American officials, its spy agency arrested five Pakistani informants who helped the Central Intelligence Agency before the raid
Some officials and outside experts said the military is mired in its worst crisis of confidence in decades. Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the army's chief and the most powerful man in the country, is fighting to keep his position in the face of intense discontent in the ranks over what is seen as his cozy relationship with the United States.
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