SEEKING A COLLABORATIVE SECURITY ALLIANCE FRAMEWORK FOR PAKISTAN

Abstract

Pakistan confronts enormous security challenges, most of which are owed to the
ongoing global contestation between China and the US, with Pakistan as the former’s
strategic partner and India aligned with the latter and ready to counter China. These
challenges have, over time, morphed into an enduring existential threat to Pakistan,
which is way beyond its inherent capacity to manage. The enormity of the danger is
primarily owed to the conspiracy of multiple regional and extra-regional hostile actors,
the most significant of which is India, assisted by countries attempting to block China’s
rise as a global power. Notwithstanding its nuclear deterrence, Pakistan faces an asymmetric situation with India in a conventional military realm, which is further compounded by the readiness of the US-led West to assist India in its military upgradation programme. Consequently, this phenomenon exacerbates Pakistan’s security dilemma, threatening its survival, warranting disproportionate national resources for physical security at the cost of political, social and economic development and further adding to its national security vulnerabilities. A collaborative security alliance with China is needed to assuage Pakistan's security concerns fully.