Prisoner Of Culture, Not Geography.

Pakistan, with around 220 million people, is the fifth most populous country in the world and is also home to one of the biggest youth bulges. The 100 million youth constitutes almost 46 percent of inhabitants and are one of the most tangible forces to be reckoned with. Moreover, its geo-strategic location is one of the finest as it sits on the crossroads of Central Asia, the Middle East, and South Asia, with an accessible sea outlet to the Arabian Sea. These features provide solid ground for rapid economic growth, which China, India, and Bangladesh have achieved since the early 21st century. Yet, Pakistan could not manage to rise as a powerful country due to continued involvement in numerous insurgencies and border tensions. This was largely due to the country's indispensable and volatile geographical location. Many analysts consider Pakistan to be a 'prisoner of geography' for this reason. However, the challenges to Pakistan are not only geographical but also have a lot to do with history and culture. As James Baldwin said, people are trapped in history, and history is trapped in them. The point is that Pakistan is more a prisoner of culture than a prisoner of geography.

Scholars of strategic culture describe it as a set of images, beliefs, experiences, and preconceptions that are held by decision-makers of a country. These actors are socialised over some time into holding some particular concepts. Thus the decisions undertaken by government actors are rationalised in light of the previously held perceptions rather than taking into account the set of choices that may be available to them as rational options.

The preconceptions among Pakistani decision-makers regarding the role of Pakistan and threats to its survival were also the primary motivation for the country's strategic outlook throughout its history. In Pakistan, the most comprehensive review of the country's strategic culture was carried out by Hasan Askari Rizvi. He noted that the strategic culture of Pakistan is characterised by mistrust toward both Afghanistan and India in the wake of the partition. Afghanistan refused to accept Durand Line whereas India was involved in a dispute over Kashmir while attempting to block Pakistan's due share in the division of assets and sitting at the mouth of shared water reserves.

Additionally, Pakistan also perceived a lack of strategic depth in case of war with India. Most of Pakistan's population has always been concentrated around the...

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