PAKISTAN, which has one of the world`s largest armies, has emerged as a formidable military power. The military`s robust response to India`s aggression in May this year again proved its prowess. Indeed, a strong military makes a country safer against external aggression. Yet, this is not enough to provide complete security to a nation whose economy is in a perpetual state of crisis and where close to 45 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line by some estimates.

According to the latest UN report, Pakistan currently ranks 168th out of 193 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI). (The only other South Asian country even lower in the human development category is Afghanistan.) More than 23 million children are out of school.

It`s a scary place for a country that has the highest population growth rate in the region. Some 80m people are added to the population each year, making it an explosive situation.

Growing inequalities between rich and poor, and among regions, have weakened the country, presenting the biggest challenge to national security more than any external threat. As said by economists Acemoglu and Robinson in their seminalbook Why NationsFail, `extractive institutions`, intended to benefit a small elite, result in stagnation and perhaps even state failure.

They further argue that a nation`s long-term success hinges on `inclusive political and economic institutions`, which encourage broader participation. That concept should be seen in the context of Pakistan with its failing institutions and elite capture. In order to prevent state failure, we need to change our perception of national security and go beyond our traditional approach to defence; we must look at a broader range of threats and vulnerabilities, including economic, social and environmental factors. But the question is: are we willing to shift priorities? Pakistan is facing its most serious internal security challenges, with two strategically located provinces in the midst of an insurgency and the state losing its writ over a large part of these regions. Over the last two decades, Pakistani security forces have been fighting theinsurgents with little success. The state has been relying almost exclusively on kinetic operations, without addressing the root cause of public discontent that is fuelling the insurgency.

Successive military and civilian leaders have failed to see the interconnection between insurgency and social and economic backwardness.

Not only are the troubled regions deprived of health, education and employment facilities, they don`t even have political rights. The relentless use of kinetic force has further alienated the population.

Analysts working on forthcoming research linked to the topic have pointed out that among the most vulnerable districts are two former Fata districts and Kohistan in KP, plus 17 districts in Balochistan, including the most vulnerable districts of Washuk, Khuzdar, Kohlu and Zhob. Not surprisingly, they are centres of the ongoinginsurgencies.

Regional inequalities appear starker when we learn that among the 20 least vulnerable districts, 13 are from Punjab, four from Sindh, two fromKP-andnot asingle onefromBalochistan.

An overview of the facts sheds more light on the unequal distribution of resources: Punjab, the bastion of power, takes the lion`s share; Balochistan and the newly merged districts in KP get just a trickle.

The growing regional inequalities and vulnerabilities are reflected in the lack of communication and transportation facilities in Balochistan the country`s largest province in terms of area. A number of contiguous district populations are deprived of easy access to roads, transport facilities, even telephones. It`s a different case in Punjab, where there is much better access to these facilities, especially in the northern and centralareas.

Moreover, both KP and Balochistan have far lower accessibility to health facilities and community health services. Then there is also greater internal disparity between the districts within the province. In the most vulnerable districts, the distance to the nearest health facility can be more than 30 kilometres. Such districts in KP and Balochistan have the highest unemploy-ment rates and proportions of people working as unpaid family helpers. This is another indicator of fragile livelihoods.

The researchers estimate that more than 65pc of the population in Balochistan`s vulnerable districts inhabit temporary or makeshift homes; 50pc do not even have toilet facilities; and 40pc must do without proper water facilities. Against this backdrop, it is hardly surprising that the youth in large numbers are easy recruits for militantgroupsin the province.

What seems to have worsened the situation in the vulnerable districts is the complete denial of even basic democratic and human rights to the people, which explains why kinetic operations being carried out for more than two decades have failed to eradicate militancy. Surely, this also provides a favourable environment for external forces to intrude, especially with an alienated population that has no stakes in the existing system. The entire state narrative is about the foreign hand; there is no mention of the plight of the people who cannot access even basic facilities.

Unfortunately, the state has never prioritised the development of human infrastructure in the country, as reflected in its abysmal HDI ranking.

Spending in the education and health sectors is not even 1pc of GDP below even that spent by regional countries,barring perhaps Afghanistan.

With its numbers growing at 2.5pc annually, the population is projected to reach 320m by 2040. It is a nightmarish scenario, with sluggish economic growth and little investment in health and education. We are sitting on a ticking time bomb.

Nothing could be more dangerous for national security. Particularly with increasing numbers of people falling below the poverty line. But there seems to be no realisation on the part of our rulers that the country badly needs to reset its priorities. We must rethink our national security paradigm before it is too late. Being a nuclear power cannot save us from implosion. • The writer is an author and joumalist.

zhussain100 @yahoo.com X: @hidhussain