Britain cannot afford a failed Pakistan

Pakistan is a failing state, and barring a mammoth bail-out few can now afford, it will become the world’s first bankrupt nuclear power. Bowed down by our own financial crisis and an economy teetering on the edge of recession, should we care?

In sovereign terms the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which last year celebrated its 60th birthday, is into its adolescent years, now something of a cross between a prodigal son and the family’s black sheep. A major exporter of fertiliser, potash and terrorists, it is also the world’s only Muslim nuclear power. The country’s ruling authorities, supported and undermined in equal measures by a raft of millionaire military officers, landed gentry, feudal landlords, industrialists, extremists and religious zealots, are forced to recognise their roots as an Islamic nation while tipping a nod toward a constitutionally secular legislature.

As with any adolescent, Pakistan constantly demands more attention and money than it deserves. Since the turn of the decade, Islamabad has treated the West as a sort of giant cash machine, extracting £5.8 billion of aid from Washington since 2001 to fight extremists active in its troubled western frontier regions. Britain and other nations, along with multilaterals including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, have handed over billions more.

Some of this munificence has been used for its intended purpose — preventing terrorism from spreading over there in order to ensure our security and sanctity over here. Far more has gone into lining the pockets of the military and their government stooges, up to and including former president Pervez Musharraf, who stepped down in August. ‘One of the great secrets of dealing with Pakistan is that the country always borrows money and never pays it back,’ says Lord Meghnad Desai, an economist and Labour peer.

Yet still Pakistan looks for handouts.