The very basis of Pakistan was religion. Before independence, the power house of Muslim League (ML) was mainly concentrated in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and the then Bengal with Bombay-based Mr M A Jinnah at the helm. The conflict between Congress and ML on the issue of partition was that of mind set. Congress leadership grew out of middle class Indians with progressive out look for democracy and secularism. But the core of ML leadership was basically the Muslim aristocracy. This Muslim aristocracy mobilised the common Muslims of undivided India to compensate for their loss of power following 1857. Congress played many dubious games with ML and the latter did some crude and brute show of power. ML leaders were obsessed with the fear that in undivided free India, minority Muslims would be subjugated by the majority Hindus. They also could not reconcile with the fact that they were no longer the rulers of India.
Mr Jinnah, progressive and secular at personal level, had the vision of a democratic Pakistan for Muslims of undivided India where the minority non-Muslims would also have equal right and opportunity. From the beginning, the difference between West and East Pakistan was apparent. The society of West Pakistan was primarily feudal (Panjab & Sind) and Jirga based (Balochistan & NWFP). FATA was a virtually independent tribal belt which was used as buffer by the British between India and Afghanistan. The feudal lords of Pakistan, who were in fore front of power chain, had little knowledge, aptitude or intention to develop a sustainable political structure for the development of people and country. With the death of Mr Jinnah, they started to reap the harvest of Pakistan for their own benefits. An extreme animosity with India was inculcated by the Pakistani army, which gradually became another formidable power centre in Pakistan.
India played a dirty game in Kashmir after independence. The much publicised plebiscite in Kashmir could not be held as Pakistani army did not withdraw from line of control. The corrupt and incompetent politicians and authoritative, power hungry and Indo-phobic army, who ruled Pakistan, neglected the socio-economic development of the country. The country remained basically divided between minority Badshas and majority Gulams. Islam was used to defuse popular discontents and pamper the religious leaders who became another stakeholder in Pakistani politics. Anti-India publicity was perpetually used as cementing force in the divisive community of Pakistan. However, after more than six decades of existence, Pakistan is violently divided into Sunni and Shia; Punjabi, Pashtun and Sindi; Deobandi and Barelvi; Mohajir and indigenous people etc.. Unfortunately there is no Pakistani in Pakistan.
The rulers of Pakistan, from its early stage, aligned with US and China only for getting financial and technological supports to become militarily more powerful than India. In the process they minted millions of Dollars also. The Pakistani army has been vent upon to teach India a lesson for Kashmir and Bangladesh debacles. This short-sighted approach has further degraded the priority for socio-economic development of the country. In the social-economic sectors like education, health, employment, road, industry and electricity etc. of Pakistan has gone down hill from bad to worse. The sectarian violence and terrorist activities have become common place in Pakistan. The country is bleeding from within.
US have taken Pakistan for granted, made it their war base to fight in Afghanistan and playing with the sovereignty of the country.
If Pakistani rulers, taking inputs from its mandarins, can not determine the correct priorities for the country and appropriate strategy for its governance, Pakistan will possibly become another Somalia in near future.