Idea of the Day: Approach Pakistan's Military Establishment in Ways that Support Good Governance and Economic Development

The United States should continue to strengthen relations with Pakistan's military and intelligence agencies, but do so in a way that does not undermine civilian control and political reform in Pakistan. The United States should support and interact with the Pakistani military establishment with policies that encourage Pakistani civilian oversight. This means engaging with its military as a component of the government as a whole rather than as an autonomous institution, allocating more funding through the government of Pakistan and not the Pakistani military, and meeting Pakistani military officials while keeping Pakistani civilian leadership informed or present. U.S. funding to Pakistan's military should be targeted toward specific shared objectives, and tied to performance, such as good faith efforts by the Pakistani military to crack down on militant groups in Pakistan, and to stop cross-border attacks into Afghanistan.

For more on this topic, please see:

• Partnership for Progress: Advancing a New Strategy for Prosperity and Stability in Pakistan and the Region by Caroline Wadhams, Brian Katulis, Lawrence J. Korb, and Colin Cookman