Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy by Ayesha Siddiqa

Pakistan has emerged as a strategic ally of the United States in the “war on terror.” It is the third largest recipient of U.S. aid in the world. But how stable is Pakistan? Ayesha Siddiqa shows how the military has gradually gained control of Pakistan’s political, social, and economic resources. T his power has transformed Pakistani society, where the armed forces have become an independent class.

The military is entrenched in the corporate sector and controls the country’s largest companies and large tracts of real estate. So Pakistan’s companies and its main assets are in the hands of a tiny minority of senior army officials. Siddiqa examines this military economy and the consequences of merging the military and corporate sectors. Does democracy have a future in the new Pakistan? Will the generals ever withdraw to the barracks. Military Inc. analyzes the internal and external dynamics of this gradual power-building and the impact that it is having on Pakistan’s political and economic development.