It’s a 2013 interview, however its resonance in 2025 is placing. As financial instability grips Pakistan and thousands and thousands of youngsters stay out of college, a resurfaced clip of former ambassador Hussain Haqqani is sparking debate. In it, Haqqani delivers a blistering critique of Pakistan’s nationwide priorities — spotlighting the distinction between its nuclear prowess and its uncared for social cloth.
Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan’s former envoy to america and a long-standing critic of the nation’s strategic doctrine, laid naked the contradictions in its governance mannequin throughout the dialogue in 2013. “One-third of (Pakistan’s) younger inhabitants… by no means see the within of any college — neglect about madrasas, spiritual faculties, any college,” he stated. “One other one-third lives under the poverty line, and but the nation has nuclear weapons.”
Haqqani argued that Pakistan’s challenges stem not from hostile neighbors however from inside. “The true risk to Pakistan primarily is from a failure to return to phrases with its geography, with its historical past, and with having a route for it as a nation,” he stated.
Regardless of acknowledging the precision and management behind Pakistan’s nuclear programme, Haqqani questioned its relevance to the typical citizen’s life. “We at the moment are just like the man who retains shopping for weapons to attempt to shield himself after which says, ‘Oh gosh, I am unable to sleep as a result of I am afraid someone will steal my weapons,’” he stated, critiquing the nation’s safety fixation.
He referred to as for a nationwide reorientation — echoing former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s imaginative and prescient for a Pakistan invested in training and world integration. “We’ll maintain the nukes, however we are going to finally join with some type of worldwide settlement… We aren’t going to reside as an insecure nation,” he stated, citing Bhutto.
The interview’s renewed circulation comes amid persistent financial turmoil, an exploding youth demographic, and a flailing public training system — reinforcing Haqqani’s warning that no quantity of weaponry can compensate for human underdevelopment.
