Pakistan ranked fifth most unstable country

[sonicboom]

Pakistan ranked fifth most unstable country

By Staff Reporter
Thursday, 10 Jun, 2010

WASHINGTON, June 9: Pakistan is the world’s fifth most unstable country, better only than Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and Sudan in that order, says the US State Department.

The department’s Global Peace Index (GPI), released on Wednesday, reports that Pakistan’s overall score deteriorated steadily for the second successive year and it slid three places into the bottom five.

Pakistan’s overall rank now is 145 on a list of 149 countries.

All South Asian nations occupy the lower half of the regional table, headed by Nepal, in 82nd place. India, although better than Pakistan, is also in the red zone and is ranked 128.

Israel rose two places to 144th in the 2010 index. Now it is one place ahead of Pakistan.Ongoing internal conflicts and related security concerns in Afghanistan and Pakistan contribute to their low rankings.

Embroiled in conflict and instability for much of the past two decades, Afghanistan remained far from peaceful during 2009.

A sharp rise in Pakistan’s GPI indicator of the number of people killed in internal conflict and upward shifts in scores for the potential of terrorist acts, the likelihood of violent demonstrations and the homicide rate underline the extent to which the country became embroiled in violence that verged on civil war in 2009.

Frequent suicide bombings and attacks by religious insurgents occurred throughout the year and across the country.

Major offensives by the army against Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in Swat valley and in South Waziristan forced more than two million people to flee their homes.

Conflict also increasingly afflicted Balochistan, parts of Punjab, Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan in 2009.

The report notes that Pakistan’s score and rank did not fall further in part because of an improvement in the measure of relations with neighbouring countries, albeit from the lowest possible level, and a slight rise in political stability.

The report points out that “overall, government level relations between India and Pakistan are much stronger than in the past, and the fact that India’s recent general election resulted in another government led by the Indian National Congress party means that Indian policy towards Pakistan will remain stable.”

The report notes that when he reinstated Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, who was sacked in 2007, President Asif Ali Zardari “addressed the key source of recent political tensions, resolving a stand-off between the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and Mr Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party.”

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[A1Kaid]

It makes no difference whatsoever what ranking Pakistan is, it simply does not matter. Yes instability matters, but this ranking list does not.

[UmairP]

I highly doubt this rating. There are more unstable countries out there, why Pakistan is at 5th?

[vinod2070]

Well, the ranking doesn't make any country more unstable than it is but it has the potential to affect foreign investment and tourism.

To that extent it has some importance.

[Jihad]

This rating is meaningless, our "ally", the U.S. wants a stable and prosperous Pakistan, a Pakistan where they too can benefit from and would be better for the rest of the world.

But as vinod rightly pointed out, how can that be if companies, investors etc see this list? It has quite an impact if we believe it or not. And this only delays our efforts to become a 'stable' country.

[Selma Shirazi]

Originally Posted by sonicboom

Pakistan ranked fifth most unstable country

By Staff Reporter
Thursday, 10 Jun, 2010

WASHINGTON, June 9: Pakistan is the world’s fifth most unstable country, better only than Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and Sudan in that order, says the US State Department.

We are ranked below North Korea!

[Zaki]

and the good thing is that we are in Top 5 if you read from the bottom

@ topic

well Pakistan being a war-torn country with poor economy, poverty and corruption is understandable. But i am surprised to see India still under the red zone. I thought they have improved a lot recently

[vinod2070]

^^ Well I am not sure what their criteria is but surely the Maoist and other small insurgencies would lower India's rating. Our pathetic HDI rank would also drag it down.

[Neo]

Taliban insurgency is responsible for same in Pakistan.

[Neo]

Going down in GPI ranking

EDITORIAL (June 12 2010): Global Peace Index (GPI), widely considered a milestone in the study of a country's peacefulness and security, has ranked Pakistan the fifth most unstable country, better only than Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and Sudan in that order. Those compiling the results worked with a definition of peace that is not the opposite of war but the absence of violence.

A comparison of the figures of the four GPI surveys since 2007 indicates peace conditions in Pakistan continue to deteriorate. Pakistan ranked 115 in 2007, 127 in 2008, 137 in 2009 and 145 in 2010, keeping in view that the lower score indicates more peacefulness. Interestingly, Israel ranking at 144 is just a step ahead of Pakistan, while India enjoying 128th position is also grouped among the red countries rather than those considered green.

Israel which enjoyed 119th position in the first survey conducted in 2007 has also steadily become less peaceful. India improved its position from 109 in 2007 to 107 in 2008 only to continuously lose it over the next two years. Among the criteria used to determine a country's position are the number of external and internal wars fought, estimated deaths due to external wars, estimated deaths due to internal wars, level of organised internal conflict, relations with neighbouring countries, level of distrust in other citizens, number of displaced persons as a percentage of the population, political instability, the level of respect for human rights, the potential for terrorist acts, the number of homicides, the level of violent crimes, likelihood of violent demonstrations, the number of jailed persons, military expenditure as a percentage of GDP, the number of armed services personnel, military personnel per 100,000 people, imports of major conventional weapons per 100,000 people, and the ease of access to small arms and light weapons.

The criteria have interesting implications. New Zealand has bagged the top position as the most peaceful nation for the second year running owing to its political stability, internal safety and friendly relations with neighbours. The United States ranks right in the middle of the list at 85, achieving good results for factors like respect for human rights and relations with neighbours and other countries, but low scores in areas like domestic homicides, number of jail inmates, military expenditures and involvement in external conflicts. Given the criteria, the US trails not only countries like Austria and Costa Rica but also Libya, Cuba, and Equatorial Guinea.

The GPI concludes that the world in 2009 was slightly less peaceful than in 2008. It maintains that the global recession has been a catalyst for conditions that lead to violence. While it affirms that there is a correlation between economic prosperity and peacefulness, it cautions that growing prosperity alone does not necessarily equate with a rising peace index: Russia has experienced some impressive economic growth in recent years, but remains near the bottom of the GPI, ranking 143 after a recent economic downturn, conflict in Georgia and internal violence in Chechnya.

The Global Peace Index has two operational implications for a country like Pakistan. First, it draws the attention of policymakers to the vulnerabilities the country is prone to. Second, it can sway the judgement of foreign investors. The ruling coalition in Pakistan has inherited a situation of internal conflict requiring it to take recourse to military operations to establish the writ of the state in FATA and deal with the havoc created by terrorists inside the country.

The failure to resolve the Balochistan issue has led to deterioration in conditions in the province. The government has meanwhile worked hard to get the composite dialogue started with India. There is a need on the part of India to realise that the improvement of relations between the two neighbours would bring peace to the region and improve the ranking of both in the GPI. Pakistan, meanwhile, needs to improve the ability of its institutions to address the issues confronted by the country.

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]