Reimagining Pakistan’s National Security: The Need For A Human-Centered Approach – OpEd
The devastating floods of 2022 did not just wash away homes, they washed away the very idea of what security means for Pakistan. National security, a phrase commonly used in Pakistan, has traditionally only been around safeguarding borders and maintaining territorial sovereignty.
While necessary, this has left other areas of security unchecked. The devastating floods that occurred in 2022 proved that, conventional strategies for protecting our citizens cannot be relied on to preserve their safety. Impacting more than 33 million people and causing total losses of more than $30 billion, the disaster should have been an eye-opening event, which would have emphasized the importance of the need to expand the definition of security to include the security of people.
As defined by the United Nations Development Programme, human security refers to the protection of individuals from threats such as hunger, diseases and displacement. This framework is important in understanding the risks that were highlighted by the floods. In Pakistan this would entail focusing on health, education and adaptation to climate change. The floods damaged 13% of the country’s health facilities, leaving millions without access to medical care. Education was similarly disrupted, with over 30,000 schools damaged or destroyed, affecting millions of children and deepening socio-economic disparities.
Economic projections by the World Bank suggest that without significant action, climate-related disasters could push an additional 18 to 30 million Pakistanis into poverty by 2030. Rebuilding efforts alone will require at least $16 billion to create resilient infrastructure and mitigate future risks. The scale of these challenges demands a shift in how Pakistan approaches national security.
The 2022 floods exposed how weak and outdated Pakistan’s security framework is. For too long, Pakistan has focused its security mainly on military defense, protecting borders, and guarding against external threats. While defending the country is important, this narrow view of security does not address the real dangers facing the humans of the country. The floods caused extensive destruction, leaving millions of people without homes and basic services. This showed that Pakistan’s security cannot just be about defense; it must also include the safety, health, and well-being of its citizens. The traditional security approach has failed to keep the people safe from climate change, natural disasters, and poverty.
Pakistan’s security priorities are stuck in the past. While billions of dollars are spent on military defense, very little is invested in protecting people from disasters, improving healthcare, or preparing for climate change. The country is facing growing threats from climate change, yet the security framework does almost nothing to address these problems. The government focuses on military threats but ignores the reality that the people’s safety is at risk from the effects of floods, droughts, and other natural disasters. For Pakistan to truly be secure, it needs to focus more on actually protecting it’s citizens.
The floods also highlighted the deeper issues that make the country vulnerable, such as poor planning and bad environmental practices. These problems have been ignored for years, and now they are coming back to hurt the country. The lack of action on things like better planning, environmental protection, and disaster management is a direct result of the security framework’s focus on military issues. While the military is important for defense, the country cannot be secure if its people are left exposed to natural disasters and other climate risks. Pakistan must shift its focus from just defending borders to also making sure its citizens are safe from these growing threats.
The floods also showed the need for better cooperation with neighboring countries. Water management, climate change, and other environmental issues are not just Pakistan’s problems. They affect everyone in the region. A lack of cooperation makes it harder to solve the climate and water issues that affect all countries in the region.
In the end, Pakistan needs to rethink what security really means. The country cannot keep focusing only on military defense while ignoring the real dangers its people face. Climate change, poverty, and natural disasters are just as important to national security as fenced borders. Pakistan must invest in infrastructure that can withstand climate change, improve healthcare, and create better disaster management systems. These things are not optional, we have reached a point where they are essential for the country’s survival. Until Pakistan broadens its idea of security to focus on people’s needs, it will continue to be exposed to disasters and growing instability.
