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Quote by Husain Haqqani

“Pakistanis often recount how civil servants in Pakistan’s early days worked out of makeshift offices, lived in tents and ran the government with limited stationery supplies. While the account is generally accurate, and the sacrifice of the officials admirable, it is equally important to understand that the difficulty was the result of a poor choice. Pakistan’s founder had selected the country’s capital to be located in a city lacking adequate facilities, preferring it over another provincial capital with a better establishment.”

Quote by Husain Haqqani

Work

Reimagining Pakistan: Transforming a Dysfunctional Nuclear State

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Author

Husain Haqqani
Husain Haqqani

Husain Haqqani is an author and academic specializing in Pakistan and South Asia. Born on July 1, 1956, he has authored numerous works on the region's political and economic issues, and served as Pakistan's ambassador to the United States from 2008 to 2011. more

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“It is noteworthy that the Muslim League had campaigned for Pakistan for seven years without deciding what its capital might be. The Bengalis proposed Dhaka while others suggested Lahore and even Multan, a historic city in the south of Punjab. But the subject was never seriously discussed while rallying Muslims to the cause of Pakistan. After belatedly deciding on Karachi as the capital, Muslim League leaders expected the British Indian Army to resolve the problems they might encounter in accommodating the government of their new country. This was one of the earliest manifestations of Pakistan’s tendency to rely on the military as the solution to problems normally falling in the civilian domain.”