Elite rule and internal colonization: Pakistan 78 years after Independence

Seventy-eight years after the birth of Pakistan, the promise of liberation from colonial rule remains tragically unfulfilled. While the British Empire formally withdrew in 1947, the structures it left behind were not dismantled, they were repurposed.

The bureaucratic, military, and judicial institutions crafted by the British to subjugate the subcontinent were preserved and retooled by Pakistan’s post-colonial elite. Rather than fostering integration, reviving indigenous cultures, or empowering peripheral communities, the state entrenched centralized authority. The elite, feudal landlords, military generals, and bureaucrats, reconstructed colonial hierarchies to serve their own interests, perpetuating exclusion and exploitation under the guise of national unity.

Nowhere is this internal colonization more stark than in Balochistan. Despite being the largest and most resource-rich province, Balochistan remains economically paralyzed and politically marginalized. Its minerals and strategic assets have been extracted for national gain, while its people are left impoverished and disenfranchised. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), hailed as a beacon of development, has only deepened this divide. Gwadar port, the crown jewel of CPEC, has brought foreign workers and military presence, not jobs, infrastructure, or prosperity for locals. The people of Balochistan see this as a modern-day land grab, a continuation of colonial plunder under a national flag.

In the case of the Pashtuns, decades of military operations in the tribal areas, coupled with enforced disappearances and stereotyping, have fostered a deep sense of alienation. 

Similarly, Sindhis have faced state surveillance, suppression of nationalist movements, and limited access to political power, despite their historical and cultural significancecsohate.org. These patterns of repression are not isolated; they reflect a broader strategy by the central elite to maintain control by weakening regional identities and dissent. The state’s heavy-handed tactics, ranging from censorship and criminalization of activists to militarized crackdowns on protests, have further entrenched the perception of internal colonization among these communities

Pakistan’s legal system, steeped in colonial relics, has been weaponized to suppress dissent and silence minorities. Laws originally designed by the British to control a diverse population, such as Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code, have been repurposed to target religious minorities and stifle political opposition. Under General Zia-ul-Haq’s regime, these laws were Islamized and expanded, culminating in the Hadood Ordinances that curtailed civil liberties across religious lines. Enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and electoral manipulation in Balochistan reflect a state apparatus more concerned with control than justice.

Language, a cornerstone of identity, has also been colonized. The imposition of Urdu as the sole national language in post-independence Pakistan laid the foundation for a rigid linguistic hierarchy that marginalized regional identities, most notably Bengali in East Pakistan. Despite Bengali being spoken by the majority of the population, it was denied equal status, fueling resentment and igniting the Language Movement of 1952. This cultural suppression, emblematic of internal colonization, deepened political and economic divides between East and West Pakistan. The refusal to recognize linguistic plurality ultimately catalyzed a broader struggle for autonomy, culminating in the secession of East Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, a stark reminder of how linguistic exclusion can fracture a nation.

The elite have engineered a five-tier linguistic hierarchy: English reigns supreme as the language of power and privilege; Urdu serves the middle class; regional languages like Pashto, Sindhi, Balochi, and Saraiki are relegated to obscurity. This deliberate marginalization has stunted the growth of indigenous cultures and erased local narratives from national discourse. The suppression of regional languages is not merely administrative, it is a cultural conquest.

In regions like ‘Azad’ Jammu and Kashmir, recent protests have exposed how Islamabad treats peripheral areas as subjugated colonies, denying royalties, silencing dissent, and deploying force to suppress unrest. Even Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has acknowledged Pakistan’s “elite problem,” where military, feudal, and business dynasties dominate national priorities while contributing little to the public goodIndia Today. These excesses reflect a continuity of colonial-style governance, where power is concentrated and accountability remains elusive.

The behavior of Pakistan’s military elite mirrors that of colonial masters in both style and substance. Just as colonial rulers extracted wealth, centralized power, and lived apart from the people they governed, Pakistan’s top brass have built sprawling business empires through entities like the Fauji Foundation and Army Welfare Trust, often prioritizing profit and privilege over public service. The relocation of families abroad by generals like Asim Munir reflects a colonial mindset of detachment, where the elite insulate themselves from the consequences of their governance, choosing comfort in foreign havens while ordinary citizens grapple with instability at home. This elite insulation, coupled with economic control and political influence, evokes the very imperial structures Pakistan once fought to escape.