ࡱ> *,)'` bjbj . XXXXXXXl  l88888   WYYYYYY$h}X  }XX88 X8X8WWXX8, 7 W0""X7  -  4    }}     lllPlllPlllXXXXXX Regarding the Woodrow Wilson Center's conference "Defusing the Bomb: Overcoming Pakistan's Population Challenge," held on June 9, 2010, I have two major points. First, Pakistan's rapid population growth is not unique in the world. Second, a better approach to analyzing the drivers of political and social instability within Pakistan would be to focus on the tensions among the countrys principal ethnic groups. Increasing population pressure will, of course, exacerbate an already volatile situation. Several other countries by 2050 will have larger populations than Pakistan, and other large countries are projected to have faster population growth rates. While increasing at a slower rate, neighboring India will add more people between now and 2050 than Pakistan's total population in 2050. By that date, Pakistan will be fourth in population behind India, China, and the United States. Of the 20 countries with the fastest growing populations, Pakistan comes in seventh, behind Nigeria, Congo-Kinshasa, Ethiopia, Yemen, Uganda, and Tanzania. More destabilizing for Pakistan than population growth are the distinctions--including separate languages--and rivalries among the country's principal ethnic groups: Pashtuns, Sindhis and Baluchis. The Pashtuns and Baluchis--the smallest of the three groups--vie for influence in the government. Most of the Taliban rebels are Pashtuns, whereas the Sindhis historically have taken a more peaceful approach in trying to protect and promote their interests. The Pashtuns and Baluchis are more commercially oriented than the Sindhis, who are mostly rural people. Historically, and largely still true today, these three groups inhabit separate areas of Pakistan. They have existed as coherent entities for centuries and are unlikely to lose their separate senses of identity in the foreseeable future. Further complicating the situation for Pakistan's stability, members of the same ethnic groups also reside in Afghanistan. Without a basic understanding of these groups' interests and grievances, it is difficult to get a clear picture of sources of social and political tensions roiling Pakistan internally and inits relations with Afghanistan. I am particularly concerned about these issues because in my discussions with officials from the U.S. State and Defense Departments over the past year, they have questioned the relevance of ethnic factors in examining Pakistan's political and social situations. I appreciate the opportunity to air these issues in a forum associated with President Woodrow Wilson, whose foreign policy early on recognized the importance of minority rights and national self determination. Dr. Walt Landry Executive Director, International Think-tank for National Self-determination  # $ !hhB*OJQJ^JphhhB*OJQJ^JphhB*OJQJ^Jph  $ & JLgd,1h/ =!"#$% @@@ NormalCJ_HaJmH sH tH DA@D Default Paragraph FontRi@R  Table Normal4 l4a (k@(No List4^`4  Normal (Web)4U`4  Hyperlink >*phFV@F FollowedHyperlink >*B* ph $&JL 000000000000000&JL 000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00   8@0(  B S  ?&Y)D}Z)[)ĭ\)!])Ĭ^)_)D`)īa)b)c)Dd)e)Īf)g)Dh)i)ĩj)k)Dl)m)n)o)Tp)q)=r)=s)|t)|u)}v){w)\|x)y)z)${)<|)Tr})4!~)<HHAA4ahww ==sl       !"#$%##PPII<fm !!EE{t   !"#$%=%*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags PlaceNameB"*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagscountry-region8*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsCity9&*urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttagsplace *&%%%"&&"&""&""""&""""""&"&"&""&""&"&"    t5`U,zt5`@$ P@UnknownGz Times New Roman5Symbol3& z Arial"hL]E E !r4d 2QKX)?2Regarding the Woodrow Wilson Center's conference "Defusing the Bomb: Overcoming Pakistan's Population Challenge," held on June 9, 2010, I have two major points PrimaryUser PrimaryUserOh+'0DPdp|    Regarding the Woodrow Wilson Center's conference "Defusing the Bomb: Overcoming Pakistan's Population Challenge," held on June 9, 2010, I have two major points PrimaryUserNormal PrimaryUser1Microsoft Office Word@_@oԞ@f4E ՜.+,0 hp  mWWICS ' Regarding the Woodrow Wilson Center's conference "Defusing the Bomb: Overcoming Pakistan's Population Challenge," held on June 9, 2010, I have two major points Title  "#$%&'(+Root Entry Fz7-1TableWordDocument.SummaryInformation(DocumentSummaryInformation8!CompObjq  FMicrosoft Office Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.89q