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From the first day of independence, Pakistan's foreign policy has been based on fear of India. Except for the Moslem religion, this fear is the only unifying force in the nation. Pakistan is, in fact, two countries separated by a 1,000-mile-wide corridor of intervening Indian territory. West Pakistan, an arid, sprawling land much like the American Southwest, is inhabited by 45 million tall, hardy, light-complexioned Pathans, Sindhis, and Punjabis, who dominate the government and the army. East Pakistan is small, waterlogged, and congested with a population of 55 million short, dark-complexioned Bengalis, who are usually protesting that they are ignored by the national government. In the west, Urdu is the dominant language; in the east, Bengali. They have different scripts and are completely different languages. English is commonly used in government and business.
Pakistan, which means "Land of the Pure" in Urdu, is a country without a history and with very little identity. In the west, 86% of the people are illiterate, and most are under the thumb of zamindars, or landlords. In the east, the literacy rate is somewhat better, but the population density among the highest in the world. Two men have built the nation: Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the father of his country, and Mohammed Ayub Khan, who has ruled one way or another since 1958. Under Ayub, there has been an industrial surge that looks more spectacular than it is because the original base was so small. Compared even to India, Pakistan is today an industrial pygmy. Using his system of "Basic Democracy" to keep the vote in the hands of a privileged few, Ayub rules firmly but with considerable justice; he encourages foreign investment and gives tax credits to home-grown investors. He has also done much to mollify East Pakistan with a heavy increase in government capital outlay.
Despite its large population, East Pakistan is lightly held, with a single infantry division. New Delhi's propaganda insists that there will be no invasion, that India regards East Pakistan as a friendly neutral. Pakistani propaganda similarly works hard to woo the dominant Sikhs of India's Punjab, assuring them that every effort will be made to avoid damaging their sacred Golden Temple in Amritsar and urging that they sit out the war. Neither appeal is apt to be very successful.
Wet Cement. While Nehru's India preached neutralism, Pakistan early joined every alliance in sight. It was an original member of CENTO, it belongs to SEATO, and would have joined NATO if it could have. Pakistan signed a bilateral defense treaty with the U.S. in 1954 and supplied the U.S. with the Peshawar airfield as a convenient base for U-2 spy planes flying over Russia.