The burdens of war

FOR many decades now, Pakistan has been investing in a large and expensive military apparatus to fend off external threats to the country. Today, that apparatus faces its supreme test.

With the near simultaneous start of conflict in Afghanistan and Iran, the country’s entire western border is now a war zone. Moreover, neither war looks like it will be over soon. With the prospect of protracted conflict on the entire western flank, Pakistan must now take sober stock of its resource position...