Abstract: The Pakistan army elicits many concerns about terrorism, nuclear
proliferation and the coherence of the state. However, very little is actually known
about this institution. This essay mobilizes unique data to address one important
facet: the army’s geographical recruitment base. We find that the Pakistan army
has been successful at expanding the geographical recruitment base while some
groups (namely those who are native to Sindh) remain highly under-represented.
We also find that the officer corps is increasingly coming from urban areas. We
conclude with a discussion of the implications of these important shifts subject to
the limitations of our data.
July 2010
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