Role of governance, internal systems critical in ensuring human security: Expert

ISLAMABAD, Jan 13 (APP): Major-General (R) Ehsan Mehmood Khan, a human security expert and former Director- General of Institute for Strategic Studies, Research & Analysis (ISSRA), emphasized that Pakistan is maintaining effective comprehensive deterrence against threats while existential challenges still require traditional security responses whereas governance reforms, and the role of internal systems is critical in ensuring human security, service delivery and sustainable development.
He expressed these words at a lecture titled “Comprehensive Security and Sustainable Development: Concepts and Practices”, organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), here, said a press release issued on Tuesday.
Tracing the history of the concept of security from ancient times to the modern state system, Maj-Gen (R) Ehsan Mehmood Khan argued that the core purpose of the state should be peace, security, and inclusive prosperity.
Stressing the need for viewing security and development through a combined lens, he noted that prosperity cannot be achieved without comprehensiveness in national objectives.
Referring to his book Human Security in Pakistan, published in 2013 and taught at international institutions including the National Defense University in Washington, he said national security has no fixed definition and has evolved over centuries, often shaped by conflict and war. He cited the 1947 US National Security Act as a milestone that institutionalized national security frameworks later replicated in dozens of countries.
Security is not merely the absence of threats but also the capability to deal with them, with the state remaining the primary securitizing actor, he said, adding that national power is both a means and an end, dynamic in nature and difficult to measure absolutely.
Maj-Gen (R) Ehsan recalled Dr Mahbub ul Haq’s seminal contribution and the UN Human Security paradigm, which broadened security to include economic, food, health, environmental and social dimensions. He stressed that human development and human security are deeply interdependent, which form the foundation for sustainable stability.
Presenting his conceptual model for Pakistan’s Comprehensive National Security, he identified three key rungs: global security, state security and human security, with the latter two forming the core of comprehensive national security. He argued that true security can only be achieved when territorial, political, diplomatic, economic, cultural and human dimensions advance together, creating a “corridor of prosperity”.
During the question/answer session, the expert underscored that human security cannot be imagined without state security, and that strong state security does not inherently undermine human security. He noted that weak governance and poor resource utilization, however, can negatively impact service delivery and human wellbeing.
He said Pakistan is maintaining effective comprehensive deterrence against threats, while existential challenges still require traditional security responses. Emphasizing governance reforms, he highlighted the role of internal systems in ensuring human security, service delivery and sustainable development.
He also pointed to Pakistan’s socio-economic strengths, including over 10 million overseas Pakistanis, strong remittance inflows, and the world’s third-largest freelance community, urging the nation to move beyond and focus on strengthening internal capacities.
He reiterated that security ensures development and development reinforces security, and that comprehensive security can only be realized through balanced progress across all fronts of national life.