ISSRA PAPERS 2017 CHALLENGES OF NATIONAL INTEGRATION IN PAKISTAN AND STRATEGIC RESPONSE Syed Jawad Shah & Waseem Ishaque * Abstract National integration is the pursuit for harmony within the State. Irrespective of religion, race, creed, ethnic background and language, national integration binds every segment of society for a unified cause of serving and development of a nation state; therefore, it has great relevance and a direct bearing on national security. Integration is also a consistent development in which diverse sections of society are provided with identical prospects and equal rights to enjoy several amenities devoid of any discrimination. The process of national integration will be strengthened on the precondition that governance at national level should be able to provide strong sense of national identity and national pride by equal development and ensuring equal rights for all communities, regions and the federating units. The significant task confronted by the leaders of most of the post-colonial countries is to generate national identity out of varied linguistic, regional and cultural identities 1 . A number of developing nations particularly in Africa and Asia are confronted with problems of national integration and Pakistan is no exception. This research article sketches out the theoretical aspects related to national integration and draws its relevance by identifying challenges and implications for Pakistan. In the last part, suggestions in the form of recommendations have been proffered for enhancing national integration in the country. Keywords: National Integration, National Security, Nationalism, National Development Introduction he struggle launched by Muslims of India for a separate homeland under the banner of All India Muslim League and the charismatic leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah succeeded on 14 August 1947 in the shape of a sovereign country, Pakistan, appearing on the world map. * Syed Jawad Shah has done M.Phil in Media Studies from Hazara University Mansehra and Dr. Waseem Ishaque is currently serving as Assistant Professor at Department of International Relation, National Defence University, Islamabad. . T