Imran Khan — 9DASHLINE

Written by Dr Filippo Boni

Pakistan is scheduled to hold its twelfth general election on 8 February, amid a deteriorating security situation in parts of the country, allegations of an uneven playing field against the former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his party, and with China and the United States waiting to find out who will lead the next Pakistani government.

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Pakistan-Afghanistan relations: going from bad to much worse

By Dr Claude Rakisits

All in all, the expulsion en masse of the Afghan refugees will make things worse, bilaterally, and quite possibly, regionally. Certainly, no one’s security will improve; if anything, it will further destabilise Afghanistan already tottering on the brink of collapse.

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Khan versus the rest: What lies ahead for Pakistan

Written by Syed Ali Zia Jaffery

The crisis can only end if the government realises that preventing people from exercising their right to vote will be counterproductive going forward.

Bite the hand that fed you: Imran Khan’s populist challenge for the military

Written by Marcus Andreopoulos

Out of office, Khan is proving to be a relentless source of pressure, first for Bajwa and now for Munir. Khan has accused the military of holding the country back during a time of economic and humanitarian catastrophe.

South Asia, Power Politics9DLFebruary 22, 20239DashLine, Bite the hand that fed you: Imran Khan’s populist challenge for the military, Marcus Andreopoulus, Pakistan, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, General Asim Munir, Chief of Army Staff (COAS), elections, military, tensions with India, Taliban, Afghanistan, Durand Line, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, Islamabad, military aid, Washington, united states, Beijing, Imran Khan, populism, populist rhetoric, Russia, mafia media, general election of 2018, Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan Muslim League (N), General Pervez Musharraf, 1999 military coup, Sharif and Bhutto Zardari dynasties, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), domestic policy, defence, security, and foreign policy, civilian government, financial crisis, military budget, celebrity politicians, Donald Trump, anti-establishment statements, corruption, political elite, cult of personality, us versus them, minority rights, equality, Islamic welfare state, geo-economics, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), mob lynchings, blasphemy laws, primacy of the military, Chief Minister of Punjab Aleem Khan, military’s intelligence wing (ISI), Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, conspiracy, Arshad Sharif, United States Capitol

Pakistan’s fatiguing interest in the IMF reform program

Written by Asad Ejaz Butt

While Pakistan does not have any alternate short-term options other than returning to the IMF, it can consider structural reforms, like targeted subsidies and rationalisation of current expenditure through fiscal prudence and better management of state resources.

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Press freedoms in Pakistan — as polarisation deepens, journalism pays the price

Written by Furqan Khan

Targeting and punishing dissenting voices threatens to define Pakistan’s political culture. However, repressing dissenting voices is a self-inflicted wound.

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Unending hybridity: Has Shahbaz Sharif’s arrival changed Pakistan’s politics?

Written by Ayesha Siddiqa

Pakistan has just turned 75, but there is little hope in people’s hearts for a transformation from a decades-old military dominated power to a country under greater civilian control.

South Asia9DLAugust 29, 20229DashLine, Unending hybridity: Has Shahbaz Sharif’s arrival changed Pakistan’s politics?, Ayesha Siddiqa, Shahbaz Sharif, Pakistan, Imran Khan, Inter-Services Intelligence, ISI, Pakistan Muslim League, PMLN, Mariam Nawaz Sharif, hybrid civil-military rule, traditional patronage politics, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, civil bureaucracy, Musharraf regime, armed forces personnel, Special Committee on National Security, Nawaz Sharif, Military Land & Cantonment, Saeed Shafqat, military, civil service reforms, General Ayub Khan, Punjab, General Qamar Javed Bajwa Khan, army, Pakistan army, AYESHA SIDDIQA, Columbia, Heidelberg, Ankara, China Pakistan Economic Corridor, CPEC, National Database and Registration Authority, NADRA, Ayub Khan, Pakistan National Shipping Corporation, PNSC, Javed Bajwa Khan, London

Imran Khan — the end of a civilian dictator

Written by Ayesha Siddiqa

Indeed, in his political career spanning about two decades, he never learned the art of adjustment, honouring commitments, or following principles. He remained a good agitator, a master in building a popular narrative and catching people’s imagination, but without the capacity to deliver.

Russia and Pakistan: Strange partnership

Written by Vuk Vuksanovic

Pakistan needs partners among great and regional powers concerned about the fate of Afghanistan. Russia, on the other hand, had to strengthen its diplomatic and market ties with non-Western countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America as a result of the Ukraine Crisis and worsening relations with the West.

Indo-Pakistan relations: A reset on the horizon?

Written by Claude Rakisits

Militarily, this is an agreement that India needed more than Pakistan, especially following last year’s military confrontation with the Chinese in Ladakh (which is part of the greater Kashmir area). Caught on the backfoot, Delhi could not afford, in military and budgetary terms, to have two active fronts to worry about on its northwest border, particularly given that Pakistan and China are strategic allies.