As Pakistan gears up to take to the polls on Thursday, February 8, to elect representatives of the National Assembly, concerns are being raised about the credibility of the elections. In its restive province of Balochistan, largest in terms of land but least populated, the situation is grimmer: Violence has marred elections campaigns of several … Read more
Pakistan’s elections on February 8 come after one of the most turbulent periods in the country’s history. Around 127 million people will go to the polls on the back of a politically and economically choppy 20 months, dating back to the removal of the then-Prime Minister Imran Khan and his governing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party … Read more
The United Nations’ top human rights body expressed concern Tuesday over the “pattern of harassment” against members of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party ahead of this week’s parliamentary election. During a news briefing in Geneva, Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged Pakistani authorities to ensure a fully … Read more
For the next episode in our Road to ‘24 series, Beyond the Indus host Tushar Shetty sat down with Michael Kugelman and Kunwar Khuldune Shahid to break down Pakistan’s chaotic election campaign. Kugelman is the director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., and Shahid is a Pakistan-based correspondent for … Read more
A Pakistani court acquitted former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a graft case on Wednesday, removing a major obstacle for him to run in parliamentary elections in February. The Islamabad High Court’s decision comes weeks after it restored Sharif’s right to appeal a 2018 conviction in a case relating to the purchase of luxury apartments … Read more
Advertisement As Pakistan heads toward its next general elections, set for late January 2024, the political scene is heating up. One former prime minister – Imran Khan – is facing trial on charges of leaking state secrets this week, while another former PM – Nawaz Sharif – just stage a triumphant return home, having received … Read more
Advertisement Nawaz Sharif – a three-time prime minister and a proclaimed offender in an ongoing corruption case – is back in Pakistan following four years of self-imposed exile in London. There has been a mixed reaction to his arrival, but that’s a bet the Pakistani army seems to be taking after their previous golden child, … Read more
Motorcyclists drive past welcoming banners for Pakistan’s self-exiled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, installed along a highway in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Oct. 19, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Anjum Naveed Advertisement A court in Pakistan on Thursday granted several days of protection from arrest to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in graft cases, clearing the way for him … Read more
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif leaves a court in Lahore, Pakistan, on Oct. 8, 2018. Credit: AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary, File Advertisement The return of three-time former Prime Minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif to Pakistan later this month after four years of self-imposed exile in London raises intriguing questions about the … Read more
The Pulse | Politics | South Asia Khan’s lawyers say the closed trial is a gambit to ensure a quick conviction and sentencing of the former premier ahead of parliamentary elections. Advertisement Lawyers for Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday opposed his closed-door trial in a case in which he is accused of revealing state secrets … Read more