Electoral politics
The victory of PML-N candidate Shaista Pervaiz Malik in the recent Lahore by-election was not surprising. The only surprise was that no big fuss was made about rigging and fraud.…
Electoral politics in Punjab
While it may seem like there is still a long way to go, two years is not really too far away before the scheduled elections in 2023. The last year…
Fixing politics by non-political means
Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown in a September 2006 coup and subsequently convicted of corruption, is back in the country after years in exile. His party…
Electoral reforms
A joint session of parliament passed the Elections (Amendment) Bill 2023 last week. Through this bill, the coalition government has made 54 amendments in the Election Act 2017, most of…
IMF versus vote politics
In political science, economic voting is a theoretical perspective which argues that voter behavior is heavily influenced by the economic conditions in the country at the time of the election. According to this perspective, voters tend to vote…
Politics of lies
A political party in Pakistan with specific political objectives is hell-bent on snatching these objectives by inciting public resentment and trying to erode trust in Pakistan’s critical institutions. The party…
Principled politics, anyone?
When on May 14, 2006 – nearly 17 years ago – the Charter of Democracy (CoD) was signed between Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Mr Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, both were in…
Politics and the Pakistani diaspora
Historically, ‘diaspora’ had a very specific meaning – mostly ascribed to Jews and Armenians’ dispersions around the world – epitomizing the historical oppression and neglect these communities had to face…
Politics of false narratives
Imran Khan lacks the credentials of a visionary leader who has an unswerving commitment to prioritize national interests. But he surely is a master in carving out false narratives and…
Misogyny in politics
In the backdrop of growing political unrest last month, on April 8, the then prime minister Imran Khan in his last address on national TV proclaimed that reserved seats are…
