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Islam is the key character of Pakistan's national identity, but ironically, it has also become a tool used by different sectarian/jihadi outfits to perpetrate violence against different religious minorities in Pakistan. The targeted persecution of the Hazara Shia community in Balochistan certainly stands among such cases. Since 2003, a Sunni militant group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), has been perpetrating targeted violence against the Hazara Shias in Balochistan. This paper explores why LeJ has been waging targeted violence against the Hazara community. Is it motivated solely by anti-Shia hatred or are other factors, such as local-level socio-political and economic grievances and the changing regional security environment, also playing a part in exacerbating the violence? The analysis reveals that although Sunni-Shia sectarian dimensions and regional geopolitical factors are still relevant in explaining the targeted persecution of Hazaras, they are no longer the sole instrumental causes behind the violence. It demonstrates that local level disputes over socio-economic resources and access to political power have now become more significant, to the extent that they are transforming the relationship between Sunni sectarian outfits and local ethnic communities in Balochistan, thus creating incentives for militant groups to promote religious hatred and sectarian intolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pakistan claims to maintain neutrality in the Iran–Saudi rift. Sustaining this approach, however, has been problematic against a backdrop of intensifying Iran–Saudi rivalry. Pakistan's choices suggest a tilt towards Saudi Arabia. Based on extensive fieldwork in Islamabad, this paper focuses on the meanings and uses of neutrality in Pakistan's foreign policy. The paper argues that Pakistan cannot be neutral due to its stronger cultural, economic and defence ties with Saudi Arabia but it promotes this rhetoric due to a combination of demographic, geographic and geopolitical factors. Islamabad's claim of neutrality serves the dual purpose of the national interests in relation to domestic and foreign affairs. Based on its economic, sectarian and geopolitical realities, Pakistan desires a neutrality in the Iranian-Saudi rivalry but it is very difficult because it has strong and multifaceted relations with Saudi Arabia. Based on the assessment of Pakistan's foreign policy choices, we argue that Pakistan continues to lean away from Iran towards Saudi Arabia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pakistan's progress toward full democracy is dependent upon many variables. One major obstacle to establishment of a mature democracy is widespread corruption, which penetrates deep into the institutions of governance and accountability. Three civilian governments (1958–1971, 1977–1988, 1999–2008) have been overthrown by the military, and three (1988–1990, 1991–1993, 1994–1996) removed by elected presidents on charges of 'public corruption.' The extensive literature on causes of corruption in Pakistan has focused on the most apparent reasons, which include politicized bureaucracy, weak institutions, and incompetent political classes. No attention has been paid to the role of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), a legal framework under which the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has been operating since November 1999. This study is the first to highlight the NAO's role in spreading corruption. Rational choice theory and the economics of crime are applied to evaluate Pakistan's anti-corruption law, particularly the settlement system. The study concludes that flaws in the law in an environment where the NAB lacks institutional autonomy result in the benefits of a crime outweighing the costs for an offender. In other words, awareness of gaps in the law increases corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the Pakistani state has made significant advances in formalising and universalising citizenship through the digitisation of citizenship numbers. The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) is at the forefront of this initiative, which has now covered 96% of Pakistan’s 180 million citizens. The state successfully used this digitisation of citizenship to reach out to its citizens in the aftermath of a large-scale flooding disaster in 2010 and 2011. The universal cash transfer programme instituted for disaster-affected households used citizenship numbers to identify and then provide ATM cards to those domiciled in the worst-affected regions. This paper draws upon my fieldwork done in 2012-2013 in Lower Sindh and argues that while still in its infancy, a new form of ‘disaster citizenship’ is visible in southern Pakistan, which is driven partially by this digitisation of citizenship in the country. It explores the post-disaster political space where state actors and citizens came to interact with each other, and argues that these informal and unplanned interactions overlapped with formal policy to result in a new and emerging form of ‘disaster citizenship’ in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay provides new evidence on local Pakistani politics in the immediate post-independence period. It reveals that far from being a period of national unity and service to the fledgling state, the country was mired in faction-building strategies between political rivals, competing for power and scrambling for resources, with debilitating consequences for democratic consolidation. While the new sources – largely based upon the archival records deposited at the National Documentation Centre, Islamabad – provide material relating primarily to Punjab, this essay demonstrates that the tensions between central government and the provinces can only be comprehended by reference to studies of localities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with the judicialization of politics in Pakistan under the Supreme Court Chief Justice Choudhry (2009–). Confrontation between the executive and judiciary under him led to speculation about the imminent collapse of the democratic system, given the history of military take-over in the country. The use of judicial review, whereby the Court exercised the power of interpreting the Constitution with impunity, was widely criticized as an attempt to encroach on the territory of the legislature through case law. At the institutional level, the Court sought to exercise veto power over the appointment of judges and to deny the right of oversight to any government agency. The Court's pursuit of public interest litigation through frequent suo motu actions taken in a populist mode led to brinkmanship on the part of the executive and judiciary. Despite this power play, the Court's operations fell into the category of modus operandi, instead of being a fight to the finish. However, the Court's pursuit of judicial reform relating to cheap and speedy justice and accountability of the higher judiciary remained far from satisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Baloch nationalists have been actively involved in an armed struggle against the government of Pakistan during the last decade. Indeed, the recent risk assessment report produced by the Minorities at Risk Project places the Baloch population at a high risk for future rebellion. A detailed analysis of the ongoing conflict reveals that in addition to the classic greed- and grievance-based explanations, poor governance resulting from the ongoing plunder of Balochistan's natural resources and its economic and political marginalization has been a major cause of mounting tension between the Baloch people and the government of Pakistan. The presence of insurgent groups and the continuation of violent conflict in neighboring Afghanistan might lead to further instability in Balochistan. The government of Pakistan therefore seriously needs to reform its strategy and address the issues that have lead to the escalation of the conflict under discussion during the last decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the history of political Islam is intricately connected to southwest Asian geopolitics, there is evidence that the emergence of the religious right as a political force in Pakistan is an outcome of state patronage. Following the 'War on Terror', corporate media and official western representations of revivalist trends in Pakistan have been almost completely de-contextualised. This representation has provided both the dominant military state oligarchy and the religious right an ideal opportunity to reinforce an old alliance previously supported by western imperialism, while eroding the organising capacity of progressive social and political forces in Pakistan. This paper traces the historical contours of the mullah - military alliance in Pakistan, arguing that the political and social survival of both its armed forces and the religious right is based on the persistence of a dialectic relationship between a secular modernity and Islamic ethos that can be traced back to the country's creation. The evolution of this state ideology since Partition demonstrates how the religious right has emerged as a social and political force under state patronage. The paper examines how two critical junctures in this mullah - military alliance—namely, the Afghan jihad (struggle) of the 1980s and the post-9/11 War on Terror—have allowed the state and the religious right in Pakistan to overtly consolidate this historical alliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dominant theme of General Pervez Musharraf's tenure as Pakistan's ruler has been the need for good governance. This is to be achieved both by the process of accountability and the introduction of structural administrative reforms, which will replace the 'sham' parliamentary democracy of the past decade with a grass roots 'real' democracy. This article sets out to examine these claims in terms of current political developments in Pakistan, as well as within the context of earlier military interventions. The focus is not on Musharraf or his political opponents as individuals, but on the institutions and environment that shape Pakistan's quest for democratic stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores the issue of political cohesion in Pakistan. Motives and causes of ideological underpinning; Differentiation of strategy and ideology; Conclusion.

Examines the views by residents in four Pakistani provinces on the dispute concerning Kashmir, India. Profile of the population in the four provinces; Influence of the geostrategic locations of the provinces; Effects of ethnicity on the residents' perspective.

Examines the reason why the issue of Kashmir's accession to India plays an important role in the internal politics of Pakistan. Background on the Indian accession of Kashmir; Role of Kashmir in the history of Muslim Punjab; Growth of Pakistan nationalism.

Reflects on the melancholic memories of the political crisis in Pakistan last 1950. Deep concerns about the future of democracy in Pakistan; Historical generalization of military-bureaucratic involvement in politics; Mohammad Zia-ul-Huq rise to power; Post-Zia administration and the return to democracy; Breakdown of presidential rule of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Analyzes the kind of democracy that is emerging in Pakistan. The world of Islamic ideas and concepts that influenced democratic processes in Pakistan; Western origins of Pakistan's democracy; The actual dialectical process of democracy.