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The protests and demonstrations are the basic platforms to talk about the fundamental rights in a democratic society. It is the only way through which people can accomplish their legitimate rights. Pakistan has experienced small or large protests and demonstrations in both civilian and military regimes since its inception. The recent political dharnas (sit-ins) of 2014 and 2019 are observed by the PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz) and PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) governments respectively. Both dharnas were launched on the same grounds of accusation of rigging in the elections. This study will focus on the causes and features of PTI (2014) and JUI-F (Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal) (2019) dharnas in Islamabad. How these political exigencies affect the political stability in Pakistan as well as their repercussions on democracy. Moreover, the military establishment has played a key role in the political history of Pakistan. Thus, this paper will try to find out the response of the military establishment towards these political unrests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports published within the issue which include the tribal conflict in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), neopatriomoniliasm, and political development in Pakistan.

Although Afghanistan shares a common religion, race, history, ethnicity and geography with Pakistan, yet the relations between both have never been smooth and remained estranged. The nature of Pak-Afghan relations saw many ups and downs in past decades and has always been flimsy and they are found in murky waters. Since Pakistan's independence, there have been concerns and determination to have jovial and friendly relations between both the countries. The relationships between the two neighbors can be described as challenging and complex. The detriments that mainly manipulate these relationships have been questionable and experienced ebb and flow for historical and geopolitical reasons with the exception of brief interludes. This distrust at times bordering on hostility continues to date although some has been done to improve the working relationship by third parties i.e., US and EU. In the changed regional context of post 9/11 developments carry hallmark significance in the world history as it has brought both the countries at the brink of major national disasters. The post 9/11 scenario provided an opportunity to Pakistan to renew its diplomatic ties and political relations with Afghanistan and to reconsider her Afghan policy. This paper aims at discussing the core problems and highlights the future prospects of Pak-Afghan relations in post 9/11 scenario, as it brought a drastic change in world in generally and in this region particularly. It is a turning point in history when Taliban government was ousted as a result of American military action in Afghanistan. The study will explore and reveal its overall impact on both the countries with the existing diplomatic relations, areas of hostility and economic relations with making suitable recommendations for strengthening political stability in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the interplay between corruption and governance in post 9/11 Pakistan. Post 9/11 Pakistan is characterized by a protracted conflict that has affected daily lives of people as well as governance trends. Primary data in the form of Key Informant Interviews with government officials, journalists and public representatives is used for this paper. Secondary data sources included research papers, newspaper articles and data pertaining to corruption, governance and conflict have been utilized. Evidence from post 9/11 Pakistan indicates that weak governance is related with corruption and is dependent on the state of the institutions and conflict induced instabilities. The paper outlines how different Governments in the post 9/11 period, instead of improving social services delivery for the populace, indulged in mismatched priorities, leading to a lack of accountability and transparency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The key feature of Pakistan political history is instability and major time of history of Pakistan is occupied military governments. That is why it is still under develop. That is why it was essential that there should be stability in the country but unfortunately Political stability is far away from Pakistan. Thus without political stability there will be no progress and prosperity in the country. A country needs secure border and internal and external peace for smooth development. Unfortunately Pakistan had both internal and external disturbances throughout its history. First India left no stone unturned to destroy Pakistan. India forced three major Wars to Pakistan. In 1971, India was able to separate its East Wing from the rest of the country. Similarly its another neighbor Afghanistan remain a source of irritation for Pakistan. It tried its level best to change the geography of Pakistan through the slogan of pashtoonistan and claimed all Pashtoo speaking areas of K.P.K, Balochistan and FATA should be included in it. FATA areas of Pakistan are tribal areas and therefore the Pakistani government normally does not interfere in the affairs of this area. These areas have a long border line with Afghanistan and people of Afghanistan and that of FATA area have relations with each other. British government tried its level best to colonize this area but failed and British regime kept this area under the tight grip of unjust laws for their vested interests to get man power for its Army to fight with Afghans. But unfortunately, these areas are still backward and there is very low level of literacy, health facilities are either absent or of very low standard. Women are not allowed to participate in daily routine work with men. They are bound to stay at home. Due to backwardness of these areas, there emerged militancy which is increasing day by day. The situation in Afghanistan also badly effected the peace of these areas. To combat militancy and for long lasting peace in this areas, it is necessary to include FATA areas in the mainstream of Pakistan. The tribal status of these areas should be replaced by inclusion of these areas into Pakistan either as an independent province/administrative set up or either by making it part of K.P.K as a district. An attempt is made in this paper to describe the backwardness of these areas and how it can be included in the mainstream of Pakistan State. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In direct contravention to founding fathers' envision, Pakistan was ruled, by the military for much of its existence. Whenever civilian rule manage to come about has been compromised at best and distorted at the worst, at the behest of the men in Khaki. The Pakistani military is often held responsible for and accused of undermining institutional growth. Moreover political representatives when in power did not deliver on 'stability' and development front due to ideological and structural inadequacies, giving an excuse for military to intervene. Besides the power relations that Pakistan inherited -- feudal dominance -- continued unabated even after independence, establishing its iron hold onto state institutions including that of the military. In fact, social composition of feudal elites did not alter all these decades, pushing majority of people out of the corridors of power. Even presently unraveling social, economic and political upheavals, it seems not powerful enough to rupture and debase elites. Given these socio- political and economic realities prevalent in Pakistan as to what are the prospects of civilian rule in the country? This paper explores answers to that question in a context of renewed optimism that is sweeping the country at present -- because a democratically elected government has completed its full five year term (2008-2013) - a rare political achievement; and argues that civil-military relations shall continue to radiate disappointment in view of ever growing role of security establishment on account of extremely volatile neighborhood and violent politics within. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A long-standing research tradition on political culture argues that greater support for core liberal values leads to a rejection of destructive political activities and reduced support for violent politics. In this vein, many contemporary analysts of security policy contend that a lack of democratic values in the Middle East promotes the development of violent political organizations. Unfortunately, there have been few direct tests of the hypothesis that an individual’s rejection of democratic values correlates with support for militant groups. We conduct such a test in Pakistan using an original 6,000-person provincially representative survey. We find that strong supporters of democratic values are actually more supportive of militant groups and that this relationship is strongest among those who believe that Muslim rights and sovereignty are being violated in Kashmir. This is consistent with the context of Pakistani politics, where many militant groups use the principle of azadi (i.e., freedom and self-determination) to justify their actions. These results challenge the conventional wisdom about the roots of militancy and underscore the importance of understanding how local context mediates the influence of civic culture on political stability and violence. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article explores several challenges to Pakistan's political system due to the negative role played by the regional political parties. Topics being discussed include the theoretical framework and the background of the party politics in the colonial period as well as the party system and its importance in a federation. Other information such as the survival and stability of the coalition governments is presented.

Easy availability and free flow of light weapons threaten national peace and stability in any country. The proliferation of SALW in recent years is growingly being recognized as a principle element behind regional and national instability in various parts of the world. The conflicts in the South Asian region are no exception as the supply of illegal arms fuels and intensify them. This situation has proved to be catastrophic in Pakistan and has adversely affected its socio-economic fabric. As the title indicates, this paper is an attempt to analyse the role of SALW in creating internal instability in Pakistan. The paper discusses the various dimensions of the issue, e.g., the situation of human (in-) security, state of instability, the major factors relating to the overall situation, local production and supply of arms, Afghan jihad, various de-weaponisation campaigns and policy issues. The discussion reflects the gravity of the situation and suggests some measures for its improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S. Navy SEAL raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and Islamabad's subsequent turn toward China have highlighted one of the most remarkable legacies of the Cold War: the persistence of a strategic triangle composed of China, Pakistan, and the United States. Throughout much of the Cold War, China and the United States competed to keep Pakistan within their particular sphere of influence, while Pakistan deftly took advantage of the subtle power struggle to improve its security profile vis-à-vis India. Despite persistent competition, the nations of the strategic triangle enjoyed three major convergence points: (1) the 1969–71 period, when Pakistan acted as a conduit for secret talks between Beijing and Washington, which subsequently led to mutual coordination during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war; (2) the decade following the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979; and (3) the years following the 9/11 attacks in the United States, when global focus turned to Afghanistan and terrorism. This third convergence around terrorism is particularly salient, as Pakistan is increasingly viewed globally as both a source of terrorist activity and a victim of terrorist violence. In the long term, the strategic triangle may act as a modulating force that may prevent instability within nuclear-capable Pakistan, as well as constrain activities by certain Pakistani state organs that may be linked to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and clandestine support for militant organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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]

The article focuses on the U.S.'s unannounced and unacknowledged war against Pakistan in the form of drone attacks launched from sites in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is mentioned that it continues to be a source of political unrest in the region. It is also mentioned that it became a symbol of what many consider an unequal partnership between the U.S. and the government of Pakistan. As stated, compounding the confusion about the legality of such attacks and the anger directed against them is the behavior of the Pakistani authorities, who publicly condemn these attacks and privately condone them.

Multiethnic, multilingual and socially divided large states usually, though not always willingly, prefer a federal system of government to build state institutions and promote national integration. Recently, there has been a surge in interest in federalism following the US-led invasions of Afghanistan in October 2001 and Iraq in March 2003. There are, however, both successes and failures in federal endeavors. This article analyzes the underlying reasons behind United Pakistan’s (1947—1971) choice of federalism right after its independence in 1947, probes the complex factors that eventually led to the disintegration of Pakistan in 1971, and finally highlights the historical lessons the failure of federalism in United Pakistan holds for Afghanistan and Iraq which are ethnically, socially, culturally and politically diverse and share many of the characteristics of United Pakistan. It argues that both Afghanistan and Iraq have much to learn from failed federal experiment in United Pakistan if they wish to avert their possible disintegration in future. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Why does the post-Independence history of democracy in Pakistan contrast so sharply with that of India? The article suggests that there were historical factors to do with the vision of Pakistan as a Muslim state, differential inheritances at partition, with India inheriting the colonial state's unitary centre, the challenge of managing a diverse population separated by thousands of miles etc. In addition, the security problems with India amplified the role of the army and weakened the civilian politicians, many of whom were hardly democrats to start with. There were other external factors, principally US policy which saw Pakistan in a global geo-political context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the Pakistan army. Pakistan was born from the violent partition of British India and has been destined to have an unusually large army. The army has outgrown its watchdog role to become the master of the nation state. Fear of India in the East fuelled Pakistan's quest for an army that exceeded affordability and requirement. This fear guided Pakistan's foreign policy and India hasn't helped to assuage these fears. In its struggle to impose itself as the most important decision maker within Pakistan, the Pakistan Army has destroyed the political stability and democratic processes in Pakistan and poses a threat to regional development and global peace.

Discusses the root cause of identity mobilization in Pakistan between 1979-1998. Characteristics of politics in the country; Susceptibility of the country's domestic politics to intrusions from outside forces; Sectarianism in Pakistan.

Discusses the issues concerning the political crisis in Pakistan as of September 1999. Growth in political divisions; Discussion on civilian institutions and military control; Immediate and long-term measures required by the Pakistan government; Role of the international community.

Focuses on the continuing political problems in Pakistan. Domestic political strife during Benazir Bhutto's administration; Description of economic recession by economists; International terrorism; Rumors on political change; Role of the People's Party of Pakistan (PPP); Military involvement in political administrative change.

Examines the challenges faced by Pakistan in becoming a democratic state, with emphasis on political instability. Information on the various elections and rule by different governments between 1987 and 1997. When the country became and independent nation; What are the some of the causes of institutional imbalances; Information on the imposition of martial law in July, 1977; Details on the country's constitutional laws.

The authors discuss the developments in Pakistan, particularly the challenges confronted by the government and its people, including political instability, conflict, and natural disasters. They claim that the major public health and humanitarian crisis confronting the country is child survival. Among the moves by the government to resolve the issues is the establishment of a national disaster management system.

The article offers insight on the potential threat of Iran's nuclear research and nuclear weapon development on non-nuclear nations in Asia including Pakistan. Topics discussed include the analysts' concern on the continuous instability of the country, the development of contingency plans for civil war and disintegration in Pakistan, and the control of the nuclear arsenal in Pakistan.