Political observers often question whether the functioning of the Pakistani state is “normal.”
Such questions stem from the state’s near-perennial political and economic crises, with most pundits alternating between blaming “elite capture” or the “deep state” for the situation. Unfortunately, this scenario has been decades in the making, as years of military interventions have prevented elections from being institutionalized in the country and left democratic institutions without much credibility. Even during periods of civilian rule, the military has remained the de facto powerbroker, forging and dissolving alliances and governments as per its interests.
Additionally, Pakistan’s implementation of international human rights conventions it has signed onto remains inadequate, worsening as one moves toward rural regions. The most disadvantaged are lower income groups, minorities and women, with the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Global Gender Gap Index ranking Pakistan 142 of 146 countries assessed. Freedom of expression and of the press are subject to conditions, while the judiciary fails to perform to expectations. According to the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index, Pakistan ranked 130 out of 142 countries in 2023, highlighting the problems facing the general public in securing justice through legal processes.
At its founding, Pakistan was described as a country where Indian Muslims could be sheltered from Hindu oppression. This was arguably achieved, but the conditions of the public today—thanks to decades of poor governance—leave much to be desired. Looking forward, Pakistan must reckon with unchecked population growth, among the highest in the world, as well as a swathe of internal differences and external concerns. A key concern in 2024 is the resurgence of terrorism, which global powers point to as especially worrying in a country with nuclear weapons. Global lenders, meanwhile, continue to stress on the importance of raising tax revenues, as the country has repeatedly failed to collect funds from agriculture and trade. The incumbent government has vowed it would correct this, but if history is prologue, there is little to suggest it would succeed when so many others have failed in the past.