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Social media is frequently an arena of intense competition among major political actors across the world. We argue that a fruitful way of understanding this competition is as coalitions among key actors and their networks of followers. These coalitions can both advance a shared political message and target mutual rivals. Importantly, coalitions can be tacit or explicit, and they do not necessarily depend on direct state manipulation or repression, although they often do. This makes a coalitional framework particularly valuable for studying complex political environments in which online actors blend cooperation and competition. Empirically, we show the value of this approach with novel data collection and analysis of Twitter and Facebook content from 2018–19 in Pakistan, with a focus on the dynamics leading up to and following the controversial 2018 general election. We map out networks of narrative alignment and conflict on Pakistani social media, providing important insights into the relationships among the major political parties, military, media, and dissidents. Future research can fruitfully explore the causes and effects of powerful social media coalitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The three years that I spent at Royal Holloway, University of London between 1975 and 1978, as professor and head of the History Department, were among the happiest and most purposive of my entire academic life. This was due, in no small part, to my instant friendship with Francis Robinson. We soon realised that our interests converged to a remarkable degree, despite the gulf of almost two millennia between my own concern for the world of Late Antiquity and his with religion and politics in contemporary India and Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pakistan continues to face multiple sources of internal and external conflicts. Its all-powerful military is engaged in a subterranean battle to maintain its power. Economically, the country persisted in troubled waters as it has been for most of its recent history. In domestic politics, the failed experiment of a hybrid regime under Ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan forced the military to part ways with Mr Khan and install a coalition government of 13 political parties through a no-confidence vote in parliament in April 2022. Mr Khan's political party is facing a severe crackdown in Pakistan after he accused the powerful military of his ouster from power. At the regional level, a favourable outcome in Afghanistan in the shape of the Taliban's takeover has not yielded any significant positive results for Pakistan. After concluding the Afghan conflict on a favourable note, paradoxically, the military establishment hints at a desire to shift away from geo-security to geo-economics in its foreign policy goals. At the extra-regional level, the military is walking a tightrope to balance its ties between the USA and China to offset any adverse consequences arising from its strategic partnerships with China over China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). In this article, we explain a series of issues confronting Pakistan currently—including a deep economic crisis, political paralysis, and a resurgent terror threat—focusing on the military's ambitions in the region and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

In today's multipolar world, asymmetric power relations are common as nations compete to strive and gain greater access to scarce resources, such as influence and a positive national brand. Discussing the nuanced relationship between nation branding and public diplomacy, along with best practices for both, this article analyzes Pakistan's past international image through a historical sociopolitical lens as a case study. Then, it evaluates the country's public diplomacy efforts, including those linked to the U.S. war in Afghanistan, undertaken especially by the Pakistani government under Prime Minister Imran Khan. A growing congruence was detected between Pakistani and Western officials' communications, potentially signaling a change in perception of Pakistan, particularly in light of regional security and its relationship with the West. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Between March and May 1954, an election and two riots took place in East Pakistan, with far-reaching implications. On 30 May, the prime minister of Pakistan, in a bellicose tone, declared that 'enemy agents' and 'disruptive forces' were at work and imposed governor's rule for the first time in East Pakistan. The autocratic and high-handed attitude of the Central government in Karachi over the seemingly wayward East Wing was to become a portent of future conflicts between the province and the state, eventually leading to the unmaking of Pakistan in 1971. What precipitated the 1954 crisis? Who were the enemy agents and disruptive forces that the prime minister had alluded to? The reference was to the Bengali labourers in East Pakistan—the main protagonists of the 1954 Karnaphuli Paper Mill and Adamjee Jute Mill riots. These were the most violent industrial riots in the history of United Pakistan, if not the subcontinent. Using sensitive materials obtained from multiple archives, this article dismantles the conventional thesis that these riots were 'Bengali–Bihari riots', fanned by the flames of Bengali provincialism at the political level, or events instigated by the Centre to derail the democratic hopes of the Bengali population of Pakistan. A microhistory of the events demonstrates a more complex picture of postcolonial labour formations and solidarities; the relationship between state-led industrialization and refugee rehabilitation, and conflicting visions of sovereignty. This is a story of estrangement between employers and workers over the question of who were the real sovereigns of labour, capital, and Pakistan itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dual citizenship has been the subject of intense political debate in Pakistan barring the elected representatives, in parliament, the provincial assemblies and the presidency, from holding dual nationality. The perceptions that holding a foreign citizenship challenges the undiluted loyalty to country further engender question mark over their political participation in country's affairs. A qualitative study has been carried out in the city of Rawalpindi to explore the stance of Pakistani nationals on such exclusion of Pakistani dual citizens from mainstream politics of Pakistan asking should the individual's association to the state be an exclusive one? In this paper, in‐depth interviews were conducted with a sample of 40 male and female respondents (22 Pakistani citizens, 18 Pakistani dual citizens) and 6 constitutional experts. The results indicate distrust among Pakistani citizens when considering dual citizens' right of representation in general elections of Pakistan, stemming from a mistrust of their "split loyalties". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the inception of Pakistan, the nation is gripped in political crises. Number of martial laws and rifts between civil and military leadership during democratic eras kept Pakistan under extraordinary political crises. During the two democratic regimes of Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League (N) from 2008 to 2018, one more player came into the political scene of Pakistan due to the arrival of private electronic media. This study explores, assesses and recommends the required role of media in the civil military conflicts from 2008 to 2018. For this purpose ten experts were thoroughly interviewed and thematic analysis was applied to fetch the results. Findings revealed that it's the social responsibility of state institutions to legislate the new laws in order to specifically draw lines and enforce the current laws. Similarly in order to end monopoly of media houses, cross-media ownership should be banned and income generation models of Pakistani media should be revisited, so that socio-economic issues of the country are not ignored at the cost of the coverage of Civil Military issues and other popular content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pakistan was created in the name of religion (Islam) as an independent country in 1947 on the basis of Two Nation Theory wherein the Muslims of Indian subcontinent could live, preach and profess their religion freely from the dominance of Hindus. After independence the state elites did not make any tangible programmes which could establish the country as an Islamic state. However, the state elites established religious ministry after 27 years of the establishment of Pakistan. The ministry was not established to implement or enforce religious programmes for Pakistan. Contrary it was established to control religious elites and their institutions which could be used for political gain. This paper is designed to illustrate the historical aspect of role of religion in Pakistan. The paper further will analyse how state elites used religion for political gains by politicising religion in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article charts the historical marginalization of Pashtun tribal areas to the periphery of the Pakistani state and undertakes an analysis of the recent movement for their integration in Pakistan's constitutional structure. It also analyzes contemporaneous developments in Pakistan's constitutional system, in particular the accommodation of a stronger form of federalism and the emergence of a powerful judiciary brandishing robust judicial review and fundamental rights jurisdictions, which have provided both the backdrop and impetus to the integration of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in Pakistan's constitutional system of governance. The article asserts that this case study of FATA's integration demands an acknowledgment of the deeply political and inherently transitional nature of constitutionalism in Pakistan, and arguably many other parts of the Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent months there has been an effort to reignite debate about the suitability of a federal parliamentary system and argue that it needs to be replaced by a centralized presidential form of government. This has led to sharp reactions from those who favour a continuation of parliamentary government in Pakistan especially with regard to the strong federal provisions of the Eighteenth Amendment (2010) to the Pakistani Constitution, which granted greater autonomy to the provinces and undid many of the changes imposed by military rulers. This paper examines the original version of this debate from Pakistan's experience in the 1950s and 1960s with the aim of identifying and discussing the rationales of those in favor of a presidential Pakistan and the price that the country paid for undermining parliamentary government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The year 1969 saw the release of the Pakistani political fantasy film Zerqa , directed by socialist filmmaker Riaz Shahid. At once a leftist critique of the Ayub Khan regime and an endorsement of Palestinian armed struggle, Zerqa refracted Pakistan's political crisis through the question of Palestine. This paper historicizes Zerqa against Pakistani and third-worldist creative responses to Palestine in the 1950s and 1960s. Through textual analysis of the film and its ephemera, I argue that Zerqa 's approach to solidarity, gender, and the figure of the Arab-Jew both captures the nuances of the identities imbricated in the Palestinian struggle and universalizes Palestine toward its own political ends. [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 was established in the name of Islam for the Muslims residing under the control of British India in 1947. This study focuses on the grass root level effects of uncivil language of political leaders used in the electoral campaigns and telecasted on television. The research method was survey and purposive sampling technique was used for data collection from nine towns of Lahore from the Muslim citizens who actually participated in the GE 2018. The theoretical support was taken from The Speech Act Theory and Psycho-Linguistic Theory. The study revealed that the impact of uncivil language of political leaders is witnessed at grass root level as 36.9% citizens re-used the negative phrases of political leaders in their social circles as χ²(4) = 26.809, p < .05. Hence, the hypothesis “Muslim citizens re-used negative political terms and phrases coined by their party leaders against teachings of Islam” was fully supported by this research study and literature. Negative statements of political leaders repeated on television were also re-used by the citizens in their routine life (by 43.1%) showing a significant effect as χ²(4) = 33.464, p < .05. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognizing constraints Pakistani women legislators face despite their entry into politics on a 17 per cent quota in national and provincial assemblies, it is time to rethink how quotas can lead to their political mainstreaming. This article explores quota legislators' views on their own accountability and empowerment based on the first online survey in Pakistan with 200 women in the assemblies (2013-18). Findings show quota legislators resist classification as male proxies and view themselves as accountable to notional voters, although they are indirectly elected. Many report silencing and harassment by male colleagues. Cross-party women's caucuses in each assembly have a mixed track record of facilitating substantive representation, undermined by religious parties and class differences. Respondents favoured further affirmative action mechanisms to increase their political voice, e.g. additional quota requirements within parties, more tickets for general seats and participation in key decision-making bodies of parties. A trajectory for women in politics to move from quota seats (in local bodies and assemblies) to general seats is not yet in place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religious authorities in many Muslim-majority countries have argued that the suspension of communal prayers during an epidemic does not contravene Islamic law. In Pakistan, such measures have proven difficult to enforce, in part because many religious leaders in the country have opposed the closure of places of worship and the limits placed on public religious gatherings. The question is why? This paper suggests that the distrust of the state in matters of religion in Pakistan can be traced back to the colonial era, and that the political developments following independence have amplified frustration and mistrust between political and religious authorities in the country. Significant sources of contention in matters of religion and state remain unresolved under the prime ministership of Imran Khan. At the same time, the pandemic has thrust earlier conflicts into the spotlight and exposed contests over opinion, expertise, and authority in matters of religion and public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the political transformation of civil society-state relations in Pakistan. Topics explored include the military and economic power associated with the traditional elites in the country, the working relationship between non-government organizations (NGO) and the state during the administration of former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, and the outlook for civil liberties and equal rights in the country.

Youth in democratic activities has changed the political scenario of Pakistan. The current study was aimed to identify the youngsters towards their participation in democratic paractices and political activities. The novelity of presnt study is to introduce a new theory of 'Youth-Inn' which indicated the continuous youth participation and involvement in community problem solving, peers motivation, influence public to do vote, and other political matters. The phenomena of this study are based on the present political scenario of Pakistan and youth participation in building the political structure. The study was quantitative in nature and data were collected through random sampling techniques, hundreds of respondents participated from two provinces of Pakistan, which are Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The objective of the study is to highlight the performance of youth activities, contribution to the political participation, their role in political parties and interests in political and social matters. The findings of the study suggest that youth in Pakistan are increasingly participating in democratic, social and political activities, which are their basic and core responsibility to take apart and do sufficient steps for the country. [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 authoritarian states, emerging democracies, and well-established democracies alike, alternative accounts that contest official state narratives are common. Why do people believe such accounts even in the absence of supporting evidence? While this question has been explored in the United States, relatively little research has assessed it in other contexts. Through a survey experiment carried out in Pakistan, this article tests the impact of cues by political parties on belief in such conspiracy theories. The results provide evidence in favor of partisan cueing: When alternative narratives are endorsed by political parties viewed favorably by the respondent, they are more likely to be believed. I suggest that political parties are able to capitalize on misinformation and a lack of trust in official institutions for tactical advantage. Results differ by subgroup: Higher income and urban respondents are swayed more by their own party source than are lower income and rural individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In July 2016, Pakistani social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch was asphyxiated by her brother and gained posthumous celebrity in the West where her death was sensationally categorized as an honor-killing. Yet Qandeel was a celebrity in her own right among South Asians long before her death. Through skillful use of social media, she created new forms of public space and used them to challenge dominant social norms and political practices. I examine Qandeel's "do-it-yourself activism"—her innovative use of the digital public sphere to position herself as a worthy representative of Pakistani nationality; to critique long-established norms governing gender, class, and sexuality; and to expand the boundaries of national belonging in Pakistan to include culturally rebellious women of limited economic means. By examining Qandeel's audacious means of standing for Pakistan, her deployment of marriage proposals as a mode of subversive political activism within the political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Pakistan Movement for Justice, PTI), and her use of visual culture ("selfies") to challenge the moral authority of a powerful Islamic cleric, I theorize a form of political activism grounded in women's agency that deploys celebrity to illuminate and politicize injustices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Indian and Pakistani Punjab, this paper focuses on how, despite membership in or conversion to majority religious communities, former untouchables in both countries continue to experience caste-based discrimination. In India, a rights-based idiom for caste politics is limited by fragmentation within the Dalit community and the compromises required by electoral politics, while the imposition of a totalising Islamic identity by the state has resulted in the erasure of caste from the political discourse in Pakistan. This paper suggests that class-based mobilisation may be a better route to Dalit empowerment on both sides of the border. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay examines some turns in the Pakistani political career of the Dalit leader Jogendranath Mandal between 1947 and 1950 when he resigned as a government minister and left the country. The imperatives of Dalit emancipation interacted with concerns about the position of minorities, thereby revealing the conditions by which difference became legible in the new state. In the creation of Pakistan, Mandal had seen a promise of furthering Dalit emancipation, but this vision could not withstand the state's view of an undifferentiated Hindu minority population. By tracing Mandal's trajectory, this essay follows both the promises offered by Pakistan and the slow closure of such alternative possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little research has been done on political dynamics within the Christian community in Pakistan itself, a lacuna I begin to address through survey research among Christian and Muslim students in Lahore. I ground this study in a detailed discussion of the existing literature on Pakistan, and comparative political research on national attachment of minorities elsewhere. I am particularly interested in assessing to what extent Christian students in Lahore have a strong sense of belonging and connection to the national community or feel marginalised from it. In fact, I find that Christians do have a strong sense of connection to their Pakistani identity, but are more inclined toward military rule and less interested in and knowledgeable about politics than their Muslim counterparts. Intra-Christian differences based on income level and denomination are apparent as well: Christian students from wealthier backgrounds have higher levels of political interest and knowledge, whereas poorer students and those affiliated with Pentecostal denominations have less political engagement but higher levels of nationalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses several articles published within issue on topics including image-savvy militant leaders' impact on civilians, Denial of Organizational Involvement, and role of militaries in both domestic politics and policy formulation in Pakistan.

Copyright of Dilemas Contemporáneos: Educación, Política y Valores is the property of Dilemas Contemporaneos: Educacion, Politica y Valores and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Dilemas Contemporáneos: Educación, Política y Valores is the property of Dilemas Contemporaneos: Educacion, Politica y Valores and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Reports on the move of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to withdraw support for Islamic militants in Kashmir, India. Views on Musharraf's action; Functions of the military in Pakistan.