Pakistan’s Crisis Is the Result of a Failed System With a Dysfunctional Ruling Class
Pakistan’s government has imprisoned former PM Imran Khan and called elections for early next year. The turmoil since Khan’s ouster, perhaps the most dramatic crisis in three already-turbulent decades, is symptomatic of deeper political-economic woes.
Riot police stand guard outside a court before the arrival of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 18, 2023. (Farooq Naeem / AFP via Getty Images)
Since the late 1990s, Pakistan has experienced several rounds of intense political turbulence. But the crisis unfolding today may be the most dramatic episode to date.
The country’s ousted prime minister Imran Khan has refused to go quietly, and his supporters are challenging the powerful military establishment. Khan himself survived an assassination attempt last November and has now been jailed on charges of corruption. Delayed national elections are due to be held in January of next year.
Ayyaz Mallick is a lecturer in human geography at the University of Liverpool. This is an edited transcript from Jacobin Radio’s Long Reads podcast. You can listen to the interview here.
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