Here’s a round up of some of the opinion pieces I’ve been writing recently.
New Statesman
Manoeuvres and rallies as Pakistan’s election campaign heats up
I wrote this piece after attending Imran Khan’s big jalsa (rally) in Lahore. This is set to be a tight race, and nothing – not even assassination – is beyond the realms of possibility.
Historic moment as Pakistan’s elected civilian government completes full five year term
There are still challenges to be overcome, but merely surviving is something of an achievement.
The Kafkaesque reality of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws
Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s ambassador to the US, is under police investigation for alleged blasphemy after making the case on television for the law to be re-examined and for the death penalty to be removed.
Express Tribune
Protecting women from domestic abuse
It seems unlikely that any of the major parties will include a commitment on gender-based violence in their manifestos
How important will young people actually be in deciding the election result?
The Good, the Bad and the Election
With the current climate of uncertainty, it will do wonders for public confidence if the election goes ahead at all.
Who is a terrorist — and who isn’t — in Pakistan?
If Pakistan cannot agree on how they view TTP, it’s difficult to see how anything fruitful can come out of peace talks.
Monocle
I’ve appeared on a few shows on Monocle 24 in the past few weeks. On 22 March, I discussed Perves Musharraf’s return to Pakistan (podcast here). On 26 March, I ran through the top political stories in Pakistan, including Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif’s respective election campaigns, and the power crisis (podcast here).
I also blog regularly on the Middle East for Middle East Monitor. An archive of those blogs can be seen here.
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