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☆ Pakistan’s Troubles Are Far From Over - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Ayesha Siddiqa | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

For decades, Pakistan’s military has been the country’s most vital institution. Although it frequently intervened to oust elected governments, many Pakistanis saw this as salvation from the country’s blundering politicians. The army, it was thought, was the only force capable of holding the country together. The military has suffered a catastrophic loss of prestige after the populist former prime minister Imran Khan directly challenged its influence. This month, Pakistani military posts were hit by separate militant attacks in the country’s south and along the border with Afghanistan.

Persons: Imran Khan, Khan, —, Syed Asim Munir, Khan’s, Munir, Narendra Modi Organizations: archrival India, Pakistani Locations: Pakistan, China, Russia, Washington, Afghanistan, Iran, Iranian

☆ Dasu dam: Chinese workers killed in suicide bomb blast as Pakistan grapples with attacks on Beijing’s interests
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Sophia Saifi | Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered condolences for the death of the Chinese nationals during a visit Tuesday to the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad, where he met with Beijing’s ambassador. The blast Tuesday follows two militant attacks in recent days in southwest Pakistan, where China is investing billions in infrastructure projects. Half a year later, a separatist group attacked a luxury hotel in Gwadar, often used by Chinese nationals working at the port. In August last year, BLA militants opened fire on a Pakistani military convoy in Gwadar as it was escorting a delegation of Chinese nationals to a construction project. Two militants were killed and no harm was caused to any military personnel or civilians, according to the Pakistani military.

Persons: Muhammad Ali Gandapur, Xi, Tuesday’s, Shehbaz Sharif, Ishaq Dar, ”, “ Organizations: Islamabad CNN —, Beijing . Senior, Taliban, Foreign Ministry, Embassy, Beijing’s, Baloch Liberation, Pakistan Economic, Pakistan Stock Exchange Locations: Islamabad, Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, China, Afghanistan, restive, Balochistan, Gwadar, Beijing, Xinjiang, Karachi

☆ ISIS-K, Group Tied to Moscow Attack, Has Grown Bolder and More Violent
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Christina Goldbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Few know better than the Taliban what a relentless foe the Islamic State’s affiliate in Afghanistan can be. Much of the West considers the Taliban, which reclaimed power in the country in 2021, to be an extremist Islamic movement. But the Islamic State Khorasan, the affiliate that took responsibility for a terrorist attack in suburban Moscow on Friday, has slammed the Taliban government, calling the group’s version of Islamic rule insufficiently hard-line. The Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, is one of the last significant antagonists that the Taliban face in Afghanistan. In the months after the Taliban seized power, ISIS-K carried out near daily attacks on their soldiers at roadside checkpoints and in neighborhoods that are home to the country’s Hazara ethnic minority.

Persons: Pakistan’s Organizations: West Locations: Afghanistan, State Khorasan, Moscow, Hazara, Russian, Kabul

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) announced the coalition late Tuesday, naming former premier Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister and Asif Ali Zardari as president. Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty ImagesIndependent candidates affiliated with former Prime Minister Khan’s Pakistan Tehereek-e-Insaf (PTI) party secured the most parliamentary seats, in a stunning victory for the jailed cricket icon. But none of the three major parties that contested won the necessary seats to declare a majority in parliament. Shortly after the coalition announcement, the PTI accused the PMLN and PPP of stealing their mandate to govern. Sharif is on course to become prime minister for the second time, with Asif Ali Zardari, the husband of Pakistan’s slain former leader Benazir Bhutto, by his side.

Persons: Imran Khan, Shehbaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari, “, ” Sharif, Aamir Qureshi, Khan’s, ”, Khan, Nawaz Sharif, Asim Hafeez, Sharif, Pakistan’s, Benazir Bhutto Organizations: Pakistan CNN —, Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz, Pakistan People’s Party, Getty, PTI, Pakistan People's Party, Bloomberg Locations: Islamabad, Pakistan, Kasur, Punjab, Khan’s Pakistan, Karachi

☆ An Election Shatters the Image of Pakistan’s Mightiest Force
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Christina Goldbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The intimidating myth of an all-powerful military in Pakistan has been smashed in public view. Now comes another searing rebuke: Voters turned out in droves this month for candidates aligned with the expelled leader, Imran Khan, despite a military crackdown on his party. The political jockeying and unrest have left Pakistan, already reeling from an economic crisis, in a turbulent muddle. But one thing is clear: The military — long respected and feared as the ultimate authority in this nuclear-armed country of 240 million people — is facing a crisis. Its rumblings can be heard in once unthinkable ways, out in the open, among a public that long spoke of the military establishment only in coded language.

Persons: Imran Khan, Khan’s, ’ Locations: Pakistan

☆ Coalition government deal in Pakistan leaves Imran Khan’s party out of power
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Sophia Saifi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Islamabad, Pakistan CNN —Two of Pakistan’s major political parties - the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) - say they will form a coalition government after last week’s inconclusive elections. The move means the party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan will not be in power, despite independent candidates affiliated with it gaining the most votes. The PMLN also released a statement that Shahbaz Sharif would be the party’s candidate for prime minister. Earlier on Tuesday, the PPP’s chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had said his party would support the PLMN candidate for prime minister. The party would also field its candidates for the National Assembly speaker, chairman of the Senate, and president, he said.

Persons: Imran Khan, Shahbaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Imran Khan’s, Nawaz Sharif, Khan, ” Zardari, Sharif, “, ” Bhutto Zardari Organizations: Pakistan CNN —, Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz, Pakistan People’s Party, PPP, PTI, National Assembly, Senate Locations: Islamabad, Pakistan, Lahore, Wahdat

☆ Analysis: Pakistan’s youth deliver stinging rebuke to military elite by backing jailed leader Khan
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Sophia Saifi | Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Islamabad, Pakistan CNN —His political party is effectively banned, his speeches are barred from television, and he faces at least 14 years in prison. But as the Pakistan election results show, Imran Khan cannot be suppressed. Independent candidates affiliated with the former prime minister’s Pakistan Tehereek-e-Insaf (PTI) party secured the most parliamentary seats in last week’s nationwide election, the election commission announced Sunday. “Now show the strength of protecting your vote.” Khan’s team has previously used AI to deliver his speeches from behind bars. Akhtar Soomro/Reuters/FileWhen he rose to power in 2018, it was, according to analysts, with the backing of the military.

Persons: Pakistan CNN —, Imran Khan, Khan, “, ”, Khan’s, –, Hashim Ali Dogar, Shayan Bashir Nawaz, Raoof Hassam, Madiha Afzal, Akhtar Soomro, Rabiya Arooj, Nawaz Sharif, Husain Haqqani, Anwar Gargash, Manahil Ahmed, Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Sundas Kalsoom, Insaaf, Gohar Ali Khan, Hasham Ahmed, Fahd Humayun Organizations: Pakistan CNN, Independent, PTI, CNN, Foreign, Brookings Institution, Pakistani, United, Hudson Institute, Washington D.C, Getty, Haqqani, Political, Neubauer, Tufts University, “ Locations: Islamabad, Pakistan, Lahore, “, Punjab, Washington, Imran Khan Pakistan, British India, It’s, United States, Pakistani, Abu Dhabi, Peshawar, Buner, AFP, Egypt

☆ Who Are the Major Players After Pakistan’s Stunning Election?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Alan Yuhas | Christina Goldbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The stunning election success of a party whose leader is in jail has set off a political crisis in Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation of 240 million people. The stakes are high: Pakistanis face soaring inflation and costs of living, frequent blackouts, resurgent terrorist attacks and tense relations with their neighbors. Imran Khan: The jailed leaderImran Khan, a former prime minister and cricket star, has been sentenced to 34 years in prison on charges that include leaking state secrets and unlawful marriage. He is barred from holding office, and his supporters call the charges, which he denies, an effort by the military to silence its leading critic. In the election last week, candidates aligned with Mr. Khan won more seats in Parliament than any other group — but still fell short of forming a majority on their own.

Persons: Imran Khan, Mr, Khan Locations: Pakistan

While election winners were celebrating victory, PTI and other parties refused to accept their defeat in dozens of constituencies. Dozens of Khan’s supporters were briefly detained in the eastern city of Lahore over the weekend while protesting alleged vote-rigging. Khan could not run in the election because of the criminal convictions against him that he says are politically motivated. No party won a majority, however, so the parties will have to hold talks on forming a coalition government. The Pakistan Muslim League-N party led by three-time premier and ex-felon Nawaz Sharif secured 75.

Persons: Pakistan's, Imran Khan, Khan, Jan Achakzai, Nawaz Sharif, Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto, Zardari, establishment’s Organizations: National Assembly, Pakistan Muslim League, Pakistan People’s Party, PML Locations: QUETTA, Pakistan, Lahore, Baluchistan

☆ Election Shocker in Pakistan: Where the Country Goes From Here
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Salman Masood | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Imran Khan’s stunning performance in Pakistan’s national election has upended most traditional political forecasts in a country where leaders who run afoul of the powerful military rarely find electoral success. Here’s what to know about the uncertainty now hanging over Pakistan’s political system. Mr. Khan’s supporters are challenging the results of dozens of races in the country’s courts, and pressure is growing on Pakistan’s Election Commission to acknowledge the widely reported irregularities in the vote counting. Backers of Mr. Khan say they will hold peaceful protests outside election commission offices in constituencies where they contend the rigging took place. Protests have already erupted in several parts of the country, especially in the restive southwestern Baluchistan Province.

Persons: Imran Khan’s, Khan, What’s, Khan’s Organizations: Mr Locations: Baluchistan Province

☆ Imran Khan’s ‘Victory Speech’ From Jail Shows A.I.’s Peril and Promise
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Imran Khan, Pakistan’s former prime minister, has spent the duration of the country’s electoral campaign in jail, disqualified from running in what experts have described as one of the least credible general elections in the country’s 76-year history. But from behind bars, he has been rallying his supporters in recent months with speeches that use artificial intelligence to replicate his voice, part of a tech-savvy strategy his party deployed to circumvent a crackdown by the military. And on Saturday, as official counts showed candidates aligned with his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or P.T.I., winning the most seats in a surprise result that threw the country’s political system into chaos, it was Mr. Khan’s A.I. voice that declared victory.

Persons: Imran Khan, Khan’s Locations: Pakistan

☆ The Rise, and Fall, and Rise Again of Imran Khan
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Christina Goldbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Pakistan’s government censored the media, former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party posted campaign videos on TikTok. When the police barred his supporters from holding rallies, they hosted virtual gatherings online. And when Mr. Khan ended up behind bars, his supporters produced speeches using artificial intelligence to simulate his voice. The success of candidates aligned with Mr. Khan’s party in last week’s election — snagging more seats than any other in Parliament — was a stunning upset in Pakistani politics. Since Mr. Khan fell out with the country’s generals and was ousted by Parliament in 2022, his supporters had faced a military-led crackdown that experts said was designed to sideline the former prime minister.

Persons: Imran Khan’s, Khan, — Locations: Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Allies of imprisoned Pakistani ex-premier Imran Khan won more seats in national elections than the political parties who ousted him from power nearly two years ago, according to a final tally of results published Sunday. Khan, who was kicked out of office through a no-confidence vote in parliament in 2022, has been in prison since last August. The final tally showed that independent candidates secured 101 out of 266 seats in the National Assembly, or lower house of parliament. The Pakistan People’s Party, or PPP, led by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, came in third with 54 seats. By Friday evening, seeing his party trail behind the independent candidates backed by Khan, he spoke of alliances and joining hands.

Persons: Imran Khan, Khan, Nawaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto, Zardari, Sharif, establishment's Organizations: —, PTI, Supreme, National Assembly, Pakistan Muslim League, Pakistan People’s Party, PML Locations: ISLAMABAD, Pakistani, Pakistan

☆ Pakistan releases official election results, independents affiliated with Khan’s PTI secure most seats
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Heather Chen | Sophia Saifi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Pakistan’s official election results were announced by the election commission on Sunday, with independent candidates affiliated with former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party securing the most seats in parliament. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, independent candidates won 102 seats. The majority of the independents are affiliated with Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz party (PMLN), headed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, came in second with 73 seats, and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) won 54 seats. The PTI party has called on party workers and supporters to hold protests on Sunday outside polling offices in constituencies where party members say election results were “withheld and delayed.”The capital Islamabad has imposed Section 144, allowing police to take legal action against any illegal assemblies and activities.

Persons: CNN —, Imran Khan’s, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz, Nawaz Sharif Organizations: CNN, Pakistan Muslim League, Pakistan People’s Party, PTI Locations: Imran Khan’s Pakistan, Pakistan, Islamabad

If no party wins a majority of 169 seats, the one with the biggest share can form a coalition government. The vote was overshadowed by violence, an unprecedented national shutdown of all mobile phone services and allegations of vote rigging. Pakistan’s national human rights body said there was no excuse for the hold-up and expressed concern about the lack of transparency. DEALS, DEALS, DEALSNo party won a majority of National Assembly seats. She accompanied her father at rallies, giving fiery and uncompromising speeches, and escorted him on polling day when he went to cast his vote.

Persons: hadn't, Imran Khan's, Salman Akram Raja, hasn’t, Nawaz Sharif, kingmaker, Asif Ali Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto, Zardari, Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif’s, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Benazir Bhutto, Benazir’s, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Maryam Nawaz, Bilawal, Maryam, Shehbaz, Hamza Organizations: —, National Assembly, U.S, Union, Court, Fair, PTI, Pakistan People’s Party, Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League Locations: LAHORE, Pakistan, — Pakistan, Lahore, Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan, Punjab province

☆ Pakistan Is Stunned as Early Election Results Look Like a Real Race
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Christina Goldbaum | More About Christina Goldbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Pakistani voters on Friday were anxiously awaiting the final results of a national election that has stunned many in the country by denying Pakistan’s powerful military a widely expected landslide victory for its preferred party. That party, led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, remained the front-runner as preliminary totals trickled in a day after the voting. But the prolonged uncertainty made clear that the military, long the guiding hand in Pakistani politics, had failed in its heavy-handed effort to gut a rival party affiliated with another former prime minister, Imran Khan. The tight races may constitute as close to an upset as possible in a country where the military is the ultimate authority. They reflected the deep, loyal base of support that Mr. Khan has cultivated since he was ousted by Parliament in 2022, as well as his unique ability to outmaneuver the military’s playbook for sidelining politicians who have fallen out of its favor.

Persons: Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan, Khan Organizations: Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz Locations: Punjab

☆ Former Pakistani PM says his party emerged as largest from election but fell short of majority
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Sophia Saifi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Islamabad CNN —Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif claimed Friday that his party had emerged as the largest in the country’s election even as independents affiliated with jailed leader Imran Khan took the lead and protests broke out over delays to the count. If Sharif’s party forms the new government he would become prime minister for a historic fourth term. Analysts have described the vote as the least credible in the country’s post-independence history, accusing authorities of “pre-poll rigging” amid a wide crackdown on Khan’s party. His longtime foe, 74-year-old Sharif, a scion of the elite Sharif political dynasty, is seeking to make what would be a remarkable political comeback following years of self-exile overseas after he was sentenced to prison on corruption charges. Also standing is Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the 35-year-old son of slain former leader Benazir Bhutto, hoping to reestablish his Pakistan People’s Party as a major political force.

Persons: Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan, Khan, Sharif, Shabaz Sharif, ” Sharif, Khan’s, “, ”, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Benazir Bhutto Organizations: Islamabad CNN — Former Pakistani, National Assembly, Human Rights, ”, PTI, Pakistan People’s Party Locations: Islamabad, country’s, Pakistan, Shangla, Pakistan’s, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

☆ Pakistan election 2024: Millions will head to the polls in an election mired in controversy
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Rhea Mogul | Sophia Saifi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Islamabad, Pakistan CNN —Millions in Pakistan will head to the polls on Thursday for a general election in which old dynasties are vying for power while the country’s widely popular former leader languishes behind bars unable to stand and militants ramp up deadly attacks. Mobile internet has been suspended in various districts of the province, leading to concerns of a nationwide blackout. A street is festooned with posters of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Lahore on February 4, 2024. Sharif remains widely popular in Pakistan’s Punjab province – the country’s most populous and a key electoral battleground – where his Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party has been lauded for advancing mega infrastructural projects. Standing against him is Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the 35-year-old son of slain former leader Benazir Bhutto, seeking to reestablish his Pakistan People’s Party as a major political force.

Persons: languishes, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Nawaz Sharif, ARIF, Volker Türk, ”, Liz Throssell, Imran Khan’s, Khan, Sharif, Nawaz, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Benazir Bhutto Organizations: Pakistan CNN —, Islamic State, Mobile, Foreign, ARIF ALI, AFP, Getty, United Nations, Human Rights, “, Cricket, PTI, Pakistan Muslim League, Pakistan People’s Party Locations: Islamabad, Pakistan, country’s, Balochistan, Islamic State Pakistan Province, Iran, Afghanistan, Lahore, Imran Khan’s Pakistan, Punjab

☆ A Polarized Pakistan Goes to the Polls With the Result All but Certain
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Christina Goldbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

As voters headed to the polls on Thursday, the influence of Pakistan’s powerful military and the turbulent state of its politics were on full display. Few doubted which party would come out on top, a reflection of the generals’ ultimate hold on Pakistan’s troubled democracy. But the military is facing new challenges to its authority from a discontented public, making this an especially fraught moment in the nation’s history. The tension was underlined on Thursday as Pakistan’s Interior Ministry announced that it was suspending mobile phone service across the country because of the security situation. Some analysts in Pakistan cast it as an effort to keep opposition voters from getting information or coordinating activities.

Persons: —, ’ Organizations: Interior Ministry Locations: Pakistan

☆ Election Office Blasts in Pakistan Kill at Least 22 a Day Before Vote
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Zia Ur-Rehman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two separate explosions outside election offices in an insurgency-hit area of Pakistan killed at least 22 people and wounded several others on Wednesday, officials said, a deadly reminder of the deteriorating security situation in the country as it heads into national elections on Thursday. “Rest assured, we will not allow terrorists to undermine or sabotage this crucial democratic process,” Jan Achakzai, the information minister in the province where Wednesday’s blasts occurred, said on social media. But such attacks against election-related activities, including the targeting of candidates, have surged as Pakistan’s campaign season has ramped up. At least 21 attacks occurred in January, killing 10 people and injuring 25, according to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based think tank. Two candidates lost their lives, and several candidates narrowly escaped harm.

Persons: ” Jan Achakzai Organizations: Pakistan Institute for Conflict, Security Studies Locations: Pakistan, Islamabad

☆ Analysis: At this general election in Pakistan, old dynasties vie for power and populist Imran Khan languishes in prison
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Sophia Saifi | Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

That sets the stage for a difficult road to recovery for whoever wins in a nation where no democratically elected prime minister has ever completed a full term in office. Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan attends a lawyers' convention in Lahore on September 21, 2022. Veteran Sharif will face a strong challenge, however, from first-time candidate for Prime Minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, 35, son of slain former leader Benazir Bhutto. Manahil Ahmed, 23, called Pakistan’s political environment “particularly hostile” right now. For Pakistan’s military and police forces, the last year was the bloodiest in a decade.

Persons: Imran Khan, –, Arif Ali, Nawaz Sharif, Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Benazir Bhutto, Khan –, Khan, Fareed Khan, ”, Rabiya Arooj, Khan’s, Bushra Bibi, Imran Khan's, Asad Zaidi, Pakistan’s, Farzana Shaikh, “, ’, Murtaza Solang, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Mohsin Raza, he’s, Raja Ikram, Ameer Hamza, Manahil Ahmed, Shaikh, Hussain Nadim, Maurice R, Greenberg, ‘, Aamir Qureshi, Shoaib Tanveer, Baou Nadeem, ” Shaikh, Farooq Naeem, “ Sharif, He’s, Tim Willasey Organizations: Pakistan CNN —, Getty, PTI, World Bank, Pakistan, Bloomberg, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, CNN, for Research, Security Studies, Pakistan’s People’s Party, Pakistan Muslim League, Baloch Liberation Army, Yale University, Pakistan Army –, Workers, King’s College London Locations: Islamabad, Pakistan, Pakistan CNN — Pakistan, Lahore, AFP, Karachi, “, Rawalpindi, Asia, Hafizabad, Khan’s, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, India, Afghanistan, Iran, State Khorasan, restive Balochistan, Balochistan, Punjab, Sharif, States, China, British

☆ What to Know About Pakistan’s Election
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Christina Goldbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Pakistan heads to the polls on Thursday for an election that analysts say will be among the least credible in the country’s 76-year history, one that comes at a particularly turbulent moment for the nation. For nearly half of Pakistan’s existence, the military has ruled directly. This will be only the third democratic transition between civilian governments in Pakistan’s history. And it is the first national election since former Prime Minister Imran Khan was removed from power after a vote of no confidence in 2022. Mr. Khan’s ouster — which he accused the military of orchestrating, though the powerful generals deny it — set off a political crisis that has embroiled the nuclear-armed nation for the past two years.

Persons: Imran Khan, Khan’s, —, Nawaz Sharif Locations: Pakistan

☆ It Was Once Pakistan’s Military Stronghold. Now Even It Has Had Enough.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Christina Goldbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

As they head to the polls this week, residents in Pakistan’s most populous and affluent province are fed up. Just look around, they say: The economy is in free fall and inflation has soared. Everyone from young laborers to prominent influencers in the province, Punjab, have been jailed alongside him. And it’s become clear, many say, that a group once widely supported in Punjab is to blame: the country’s military. “We aren’t faulting the politicians anymore — now we know who to blame,” said Sibghat Butt, 29, a customer service representative in Lahore, the province’s capital.

Persons: —, ”, Sibghat Butt Locations: Pakistan’s, Punjab, Lahore, “

CNN —At least 30 people were killed and another 40 injured in two different explosions in Balochistan province on Wednesday, a day before Pakistan’s general elections. The blasts took place in the Killa Saifullah district outside an election office belonging to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and in the Pishin district near the office of an independent candidate. According to police, a large number of workers were in the office at the time of the explosion. Those injured in the Pishin blast have been taken to hospital, Medical Superintendent Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Dr. Habib Ur Rehman said. The blasts come amid rising tensions in Pakistan ahead of Thursday’s election.

Persons: Pakistan’s, Saifullah, Yasir Bazai, Maulana Samiul Haq, Maulana Abdul Wasay, Asfand Yar Kakar, Pishin, Dad Mandokhail, Habib Ur Rehman, Liz Throssell, Amaq Organizations: CNN, Jamiat Ulema, UN, Human Rights, Islamic, ISIS Locations: Balochistan, Saifullah, Jamiat, Pishin, Quetta, Pakistan, Islamic State Pakistan Province

FORMER PRIME MINISTER NAWAZ SHARIF, PAKISTAN MUSLIM LEAGUEBusiness mogul, multi-millionaire and three-time premier, Nawaz Sharif hails from one of the top two families that have dominated Pakistani politics for decades. He also has a personal stake in keeping imprisoned Imran Khan out of the picture. FORMER PRIME MINISTER IMRAN KHAN, PAKISTAN TEHREEK-E-INSAF PARTYA former cricket star turned Islamist politician, Imran Khan triumphed on an anti-corruption, anti-establishment platform in the 2018 election to form a coalition government. FORMER PRIME MINISTER SHEHBAZ SHARIF, PAKISTAN MUSLIM LEAGUEShehbaz Sharif, 72, the younger brother of Nawaz Sharif, succeeded Imran Khan as prime minister in April 2022. He won his first parliamentary seat in 2018 and became foreign minister after Imran Khan was ousted as prime minister.

Persons: it's, NAWAZ SHARIF, Nawaz Sharif, Sharif, Imran Khan, Khan, ASIM MUNIR, Asim Munir, Munir, IMRAN KHAN, Osama bin Laden, ” —, SHEHBAZ SHARIF, BILAWAL BHUTTO, ZARDARI, Pakistan’s, Bilawal Bhutto, Zardari, Benazir Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari Organizations: —, National Assembly, PAKISTAN MUSLIM LEAGUE Business, Pakistan Muslim League, Supreme, Sharif, GEN, ARMY CHIEF, LEAGUE, International Monetary Fund Locations: ISLAMABAD, — Pakistan, PAKISTAN, United Kingdom, Pakistan, Iran, Tehran, Islamabad, United States, U.S, Washington, LEAGUE Shehbaz Sharif, Punjab, London, Sindh

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