Global Politics

 Islamabad’s Changing Political Alignment — Is Integration Possible? The current political situation in Islamabad cannot simply be viewed as another confrontation between the government and opposition. Differences between PML-N and PPP, particularly over the question of new provinces, changing political statements, and visible disagreements within the broader political structure suggest that Pakistan may be entering another phase of political realignment. However, claims that the Establishment has completely broken with PML-N or PPP, or that the political parties secretly betrayed the Establishment, remain allegations unless supported by credible evidence. Such claims should therefore be treated as political analysis rather than established facts. The question of new provinces has nevertheless become an important part of the political debate. PML-N has maintained that such decisions should be taken through Parliament, while PPP has also emphasized constitutional procedure, provinci...

  The Politics of Endurance: A Different Route to Political Pressure Pakistan's present political confrontation appears to be entering a different phase: from an immediate street confrontation toward a contest of endurance. The PTI's Islamabad march, originally announced for September 27, has now been postponed to October 4. At the same time, the government had already imposed extensive security measures, including restrictions on routes, deployment of Rangers and other personnel, and the placement of large numbers of containers. According to Dawn, the government is paying Rs46.5 million per day for 1,550 containers, with the extended arrangements potentially taking the total security cost beyond Rs1 billion. This creates an important political question: if the confrontation is postponed, who carries the continuing cost of maintaining the confrontation? Endurance instead of immediate confrontation I see the present postponement as potentially significant because a politica...