The Zardari Years: 2008 – 2013

Political and Constitutional Developments

1. General Elections 2008 (18 Feb 2008): elections were held under Musharraf’s rule and the main issues of
campaign included socio-economic issues across Pakistan and civic issues specific to constituencies. Foreign policy
slogans and references to late political personalities were used to garner support.
a. Voter turnout was almost 45%
b. Results displayed political polarization – large right, left and centrist divide among the voters
c. Islamic parties failed and were unable to repeat their performance of 2002
d. Two parties that had suffered the most at the hands of Musharraf emerged successful: PPP and PML-N
2. Yousaf Raza Gillani as the PM (24 Mar 2008): the first two steps taken by the NA in accordance with the
Constitution were:
a. Election of the Speaker: Dr. Fahmida Mirza was elected as the first woman Speaker of the NA
b. Election of the PM: Yousaf Raza Gillani was elected as the PM instead of the populist Amin Fahim
3. Coalition Government: throughout the era, a weak coalition government was led by the PPP at the center with
different coalition partners, which impeded proper functioning of the legislature and cabinet:
a. First Coalition: PPP + PML-N + MQM + ANP formed the federal government due to common anti-
Musharraf interests.
b. Second Coalition: five months later, PML-N (the only right wing party in the coalition) withdrew on the
issues of unilateral nomination of Zardari as a Presidential candidate and reinstatement of judges. A new
coalition was formed i.e. PPP + MQM + ANP + JUI-F.
c. Third Coalition: MQM withdrew from the coalition in 2012 and flirted with PML-N in order to either
extract better conditions from PPP especially with regards to the local governments or secure a post-
elections coalition with the PML-N.
4. Provincial Governments: different parties dominated the provinces but PPP was involved everywhere:
a. Punjab: PML-N emerged as the dominant player and PPP formed a coalition in the beginning. Later on,
PPP left the coalition but PML-N continued to rule the province comfortably.
b. Sindh: PPP formed a coalition with MQM, even though the former had a large majority. This compromise
had to be made to ensure MQM’s support at the center.
c. KP: ANP led the coalition government in KP.
d. Balochistan: provincial government in Balochistan was led by a PPP leader.
5. Musharraf Steps Down (18 Aug 2008): the PPP and PML-N coalition government decided to impeach the then
President of Pakistan, Pervaiz Musharraf. Before the parliamentary proceedings regarding impeachment could
begin, he stepped down – probably to avoid the charge sheet that was supposed to be presented against him in
the parliament and also probably due to pressure from abroad.
6. Presidential Elections (6 Sep 2008): Zardari became the President of Pakistan and his election was met with mixed
reactions. PPP celebrated his victory while PML-N called for his resignation from the post of Chairman of PPP to
ensure an apolitical role of the President. However, he has been the most controversial President due to his past
record, his reputation for backroom political deals at the expense of national interests and integration, and his
alleged role (in the eyes of many) in Benazir’s assassination.
7. Civ-Mil Rift – Kerry-Lugar Bill (Sep-Oct 2009): the military voiced its concerns over the text and language of the
bill which ensured the flow of $1.5 billion annually as non-military aid to Pakistan from the US, between 2010 and
2014. The military found its text derogatory and against the national interests and sovereignty of Pakistan. While
the bill was no doubt removed from reality – it showed how little those who drafted the bill understood Pakistan
– it also made the aid contingent on greater civilian control over the military (later Hussain Haqani was blamed
for getting this clause inserted into the bill).
8. SC’s Order on the NRO (16 Dec 2009): the National Reconciliation Ordinance issued by Musharraf had granted
amnesty to politicians and bureaucrats accused of corruption, embezzlement, money laundering, murder and
terrorism between 1 Jan 1986 and 12 Oct 1999. This had allowed the return of Benazir, Zardari and a number of
politicians to Pakistan and had allowed them to resume political activities. The NRO was declared unconstitutional
by the Supreme Court i.e. the court ordered the arrest and prosecution of those accused of various crimes in the
third democratic era of Pakistan.
9. 18th Amendment – Democracy and Provincial Autonomy (8 Apr 2010): several important steps were taken
because of this amendment:
a. Greater civil rights
i. Fair Trial
ii. Free and compulsory education
iii. Right to information
b. Protection of Democracy:
i. Article 6 changed to include suspension and abeyance of the constitution.
ii. Reversal of the 17th amendment.
c. Restoration of Parliamentary System:
i. Presidential powers curtailed including those of emergency and dissolution of assemblies.
ii. Parliament and PM given greater powers.
d. Provincial Autonomy:
i. Concurrent list abolished.
ii. Reconstitutions of and greater role of CCI and NEC.
iii. Share of any province under the NFC award could be no less than its share under the previous
NFC award.
iv. Autonomy over the decision of sharing energy resources with other provinces.
v. Renaming of provinces:
1. From Sind to Sindh
2. From Baluchistan to Balochistan
3. From NWFP to KP
e. Appointment of Judges: in the pre-18th amendment scenario, the main role in judicial appointments was
that of the CJP and of the Chief Justices of High Courts, who sent recommendations to the President who
was bound to select one of the recommended nominees. This was changed under the 18th amendment:
i. Judicial Commission (JC): a body with representatives from amongst the judiciary, lawyers and
federal/provincial government as the case may be. Its job was to recommend names for vacancies
in the superior courts. It was constituted as follows:
1. CJP as the Chairman of the JC (the rest are members)
2. 4 senior judges of the SC
3. 1 former CJP or a former judge of the SC, nominated by the CJP
4. Federal Minister for Law and Justice
5. Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP)
6. Senior advocate of the SC, nominated by the Pakistan Bar Council
ii. Parliamentary Committee (PC): this was composed of a total of 8 members from both, the upper
and the lower house. Recommendations of the JC were submitted to the PC which was to confirm
or reject the nominees forwarded by the JC. The confirmed names were then forwarded to the
President through the PM for appointment. It was constituted as follows:
1. 4 MNAs split equally b/w the Treasury and the Opposition benches.
2. 4 Senators, split equally b/w the Treasury and the Opposition benches.
f. Appointment of Chief Election Commissioner: The PM and the Leader of the Opposition consult and
forward 3 names to a Parliamentary Committee for hearing and confirmation of any single person. In case
there is no consensus among the two, they forward their own separate lists and the committee decides
on a single person afterwards. 4 other members of the ECP are appointed in the same manner. All of
them, the CEC and the members, were to be appointed by the President.
10. 19th Amendment – Parliament’s Sovereignty vs. Judiciary’s Independence (22 Dec 2010): the 18th amendment
increased the role of non-judicial pillars of the government in the appointment of judges. So the 18th amendment
was challenged in the SC on the grounds that the process of appointment introduced in the 18th infringed upon
the independence of the judiciary. In an unprecedented move, the SC admitted the petition for hearing before
the full court (historically, the court had kept itself away from matters of constitutional amendments). The court
did not pass a definitive order but its tone said that if the legislature did not comply with its recommendations, it
had the option of nullifying the offending portion of the 18th amendment. The Parliament complied and included
the suggested amendments in the constitution via the 19th amendment. These suggestions once again shifted the
 balance of power with respect to the matter of appointment of judges from the Legislature and the Executive to
the judiciary.
a. Increasing the number of most senior judges of the SC in the JC from 2 to 4.
b. If the PC rejected any name from the recommended list of names, it had to give a valid reason for doing
so. Furthermore, if upon the review of the PC’s reasons the JC reiterated its original recommendations,
they became final and the President was bound to make the appointment accordingly.
c. The PC could discuss the performance of the Judiciary but only in camera (the in camera clause was not
contained before the 19th amendment).
d. Finally, in case the NA was dissolved, the PC will comprise of the members of the Senate only (the case of
formulation of PC in the event of dissolution of the NA was not covered under the 18th).
11. Civ-Mil Rift – Memogate Scandal (Oct - Nov 2011): it has been said (revealed through the publication of private
SMS conversations between Haqani and Mansoor Ijaz, a US-Pakistani businessman) that Zardari wanted to bring
the military under civilian rule due to which he hatched a conspiracy with Hussain Haqani, then Pakistan’s
Ambassador to the US. A memorandum was submitted by Haqani through Mansoor Ijaz to Admiral Mike Mullen
to prevent a military takeover in the wake of US raid on OBL’s compound in Abbottabad, and to help bring the
military under civilian control. Haqani was recalled to Pakistan; he resigned after a meeting between top civilian
and military leadership. SC opened up an investigation and concluded that Haqani be tried for treason.
12. 20th Amendment – Free and Fair Elections (14 Feb 2012): the President or the Governor in case of a Province,
appoint the caretaker Cabinet when the NA or the PA is dissolved on expiration of its date or under the Article 58
or Article 112. Members of the caretaker cabinets including the caretaker PM and caretaker CM as well as their
immediate family members (spouse and children) are not allowed to participate in the upcoming elections. The
method of appointment is as follows:
a. PM and CM: the caretaker PM is appointed by the President and the caretaker CM is appointed by the
Governor of the concerned Province. Plus under the 20th, the incumbent PM and the incumbent CM are
to stay in office until the caretaker PM and caretaker CM have been appointed. The following process
outlines the procedure for NA and the same procedure mutatis mutandis applies to the PA:
i. Consultation: under the 18th, in case of the NA a caretaker PM is appointed by the President on
consultation with the PM and the Leader of the Opposition of the outgoing Assembly. If they are
unable to agree on any person, Article 224A is used to resolve the matter.
ii. Resolution (Article 224A under the 20th): there are a few mechanisms in place in case of
disagreement:
1. Committee: in case of an inability to agree on any person, the PM and the Leader of
Opposition of the outgoing Assembly forward within 3 days, two nominees to a
committee which is immediately constituted by the Speaker and the committee
comprises of 8 members of the outgoing NA or the Senate or both having equal
representation from the Treasury Branches and the Opposition (in case of the PA, the
committee comprises of 6 members). These members are nominated by the PM and the
Leader of Opposition. The Committee is to finalize the matter within 3 days.
2. ECP: if the Committee is unable to resolve the matter within 3 days, the nominees are
sent to the Election Commission which decides the matter within 2 days.
b. Cabinet: members of the caretaker Federal and Provincial Cabinets are appointed on the
recommendation of the caretaker PM and caretaker CM respectively.
13. Gillani’s Dismissal – Executive vs. Judiciary (26 Apr 2012): Zardari and Benazir allegedly received kickbacks from
a Swiss company. They were tried for it and found guilty in a Swiss court in 2003 but Zardari appealed the decision
and the case was dropped by the prosecution. CJP Chaudhry Iftikhar had issued an order dictating PM Gillani to
write a letter to Swiss authorities requesting a reopening of the case. The latter declined on the grounds that
Zardari enjoyed immunity as head of state. Gillani was convicted on the charges of contempt of court. The point
of contention was:
a. The power of dismissal from NA rested with the Speaker and not with the court.
b. Fahmida Mirza had decided that conviction in contempt of court case did not amount to dismissal.
c. Initial order of the court did not order the immediate sending of a reference directly to the ECP.
d. Petitions filed by PTI and PML-N contended that a convict could not represent the people of Pakistan.
 The court settled in favour of dismissal of Gillani from the NA – it implied he was no longer the PM – and had
ceased to be so from the moment he had been convicted on the charges of contempt of court.
14. Raja Pervez Ashraf as the PM (22 June 2012): the NA elected a new PM within 3 days of the dismissal of Gillani.
15. The NRO Implementation Case: the court directed the new PM to write a letter to the Swiss authorities for the
purpose of reopening of the case against Zardari. Pervaiz Ashraf stated that his stance on the issue was the same
as that of Gillani’s. However, Ashraf caved in and said later that he was willing to write a letter to the Swiss
authorities. Swiss authorities replied back in June 2013 stating that since the case was time barred, it could not be
re-opened. The reply also indicated that the case had been resolved in the favour of Zardari who was declared a
‘clean’ man.
16. Rental Power Project Case (15 Jan 2013): the Supreme Court started a trial against Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on
allegations of receiving kickbacks from RPPs in return for convincing the ECC (Economic Coordination Committee)
and the cabinet, by providing misleading facts, to increase the down payments to the RPPs from 7% to 14%. While
Raja Pervaiz Ashraf resides outside Pakistan as of now, the cases of corruption against him are still pending and
he has been indicted in the RPP case by an accountability court.
17. Long March (Jan 2013): Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri of PAT staged a sit in in Islamabad against corruption and demanded
the resignation of Asif Zardari along with a dissolution of the assemblies. However, a compromise formula was
struck with PAT having a say in the appointment of a caretaker set up and the NA being dissolved by 16 March so
that the ECP could scrutinize the candidates for elections in the month between the dissolution and elections.

Military Operations and FATA Reforms

1. Swat and South Waziristan Operations: these were launched with political consensus against the TTP.
2. Amendments in FCR 1901 (Aug 2011): a number of amendments were introduced including:
a. Severity of collective responsibility reduced.
b. Maximum detention period by the PA/DC reduced.
c. Formal recognition of the Qaumi jirga (rather than the Sarkari Jirga headed by the PA/DC).
d. 3 member tribunal established as the highest appellate body.
3. Extension of Political Parties Order 2002 (August 2011): people were allowed to participate in elections as
candidates with party affiliations. This was an essential step towards political mainstreaming of the people residing
in FATA.

Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan and Governor’s Rule

1. The Package: it was a reconciliation package offered to the hitherto ignored province. It offered them
constitutional, political, administrative and economic rights aimed at greater socio-economic development of the
province, political main streaming and overall modernization through an inclusive process. The package also
promised the flow of Rs.120 billion over a period of 12 years to pay arrears of gas development surcharge from
1954 to 1991:
a. Constitutional Reforms: greater political economy, proper working and more frequent meetings of bodies
related to federal-provincial relations and inter-provincial relations, restructuring of the NFC award etc.
The NFC was restructured to include four criteria:
i. Population
ii. Social backwardness/poverty
iii. Revenue generation/collection
iv. Inverse population density
b. Political Reforms: immediate release of political prisoners except for those charged with heinous crimes,
facilitation of the return of those in political exile, political mainstreaming of the parties and powers to
amend the local government act according to the needs of the province.
c. Administrative Reforms: withdrawal of military forces from Sui and their replacement with Frontier Corps
(FC), investigation of the missing persons’ cases, review of the policy of converting B areas into A areas
etc.
d. Economic Reforms: royalty for gas and gas development surcharge, creation of 5000 jobs for the Balochis,
greater provincial share in the Saindak project, Rs.1 billion for the rehabilitation of internally displaced
persons of Dera Bugti.
 2. Governor’s Rule in Balochistan (14 Jan 2013): the killing of Hazara Shias in Balochistan led to country-wide
protests and sit-ins due to which the PM announced the dismissal of the provincial government in Balochistan and
the imposition of Governor’s rule under Article 234 of the constitution.

Social and Religious Developments

1. Attack on Sri Lankan Cricket team (2009)
2. Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Bill 2010 (9 Mar 2010)
3. Blasphemy under debate (Salman Taseer vs. Mumtaz Qadri)

Economy in Decline
1. Energy crisis takes a turn for the worse
2. Pak-China FTA 2006 (Phase 1) hurts Pakistan more
3. Pak-India trade across LOC starts but Mumbai attacks reverse any gains made
4. Global financial crisis 2008 – rise in oil prices, rise in inflation and slowing down of trade and economic activity
5. Declining foreign reserves – some $3.4 billion in 2013
6. Average GDP growth of Pakistan between 2008 and 2013 is approximately 2.6%
7. Fiscal deficit up to 8.5% in 2013
8. Government’s spending on elections from the treasury worsened the crisis

Foreign Policy
1. Deteriorating Relations with the US:
a. Raymond Davis Incident (27 Jan 2011)
b. Abbottabad Raid and killing of OBL (2 May 2011)
c. NATO kills 25 Pakistani Military Personnel (26 Nov 2011)
d. Blockade of NATO Route (Nov 2011 – Jul 2012)
2. Deteriorating Relations with India:
a. Mumbai Attacks (26 Nov 2008)
b. Execution of Ajmal Kasab (Nov 2012)
c. Frequent LOC Violations
3. Contract on Gwadar Port’s Construction and Operation sold to China (18 Feb 2013)
4. Inauguration of IP Pipeline Construction (11 Mar 2013)
The Nawaz Years: 2013 – 2017

Political and Constitutional Developments

1. General Elections 2013 – A Smooth Transition: for the first time, there had been a smooth transition from one
democratically elected government to another without any untimely dissolution of the assemblies and without
any military interference.
a. Critical Elections: the elections held on 11 May 2013 were called ‘critical elections’ as there was a
minimum right-left-centrist divide amongst the voters, most of whom swung to the right. With a large
majority in the NA, PML-N had no need to form a coalition with any other party – it was able to form a
strong federal government and it was expected that the legislature and executive will be able to operate
more effectively and will not be victims of political bickering.
b. The Upper and Lower House Divide: despite a majority in the NA, legislation faced another political
hurdle; NA and the Senate were dominated by PML-N and PPP respectively which impeded efficient law
and policy making as bargaining for political concessions led to the Senate blocking the passage of a
number of bills passed by the NA.
c. Elections for the Speaker: as per the constitution, the first action taken by the NA was the election of its
Speaker. PML-N’s Sardar Ayaz Sadiq (from constituency NA-122) got elected as the Speaker.
d. Elections for the PM: as expected, the NA elected Nawaz Sharif, the head of PML-N as the 18th PM of the
country. His decision to nominate no ministers for defense and foreign affairs laid down the ground for a
direct confrontation between the COAS and PM. Later on Khwaja Asif was appointed as the Minister of
Defense though the post of the Minister of Foreign Affairs remained vacant, leading to an absence of a
buffer between the civilian and military heads.
2. Provincial Assemblies: different parties came into power in different provinces:
a. Punjab: PML-N formed a majority party in the province and focused on projects for the development of
physical infrastructure.
b. Sindh: PPP and MQM formed an uneasy coalition government. The alliance fell apart and was re-made on
separate and unrelated political issues. The major political issue under discussion was the Rangers’
operation in Sindh, which the coalition members saw as a violation of provincial autonomy granted under
the 18th amendment.
c. KP: in this province, PTI led a coalition with Jamaat-e-Islami, Qaumi Awami Party and Awami Jamhoori
Itehad Party. Due to allegations of corruption on Qaumi Awami Party, it was cut out of the coalition. Plus
the AJIP merged with PTI. Differences on a number of issues persisted between PTI and JI, mainly because
of the latter’s ultra-conservative religious stance, thus making a number of reforms impossible.
d. Balochistan: the coalition government was formed by three parties: PML-N, National Party (NP) and
PkMAP (Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party). The matter of CM-ship was settled according to the Murree
Accord. Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch of NP would be the CM for the first half of the five years term and PML-N
would nominate its CM for the next half. Nawab Sanaullah Zehri of PML-N became the CM after the first
two and a half years. The government failed to deliver anything in the law and order domain.
3. Presidential Elections – Completion of the Democratic Transition: Zardari’s five years term expired in September
2013. Well before that, in July 2013, elections were held to elect the 12th President of Pakistan. PML-N nominated
Mamnoon Hussain while PTI nominated Wajihuddin Ahmad as candidates for the post. The former got an
overwhelming majority. For the first time in the country’s history, a civilian President was elected while the
incumbent civilian President was still in office.
4. Local Bodies: for the first time in the history of Pakistan, local government acts were passed under civilian rule,
and each province made its own laws pertaining to local government. While it was a step in the right direction,
local bodies were not given enough autonomy and power. This reduced them to nothing more than bodies
responsible for managing solid waste, zoning land and managing trivial matters. Furthermore, they were not given
proper financial autonomy and provinces even reserved the right of budgetary veto. Other problems included
insufficient representation of women, lack of capacity building programs, lack of qualification requirements, too
many indirect elections etc.
5. Civ-Mil Relations – Musharraf’s Numerous Cases: the ex-President of Pakistan had been involved in a number of
cases before PML-N came into power. He was put on trial for two murder cases – those of Benazair Bhutto and
Akbar Bugti – and for the events of 2007 which were considered to be no less than acts of treason – the arrest of
 judges and the imposition of an emergency. A First Investigation Report (FIR) was also registered against him with
regards to the Lal Masjid Operation of 2007. Eventually he was granted bail and then permission to go abroad on
medical grounds. The government and the courts kept on passing the buck to each other over the issue of deciding
whether or not to allow Musharraf to travel abroad but the government gave in on grounds that it could do
nothing since its hands were tied.
6. Rigging Allegations: ever since the 2013 general elections, Imran Khan’s PTI had started making allegations of
rigging against the PML-N and the ECP. After exhausting the legal route of filing a petition with the ECP and the
courts, PTI decided to take it to the streets, leading to a new era of dharna politics.
a. PTI and PAT’s Dharna: members and leaders of both parties marched from Lahore to Islamabad and
staged a sit-in in the capital for a number of months, choking the city. Their demands include the
resignation of the PM before a probe into the 2013 general elections, which according to both of these
parties were marred by rigging. The sit in came to an abrupt end at the end of 2014 when terrorists
attacked the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar.
b. Commission’s Decision on Rigging Allegations: in 2015 the judicial commission gave its verdict that there
was no evidence of large scale tampering of election results on the part of ECP but also included in its
decision, the statement that rigging allegations were not entirely unjustified either. It also blamed the ECP
of some irregularities though the word “rigging” was not used anywhere.
c. Bye-Elections: Punjab election commission’s tribunal de-seated Ayaz Sadiq from his seat in the NA and
ordered a re-election in the constituency NA-122. This was due to the irregularities of the ECP’s staff. In
the re-poll, Ayaz Sadiq emerged victorious.
7. Civ-Mil Relations On and Off – National Action Plan: with the APS attack in 2014, the NAP was passed under
immense pressure from the military. On various points of the plan, civilian and military leadership have been
divided.
8. 21st Amendment – Military Courts (Judiciary’s Independence): after the APS attack on 16 Dec 2014, military
courts were formed for trying terrorists and awarding the death penalty to convicted terrorists. This was done
under the NAP, but an amendment was needed in article 175 and schedule IV of the 1973 constitution to establish
military courts.
9. Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act: in an effort to fight against cybercrime, the legislature passed this piece of
legislation – seen as complementary to NAP – which ended up curbing free speech and focused more on the moral
use of the internet instead of cybercrime. Furthermore, the act did not differentiate between cybercrime and
cyberterrorism as the latter which was not a part of the scope of the legislation, was included in it.
10. 22nd Amendment – ECP and CEC: besides judges of the higher courts, civil servants and technocrats have been
made eligible for appointment to the posts of CEC and ECP members (this shows an understanding that elections
are not merely a legal exercise but a huge administrative task for which judges are not suitable). In case the office
of the CEC becomes vacant, the most senior member (age-wise) of the ECP shall act as the CEC. The age limits
have also been increased for both posts to 68 and 65 years respectively. Furthermore, there shall be one member
in ECP from each province so that all provinces are represented. Main issues were on the age limits that had been
set in the amendment bill and the way in which it was presented by the Law Minister in the Senate. Passage of
the bill was termed as being under the Doctrine of Necessity – it was presented in the Senate too late, just a week
before the retirement of ECP members. If the new ECP was to be constituted according to the amendment, there
was a need to pass it before the expiration of the five years term of the ECP members so that the new ECP could
be constituted according to the reformed rules.
11. 23rd Amendment – Military Courts Again: it revived military courts for the purpose of trying civilians in terrorism
cases. Military courts were established by the 21st amendment under a 2 years sunset clause and upon the
amendment’s expiration, a new amendment was tabled and passed to extend the military courts for a further 2
years.

Military Operations and FATA Reforms

1. Zarb-e-Azb: the operation in North Waziristan was launched after an attack on Karachi airport. The successes in
counter terrorism operations will be for nothing if parallel counter extremism programs aimed at human plus
socio-economic development and political mainstreaming are not started.
2. Proposed Merger with KP: multiple options available for FATA’s future:
a. Maintain Status Quo: expecting different results while sticking to the same methods is insanity.
 b. Make FATA a Separate Province: institutional, administrative and revenue constraints prevent this.
c. Merge FATA with PATA: a better option but it will make FATA a financial burden on KP.
d. Merge FATA with KP: this is the best option as it allows revenue generation, development, political main
streaming, the rights to a fair trial an appeal not to mention equality before law, inclusive legislation and
administration etc. A bill has been introduced in the NA for this purpose and if passed, it shall be passed
as the 30th amendment to the constitution.
3. Riwaj Act 2017: this was proposed as a replacement to FCR 1901, but it was nothing more than a rehash of the
same as it empowered the PA/DC and kept intact the judicial and criminal structures and laws that have been in
place since colonial times.
4. Radd-ul-Fassaad: aimed at consolidating the gains of Zarb-e-Azb, the armed forces of Pakistan launched a country
wide operation in Feb 2017. The operation will eliminate the hidden threat of terrorism through country-wide de-
weaponization and termination of terrorist sleeper cells across the country.

Social and Religious Developments

1. Punjab Women Protection Bill (critics and proponents)
2. State’s Role in Blasphemy Cases (increasingly extremist role)
3. Revival of Cricket (Zimbabwe visits Pakistan and PSL begins)

Unsustainable Economic Growth

1. Improvement in a number of indices (CPI, ease of doing business, credit payment ratings)
2. Increased FDI and bilateral trade
3. GDP growth averages at 5.1%
4. Fiscal deficit down to 3.6%
5. Inflation under control (less than 5%)
6. Mostly due to lower oil prices and IMF package 2013-2016
7. Temporary relief from load shedding (due to payment of circular debt) but it returns back
8. Too many subsidies and social safety nets not oriented towards poverty alleviation
9. Vision 2025 and Vision 2030

Foreign Policy
1. The Civ-Mil Dimension (Nawaz vs. Raheel in particular)
2. Pak-China as a Balance to US-India
3. Testing the Pak-Russia Option
4. Tricky Situation with respect to Iran and Saudi Arabia (Yemen war, IMAFT, Qatar-GCC rift)
5. Importance of Regional Organizations (ECO and SCO)