Posted 1/2/2024, 3:22:30 AM
Pakistan Faces Political Crisis Amid Economic Decline and Shifting Consensus
- Pakistan has historically relied on foreign aid and rents to prop up the economy and political system
- As this foreign funding has declined, tensions have emerged among the elite over the military's outsized role
- The economic crisis and lack of funds to distribute has eroded consensus and support for the establishment
- Harsher measures are being used against political parties like PTI as the establishment struggles to maintain dominance
- Unless a new consensus is reached, heavy-handedness and repression may persist amidst the economic crisis