https://znetwork.org/category/place/asia/pakistan/ Independent Left News, Analysis, Vision and Strategy Tue, 18 Nov 2025 16:25:26 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://znetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/cropped-Z_logo_512-32x32.png https://znetwork.org/category/place/asia/pakistan/ 32 32 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/baloch-students-fighting-what-they-should-never-face/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/baloch-students-fighting-what-they-should-never-face/#respond Tue, 18 Nov 2025 17:30:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1291406 There is a painful truth in Balochistan that rarely reaches the outside world. Families who barely survive on low incomes still gather all their strength to send their children to study. A father sells his wife’s gold. A mother cuts back on her own needs. A family sacrifices comfort so their children can reach a [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/baloch-students-fighting-what-they-should-never-face/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/self-determination-not-goodwill-will-decide-the-global-souths-future/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/self-determination-not-goodwill-will-decide-the-global-souths-future/#respond Fri, 14 Nov 2025 16:13:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1291257 In the Global South, climate summits arrive like monsoons – heavy with promise, quick to pass. We gather each year to count pledges and repeat the same unresolved arithmetic: those who did the least to cause the crisis continue paying the most to survive it. And as the storms grow stronger, the promises grow smaller.  Pakistan [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/self-determination-not-goodwill-will-decide-the-global-souths-future/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/muridke-to-gaza-how-pakistans-regime-sheds-blood-to-prove-its-allegiance-to-israel/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/muridke-to-gaza-how-pakistans-regime-sheds-blood-to-prove-its-allegiance-to-israel/#respond Fri, 07 Nov 2025 17:31:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1290959 It has been more than three weeks since the massacre in Muridke, and yet, like every other atrocity in Pakistan’s recent history, it has already faded into silence. No independent inquiry, no accountability, and no outrage. Just another blip on the national radar, buried under state propaganda and foreign-policy theatre. The assault on Muridke was [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/muridke-to-gaza-how-pakistans-regime-sheds-blood-to-prove-its-allegiance-to-israel/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/pakistan-breaks-ranks-backs-iran-in-war-with-israel/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/pakistan-breaks-ranks-backs-iran-in-war-with-israel/#respond Sun, 22 Jun 2025 15:49:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1285328 Pakistan reveals that Israeli drone operators attempted to sabotage Pakistan’s nuclear facilities during the India-Pakistan crisis in May. This is a major reason why Islamabad is throwing its full weight behind Tehran in the Israel-Iran war. Despite Islamabad’s official denials of providing military or material support to Iran in its confrontation with Israel, recent developments [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/pakistan-breaks-ranks-backs-iran-in-war-with-israel/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/not-just-the-living-how-the-baloch-dead-are-made-to-disappear/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/not-just-the-living-how-the-baloch-dead-are-made-to-disappear/#respond Sat, 07 Jun 2025 10:31:09 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1284686 On 2nd May 2025, in the scorching heat of Turbat, women and children blocked the road at D-Baloch Kech, they demanded, not missing persons or natural resources but the return of missing dead bodies. The dead bodies of three young men (namely Sarbaan, Nabeel, and Zikka) were killed in a clash with Pakistani security forces [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/not-just-the-living-how-the-baloch-dead-are-made-to-disappear/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/kashmir-must-be-free-to-decide-its-own-future/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/kashmir-must-be-free-to-decide-its-own-future/#respond Wed, 14 May 2025 12:30:24 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1283713 A fragile peace was reached on May 10 between India and Pakistan after four tense days of escalation following India’s Operation Sindoor missile strikes, officially aimed at “terrorist infrastructure.” This recent conflagration follows the killing of at least twenty-six tourists and civilians by armed militants in the picturesque meadow of Pahalgam in Kashmir on April [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/kashmir-must-be-free-to-decide-its-own-future/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/collective-punishment-a-tool-to-silence-dissent/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/collective-punishment-a-tool-to-silence-dissent/#respond Sat, 10 May 2025 14:32:32 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1283555 Throughout history, oppressive regimes have used collective punishment as a strategic tool to suppress dissent when individuals cannot be silenced through intimidation or coercion, the authoritarian regimes turn toward soft targets, family members, this tactics have been in practice long, international humanitarian law in fourth Geneva Convention strongly prohibits the collective punishment, calls for the [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/collective-punishment-a-tool-to-silence-dissent/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/kashmir-and-the-indus-river/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/kashmir-and-the-indus-river/#respond Wed, 30 Apr 2025 18:23:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1283181 India’s Hindutva President, Narendra Modi, has used the Kashmir terrorism incident to abrogate the 1960s Indus Waters Treaty – a longstanding goal of Modi. The Indian version of the “terrorist attack”, most of whose victims were Muslim, has largely been accepted by Western governments without evidence. False flags abound nowadays. You may recall that we [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/kashmir-and-the-indus-river/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/rebuked-by-kashmiris-let-not-pakistans-general-munir-succeed-in-other-parts-of-india/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/rebuked-by-kashmiris-let-not-pakistans-general-munir-succeed-in-other-parts-of-india/#respond Tue, 29 Apr 2025 16:00:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1283123 The denominational terrorist killings in Pahalgam, instigated by Pakistani Army chief Asim Munir’s invocation of the pernicious two-nation theory have had a salutary consequence in the valley. For the first time in living memory, Kashmiri Muslims came out in thousands after Friday prayers to denounce the evil, sectarian design alien to the common Kashmiri psyche. Carrying the [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/rebuked-by-kashmiris-let-not-pakistans-general-munir-succeed-in-other-parts-of-india/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/kashmir-and-the-indus/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/kashmir-and-the-indus/#respond Sun, 27 Apr 2025 14:57:02 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1283016 India’s Hindutva President, Narendra Modi, has used the Kashmir terrorism incident to abrogate the 1960s Indus Waters Treaty – a longstanding goal of Modi. The Indian version of the “terrorist attack”, most of whose victims were Muslim, has largely been accepted by Western governments without evidence. False flags abound nowadays. You may recall that we [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/kashmir-and-the-indus/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/from-silence-to-defiance-the-pakistani-states-crackdown-on-byc/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/from-silence-to-defiance-the-pakistani-states-crackdown-on-byc/#respond Tue, 15 Apr 2025 16:00:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1282505 The recent attack on the Jaffar Express by Baloch armed fighters once again exposed the fragility of the Pakistani state’s control over Balochistan. But instead of responding directly to the armed organizations, the state unleashed a brutal crackdown on peaceful political activists—most notably the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC). Among the first to be targeted were [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/from-silence-to-defiance-the-pakistani-states-crackdown-on-byc/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-failures-of-pakistans-hard-state-approach-to-balochistan/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-failures-of-pakistans-hard-state-approach-to-balochistan/#respond Tue, 01 Apr 2025 16:01:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1281856 Pakistan’s escalating repression in Balochistan, particularly against the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) and other activists, has laid bare the state’s shift towards an explicitly authoritarian model—a so-called “hard state.” For the Baloch people, however, Pakistan has always been a hard state—one that has historically relied on military rule, enforced disappearances, and economic marginalization to suppress [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-failures-of-pakistans-hard-state-approach-to-balochistan/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/selective-outrage-britains-silence-on-the-jailing-of-imran-khan/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/selective-outrage-britains-silence-on-the-jailing-of-imran-khan/#respond Thu, 27 Mar 2025 15:47:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1281657 The United Kingdom prides itself on being a champion of democracy and human rights, frequently condemning political repression and imprisonment in authoritarian states such as China, Iran, Russia and North Korea.  Yet, its response to the arbitrary imprisonment of Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan – an elected leader with extensive ties to Britain – [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/selective-outrage-britains-silence-on-the-jailing-of-imran-khan/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/millions-demand-imran-khans-release-as-us-pakistan-plot-backfires/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/millions-demand-imran-khans-release-as-us-pakistan-plot-backfires/#respond Tue, 10 Dec 2024 17:00:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1276929 Professor Junaid Ahmad breaks down Pakistan’s massive protests, where despite a total lockdown, hundreds of thousands of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters marched on the capital demanding the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Ahmad, a Professor of Law, Religion, and Global Politics, and the Director of the Center for the Study of Islam and [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/millions-demand-imran-khans-release-as-us-pakistan-plot-backfires/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/tariq-ali-on-u-s-u-k-arming-israels-war-on-gaza-pakistan-protests-macrons-embrace-of-the-right/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/tariq-ali-on-u-s-u-k-arming-israels-war-on-gaza-pakistan-protests-macrons-embrace-of-the-right/#respond Wed, 11 Sep 2024 13:53:47 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1272193 We speak to acclaimed historian, activist and filmmaker Tariq Ali about Western governments’ support for Israel’s war on Gaza and popular protest in support of Palestine, which Ali calls the “biggest divide we’ve seen in politics almost since the Vietnam War.” He argues that this division is “challenging the very nature of democracy” and the [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/tariq-ali-on-u-s-u-k-arming-israels-war-on-gaza-pakistan-protests-macrons-embrace-of-the-right/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/harrowing-phone-calls-expose-global-campaign-of-repression/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/harrowing-phone-calls-expose-global-campaign-of-repression/#respond Fri, 23 Aug 2024 16:59:39 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1271236 The story and video we’re sharing today is probably unlike anything you’ve seen before, yet it reflects a growing and worrisome phenomenon that goes by the fairly clinical term of “transnational repression”—which is when a government represses dissent from ex-pat citizens or residents of separate countries. The most infamous and extreme recent case came in Canada, where [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/harrowing-phone-calls-expose-global-campaign-of-repression/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/accusations-of-us-regime-change-operations-in-pakistan-and-bangladesh-warrant-un-attention/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/accusations-of-us-regime-change-operations-in-pakistan-and-bangladesh-warrant-un-attention/#respond Fri, 23 Aug 2024 16:26:58 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1271220 Two former leaders of major South Asian countries have reportedly accused the United States of covert regime change operations to topple their governments. One of the leaders, former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, languishes in prison, on a perverse conviction that proves Khan’s assertion. The other leader, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheik Hasina, fled to [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/accusations-of-us-regime-change-operations-in-pakistan-and-bangladesh-warrant-un-attention/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/modi-could-squander-an-unprecedented-chance-at-normalizing-india-pakistan-ties/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/modi-could-squander-an-unprecedented-chance-at-normalizing-india-pakistan-ties/#respond Fri, 26 Apr 2024 15:46:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1265542 Mired in economic and internal crises, Pakistan is primed for normalization and trade with India—but Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government is failing to seize the chance When Narendra Modi returned to power for a second term in India with a landslide victory in 2019, his government acted swiftly. Just months after the election, the Modi [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/modi-could-squander-an-unprecedented-chance-at-normalizing-india-pakistan-ties/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/pakistans-election-stitch-up-exposed-its-ruling-bloc/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/pakistans-election-stitch-up-exposed-its-ruling-bloc/#respond Fri, 15 Mar 2024 12:51:47 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1263661 The general elections held in Pakistan on February 8 herald a decisive shift in the terrain of mainstream politics. Candidates backed by Imran Khan’s effectively banned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party were on course for a large plurality, if not a majority, in the new parliament before being cut down to size. The authorities had suppressed [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/pakistans-election-stitch-up-exposed-its-ruling-bloc/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/pakistan-election-aftermath-coalition-government-economic-challenges-and-the-struggle-for-substantive-solutions/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/pakistan-election-aftermath-coalition-government-economic-challenges-and-the-struggle-for-substantive-solutions/#respond Tue, 20 Feb 2024 17:15:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1262502 On February 8, 2024, Pakistan conducted its parliamentary elections with 44 political parties contesting for 265 seats in the National Assembly. This marked the 12th general election in the country since it gained independence 76 years ago. After the announcement of results on February 11, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), under the leadership of Nawaz [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/pakistan-election-aftermath-coalition-government-economic-challenges-and-the-struggle-for-substantive-solutions/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-triumph-of-ballots-over-bullets/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-triumph-of-ballots-over-bullets/#respond Tue, 13 Feb 2024 18:32:22 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1262164 As polls closed following Pakistan’s parliamentary election on February 8, major media networks began election-night coverage with prominent TV anchors and pundits discussing voter turnout and the timeline for expected results. When it came time to offer his analysis, one of Pakistan’s most popular TV hosts, Hamid Mir, launched an unexpected tirade against the entire [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-triumph-of-ballots-over-bullets/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/pakistan-general-elections-a-vote-against-imf-policies-and-state-repression/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/pakistan-general-elections-a-vote-against-imf-policies-and-state-repression/#respond Sun, 11 Feb 2024 14:42:21 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1262011 Pakistan’s February 8 general elections resulted in a split vote, with no party securing a clear national majority. Voting occurred for 366 national assembly seats and four provincial assemblies: Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The vote was divided among various right-wing parties, indicating a significant shift in political dynamics. Initial results suggest Pakistan has [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/pakistan-general-elections-a-vote-against-imf-policies-and-state-repression/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/political-crisis-will-continue-close-contest-in-pakistan-amid-election-crackdown/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/political-crisis-will-continue-close-contest-in-pakistan-amid-election-crackdown/#respond Sat, 10 Feb 2024 16:28:30 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1261989 Initial election results in Pakistan show a lead for candidates affiliated with imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Khan’s political party was blocked from running for office, and supporters have accused Pakistan’s military-backed interim government of trying to rig the election by shutting down cellphone and internet services just as voting began and by delaying [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/political-crisis-will-continue-close-contest-in-pakistan-amid-election-crackdown/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/historic-turnout-in-pakistan-is-swamping-the-militarys-effort-to-rig-the-election/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/historic-turnout-in-pakistan-is-swamping-the-militarys-effort-to-rig-the-election/#respond Sat, 10 Feb 2024 16:21:18 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1261983 LAST YEAR IN Pakistan, a bystander happened to catch, on camera, police raiding the Sialkot home of Usman Dar. At the time, Dar was an opposition candidate representing former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party — which the military and its civilian allies were busy suppressing with abductions, raids, blackmail, and threats. Khan, [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/historic-turnout-in-pakistan-is-swamping-the-militarys-effort-to-rig-the-election/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/for-crisis-hit-pakistan-elections-may-not-lead-to-a-meaningful-alternative/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/for-crisis-hit-pakistan-elections-may-not-lead-to-a-meaningful-alternative/#respond Wed, 07 Feb 2024 17:00:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1261834 Scheduled for February 8, the upcoming elections for Pakistan’s National Assembly and provincial assemblies hold significant importance against the backdrop of numerous upheavals in the country. Notably, the recent arrest and conviction of the former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, adds a layer of complexity. On January 31, Khan received a 14-year prison sentence, adding to [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/for-crisis-hit-pakistan-elections-may-not-lead-to-a-meaningful-alternative/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/pakistans-people-will-vote-under-a-cloud-of-repression/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/pakistans-people-will-vote-under-a-cloud-of-repression/#respond Tue, 06 Feb 2024 17:30:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1261817 Elections for a new parliament are finally due to take place in Pakistan on February 8. Much uncertainty still surrounds the polls. Not for the first time, Pakistan heads into elections with a popular politician — indeed its currently most popular politician, Imran Khan — behind bars, while his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), is [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/pakistans-people-will-vote-under-a-cloud-of-repression/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-women-in-pakistan-are-fighting-enforced-disappearances-and-killings/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-women-in-pakistan-are-fighting-enforced-disappearances-and-killings/#respond Mon, 22 Jan 2024 17:10:42 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1261082 As hundreds took to the streets of Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, on Jan. 12, a sea of mostly female protesters continued screaming “Balochistan wants justice,” even as they were met with a heavy police presence.  Meanwhile, back in the restive but beautiful southwestern province of Balochistan, thousands more swarmed the streets. Their protest against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-women-in-pakistan-are-fighting-enforced-disappearances-and-killings/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-baluchistan-imbroglio/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-baluchistan-imbroglio/#respond Sat, 20 Jan 2024 14:51:57 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1260983 The level of ignorance in Western coverage of the border clashes between Iran and Pakistan should come as no surprise. Nor should the State Department declaration that Pakistan’s response was ‘proportionate’ – making for queasy comparisons with the ongoing mass slaughter being perpetrated by another US funded and armed entity not too far away. To [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-baluchistan-imbroglio/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/pro-palestinian-protests-are-erupting-from-karachi-to-london/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/pro-palestinian-protests-are-erupting-from-karachi-to-london/#respond Wed, 25 Oct 2023 17:41:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1256307 In the last few days, hundreds of thousands of ordinary people have taken to the streets demanding an end to the murderous Israeli onslaught against the people of Gaza, which had claimed over five thousand lives by October 23. In Cairo on Friday, protesters ignored the tame demonstration organized by supporters of the dictator Abdel Fattah [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/pro-palestinian-protests-are-erupting-from-karachi-to-london/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/global-south-countries-are-increasingly-being-forced-to-pick-a-side-between-powers/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/global-south-countries-are-increasingly-being-forced-to-pick-a-side-between-powers/#respond Sat, 30 Sep 2023 14:31:28 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1255124 Ammar Ali Jan is general secretary of the anti-capitalist Haqooq-e-Khalq Party in Pakistan, author of Rule By Fear: Eight Theses Authoritarianism in Pakistan and a historian whose research focuses on Communist thought in colonial Asia. He spoke with Federico Fuentes for LINKS International Journal of Socialist Renewal about global politics, growing tensions between the United States, and China, the [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/global-south-countries-are-increasingly-being-forced-to-pick-a-side-between-powers/feed/ 0