The Battle Within: Assessing Pakistan’s Struggle for Stability

This event is part of the series “The Neighbourhood Scope,” a monthly feature of the Strategic Studies Programme that intends to rekindle key conversations, questions, and debates concerning India’s neighbourhood.

Pakistan is currently in a state of flux. The country is simultaneously reeling from political, security and economic crises. Since former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s arrest in May 2023 and the subsequent protests demanding his release, the situation has remained dire. This is reflected in the results of the February 2024 elections and the return of the PML-N and PPP, the dismal economic condition and protests against financial instability and governance failures and the fast deteriorating ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Currently, Balochistan remains a hotspot of instability, with the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) intensifying its insurgency. Leading Baloch activists were recently arrested by the Pakistani state while protesting against enforced disappearances. Concurrently, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has escalated its attacks after a ceasefire collapse in late 2022, targeting security forces. Over 60 Chinese workers have been killed or injured since 2016, raising significant security concerns. With ongoing attacks on Chinese workers, questions about potential reassessment of China’s willingness to continue its investments also emerge. Thus, the government is struggling to balance political challenges with deteriorating security conditions.

How will the situation in Pakistan evolve in the near future? Can the current dispensation stabilise the economy and quell the brewing discontent? How big is the security challenge posed by the TTP and how effective has the Pakistani state been in tackling it? Where does the Baloch insurgency stand now? What implications will Pakistan’s internal chaos have on the region?