Pakistan : The Search for Stability

A realistic assessment of the evolution of contemporary Pakistan, one that eschews lurid headlines for sober analysis.

Pakistan is facing a multitude of critical challenges, a ''Polycrisis'' arising in many areas at once--political, constitutional, economic, security-related, geo-political, demographic and ecological. These systemic predicaments are the cumulative consequence of decades of poor governance and squandered opportunities, whose convergence now creates a formidable existential threat. Maleeha Lodhi holds that Pakistan''s governmental leaders, both civilian and military, have failed to take a long view and to outline a vision for the country. They have spent much of their time in power operating in crisis management or power preservation modes, postponing meaningful reform and looking for expedient short-term ''solutions''. The consequences of those sins of omission and commission are now coming together. In this new volume, Lodhi has brought together eighteen chapters by experts in a variety of fields, including Murtaza Syed, Zahid Hussain, Riaz Mohammad Khan and Adil Najam, to analyse Pakistan''s various grand challenges and to suggest prognoses. This important compilation of rigorous, compelling essays will be essential reading for those who seek to understand what is at stake for Pakistan, both in terms of present-day crises and in terms of future trends.