Pashtun Nationalism in Search of Political Space and the State in Pakistan

Pakistan is undergoing political turmoil once again. Once again an elected prime minister was first removed in July 2017, and then barred from fighting elections for life on April 13, 2018.

Some provinces, like Balochistan, are facing insurgency. Externally, the image of Pakistan is that of a ‘pariah state’ which has reneged from its international commitment to fight terrorism. Whatever narrative Pakistan tries to project to the international community is at best taken with a large pinch of salt, or at worst it is not acknowledged as enough. Some commentators in the country have accepted that Pakistan suffers from ‘image problem’.