Pakistan’s 12th national election has left the country with a new coalition government as independent candidates won the majority of parliamentary seats. According to AP News, this election was unlike any other in Pakistan’s history, as it was met with delays in results, mobile shutdowns and violence.
Content warning: this article discusses murder, gendered violence and sexual assault.
Last Monday, Muhammad Waseem was fully acquitted in an appeals court of the 2016 murder of his sister, Qandeel Baloch — a murder to which he confessed. Waseem’s acquittal, despite both confession and evidence against him, is reflective of a larger pattern of failure to deliver justice to victims of femicide in Pakistan.
Pakistani students, activists and supporters of the Student Action Committee (SAC) took to the streets of Lahore and other cities in Pakistan on Friday, Nov. 29 as part of the Student Solidarity March. The demonstrators’ list of demands called for the restoration of student unions and the improvement of educational facilities.
An installation by Pakistani artist Adeela Suleman, “The Killing Fields of Karachi,” was put on display in a park outside Frere Hall as a part of Karachi’s Biennale art show on Oct. 27. According to The New York Times, “the exhibit comprised of 444 concrete tombstones that symbolized the alleged extra-judicial killings by an ex-policeman.” Shortly after its opening, the city’s authorities immediately closed it down due to its controversial nature.
BY SAMAN BHAT ’22 AND GABBY RAYMOND ’20
The Trump administration announced last month it was cutting more than $300 million in aid to the Pakistani government. The Pentagon claimed the move responded to Pakistan’s failure to act against militant groups in the country. The change has yet to be approved by Congress, but has already struck a huge blow to the fragile U.S.-Pakistan relationship.
