Advertisement

       SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

       Enjoy all of The Times.

       $3 $0.50 a week for

       your first six months.

       Cancel or pause anytime.

       SUBSCRIBE NOW

       {"uid":"1","hostPeerName":"https://www.nytimes.com","initialGeometry":"{\"windowCoords_t\":10,\"windowCoords_r\":955,\"windowCoords_b\":1030,\"windowCoords_l\":10,\"frameCoords_t\":125,\"frameCoords_r\":912,\"frameCoords_b\":125,\"frameCoords_l\":0,\"styleZIndex\":\"auto\",\"allowedExpansion_t\":125,\"allowedExpansion_r\":0,\"allowedExpansion_b\":761,\"allowedExpansion_l\":0,\"xInView\":0,\"yInView\":0}","permissions":"{\"expandByOverlay\":false,\"expandByPush\":false,\"readCookie\":false,\"writeCookie\":false}","metadata":"{\"shared\":{\"sf_ver\":\"1-0-40\",\"ck_on\":1,\"flash_ver\":\"0\"}}","reportCreativeGeometry":true,"isDifferentSourceWindow":false,"goog_safeframe_hlt":{}}" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" width="0" height="0" data-is-safeframe="true" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" aria-label="Advertisement" tabindex="0" data-google-container-id="1" style="border: 0px; vertical-align: bottom; min-width: 100%;">

       Newsletter

       Morning Briefing: Asia Pacific Edition

       Thursday Briefing: The Stakes of Pakistan’s Elections

       Also, U.S. aid to Ukraine stalls and a fight over the origins of butter chicken.

       Share full article

       Read in app

       By Amelia Nierenberg

       Feb. 7, 2024

       You’re reading the Morning Briefing: Asia Pacific Edition newsletter. Get what you need to know to start your day. Get it sent to your inbox.

       Image

       Flags for Nawaz Sharif’s party on sale in Lahore. Credit...Saiyna Bashir for The New York Times

       What’s at stake in Pakistan’s elections Pakistan is holding its national elections today. Experts say they will be among the least credible in the country’s history. Days before the vote, Imran Khan, who was ousted as prime minister in 2022, was sentenced to a total of 24 years in prison in two separate verdicts. The sentences were widely seen as part of a military-led campaign to sideline Khan’s political party.

       Tensions are running high. Yesterday, two separate explosions outside election offices in an insurgency-hit area of Pakistan killed at least 22 people.

       Image

       The sites of two explosions in Balochistan Province. Credit...By The New York Times

       For more on the elections, I reached out to Christina Goldbaum, our Afghanistan and Pakistan bureau chief.

       Advertisement

       SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

       What is the mood in Pakistan right now?

       Christina: The military’s crackdown on Imran Khan and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or P.T.I., has made this one of the most lackluster election cycles we’ve seen in Pakistan.

       There hasn’t been the usual boisterous campaigning from political parties. Up until a few weeks ago, many people doubted that the elections would actually take place in February.

       Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.

       Amelia Nierenberg writes the Asia Pacific Morning Briefing for The Times. More about Amelia Nierenberg

       Share full article

       Read in app

       Advertisement

       SKIP ADVERTISEMENT