The Pakistani police’s gender protection units ensure that from start to finish, a victim’s case is handled by a staff of female and transgender officers — helping women and transgender victims overcome the cultural and gender barriers that often hamper their access to the justice system. Amna Baig, a Pakistani police superintendent and founder of Pakistan’s first gender protection unit, discusses how these programs work to prevent and counter gender-based violence, what’s needed to help replicate and expand them elsewhere, and how police can better integrate gender initiatives in their work more broadly.

Type: Blog

Gender;  Justice, Security & Rule of Law

After violent protests over his arrest, former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was released over the weekend. However, this latest political crisis isn’t going away soon, says USIP’s Tamanna Salikuddin: “What we’re headed to is a clash between the very powerful military and the very popular [Khan].”

Type: Podcast

Pakistan’s eruption into new political crisis this week elevates the risks — in South Asia and beyond — of instability in a nuclear-armed state that is also the world’s fifth most populous. The authorities’ arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan triggered a confrontation between his many supporters and Pakistan’s politically powerful military, which many Pakistanis say precipitated Khan’s detention. As U.S. policymakers monitor this still-unfolding crisis, a first useful step may be to carefully press Pakistani leaders to avoid any unlawful repression or military intervention.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Democracy & Governance;  Civilian-Military Relations

Pakistan’s stability increasingly depends on the outcome of an ever-worsening economic crisis. Amid skyrocketing inflation, political conflict between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, and surging terrorism, the country is facing the risk of a default due to its massive external debt obligations. This burden has been exacerbated by the derailment of the $6.5 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program Pakistan entered in 2019, as the international lender is unsatisfied with Pakistan’s commitment to reform and ability to arrange for funds to meet external financing requirements. Troublingly, Pakistan’s official foreign exchange reserves are hovering around $4 billion, which is insufficient to finance even a one-month of the country’s import bill.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Economics