With Shehbaz at the wheel

Shehbaz Sharif began his second term as prime minister of Pakistan over a month after the election results were deemed inconclusive. After protracted negotiations, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) eventually put together a coalition. Even though party-backed candidates defeated both the PML-N and the PPP in the February 8 elections, the nation’s military leadership has succeeded in keeping imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf out of power. It follows that the Pakistani military establishment will undoubtedly continue to make the decisions.

Shehbaz has said that his government’s main goal would be to strengthen the economy, even though Pakistan is now experiencing a severe economic crisis. Convincing the International Monetary Fund to extend the credit facility beyond the present agreement’s expiration in April is an immediate difficulty. Shehbaz has challenges on the geopolitical front because of Pakistan’s tense relations with its neighbors, Afghanistan, Iran, and India.

Since 2019, when the Pulwama terror incident, the Balakot airstrikes, and the repeal of Article 370—which had given Jammu & Kashmir special status—the relationship between India and Pakistan has been in a deep freeze. Shehbaz has promised to strengthen Pakistan’s relations with all major countries, especially its neighbors, but he has caused division by drawing comparisons between Kashmiris and Palestinians.

India reacted sharply when Pakistan brought up the Kashmir issue before the UN Human Rights Council, calling on Islamabad to examine its “appalling human rights record” and “global reputation as the world’s terrorism factory.” The new leadership in Pakistan, which would want to maintain good relations with both China and the US, is nothing new. This suggests that tensions will persist between the two countries and that the cross-border terror tap won’t be turned off anytime soon.