The year 2024 was a tumultuous one for Pakistan, marked by political upheaval, economic struggles and worsening security challenges. The February general elections delivered unexpected results, reshaping the country’s political dynamics, while economic crises persisted despite bailouts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and allied nations.
Rising terrorism further destabilised the nation, with an alarming surge in attacks linked to groups like the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The attacks also severely strained relations with Afghanistan. On the diplomatic front, rare engagements with India and increased scrutiny from the US added to Pakistan’s complex geopolitical landscape.
As the year ends, here’s a look at the top developments in the neighbouring country in 2024:
General elections and a coalition government
Pakistan’s general elections held in February 2024 proved to be a landmark political event. Analysts had anticipated a dominant performance from Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), buoyed by the military's support. However, independent candidates aligned with Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) shocked observers by winning 93 seats in the national assembly. The PML-N and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, secured 75 and 54 seats, respectively. Following the surprising verdict, the two major parties joined forces to establish a coalition government, with Nawaz’s brother Shehbaz Sharif taking the role of Prime Minister.
Though Imran was languishing in jail throughout, he emerged as the hero of the election. An overwhelming support for the cricket-turned-politician dealt a body blow to the all-powerful Army and its desire to install Nawaz Sharif as the new premier.
Imran Khan emerges as politician of the year
Imran Khan’s political party, PTI, has been effectively banned, his speeches censored from television broadcasts, and he faces a prison sentence of at least 14 years. Yet, as Pakistan’s election results demonstrated, Khan’s influence remains undeniable. Despite his imprisonment, he continues to dominate the political landscape, commanding unwavering loyalty from his supporters. Despite Nawaz Sharif back in the country and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari trying to find his mark, Imran is undoubtedly the politician who had the most impact.
Throughout the year, PTI members and followers held numerous protests, many of which turned violent, demanding his release. Even from behind bars, Khan’s ability to inspire and mobilise his base ensured he stayed at the forefront of Pakistani politics. He even used Artificial Intelligence (AI) at one point to reach out to his supporters. With over 150 cases against him, he faces charges that span corruption, inciting unrest, and the alleged misuse of authority during his time as PM.
A second term for Asif Ali Zardari
In March 2024, Asif Ali Zardari, a seasoned political figure and co-chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), was elected as Pakistan’s President for a second term. Zardari’s political rise began after the December 2007 suicide bombing that claimed the life of his wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Following her death, he took charge of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), fulfilling the wishes she outlined in her will. He became President in 2008 and served until 2013, a period in which a US special forces raid inside Pakistan found and killed Osama bin Laden in 2011.
Zardari's greatest achievement during his first term was seen as the building of a rare political consensus on adopting a new legal and political framework to decentralise power and curb the presidential powers wielded by former military leaders.
IMF’s $7 billion bailout package: The impact on Pakistan’s economy
Amid a deepening economic crisis, Pakistan secured a $7 billion bailout package from the IMF in September 2024. While this provided a temporary reprieve, the country’s economic woes persisted. Inflation rates, though declining to 4.9 per cent by November, remained a concern for the populace. The GDP growth of 2.5 per cent for 2023-24 indicated a fragile recovery, but structural reforms and fiscal discipline are critical for sustainable improvement.
Pakistan has long depended on IMF loans to sustain its economy, grappling with the consequences of years of financial mismanagement, according to a BBC report. In 2023, the country was on the edge of defaulting on its debts, with foreign reserves barely sufficient to cover a month’s imports. The IMF had in 2023 approved a $3 billion bailout in July 2023 which was supplemented by financial support from allies Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Rising terrorism and rocky Afghan ties
Pakistan’s security landscape worsened in 2024, with 924 lives lost in 1,566 terrorist attacks over the first ten months. According to the country’s interior ministry, there was “significant rise in terrorism incidents and evolving terrorism patterns have been consistently observed” since the Afghan Taliban’s August 2021 takeover of Kabul, particularly in the operations of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Baloch nationalist insurgency in Balochistan and ethno-nationalist violence in Sindh, Pakistan-based Dawn reported.
The ministry also said that the unstable security environment in Afghanistan had facilitated the consolidation of various international terrorist organisations (ITOs), enhancing their presence, resources, and ability to project influence beyond Afghan borders. The Taliban authorities in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, reject accusations that they are sheltering militants from the Pakistani Taliban or TTP.
However, the surge in attacks has severely strained relations between the two countries. Many observers argue that Pakistan is now facing the repercussions of its close ties with the Taliban, which are backfiring.
“Pakistani security officials privately acknowledged that they had misjudged how the new Taliban rulers of Afghanistan would handle the Pakistani Taliban. The officials had anticipated that the Taliban leaders in Afghanistan would help curb the TTP in return for the covert support that Pakistan had provided them during the US-led war,” according to a report by New York Times.
Instead, the Taliban in Kabul have provided the TTP with resources and advanced American-made weapons and equipment seized after the collapse of the US-supported Afghan government, the report quoted a senior security official in Islamabad who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal assessments.
S Jaishankar’s rare visit and what it meant
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar went to Islamabad to attend a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). This was the first visit to Pakistan by an Indian minister in almost a decade. While there was no bilateral meeting during the visit, senior functionaries projected his visit as an “ice-breaker.”
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urged the two countries to "bury their past" and move on towards a prosperous and peaceful future. He described Jaishankar's trip to Islamabad to attend a conclave of the SCO bloc as an "opening". "We have spent 70 years in this way (fighting) and we should not let this go on for the next 70 years... Both sides should sit down and discuss how to go forward," he said. "We can’t change our neighbours, neither can Pakistan nor can India. We should live like good neighbours."
The ties between India and Pakistan came under severe strain after India's warplanes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan in February 2019 in response to the Pulwama terror attack. The relations further deteriorated after India on August 5, 2019, announced the withdrawal of special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and the bifurcation of the state into two union territories. The trade ties between Islamabad and New Delhi have remained suspended since 2019 due to the imposition of heavy duties by New Delhi on imports from Pakistan after the 2019 Pulwama attack.
US sanctions on Pakistan’s missile program
In December, the United States said it was imposing new sanctions related to nuclear-armed Pakistan's long-range ballistic-missile program, including on the state-owned defense agency that oversees the program. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement that the measures slapped on the National Development Complex and three firms were imposed under an executive order that "targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery." The sanctions freeze any US property belonging to the targeted entities and bars Americans from doing business with them.
Islamabad strongly condemned the move, calling it "unfortunate and biased" and would harm regional stability by "aiming to accentuate military asymmetries," an apparent reference to the country's rivalry with nuclear-armed India.
(With agencies inputs)
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