Islamabad, Pakistan 15 years ago, famous Pakistani singer Shehzad Roy released a song, called Laga Reh (Stay on it), which started with the singer reminiscing about what he saw on TV as a child.
Roy intones said: “When I was 10 years old, I heard the news at 9 o'clock that Pakistan was going through a very serious crisis. A short, shrill guitar riff and drum beat followed, after which Roy added: “When I turned 20, I heard again on the 9 o'clock news that Pakistan was going through a difficult period in its history.”
The song was released in 2008, the year Pakistan saw its first elections after the nine-year rule of General Pervez Musharraf. Many observers at the time considered this to be the most important study of the country's six decades of existence, as it faced political, economic, and security challenges.
When I started writing this article and showing how Pakistan is going to fare in 2024, which started when experts called it the most difficult year for the country of 250 million people, I remembered Roy's song.
I started my journalism career two years after it was released, and I often ask myself: although a lot has changed in this country since 2008, has anything really changed?
Violence; political turmoil; censorship; military service; unstable economy; politicians who benefit from increased protectionism to change later – it's a process that repeats itself.
The country held its elections in February this yearwhich was planned for the end of last year.
International organizations, independent observers and critics on the ground vote, many accused government officials of tampering with the vote – a charge the government denied. The election resulted in the formation of a coalition government that left Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, although the candidates – forced to run as independents after the party was expelled – won a landslide victory. furniture.
A year of violence
Pakistan has also seen atrocities increase in violencemainly in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan, targeting hundreds of law enforcement officials and civilians. At least 685 security personnel lost their lives among 444 terrorists, making 2024 the deadliest year for Pakistan's military in a decade. About 1,000 civilians were also killed.
Overall, the death toll from violent attacks recorded this year is up nine years, 66 percent more than in 2023, according to a study by the Center for Research and Security Study (CRSS), an Islamabad-based think tank.
The country was able to suppress threats from outlawed armed groups such as the Pakistan Taliban, also known as the TTP, and Baloch separatist groups between 2015 and 2021.
But the escalation happened after the Taliban in Afghanistan captured Kabul in August 2021.
In December, at least 16 soldiers were killed in a TTP attack. Pakistan responded start firing at the aircraft within the territory of Afghanistan, its western neighbor. What the country is doing against Afghanistan, accusing it of harboring TTP militants, has only confused diplomatic issues.
Meanwhile, the activists of poor Balochistan the government launched an attack in late July to demand the release of the missing persons, but was met with indifference. Mobile and internet services were down for over a month.
The same is true in winter Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where sectarian tensions have erupted between Sunni and Shia tribes over land disputes, the government's failure to intervene has fueled the conflict, many researchers say, killing more than 150 people.
Financial relief
Although the country managed to overcome the economic crisis by avoiding instability, its stability continued, as financial managers struggled to find ways to sustain growth.
Under the Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Pakistan achieved 37 months, 7 billion dollars A program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which provides measures to support the country's struggling economy.
Tighter monetary policy also saw foreign investment rise from $3bn in May 2023 to above $12bn. Inflation, which rose 38 percent last year, fell 5 percent this month.
However, it seems that the government did not bother to help the people to trust them financially. More than 700,000 Pakistanis have migrated legally this year in search of better opportunities, while another 3,000 he risked the dangerous “Dunk” technique.ignoring the tragedy of the sinking of the Adriana that left more than 260 Pakistanis dead in 2023. Another similar event in December they killed more than 40 people.
Experts – prominent politicians, economists, sociologists, and veteran journalists – all agree on one key point: Pakistan's turmoil stems from a lack of stability. In particular, the unrest that began on the night of April 9, 2022, when Khan, the charismatic founder of the PTI, was dismissed as prime minister through a vote of no confidence in the parliament.
Confusion of Khan
Since then, Khan's supporters have started long marches to the capital, Islamabad; accused the United States of plotting to remove him; and he opposed the rule of the military, who was once seen as his main leader.
He survived the assassination attempt and was tried on numerous charges, including treason, terrorism, and incitement to the military. Khan's followers continued to wreak havoc across the country, targeting civilian homes, military headquarters, and other locations after a temporary arrest in May 2023, and more than 100 were punished through brutal military courts.
He evaded arrest until his death in August 2023. He was sentenced earlier this year on charges related to leaking state secrets, selling state gifts, and an illegal marriage that violated Islamic law.
However, despite all this – his arrest, PTI's cricket logo being banned, party leaders being jailed, and candidates being forced to campaign on their own using terrorist tactics and social media – Khan has regained public support in unprecedented ways. , which took PTI by surprise. won the February election.
The “Great Firewall” of Pakistan
Meanwhile, Pakistan recorded the latest chapter in its long history of testing.
While the PTI government under Khan bought an internet surveillance system in 2018, security sources revealed to Al Jazeera this year that the country had acquired Chinese technology to install it. China-like firewall monitor internet usage.
The first signs appeared after the February elections when the X platform was closed as a “security threat”.
Unannounced internet shutdowns followed, blocking access to virtual private networks (VPNs), severely hampering the country's internet infrastructure, a sector that earned Pakistan $3.5bn in 2023.
Coalition Government, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharifthose who issue conflicting statements, often blame the destruction of the submarine cable, the global blackout of the Internet, or deny in detail any problems.
The golden boy
In a year of tragic events, one good taste lit up the world on the night of August 8 at the Stade de France in Paris.
Arshad Nadeem27-year-old javelin thrower, broke Olympic history with a throw of 92.97 meters to win Pakistan's first gold medal in the Games.
When I met Nadeem at a gym in Lahore six weeks before that night, he humbly told me, “I compete against myself.”
For runners, it can be a great way to refresh yourself and prepare for a race. But thinking back to the conversation with Nadeem, I tried to put it in the context of Pakistan, its political and military leaders, and the constant instability that affects the country.
The famous saying, “live in happy times”, often referred to as a Chinese proverb, seems like a curse. Pakistan, in a way, has chosen to be a living, breathing example of this.
I, frankly, wouldn't mind a slightly different 2025, as a journalist in Pakistan. Let's take a look at a few “exciting” moments in the next 12 months.