Political polarization in Pakistan and its impacts on

governance.

SUBMITTED TO

DR. KISHWAR

SUBMITTED BY

MUHAMMAD JAMEEL

SCHOOL OF INTEGRATED AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE,

1-km, Raiwind Road Lahore

March 21, 2024

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sr. No. Contents

1 Abstract

Introduction

2 literature review

3 Problem statement

4 METHODOLGY

Qualitative method

6 REFERENCES

`
 ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the influence and impacts posed by the political
polarization on governance in Pakistan. The ongoing political polarization has made extremely
difficult to differentiate between manipulation and guidance, or criticism and admiring. The
governance in Pakistan is greatly influenced by the political polarization as the political parties
prefer their own interests rather than the public welfare. This paper gave an in-depth knowledge
of the cause of political polarization as well as its effects on the governance system in Pakistan.
The two great parties do not prefer to engage and negotiate with each other on any issue, due to
which the social welfare has been neglected, the economy has been shrunken, the governance
system has been destroyed and the national security has been declined. However the political
polarization has many cause such as influence of military establishment, social media
propagandas, political popularity and political interests. Thus the transparency in election process,
accountability of politicians, representation and participation of people has been effected.

Keywords: Political partisan, military establishment, social media, transparency, economic urmoil

INTRODUCTION

The political polarization may refer to the separation of political attitudes towards ideological
extremes. While almost all the discussions held in the political science was based on the context
of political parties and democratic system of government. In most two parties system the political
polarization extends the tensions based on their binary political ideologies and partisan system.
This study will unveil the political polarization which is going on in Pakistan from over a decade.
Firstly this study will find the role of military establishment in giving a rise to the political
polarization in Pakistan. Pakistan being a democratic country, is also a home for the
authoritarianism as for present elections were the example of electoral authoritarianism and were
greatly influenced by military establishment. Pakistan is facing an increase in the economic turmoil
so this study will also present the facts that political polarization has played a crucial role in
declining the economy of the country. This study will also find that the first and foremast cause of
political polarization in Pakistan lies in the lack of consensus among the leading political parties’
like Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf and Mulim league N. No matter if they are in opposition and
government both of the parties find it impossible to negotiate even on the national security issues
so this study will also find the reason behind this cause. This study will then explain the ouster of
Prime Minister Imran Khan on the basis of vote of no confidence and how much criticism does
the rival political parties have faced. This study will also evaluate the role of internal actors like
social media because the role of social media cannot be neglected nor denied as the social media
has also played a role in giving a lit to rise the flame of criticism, so though this study I will focus
on the impacts of the propagandas and miss information though the social media teams of the
political parties and its impacts on the governance system. Since he governance system in Pakistan
is greatly affected by the political polarization, so at the last I will focus on the relation between
political polarization and governance and also how much governance system has been impacted
by the political polarization.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The political polarization in Pakistan has made it extremely difficult to differentiate between
manipulation and guidance. The actual absence of reason and evidence from debates has widened
the divide in society. The fragmented social fabric of society finds it extremely difficult to arrive
at points of agreement. The increasing lack of political convergence is increasing the process of
political evolution in Pakistan. Although divergence along ethnic, religious, provincial, and
ideological lines has existed since Pakistan’s establishment, the recent polarization in Pakistan has
limited prospects for an integrated society. (Hamra Tariq, 2022)

Khan has used his ejection to show his supporters. Day after day, he calls the new government an
“imported government” and the new prime minister a “crime minister.” Khan has used his rallies
and interviews to command media attention, and argues that his government’s fall returned to
power the corrupt politicians that are responsible for Pakistan’s problems and bad governance. His
supporters, many of them middle class, young, and urban, and furious at what they see as Khan’s
impolite, organized ousting, repeat his words on social media. With this narrative of grievance,
Khan aims to undermine the new government’s legitimacy. (Madiha Afzal, 2022)

Political polarization will likely consume much of Pakistan’s time and attention in 2023, as it did
in 2022. The country’s turn to political instability last spring but did not end with a dramatic no-
confidence vote in parliament last April that ousted then Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan
from office. Instability and polarization have only increased since then: Khan has led a popular
opposition movement against the incumbent coalition government and the military, staging a series
of large rallies across the country throughout the year. (Madiha Afzal, 2023)

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The recent, political polarization in Pakistan has affected the accountability of the politicians,
transparency and participation in election process as well as representation in the political system
of the country. The country is facing an intense economic crisis and the present political
polarization has added a great role in the declined economy. In the lust of power the political
parties has neglected the public welfare and national interests, preferring the self-political interest.
The situation has only given a rise to the political turmoil, chaos, criticism and power politics
through propagandas and miss information.

a. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
2. How has polarization materialized in the current Political scenario?
3. What role do the internal actors play in exacerbating political polarization?
4. How does the denial and rejection of political legitimacy effect governance in Pakistan?
5. What impacts does social media have on political polarization?
6. How has political polarization effected governance system?
7. Does the political polarization effect the credibility and consumption habits of governance?
 METHODOLOGY

Qualitative research techniques were used during this research as the data has been collected from
the secondary sources. As it is secondary research so I focused mainly on the articles. I have
focused on journal articles mainly in websites of Dawn, Brookings, Opinion and, Taylor and
Francis Online. The journal articles were mostly based on current affairs which was a better option
for me. My approach to the journal articles was complicated but somehow I found the available
data on different websites and studied those articles with complete focus. The private recent and
past political policies were also mentioned in these journal articles which helped me a lot to
understand the scenario. Along with that I have collected sources from digital and social media
about the ongoing political polarization and the impolite criticism and propagandas from political
parties. Some of the journal articles were controversial and critical but seemed to be based on the
facts and trust worthy resources. Those articles made an interesting approach about the political
polarization and its impacts on the governance system in the country as well as its causes and
solutions. There were many articles based on my topic but I chose few of them that attracted me
and made my approach easier.

References
Afzal, M. (2022, 5 20). What is happening in Pakistan"s continuing crisis. Brookings.

Afzal, M. (2023, 1 13). Pakistan: Five major issues to watch in 2023. Brookings.

Lodhi, M. (2020, 27). Politics of polarization. Dawn.

Nabi, F. H. (2021, 6 10). Political decentralization, fiscal centralization, and its consequences in case of
Pakistan. Taylor and Francis Online.

Tariq, H. (2022, 10 20). Political Polarization in Pakistan and the 2022 Floods. Opinion.