Imran Khan's arrest to Nawaz Sharif's return and Baloch uprising, events that shook Pakistan in 2023

An economic meltdown that put the nation on the brink of collapse, the arrest of a former prime minister, the return of another former prime minister from exile, a celebrity wedding that earned praises for its photographic symbolism of feminism, and the revival of a long-running insurgency by the end of the year -Pakistan had it all in 2023.

In January,the country's foreign reserves with the State Bank of Pakistan (SPB) dropped to an alarming level — at $3.1 billion in January 2023. Thousands of containers with essential supplies were stuck at different Pakistani seaports. Inflation rose to nearly 30 per cent.

Thecountry struggled to unlock funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Add WION as a Preferred Source

In June, Islamabad finally reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF on a $3 billion "nine-month Stand-by Arrangement (SBA)".The IMF executive board will finally meet on January 11, 2024, to consider the final approval to hand out to Pakistan the next $700 million tranche of its loan programme.

On March 31, a deadly stampede in Pakistan's Karachi killed over 10 people at a free food distribution centre in Pakistan's Karachi.

Imran Khan's 'mini-intifada'

On May 9, 2023, hundreds of enraged supporters of ousted Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan pushed through the gates of army headquarters in Rawalpindi. The development occurred hours afterKhan wasarrestedfrom a courtroom in the capital Islamabad, where he had sought bail for one of over 142 corruption cases filed against him through the Army-run National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The visuals from Rawalpindi, long deemed the real nucleus of power in Pakistan behind the semblance of democracy that exists in the capital Islamabad, were unprecedented.

For the first time since 2007, Pakistan looked at what appeared to be an impending state of Emergency when the fundamental rights are suspended for the common citizens.

A proposal for the imposition of a state of Emergency was laid out in a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

A national state of Emergency could give authority to the army without the boots formally takingover.

But the army took its time.

Imran Khan's arrest, Nawaz Sharif's return

Imran Khan was arrested in August in a graft case. Two months later, the supremo ofPakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), Nawaz Sharif returned to Pakistan. The two major political events will decide the political future of Pakistan in the upcoming elections set to take place on February 8 next year.

After his ouster from power, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI)former chairman Imran Khan had been making statements against the then-Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led coalition government.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified former Pakistan PM Imran Khan for five years from holding any public office after his conviction in the Toshakhana case.

In November, the Islamabad High Court acquitted Nawaz Sharif in the Avenfield Apartments corruption case, more than five years after he was convicted by an accountability court before the general elections in July 2018. The IHC also acquitted him in the Al-Azizia case — one of the three references filed against him in light of the Panama Papers scandal.

Baloch uprising

The year ended with the revival of the Baloch insurgency. The all-women's march was met with force in the capital Islamabad, teasing what 2024 holds for India's neighbour.

While thegovernment claimed to have released '90 per cent'of the protesters, including all women and children, several Baloch demonstrators were still being held in custody following Islamabad police’s brutal crackdown on them during a protest against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in the resource-rich province.

Journalist Declan Walsh, in his 2021 bookNine Live of Pakistan,describes the consequences of Pakistan's2013crackdown on Baloch dissidents.

"Not for the first time, the army was trying to hold Pakistan together by force, crushing its critics instead of talking to them. And not for the first time, in squeezing too hard, it seemed to be pulling the country even further apart," Walsh wrote.

At the end of 2023, the current crackdown appears to be another addition to Pakistan's record of harsh crackdown on Baloch dissidents. This occurs ahead of a national election where divisions exist within Pakistan's polity. The 2023 has set the background for an even more tumultuous 2024for India's western neighbour.

(With inputs from agencies)