Pakistan faces a number of critical challenges, a polycrisis that comprises multiple crises, political, constitutional, economic, security, geo-political, demographic, and ecological. These systemic challenges are the cumulative consequence of decades of poor governance and squandered opportunities whose convergence creates a formidable, overall challenge.

Dr Maleeha Lodhi, the country’s well-known diplomat, political scientist, and journalist holds that the country’s leaders, both civilian and military, have failed to take a long view and outline a vision for the country. They have spent much of the time in crisis management or power-preservation modes, postponing meaningful reform and looking for short term, expedient solutions to Pakistan’s problems. The consequences of those sins of omission and commission in numerous but interconnected areas have now come together to create a moment of truth for the country.

This volume is a compilation of nineteen essays by Pakistan’s distinguished experts offering analyses of these challenges and proposing solutions. These essays are essential reading for those seeking to understand Pakistan’s present-day immediacies and trends into the future.