Pakistan saw a sharp drop in its standing on a key democracy index this week, which categorized the South Asian nation as a “authoritarian regime” after taking into account a number of events that occurred in the previous year as the nation got ready for the general elections on February 8.
Based on the most recent index published by the Economist Intelligence Unit, there was an overall decline in the level of democracy worldwide in 2023, with only 8% of people on the planet living in “full democracy.”
But Pakistan, which was formerly thought of as a “hybrid regime,” dropped 11 spots and was placed in a whole other group in the world rating.
The military, according to the index, is a significant power broker in Pakistan and has used its clout to weaken the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the political party of former prime minister Imran Khan.
It also brought to memory Khan’s August imprisonment following his indictment on corruption allegations.
The Economist further argued that because Pakistan’s opposition parties were facing “state repression,” elections there would not bring about “more democracy.”
