Pakistan’s election oversight body on Thursday postponed the country’s upcoming parliament elections for the second time, saying the vote will take place on February 8.
However, with the country’s main opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and its leader, former Prime Minister Imran Khan, having faced months of a nationwide crackdown, concerns have been raised about whether the caretaker government and the ECP are capable of holding fair elections.
The political uncertainty in Pakistan has come at a time of economic instability. The country was hit by a balance of payments crisis as it tried to service high levels of external debt and deal with crushing inflation before the International Monetary Fund granted a $3bn bailout package in June.
