24 - 23
April 2013
Past Event
Elections in Pakistan: Any Hope for a Secular Government?

Elections in Pakistan: Any Hope for a Secular Government?

Past Event
Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C. Headquarters
April 24 - 23, 2013
Share:
Default Event Image
24 - 23
April 2013
Past Event

1015 15th Street, N.W., 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20005

Read Transcript
Speakers:
Aparna Pande,

Hudson Research Fellow and Director, Initiative on the Future of India and South Asia

Farahnaz Ispahani,

Former Pakistani parliament member and media advisor to President Asif Ali Zardari

Dr. Mohammad Taqi,

Physician and frequent contributor to the Daily Times

Peter Manikas,

Senior Associate and Regional Director for Asia programs, National Democratic Institute

Elections run by a caretaker government in May will mark the first successful transition from one democratically elected Pakistani government to another without an intervening military coup or implementation of martial law. Given the importance of Pakistan to U.S. security interests -- and record-low approval ratings of the United States in Pakistan -- the results of this election will be closely observed.

With the declining popularity of the secular Pakistan People's Party (PPP), the resurgence of Nawaz Sharif's conservative Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and the rising influence of former cricket hero turned devout Muslim Imran Khan and his party (PTI), the likely results of the election are far from predictable. The Pakistan Election Committee's enforcement of decades-old articles added to the constitution under the military dictator Zia ul-Haq, which allow election officials to disqualify candidates based on knowledge of the Quran, casts a shadow on what should be an election process open to candidates without regard to their religious convictions.

Related Events
See More
19
May 2026
In-Person Event | Invite Only
Environmental Agendas, Geopolitical Ends: Climate Policy and Great Power Competition
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Zineb Riboua
Brenda Shaffer
Sam Cooper
Getty Images
19
May 2026
In-Person Event | Invite Only
Environmental Agendas, Geopolitical Ends: Climate Policy and Great Power Competition

To examine this emerging challenge, Senior Fellow Dr. Michael Doran will convene a conversation with Research Fellow Zineb Riboua, Professor Brenda Shaffer—Research Faculty Member at the US Naval Postgraduate School and Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council—and Sam Cooper, an award-winning investigative journalist focusing on China-Canada relations.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Zineb Riboua
Brenda Shaffer
Sam Cooper
Learn More
20
May 2026
In-Person Event | Invite Only
A Conversation with Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy of the United States, Sarah B. Rogers
Featured Speakers:
Sarah B. Rogers
Zineb Riboua
Eric Schmitt
Michael Doran
Getty Images
20
May 2026
In-Person Event | Invite Only
A Conversation with Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy of the United States, Sarah B. Rogers

Please join the Hudson Institute for a conversation with Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah B. Rogers and Hudson Research Fellow Zineb Riboua on how the United States is adapting its public diplomacy tools to advance its interests abroad, counter censorship, promote free speech, and leverage artificial intelligence to deliver more effective, targeted messaging.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Sarah B. Rogers
Zineb Riboua
Eric Schmitt
Michael Doran
Learn More
21
May 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Georgia at a Geopolitical Crossroads: Iranian Influence and Strategic Competition
Featured Speakers:
Luke Coffey
Giorgi Kandelaki
John P. Walters
Congressman Joe Wilson
Ian McGinnity
Moderator:
Matthew Boyse
Tbilisi residents protest after the Georgian Dream government announced a suspension of negotiations on EU candidate status until 2028, as police detain demonstrators during a crackdown in the capital on November 28, 2025. (Photo by Sebastien Canaud/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
21
May 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Georgia at a Geopolitical Crossroads: Iranian Influence and Strategic Competition
Tbilisi residents protest after the Georgian Dream government announced a suspension of negotiations on EU candidate status until 2028, as police detain demonstrators during a crackdown in the capital on November 28, 2025. (Photo by Sebastien Canaud/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Luke Coffey
Giorgi Kandelaki
John P. Walters
Congressman Joe Wilson
Ian McGinnity
Moderator:
Matthew Boyse
Learn More
22
May 2026
Virtual Event | Online Only
The Western Hemisphere’s Energy Moment
Featured Speakers:
Daniel Batlle
Francisco Monaldi
Getty Images
22
May 2026
Virtual Event | Online Only
The Western Hemisphere’s Energy Moment

Join Hudson Institute as Adjunct Fellow Daniel Batlle interviews Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin American Energy Program at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and one of the foremost authorities on energy and political economy in the region, for a wide-ranging conversation on Latin America's energy future and what it means for the hemisphere and for US interests.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Daniel Batlle
Francisco Monaldi
Learn More
See More
Related Research
See More
See More