Today’s Links 9/4/2013

Arif Rafiq, “Nawaz has his hands tied on Karachi” (Express Tribune): Analysis of Sharif’s effort to bring support together for a “targeted operation” against the city’s most violent efforts (both gangs and actors affiliated to political parties). The problem is that Sharif’s leverage is limited in Sindh province, where PML-N’s presence is limited.

Craig Whitlock and Barton Gellman, “U.S. documents detail al-Qaeda’s efforts to fight back against drones” (Washington Post): More documents via Edward Snowden, demonstrating the U.S. intelligence community’s assessments of Al-Qaeda’s efforts to deter and deflect drone operations against them, including in Pakistan.

Rohit, “Is Indian Politics Populist” (Indian National Interest): Discussion of why India has not experienced true populism (a la Hugo Chavez). Rather, India’s hybrid system, where elite-led parties adopt some policies that are populist as a safety valve, is remarkably resilient. Whether it can continue to deliver growth is another question.

Taimur Khan, “Cooking in Karachi” (Foreign Policy): Part of FP’s vice issue, a dive into the growing meth trade in Pakistan, centered around the commercial center in Karachi, which has a thriving pharmaceutical industry (pharmaceuticals are a necessary precursor for the manufacture of meth).

Riazul Haq, “Ambitious plan: Govt unveils Rs188b plan to enroll over five million children” (Express Tribune): Details of a landmark education proposal to close the gap for education in Pakistan. Key stats: in 2011-12, 21.1 million of the country’s population was aged between five and nine years — 11 million boys and 10 million girls — while the net enrolment rate was 68 per cent, meaning over 6.7 million children were out of school.