NIAS Area Studies


PAKISTAN READER

NIAS Area Studies: Pakistan

Pakistan Reader, as an Area Studies initiative at NIAS, aims to study contemporary Pakistan through the following verticals: social, political, cultural, external and security, with a special focus on economy, energy and S&T.

NIAS Pakistan Reader is also a capacity-building exercise. It aims to nurture young scholars in India working on Pakistan and build a network of Pakistan scholars worldwide. It also organizes regular workshops for young scholars to improve their skills and understanding of contemporary Pakistan.

NIAS-PR publishes a Daily Brief, Pakistan Weekly, Pakistan Monitor monthly and regular analysis – comments and essays. It also conducts an online course on contemporary Pakistan.

Pakistan Monitors

Pakistan Monthly Monitors
July 2026

Pakistan Monitor, Vol.03, No.7, July 2026

Pakistan government unveils PKR 18.8 trillion budget for FY26–27
More

Regular Publications

PR Comment
PR Explainer
The Makkah Agreement and Pakistan's Economy: 
Sovereign Finance, Energy and Labour in a Treaty Relationship  

In 2026, Pakistan signed its second defence agreement with Saudi Arabia in under a year, and the economic claims made for it can be examined against a record. The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed on 7 August by Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan, commits the three states to treat an armed attack on any one as an attack...

Vani Vyshnavi Jupudi
1 September 2026
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PR Comment
PR Explainer
Pakistan's External Labour Migration:

In July 2026, Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Employment presented a report in the Senate on overseas employment. The report stated that more than 15 million Pakistanis have travelled abroad for employment...

Abhimanyu Solanki
1 September 2026
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PR Comment
PR Takeaways
Pakistan's Blue Economy Crisis:

Pakistan has extraordinary maritime assets. A coastline exceeding 1,000 kilometres. An Exclusive Economic Zone of 240,000 square kilometres. A continental shelf accounting for 36.4 per cent of the country's total mainland....

Radhika M Agarwal
1 September 2026
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PR Comment
PR Explainer
Pakistan’s National Commission for Minorities:

On 12 August 2026, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that his government was taking steps to establish an independent commission to protect minority rights, while speaking at an event on National Minorities Day. He added...

Madhura Meenakshi Tanikella
1 September 2026
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PR Comment
CW Note
Escalating attacks in Pakistan:

In the news On 01 August, Dawn reported that the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICCS) released its monthly report for July. The report recorded 606 fatalities in July, making it the deadliest month...

Akshath Kaimal
13 August 2026
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PR Comment
PR Commentary
Pakistan's Compounding Water Crisis:

In 2026, Pakistan’s water crisis has posed significant challenges and has raised questions on water sovereignty and the role of resource allocation in government. A significant portion of Pakistan’s population...

Aarav Bhaskar
31 July 2026
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PR Comment
PR Commentary
Pakistan's Federal Budget FY2026-27:

On 12 June 2026, the Federal Budget for FY2026-27, submitted by the government to the National Assembly, as per the constitutional provisions laid down in Article 80(1) of the Constitution of Pakistan, is the annual financial...

Dhivya KM
31 July 2026
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PR Comment
PR Commentary
Pakistan Economic Survey 2025-26: Six Takeaways

On 11 June 2026, a day before the federal budget, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb unveiled the Pakistan Economic Survey 2025-26 in Islamabad. Flanked by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Information Minister Attaullah...

Vani Vyshnavi Jupudi
31 July 2026
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PR Comment
PR Review
Pakistan's macroeconomic performance in the second quarter

The Half Year Report released by the State Bank of Pakistan covers the State of Pakistan’s Economy from July to December 2025 (H1-FY26). The report sits at an uncomfortable juncture: it does account for the genuine...

Vani Vyshnavi Jupudi
30 June 2026
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About the team

Prof D Suba Chandran

Prof D Suba Chandran is the Dean of the School of Conflict and Security Studies at NIAS, Bengaluru. He heads the Science, Technology and International Relations Programme. He coordinates the Pakistan Area Studies and is the Editor of the Pakistan Monitor.

Abhimanyu Solanki

Abhimanyu Solanki is a Research Intern at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru, and is part of the NIAS Pakistan Reader team, contributing to the PR Daily Brief. He is also a Junior Research Fellow (JRF) and PhD scholar in the Department of Political Science at the University...

Akshath Kaimal

Akshath Kaimal is a Research Associate with NIAS Area Studies-Pakistan, and is a postgraduate in International Studies and International Humanitarian Action

Vani Vyshnavi Jupudi

Vani Vyshnavi Jupudi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bannerghatta Road Campus, Bengaluru. She is a Research Intern at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), where she is part of the Pakistan Reader team and contributes analytical...