Columnist

Politics is messy even at the best of times in Pakistan, but it is treading bitter territory these days with an alarming uptick in the number of politicians, journalists and activists charged with sedition for airing criticism against generals, politicians, judges and clerics.

India has its Gandhis, the Sri Lankans their Bandranaikes and Rajapaksas and Bangladesh its Sheikhs and Zias. Pakistan, similarly, has its Bhuttos and Sharifs. Dynastic politics runs through the South Asian political landscape, like pedigreed DNA.