From Pajero culture to street protests: The struggle for accountability in Pakistan

In January 2006, I stayed at Kashmir House in Islamabad’s posh F-5 Sector, a neighbourhood of broad avenues framed by hills, a rare sight for a South Asian capital. Having spent much of my college life at Delhi University visiting Kashmir House in Chanakyapuri, I could not help but notice the contrast. In New Delhi, the compound was lined with ageing Ambassador cars, while in Islamabad the political elite showcased their clout with fleets of Pajeros, SUVs that were still a rarity in South Asia at the time. When I remarked on this to one of my hosts, a young journalist from Bagh, situated in central Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) and based in Islamabad, he quipped that it was the “Pajero culture” that ruled the region, a telling reflection of the elitism that has long defined it