Pakistan’s reputation in the western public could not be worse: it is seen as “the world’s most dangerous country”, a sanctuary for Islamist terrorist groups such as al-Qaida. With its powerful military establishment and nuclear weapons, it is considered to be dangerously unpredictable. This view overlooks the many in Pakistan who work tirelessly for the causes of democracy, human rights and gender equality, frequently under very dangerous conditions. Despite numerous setbacks, Pakistan’s civil society has time and again managed to exert its influence on the country’s political development. The movement of judges and lawyers who took to the streets to protest the suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudry and had him successfully reinstated is but one example.

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