Monograph Explores Judiciary and Military in Pakistani Politics

The evolving relationship between the judiciary and the military in Pakistan’s political system is the subject of Trinity Junior Research Fellow Yasser Kureshi’s first book.

Seeking Supremacy: The Pursuit of Judicial Power in Pakistan is published as part of the Law and Society series by Cambridge University Press. It argues that the emergence of the judiciary as an assertive and confrontational center of power has been the most consequential new feature of Pakistan's political system. It maps out the evolution of the relationship between the judiciary and military in Pakistan, explaining why Pakistan's high courts shifted from loyal deference to the military to open competition, and confrontation, with military and civilian institutions. The book develops a generalizable framework that can explain variation and change in judicial-military relations around the world.

Dr Kureshi is shortly taking up a new position as Departmental Lecturer in South Asian Studies with the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies; he says: ‘It has been an immensely rewarding and fulfilling two years and has culminated in the publication of my first book. I am very grateful for the privilege of being a fellow at Trinity College and for the College’s support, particularly the support of Professor Nick Barber, these last two years.’