In Episode 4 of Pakistan: A Hard Country, we turn to Chapter 3 of Anatol Lieven’s gripping book, titled Justice. This chapter takes us into the gritty and often contradictory world of justice in Pakistan—where state institutions like the police and courts coexist, and sometimes clash, with deeply rooted local customs and informal systems of dispute resolution.

We explore how “The Custom of the Country” often overrides formal law, why the police are both feared and relied upon, and how the courts function within a larger ecosystem of inefficiency, patronage, and politics. We also examine the rise of the Lawyers’ Movement, the role of the Shariah in shaping perceptions of justice, and why, despite it all, the system may not be quite as dysfunctional as it first appears.

This episode brings to light the complex ways in which Pakistanis seek and negotiate justice in their everyday lives—through a blend of law, tradition, and survival.