Pakistan and International Law:

Dynamics of Identity and State Practice,

ed. Ahmad Ghouri,

Routledge, London/New York, 2025, 408 pp. ISBN: 978‑1‑0410‑7798‑5

Reviewed by Aftab Haider

 

When we contemplate the way international law is written or taught, we see that the majority of the time, the focus falls predominantly on Western states and their practice. The result is a persistent gap in our understanding of how states of the Global South receive, contest and deploy those rules. That is why the book Pakistan and International Law: Dynamics of Identity and State Practice, edited by Ahmad Ghouri, is a significant contribution. As editor, Ghouri has assembled a collection that does not merely restate the rules but traces the complex and at times disorganised relationship between Pakistan and the international legal system. It asks how a state shaped by both Islamic legal tradition and colonial rule has positioned itself within that system. The volume’s contribution lies in grounding theoretical claims in the documented practice of a single state, so that doctrinal analysis and the political pressures on state conduct are read together. It will repay the attention of readers in international law and in South Asian politics alike.