“Every election has been like this — same players, same umpire, same teams. The only change is the shifting positions of the audience in the age boxes.”

The writer wondered whether the cycle of predictability had persisted throughout history when it came to elections in Pakistan. Was there truly never any change?

Thus commenced an unexpected journey to untangle the threads of electoral history. The vast expanse of articles proved daunting, leading her to seek the perspectives of journalists — storytellers who had witnessed the political drama up close in newsrooms, on the roads and on screens.

The writer interviewed five journalists who were kind enough to share the nuances of the last eight general elections, unravelling a tapestry of political highs and lows in Pakistan.

Read more and watch the interviews here.