Current Projects
Look Who’s Talking
Instead of sparring in the media, the civilians and military should reconsider their positions. The right to speak for individuals or on behalf of institutions comes either from a sense of entitlement or ownership. In Pakistan, as far as one can discern, the civilians speak with a sense of entitlement (however bloated). And General Headquarters (GHQ) speaks from a strong sense of ownership that it projects through its influence, direct or otherwise, on governance and foreign policy. The latest public spat between the civil and military arms of the state addressing one another via the media is the best manifestation of these, one could argue, bloated senses of entitlement and ownership. The entitlement is rooted in the “voter power.” It is the voter who decides and empowers leaders to speak on their behalf and determine their fate. The sense of ownership of “the territory called Pakistan” within GHQ, and accompanied by strong concerns on the civilians steering this ship, is rooted in four military dictatorships under Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf. Unfortunately, this sense of ownership is coloured with a superiority complex, which is institutionally instilled in the cadets who carry it with them throughout their career. This explains the propensity among most armed forces personnel to justify military take-overs, most of which were in turn justified by arguments of civilian corruption and inefficiency. The Musharraf coup, for instance, deployed corruption arguments. But the trigger for it was the denial to land his aircraft with 198 other passengers on it on October 12, 1999. A detailed account of this by Captain Tariq Baloch circulated in recent days is hair-raising. That incident aside, the decay in the political economy today is attributable to four military rules, which distorted segments of governance, leading to the deployment of scores of civilian military officers. This has, over time, stunted the growth of the civilian bureaucracy,...
Sabawoon Showcase: October 09, 2017
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA): Education, Hope and Challenges. The latest episode of Jarga Maraka (debate and council) on October 9, 2017, highlighted the need for improving the education standards for the students of FATA. The program also discussed various challenges of education in the region, particularly the situation of damaged schools in FATA. Mr. Azad Khan Wazir, Deputy Director of Education FATA, was the studio guest in the show. He stated that there are 5,991 educational institutions in the region for up to 681,000 FATA students. The enrollment campaign that had run for a year resulted in an increase of 18,813 teachers and 176,000 schoolchildren. He also said that this improvement could be seen in the addition of a university, 35 colleges, 21 government model schools and hundreds of schools for boys and girls. Furthermore, the Directorate established an independent monitoring unit to ensure the quality of education and the effective performance of the model. Mr. Azad said that up to PKR 23 million had been deducted from the salaries of teachers that were absent in the first 10 months of the implementation of the model. A CRSS correspondent report was played during the show, explaining the real cost of damages sustained by schools because of militancy. As many as six listeners took part in the program through calls. About Sabawoon: Sabawoon airs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) since 2011. It began as a counter-radicalization, strategic communications programme, designed to highlight and promote the fundamental governance values such as democracy, rule of law, women’s rights, and equal citizenry, social cohesion. The show airs Monday through Thursday every week under four themes on FM-101.5 Peshawar and Dera Ismail Khan 711 KHZ from 3:20 PM to 4:00 PM. On Monday, Jarga Maraka covers current affairs and important regional issues with an input from government and other senior officials. On Tuesday, Da...
Pakistan’s Hypocrisy Galore
The hearts and minds of many among the mighty rulers actually reside outside Pakistan, which is why they are indifferent to the plight of Pakistanis. We hear Nawaz Sharif, Asif Zardari, Shahbaz Sharif, Yousaf Raza Gillani, a number of retired generals, bureaucrats and businessmen relentlessly speak — with an ostensible passion and conviction — of the pain they feel for the teeming hapless millions of Pakistan. Of late, Zardari, who had meekly left the country in a huff in 2016 after hurling threats at the mighty military establishment, is roaring again. During his Peshawar visit, he made all sorts of oblique remarks about Sharif and Imran Khan in particular. He said that every sort of fraud had been carried out in KP, and the state of affairs at Manki Sharif said a lot about the performance of the PTI in the KP province. This was one of the disparaging comments the former president made to the audience. I am sure his party has turned most of interior Sindh into ‘modern, smart cities’ with the 1.1 trillion rupees that the province has received since 2013 under the National Finance Commission (NFC) award and are now craving to replicate the Sindh model elsewhere. It is quite ironic that these allegations come from a person who is an essential element of almost every conversation on contracts, corruption within governance structures. If political expedience of the civilian and military ruling elites were not an obstruction, one big water filtration plants’ scheme in Sindh was enough to know the extent and nature of fraud and as to who was behind it. Nawaz Sharif and his hyper younger brother, too, often forget what plays out in the schools and hospitals of Punjab — even in Lahore itself — when they target their opposition — always accompanied by pliant politicians and bureaucrats. Little wonder much of Pakistan has only deteriorated under these shining stars of the country’s political landscape. National kitty continues to leak under the burden of privileges that the...
Sabawoon Showcase: October 4, 2017
The Role of Female Teachers in Character building of Students The latest episode of Jwandai Jazbey (alive spirits) on October 4,2017,focused on the importance of the role of female teachers’ in the society and in the character building of students. Ms. Zainab Rehman, a Peshawar-based educationist, was the studio guest in the show and spoke at length about the issues surrounding female education. Ms. Rehman commented: “Government must hire new teachers, construct new buildings,ensure that funds are utilized thoroughly and effectively. If government pays attention to education, remarkable changes would occur." Ms. Rehman also underscored that teachers and mothers also need to fulfill their responsibilities in educating their girls. A CRSS correspondent report played during the show highlighted the views of public regarding the role of female teachers. As many as three listeners took part in the program through calls. They also spoke of the need for the government to keep proper check and balance on the performance of government schools. About Sabawoon Sabawoon airs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) since 2011. It began as a counter-radicalization, strategic communications programme, designed to highlight and promote the fundamental governance values such as democracy, rule of law, women’s rights, and equal citizenry, social cohesion. The show airs Monday through Thursday every week under four themes on FM-101.5 Peshawar and Dera Ismail Khan 711 KHZ from 3:20 PM to 4:00 PM. On Monday, Jarga Maraka covers current affairs and important regional issues with an input from government and other senior officials. On Tuesday, Da Simay Jaaj gives an overview of the top stories from KP and FATA regions. Jwandai Jazbey airs on Wednesday and deals with issues of relevance to, and significance for, youth, students and women. Socio-cultural affairs are discussed in Ranra on Thursday....
Sabawoon Showcase: October, 02, 2017
Role of National Accountability Bureau(NAB) in preventing Corruption. The latest episode of Jarga Maraka (debate and council) on October 2, 2017, shed light on the Role of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in preventing corruption in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa(KP). Mian Mohammad Wiqar, Additional Director NAB, was the studio guest in the show. He stated that there were only 7 NAB offices in the Country. Peshawar is one of the active and efficient ones among them. He claimed that NAB Ordinance is one of the best laws in the world to recover the corruption money and to prevent it. Mr. Wiqar further confirmed that Peshawar office received more than 40000/ complaints and verified 28100/ to date. He shared having investigated 697 cases and submitting 475 (Cases) Challans in the courts. He claimed arrest of 840 corrupt persons and recovery of more than 6 billion rupees. Mr. Wiqar requested the public to cooperate and inform NAB of corrupt practices in their immediate surroundings. A report played during the show, also focused on issues that NAB is dealing with. During the show, as many as ten listeners called in for questions/comments on the content.However, only four calls could be accomodated in the live show. About Sabawoon: Sabawoon airs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) since 2011. It began as a counter-radicalization, strategic communications programme, designed to highlight and promote the fundamental governance values such as democracy, rule of law, women’s rights, and equal citizenry, social cohesion. The show airs Monday through Thursday every week under four themes on FM-101.5 Peshawar and Dera Ismail Khan 711 KHZ from 3:20 PM to 4:00 PM. On Monday, Jarga Maraka covers current affairs and important regional issues with an input from government and other senior officials. On Tuesday, Da Simay Jaaj gives an overview of the top stories from KP and FATA regions. Jwandai Jazbey airs on Wednesday and deals with issues of relevance...
Rethinking CVE?
Note: CRSS Executive Director Imtiaz Gul wrote this blog after attending the September 27 annual RESOLVE Global Forum at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC The September 27 annual RESOLVE Global Forum at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, marked a big stride forward in the practitioners’ search for ways and means to identify and handle violence-inducing factors. The forum provided an opportunity for introspection for the 24 Network partners on whether the tools deployed so far in countering violent extremism (CVE) are still relevant after over a decade of small gains and difficult setbacks. Is violent extremism a localized issue borne of solely geo-political factors, or a natural consequence of deficient, poor governance, questionable rule of law, and selective inclusion of stakeholders? The Global Forum was a fantastic opportunity for exchanging ideas and sharing experiences. For me personally, it was the culmination – at least as of now – of some thoughts I had previously expressed at a EU sponsored international CVE conference in Brussels in late 2012. At this point five years ago, debate on CVE was raging, largely led by experts from the United States as delegates from over 100 countries spoke of CVE relevancy only in the context of Muslim countries. Incessant focus on Muslim countries prompted me to intervene. I pointed out that the singular focus on Islam as the source of violence was inappropriate, not to mention likely counter-productive, and that associating extremist violence exclusively with Muslim countries was unfair. I also quoted examples of Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka and the IRA of Ireland to underscore that violent means for political or social objectives was not an Islamist phenomenon. Many other delegates, including those from Bangladesh, Malaysia and Sudan instantly rose to endorse my proposition, saying that the fight against terrorism or radicalization must be branded in a faith-neutral way to have any lasting or...
Sabawoon Showcase October 3, 2017
Regional Review on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The latest episode of Da Simay Jaaj (regional review) on October 3,2017, discussed several public issues, such as education, communication and health issues in different district and agencies of KP and FATA. The first report highlighted the road communication issues of southern district, Lakki Marwat. Report mentioned that in the population of around 70 thousand people, the main highway from Tajori to Gambela is in ruins. There is no repair and maintenance since the past ten years on this road. MNA Lakki Col Ameer Ullah, talking in the show as a telephonic guest said that he was disappointed due to the non-cooperation of federal and provincial government. He claimed that several efforts were made and an important meeting with CM and high officials was also held regarding this issue, but all in vain. Moreover, the program discussed the education issues, such as a rented building for Primary School in Raheem Abad, Swat for the last 37 years. The enrollment of the School is more than 1300 students. The state of educational emergency in the province entails no building or furniture for the students in Swat. The same situation is faced by the students in a Primary School of Jarama Alfalah Kohat, where there are 350 students in six class rooms but they are sitting and studying in two rooms only. The absence of a watchman is also endangering the lives of the students. The fourth report was regarding the shortage of course books, in some schools of District Charsadda. There were 10 calls during the show, 6 calls were aired along with one live SMS. About Sabawoon: Sabawoon airs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) since 2011. It began as a counter-radicalization, strategic communications programme, designed to highlight and promote the fundamental governance values such as democracy, rule of law, women’s rights, and equal citizenry, social...
2017 RESOLVE Network Global Forum: Opportunity to “Rethink” CVE?
The September 27 annual RESOLVE Global Forum at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, marked a big stride forward in the practitioners’ search for ways and means to identify and handle violence-inducing factors. The Forum provided an opportunity for introspection for the 24 Network partners on whether the tools deployed so far in countering violent extremism (CVE) are still relevant after over a decade of small gains and difficult setbacks. Is violent extremism a localized issue borne of solely geopolitical factors, or a natural consequence of poor governance, questionable rule of law, and selective inclusion of stakeholders? The Global Forum was a fantastic opportunity for exchanging ideas and sharing experiences. For me personally, it was the culmination – at least as of now – of some thoughts I had previously expressed at a EU sponsored international CVE conference in Brussels in late 2012. At this point five years ago, debate on CVE was raging, largely led by experts from the United States as delegates from over 100 countries spoke of CVE relevancy only in the context of Muslim countries. Incessant focus on Muslim countries prompted me to intervene. I pointed out that the singular focus on Islam as the source of violence was inappropriate, not to mention likely counter-productive, and that associating extremist violence exclusively with Muslim countries was unfair. I also quoted examples of Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka and the IRA of Ireland to underscore that violent means for political or social objectives was not an Islamist phenomenon. Many other delegates, including those from Bangladesh, Malaysia and Sudan endorsed my proposition, saying that the fight against terrorism or radicalization must be branded in a faith-neutral way to have any lasting or positive impact. The 2017 RESOLVE Global Forum was a welcome step forward. Conversations with a multitude of international academics, practitioners and intelligentia, echoed and underscored the issues I...
2017 RESOLVE Network Global Forum: Opportunity to “Rethink” CVE?
The September 27 annual RESOLVE Global Forum at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, marked a big stride forward in the practitioners’ search for ways and means to identify and handle violence-inducing factors. The Forum provided an opportunity for introspection for the 24 Network partners on whether the tools deployed so far in countering violent extremism (CVE) are still relevant after over a decade of small gains and difficult setbacks. Is violent extremism a localized issue borne of solely geopolitical factors, or a natural consequence of poor governance, questionable rule of law, and selective inclusion of stakeholders? The Global Forum was a fantastic opportunity for exchanging ideas and sharing experiences. For me personally, it was the culmination – at least as of now – of some thoughts I had previously expressed at a EU sponsored international CVE conference in Brussels in late 2012. At this point five years ago, debate on CVE was raging, largely led by experts from the United States as delegates from over 100 countries spoke of CVE relevancy only in the context of Muslim countries. Incessant focus on Muslim countries prompted me to intervene. I pointed out that the singular focus on Islam as the source of violence was inappropriate, not to mention likely counter-productive, and that associating extremist violence exclusively with Muslim countries was unfair. I also quoted examples of Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka and the IRA of Ireland to underscore that violent means for political or social objectives was not an Islamist phenomenon. Many other delegates, including those from Bangladesh, Malaysia and Sudan endorsed my proposition, saying that the fight against terrorism or radicalization must be branded in a faith-neutral way to have any lasting or positive impact. The 2017 RESOLVE Global Forum was a welcome step forward. Conversations with a multitude of international academics, practitioners and intelligentia, echoed and underscored the issues I...
Sabawoon Showcase: September 27, 2017
Access to Safe Drinking Water in Peshawar and its Misuse. The latest episode of Jwandai Jazbey (alive spirits) focused on importance and supply of safe drinking water and its misuse in Peshawar. Importance of safe drinking water is the right of the citizens. They must be provided with safe drinking water. Supply of water in Peshawar is through tube wells, people in southern districts lack safe drinking water, and females have to carry water from very far places. Since we have plenty of safe water in Peshawar, it is mostly wasted in washing clothes, dishes and vehicles. Government must launch awareness campaigns for the conservation of safe drinking water. Moreover, the program highlighted the role of Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar, how it ensures the purification and supply of safe water. Mr. Amir Khattak, Water Supply Manger at Water and Sanitation Services, Peshawar (WSSP) took part as the studio guest in the show. Mr. Khattak said: “We should realize our responsibilities alongside our rights if we want to develop. One should shut the tap after it is used. One should take care of resources as they are the nation’s property. Parents should teach and develop awareness in their children about saving resources.” A radio report was made part of the program. The report highlighted the importance of safe drinking water and how one should use it accordingly. Five listeners took part in the program. They complained that in southern districts people were compelled to drink unsafe water. About Sabawoon Sabawoon airs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). It is designed to highlight the local issues and promote the fundamental governance values, such as democracy, rule of law, women’s rights, and equal citizenry. The show airs Monday through Thursday every week under four themes on FM-101.5 Peshawar and Dera Ismail Khan 711 KHZ from 3:20 PM to 4:00 PM. On Monday, Jarga Maraka covers current affairs and important regional issues...
TOP STORIES
TESTIMONIALS
“
I am also a member of National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting. Recently, we held a meeting with the Director General of Radio Pakistan and we told them to initiate such local programs (like Constituency Hour) in regional languages to educate and inform people. Even Indian Radio can be heard in FATA which is being used for propaganda purposes and must be closed. Therefore, we should launch some standard and quality programs like CRSS that will change the taste of the listeners.