Current Projects
IS in Afghanistan: How successful has the group been?
Amid a rise in attacks in Afghanistan attributed to the so-called Islamic State (IS), the BBC's Dawood Azami examines what kind of threat the militant group poses in the conflict-hit nation and the wider region. How much territory has IS captured? IS announced the establishment of its Khorasan branch - an old name for Afghanistan and surrounding areas - in January 2015. It was the first time that IS had officially spread outside the Arab world. Within a few weeks, the group appeared in at least five Afghan provinces, including Helmand, Zabul, Farah, Logar and Nangarhar, trying to establish pockets of territory from which to expand. It was the first major militant group to directly challenge the Afghan Taliban's dominance over the local insurgency. Its first aim was to drive Afghan Taliban fighters out of the area and it also hoped to evict Taliban ally al-Qaeda from the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, or absorb its fighters. Yet despite efforts to energise battle-weary militants, IS struggled to build a wide political base and the indigenous support it expected in Afghanistan. Instead, it made enemies of almost everyone, including the Afghan Taliban. In the first half of 2015, IS managed to capture large chunks of territory in eastern Nangarhar province. This became the de facto "capital" principally for two reasons - its proximity to the tribal areas of Pakistan, home of IS Khorasan's top leaders, and the presence of some people who follow a similar Salafi/Wahhabi interpretation of Islam to IS. IS is also trying to get a foothold in northern Afghanistan, where it aims to link up with Central Asian, Chechen and Chinese Uighur militants. But it has largely been eliminated from southern and western Afghanistan by the Afghan Taliban and military operations conducted by Afghan and US/Nato forces. It has also lost territory in eastern Afghanistan in recent months. But it still has control over some parts of Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, where it plans attacks and...
Drone Warfare: Afghanistan, Birthplace of The Armed Drone
Using drones to carry out targeted killings has become an integral part of the United States’ ‘war on terror’. Afghanistan in the late 1990s was the laboratory where the US developed armed drones as it searched for a way to deal with Osama bin Laden who was then ordering attacks on American targets from his safe haven in Kandahar. At that time, Washington was uneasy about ordering an assassination, especially one likely to result in civilian casualties. After 9/11, such doubts disappeared and it embraced drones, using them to carry out targeted killings of Islamist militants in many countries. In this first of two dispatches, AAN’s Kate Clark looks at armed drones in Afghanistan. A second dispatch will look at the expansion of America’s targeted killing by drone programme in the war on terror and asks whether Afghanistan might in the future see a US ‘drone-only’ or ‘drone-mainly’ mission of the sort seen in Pakistan’s tribal areas. Bin Laden and the birth of drone warfare The project to create armed drones grew out of the need felt by Washington to eliminate the threat posed by bin Laden. In the late 1990s, he was orchestrating attacks on American targets while living under Taleban protection. US options were limited by a presidential standing order banning assassinations (1) which meant the CIA was legally bound to plan an operation with detention as its sole aim. Additionally, CIA officials were worried about the women and children living in bin Laden’s compound – visible on satellite footage – who would be harmed if the capture operation turned into a firefight. “[CIA officers,” reported Steve Coll, “found themselves pulled into emotional debates about legal authorities and the potential for civilian casualties…” (2) (p 393) In 1998, bin Laden ordered attacks on two American embassies in east Africa and Washington responded with Cruise missile strikes on training camps in Khost (which it said was an act of self-defence, not an assassination attempt). Even after...
As China enjoys Pak seafood, India feels Beijing’s presence
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is changing life in China’s Northwest Xinjiang Uyghur region, bringing something special to the region: seafood from Pakistan. This little bonus is being shipped by container trucks through the corridor, which currently accounts for two percent of the total trade between the two countries; and more goods are expected to come through CPEC from the Middle East and Africa. That’s certainly a good return for China’s enormous investment in the project, which some experts call the Marshall Plan for Pakistan. “The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has been described as a Marshall Plan for Pakistan,” says Marko Dimitrijevic, author of Frontier Investor. “It is a $51 billion, 15 year project that will ultimately create a 2,000 kilometre highway/railway/pipeline route from Western China to Pakistan’s Gwadar Port, knocking over 10,000 kilometres off the current sea route for Middle Eastern oil to China; a high-speed railway from Karachi to Lahore to Peshawar; and over 26,000 MW of electric generating capacity.” CPEC is part of China’s ambition to write the rules of the next stage of globalisation and help Beijing sustain growth—a good prospect for investors in Chinese equities, which have been lagging behind those of neighbouring India over the last five-year period. This piece originally appeared in The News, February 27, 2017. Original link. Disclaimer: Views expressed in the article are not necessarily supported by CRSS.
Why Does India Want Pakistan And China’s CPEC To Fail? [ANALYSIS]
CPEC may be a game-changer project for the entire Asia, but India is doing everything it can to disrupt the multi-billion joint China and Pakistan project. While China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is an ambitious project for improving connectivity and economic integrity in the region, there is one Asian nation that opposes the project and views it as a threat to its security, defense and strategy interests. That country is – India – Pakistan and China’s traditional rival that has nuclear weapons. 7 Reasons Why India Is Worried About CPEC India has several major issues with CPEC, which is a 3,000-kilometer sophisticated network of roads, railways and pipelines that connect Xinjiang in China to Gwadar in Pakistan. CPEC passes through Pakistani regions disputed by India. The two nuclear-armed neighbors claim Kashmir as their own. Islamabad and New Delhi have fought three wars over the disputed territory, including the Indo-Pakistani Wars of 1947 and 1965, as well as the Kargil War in 1999. India fears that CPEC may result in internationalization of the Kashmir dispute, and China – with its tremendous influence both in Asia and in the international community – would eventually win the Kashmir dispute in favor of Pakistan, safeguarding and guaranteeing the integrity of CPEC, in which Beijing has invested $46 billion. India is concerned over China’s military presence in the Indian Ocean. The CPEC project will enable China to get direct access to the Arabian Sea, which could embolden the Chinese to substantially step up their military presence there, something that India views as an existential threat. India is worried that China is planning to use the Gwadar port –deep-sea port located in Pakistan’s Balochistan province – to monitor India’s naval activity and allegedly even exploit it to expand and improve its own navy. However, China’s naval power is already almost 4x times stronger than India’s (714 vs 295 of fleet strength, according to Global Fire Power). India is...
Who is the real winner in Af-Pak tensions?
Recently, when Pakistan decided to move heavy artillery towards the Afghan border, many wondered if a full-scale war was about to be initiated between the two countries. Surprisingly, Kabul refrained from retaliating when Pakistani forces shelled terror camps on the other side of the border. It was hard to fathom such an action as Afghanistan has always been considered “a brotherly neighbour”. Where India has always remained our nemesis, Afghanistan now might well be pilfering the former’s title of being our “arch rival”. So how did we end up in this mess where brothers have turned into fierce rivals? Firstly, since 2001, both the countries have fuelled a never-ending cycle of blame game. This back and forth blame game was activated soon after major attacks took place in both countries. Even though Pakistan’s blame is divided between Afghanistan and India, Afghanistan’s current and only scapegoat is Pakistan. Secondly, the shift in regional alliances has also somewhat contributed in souring these ties. While Hamid Karzai was less explicit in his support for India, President Ashraf Ghani, on the other hand, has embraced the country with open arms. He holds India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “brother replacement” for Pakistan. The shifting of these alliances was witnessed recently in a couple of high-profile meetings in India and Russia. When the Heart of Asia conference was organised in Amritsar last year, Afghanistan not only joined hands with India in shaming Pakistan and calling it a ‘facilitator of terror’, it also refused a generous amount of financial aid from Islamabad. It seemed as if President Ghani was more than okay to play Modi’s sidekick in supposedly isolating Pakistan on the global stage – an Indian policy still far from fruition. Nonetheless, Afghanistan’s stand surely angered Pakistan. Kabul was irked by Russia organising a trilateral moot on Afghanistan in Moscow, inviting only China and Pakistan to discuss the imminent rise of Islamic...
Role of Community Vital for Crime-Control
The role of public is crucial for crime control in the society in its partnership with police. The radio programs as part of Ulasi Police project have helped us incorporating several policing needs of the communities into our services on-offer. The advocacy and awareness campaign of this project has been critical in ameliorating the public-police trust deficit. The Charsadda Police, showing an exceptional courage and valor, foiled a major terror attack; stopping three suicide bombers from causing havoc at a local court. The efforts for the capacity building of KP police have made them much more capable of fighting terrorism. The Dispute Resolution Council in Charsadda is an extremely important forum for addressing the civil matters of local population. These were the remarks made by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Mr. Nazir Khan during a consultative meeting on police reforms at Model Police Station, Sardheri, Charsadda. The meeting was a part of the project “Ulasi Police”, which is an awareness and advocacy campaign undertaken by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) – as part of USAID Small Grants and Ambassadors’ Fund Program – to strengthen the rule of law in KP province by promoting and disseminating the significant police reforms aimed at incorporating local communities’ policing needs and international human rights standards. The endeavor aims to tackle the trust deficit between the public and police, help KP police become an accountable and community-focused police force. Mr. Nazir Khan said that the gaps between the public and police could give rise to crimes in the society. The Charsadda police is performing quite well and successfully preempting terrorist attacks. Had the tragedy in local courts not been averted, it would have been a catastrophe. The Charsadda police has also arrested most of the terrorists involved in the target killing of several police officials. At the core of initiatives for the capacity building of KP...
Future Implications of Afghan Moot in Moscow
Russia announced this week that it is going to convene a six-party conference on Afghanistan with high level representation from regional powers in mid-February. It reiterated its stance to include the Taliban in the constructive dialogue. This time the leading regional stakeholders include the Afghan Government, India and Iran, in addition to China and Pakistan, which had been part of the first round of trilateral talks held in Moscow on December 27, 2016. The announcement was made by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a press conference on February 7 in the presence of his Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani who was on a trip to Moscow at the time. Back in December 2016, the Afghan Government had been upset for not being invited to the trilateral meeting which ostensibly discussed “the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan” but also expressed support for the ‘reintegration of armed opposition into peaceful life’ as a way to facilitate an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and conciliation process. In the joint statement released after the first trilateral talks, China and Russia, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, even confirmed their “flexible approach to delisting Afghan individuals from the UN sanctions lists”, a condition put forth by the Taliban for engaging in reconciliation talks. This came at a time when the militant Islamic State group had expanded its presence in Afghanistan, battling against not only the Afghan Government but also some of the Afghan Taliban factions. Following reports about a growing Russia-Taliban thaw, the Afghan Government raised concerns over such moves. However, Russia has claimed to be concerned about the expansion of Daesh operatives in Afghanistan and has argued that the meeting with the Taliban is to combat Daesh in Afghanistan. Russia has made it clear that it fully backs the present government in Kabul but condemns the growing terrorism in Afghanistan. In Russia’s view, including the Taliban on...
Afghan Weekly (Feb 17 - Feb 23, 2017)
Pakistan has experienced one of the ferocious weeks in recent history. More than 100 people have been killed in a series of attacks across the country. In response, the country’s military launched a countrywide armed operation, named Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad, on February 22 to eliminate what it claimed were terrorists found to have ties to Afghanistan’s militants after a suicide attack on a packed shrine in the southern city of Sehwan killed at least 88 worshipers. The Islamic State Khorasan, ISIS’ affiliate in Afghanistan and Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the bombing in a phone call to CNN.[1] In the aftermath, Pakistan demanded from the Afghan government to hand over 75 terrorists, who supposedly planned, directed and supported terrorism across the border.[2] All routes along the Durand Line with Afghanistan have been closed in the same connection. Authorities issued shoot-at-sight orders for those found trying to cross over the border illegally.[3] As a result, traffic and transit trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan also remained suspended. In response, the Afghan government rejected the allegations regarding recent attacks inside Pakistan and impressed upon the necessity to work together against the menace of terrorism. This was followed by the receipt of a demarche from the Afghan Foreign Ministry demanding the arrest and handover of 85 leaders of Taliban, Haqqani Network and other terrorist groups and action against 32 alleged terrorist training centers inside Pakistan. The Chief Executive of the Afghanistan Abdullah Abdullah responded to the situation saying, “Afghanistan is a victim of terrorism and it is unfair to accuse the state of supporting terror and violence”.[4] The spokesperson for Pakistan’s Foreign Office, Nafees Zakaria, yesterday also said that terrorism is the common enemy of both Pakistan and Afghanistan and effective border management is vital for preventing the cross-border movement of terrorists.[5] While hours after Lahore...
Sabawoon Showcase: February 21, 2016
Regional Review of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) The latest episode of Da Simay Jaaj (regional review) took up different issues of public concern such as potable water, terrorism, language, and education. The lack of safe and clean drinking water in Mingora, Swat, has caused many diseases while the district administration is negligent to the issue. A mega project of water was announced a year ago but so far, it has not been implemented. The bomb-blasts in Mohmand Agency on February14 and Charsadda on February21 and their victims were also discussed. To spread awareness about the importance of linguistic and cultural diversity, the International Mother Language Day (IMLD) was observed in KP. Finally, the show shed light on the initiation of various awareness campaigns by the political administration in Kurram Agency to promote quality education, the spirit of accountability and eradicate the culture of cheating in examinations. Callers Response: Two callers participated via live calls. They appreciated the sacrifices of KP police in the war against terror. 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 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: February 20, 2017
Recent wave of terrorism and the Government’s strategies to tackle this menace The latest episode of Jarga Maraka (debate and council) discussed the recent surge in terrorist activities across Pakistan and the government’s plans to counter this threat. The show also analyzed the role of Operation Zarb-e-Azab, National Action Plan (NAP) and political parties in curbing terrorism, military courts and the punishments of terrorists, presence of terrorist groups in Pakistan, status of Afghan refugees, violence- and conflict-related content in the curriculum of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) educational institutions, Pakistan’s relations with neighboring countries, and mainstreaming the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Mr. Arif Yousaf, Advisor to the chief minister of KP, and Mr. Kashif Uddin, a Peshawar-based senior journalist, took part in the show as studio guests. Mr. Yousaf said: “Full implementation of the NAP is vital to eliminate terrorism and militancy. Therefore, both federal and provincial governments should be on the same page in executing NAP.” Mr. Kashif said: “The time has come for political parties to get united, mainstream FATA and take serious measures against terrorist groups in Pakistan.” A radio report shared the data about the recent bomb blasts in the country and their victims. 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 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...
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TESTIMONIALS
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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.