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How to Pull Afghanistan Back From The Brink
Nearly 2,400 American service member have died during the war in Afghanistan. Along with so many of its sons and daughters, taxpayers sacrificed almost a $1 trillion to hold the country since 2001. Not all that cash went to war, of course. The United States spent around $115 billion of it to reconstruct a country the Taliban had ravaged. Now, with sequestration cutting into the military budget and a new president coming into office, Afghanistan’s fate hangs in the balance. The Taliban is resurgent, and though they fell short of capturing a provincial capital in 2016, they still made inroads in a country Americans and Afghans have died to keep safe. According to a recent report from John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, “only 63.4% of the country’s districts were under Afghan government control or influence a reduction from the 72% as of November 27, 2015.” Congress formed SIGAR and appointed Sopko in 2008. It’s the biggest governmental body providing oversight of the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan and what it discovers often isn’t pretty. The most recent report, published in January 2017, is an assessment of the high-risk areas threatening Afghanistan today. Washington and Kabul are losing Afghanistan. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Systemic corruption, a waning security force and a unhealthy relationship with the counternarcotics is destroying Afghanistan and its military. If America wants to stay in Afghanistan and beat the Taliban, it can. But that’s a big if. Another option is to negotiate peace with the Taliban, something Kabul has attempted since the war began. But there are contentious issues neither side will relent on, such as the Taliban’s insistence on changing Afghanistan’s constitution to reflect sharia law and what form any kind of power sharing between Kabul and the Taliban would take. There’s another way, one that would be the Taliban’s preference — the complete withdrawal of coalition forces from...
Sabawoon Showcase: Regional Review of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)
January 24, 2017, Peshawar: The latest episode of Sabawoon[i] , flagship radio program of Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), was presented under the theme of Da Semi Jaaj (regional review) on Tuesday. This program reviews the top news from the region and provides crisp analysis. Following reports were included in the program: Traffic management issues and the performance of traffic police district Dera Ismail Khan. Issues faced by residents in Lachi of Kohat district FATA reforms, the future of FATA’s merger with KP and the role of Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR). The aftermaths of the bomb blast in Kurram Agency. Packages for FATA’s martyrs of Khasadar by the political administration in Mohmand Agency. Sabawoon airs Monday through Thursday on FM-101.5 Peshawar & DI Khan 711 KHZ from 3:20 PM to 4:00 PM. [i] Sabawoon is a flagship radio program by CRSS in the KP/FATA region, designed to highlight local issues, and promote fundamental global values such as women’s rights, rule of law, equal citizenry, democracy, governance and accountability. It airs four times a week, under four themes. On Monday, Jarga Maraka covers current affairs and issues, coupled with government and other senior officials. On Tuesday, Da Semi Jaj gives a holistic regional overview of the most important stories across the length and breadth of KP/FATA. On Wednesday, Jwandei Jazbay covers issues most important to youth, students and females. Finally, on Thursday, Ranra covers social issues that have a cultural angle and/or impact.
Return of Undocumented Afghans (Weekly Situation Report 15-21 January, 2017)
Situation Overview IOM is responding to a substantial increase in the return of undocumented Afghans from Pakistan and Iran. Since 1 January 2016, over 721,000 undocumented Afghans have returned due to diverse push factors, including deteriorating protection space in Pakistan. Many of those returning have lived outside of Afghanistan for decades, and will need support from the government and humanitarian actors both on arrival and as they seek to reintegrate into a country already struggling with widespread conflict and displacement. While returns have declined in line with seasonal trends during winter, previous surges in returns have been unpredictable and an estimated 1.1 million Afghans still remain in Pakistan. IOM is prepared to respond to increased needs and is appealing for additional funding to continue its emergency response programming. Highlights 1,562 undocumented Afghans returned from Pakistan 7,729 undocumented Afghans returned from Iran 252,973 total returns from Pakistan since 1 January 2016 468,841 total returns from Iran since 1 January 2016 85% of returnees from Pakistan (1,332 individuals) assisted 4% of returnees from Iran (305 individuals) assisted Returns from Pakistan From 15-21 January 2017, a total of 1,562 undocumented Afghans spontaneously returned or were deported from Pakistan through Torkham border (Nangarhar province) and Spin Boldak border (Kandahar province), according to the Border Monitoring Team of the Directorate of Refugees and Repatriation (DoRR). This is roughly equal to the number of returns during the previous week. Of the total, 1,423 were spontaneous returnees in family groups and 139 were deported individuals. This brings the total number of undocumented Afghan returnees from Pakistan to 252,973 since 1 January 2016. During the reporting period, IOM assisted 1,332 (85%) undocumented Afghan returnees from Pakistan, including 91 members of single parent families and 22 special cases. The support provided includes meals...
Integrity and Character
On January 20, immediately after Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Obama family moved to a rented apartment after spending eight years at the White House. Also, Obama paid for groceries from toothpaste to toilet papers and dry cleaning from his own pocket. Even the family vacation was not free. Similarly, after the ceremony, Joe Biden, Obama’s deputy, carrying his own brief case, took the famous Amtrak Acela Express train to get back to his hometown Wilmington. Poor people! Aren’t they? Incredible examples of personal integrity by two highest ranking office holders of the sole superpower; Biden held public office for 43 years following his first election to the Senate at 29. Nearly 35 years in the Senate and eight years as the Vice President yet he couldn’t afford to pay for the expensive cancer treatment of his son anymore. And who was the son? The Attorney General of his State of Delaware. He also had been an Iraq war veteran before becoming the Attorney General. But the cancer treatment ate up all his savings. Then came his father to the rescue. But even that was not enough. And just when he planned to offer his house for sale to mobilise funding for the son’s treatment, President Obama loaned him funds from his personal savings to prevent him from selling his home. Biden himself recounted this before a TV audience with tearful eyes. Unfortunately the son died but not after the father had given all his best. Neither Obama nor Biden boast tonnes of money, multiple houses and fleet of cars, escorted by massive security after all these years at top posts. And with heads held high, they walk out of their official residences to private homes and public transport. Do or can these examples shame the rulers of this unfortunate country? Can they match their lofty and hollow rhetoric with the humility of these two statesmen? Certainly not. There, the retiring heads of governments leave the 1st House in personal vehicles. Here, our leading lights deem it below their...
Sabawoon Showcase: Performance of Water and Sanitation Service Program (WSSP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)
January 23, 2017, Peshawar: The latest episode of Sabawoon[i], flagship radio program of Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), discussed the performance of WSSP with regard to sanitation, cleanliness and water supply services throughout the KP province. The main points of discussion included the water and sanitation services of WSSP, local government collaborations with WSSP, role of WSSP in eradicating pollution, cleanliness campaigns, and mass awareness campaign about rights and duties regarding cleanliness and green environment. The program also highlighted the issues faced by locals due to labor unions in WSSP and municipal committees in Peshawar. The program was aired under the theme of Jarga Marrakka (debate and council) on Monday. Mr. Ali Ur Rehman, Manager Operations WSSP, Peshawar, Mr. Muhammad Naveed, Chairman Municipal Workers’ Union, Peshawar, Mr. Riaz Khan, member of Local Government Federation, Peshawar, and Fakher-e-Alam, Zonal Manager WSSP, Peshawar, were the studio guests. A radio report mentioned the demands of workers of municipal committees in Peshawar and shared statistics about WSSP performance in different areas of the city. Mr. Ali Ur Rehman said: “The labor unions and pressure groups are a source of problem in the organization. Their issues have been forwarded to the board which will hopefully lead towards positive results in the coming days.” Sabawoon airs Monday through Thursday on FM-101.5 Peshawar & DI Khan 711 KHZ from 3:20 PM to 4:00 PM. [i] Sabawoon is a flagship radio program by CRSS in the KP/FATA region, designed to highlight local issues, and promote fundamental global values such as women’s rights, rule of law, equal citizenry, democracy, governance and accountability. It airs four times a week, under four themes. On Monday, Jarga Marrakka covers current affairs and issues, coupled with government and other senior officials. On Tuesday, Da Semi Jaaj gives a holistic regional overview of the most important...
Pakistan Aims For Water Treaty with Afghanistan
Pakistan is about to start talks with Afghanistan to secure a bilateral treaty for the use of water related to Kabul River. Well-placed sources told The Nation that efforts are underway to frame a draft to take up with Kabul to secure the treaty at the earliest. The move apparently comes after recent statements by Indian leaders that New Delhi wants to gift a water reservoir to Kabul over the river as a token of friendship with Afghanistan. The sources maintained that Pakistan wants to secure the bilateral treaty to prevent any future water dispute with the brotherly western neighbour, and in order to address Afghanistan’s concern over Pakistan’s using water of Kabul River without any formal accord. The draft of the treaty also includes the use of Pakistani waters from Chitral and adjoining areas which eventually make Kunar-Chitral River as one of major water distributaries of the Kabul River. According to the sources, Pakistan believes that Afghanistan was using some of its waters from Chitral and its adjoining areas that end up into Kunar-Chitral River which was the main source of water in the Kabul River. According to the sources, the PTI government in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was of the view that Afghanistan was also using waters from Swat River. However, it could not be confirmed immediately from the PTI spokesperson. Pakistan established Warsak Hydroelectric Power Project about 20 kilometres in the North West of Peshawar city over the Kabul River in 1960 under the Colombo Plan financed by the Canadian government. It was completed in two phases. The first phase was completed in 1960 at a cost of Rs394.98 million, consisting of construction of the dam, irrigation tunnels, civil works, four generating units with a capacity of 40 MW each and 132 KV transmission system. In the second phase, two additional generating units each of 41.48 MW were added in 1980-81 at a cost of Rs 106.25 million. In general, the project consists of a mass concrete gravity dam with...
Afghanistan Imbroglio: Sane Voices from Pakistan
Since its inception, Pakistan has not been fortunate enough to have stable relations with Afghanistan. The relations are characterized by uncalled for ups and downs. In the post 2011 US invasion, the traditional pattern did not change much, perhaps as the factors of instability were mainly native in nature and called for indigenous solutions. Both sides claim that they are keen to promote regional peace. Their economic progress is interdependent nevertheless. Both governments, mostly Afghanistan did not issue statements which can prove conducive to this objective. In the past six months, we have observed that at least Pakistani leaders have issued very sober and constructive positive statements despite litany of provocative allegations from Afghan leaders. For instance, recently at the Heart of Asia conference in India, Ghani refused to accept Pakistan’s 500 million dollar aid for its development and said that they don’t need Pakistan’s help. “We need to identify cross-border terrorism and a fund to combat terrorism. Pakistan has pledged 500 million dollars for Afghanistan’s development, but we don’t need it. “Use the amount to contain terrorism in your country,” he said. Days after he rejected Pakistan’s aid, speaking to conference during a campaign held for the Afghan youths, President Ghani reiterated “Afghanistan will live with dignity and will not ask for charity from anyone.” UNGA, 2016 “After 15 years of the current war in Afghanistan, the international community agrees that the only road to a lasting peace in that country is through a dialogue between the Government in Kabul and the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan has long proposed this as the most viable course to end decades of conflict and suffering in Afghanistan. Based on this belief in a negotiated peace, and in response to requests from President Ashraf Ghani, we have been facilitating the process of reconciliation in Afghanistan. There have been setbacks. That, however, is not a sufficient reason...
Pakistan’s Misguided Obsession with Infrastructure
NEARLY 20 years after it opened, Pakistan’s first motorway still has a desolate feel. There is scant traffic along the 375km link between Islamabad and Lahore (pictured). Motorists can drive for miles without seeing another vehicle, save perhaps for traffic cops manning speed traps. As the two cities are already connected by the Grand Trunk Road, which is 90km shorter and toll-free, there is simply not much demand for a motorway. Yet this $1.2bn white elephant is one of the proudest achievements of Nawaz Sharif, who was prime minister when it opened in 1997 and is once again running Pakistan. Mr Sharif, who enjoys comparisons to Sher Shah Suri, a 16th-century ruler who renovated the Grand Trunk Road, never tires of talking about it. He regained power in 2013 with a campaign which both harked back to his famous road and promised more infrastructure to come. He even pledged bullet trains that would enable pious passengers to leave Karachi after dawn prayers and arrive in Peshawar, more than 1,000km to the north, in time for evening worship. It is an article of faith for Mr Sharif and his party, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), that investment in infrastructure is a foolproof way of boosting the economy. His government is racing to finish umpteen projects before the next election, due by mid-2018, including a metro line in Lahore and a new airport for Islamabad. The likelihood is that the new airport (which has been plagued with problems, including runways that have been built too close together) will be as underused as most of the country’s other airports, many of which are modern and spacious. Pakistan’s infrastructure is underused because the economic boom it was meant to trigger has never arrived. Over the past three years the government has successfully staved off a balance-of-payments crisis, achieving some measure of macroeconomic stability. It has trimmed the budget deficit, partly by broadening the tax take and partly by cutting energy subsidies....
Trump Calling
Of the many goals that new US President Donald J Trump has set for himself, none matters more to Pakistan than his vehement commitment to eradicating radicalism and militancy perpetrated in the name of religion. He calls it ‘Islamic terrorism’. While he did not sound any different from his predecessors in waving the flag of this goal high, the fact that he chose to make this part of his inaugural speech shows the culmination of a theme he has peddled consistently throughout his campaign. That means that now it is only a question of implementing what he has promised. The planning phase is pretty much done. There is total policy clarity on the matter. This will challenge our country in more ways than one. The Middle Eastern rout of the Islamic State could be quickened by the new cooperation and coordination between Moscow and Washington. As space is squeezed for these groups and individuals in that region, bands of retreating terror will have to find more convenient places to hide. They will want to get reorganised to re-energise themselves. As we know from our own experience, this relocation either takes them to Africa or to this part of the world where they work hand in glove with hostile intelligence agencies and advance their interests in return for facilitation. In Afghanistan and in Fata, which has witnessed an unfortunate resurgence of terrorist violence starting from the attack in Parachinar last week, and in poorly governed spots in the urban areas around this region, these groups will attempt ingress. They will do so with the help of India, Afghanistan and even the US, which has a running battle with China whose scope and theatre will now increase as Trump furthers his cold war with Beijing. These groups bring with them a new form of hate and ruthlessness. They are imbued with ideas of creating an Islamic Caliphate and will attempt to create networks or establish alliances with dozens of their local likeminded groups and individuals. It has to be mentioned...
Is a Pakistan-India War Just One Terrorist Attack Away?
We arrived in New Delhi on September 26, 2016 — a week after the Uri attack had left at least 17 Indian soldiers dead. India attributed the attack to Pakistan-based militants who had crossed into Kashmir. The political class and media were in an uproar, demanding retribution. We were there to launch our new book, Not War, Not Peace?. Its purpose is precisely to analyse Indian options to motivate Pakistan for preventing such cross-border terrorism. One of us braved the Indian-television scene and appeared on several news and discussion shows with various Indian counterparts to discuss what India could – or should – do to respond to this latest attack. The discussions on these shows were desultory and loud. The question for most participants was not whether to carry out a military reprisal, but rather how hard to strike. Some went so far as to say India should not shy away from the threat of nuclear war in mounting military operations against Pakistan. When we presented the book’s analysis to a group of eminent generals and ambassadors – serving and retired – they also, generally, insisted that India must strike back to demonstrate resolve. On the afternoon of September 29, India’s director general for military operations, Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh, announced that the Indian army had carried out “surgical strikes” on “terrorist launch pads” on Pakistan’s side of the Line of Control (LoC). The official announcement was thin on details: nothing about the units involved, how far they had crossed into the other side, how many “launch pads” had been attacked or how many terrorists were killed. Operational details were later supplied by Indian media sources, but much of this coverage stretched credulity. It is most likely that Indian and Pakistani leaders will continue with the same policies and tactics. Details aside, the Indian operations were acclaimed as a tactical success. And they certainly were a public relations victory for the Indian Prime Minister Narendra...
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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.