Current Projects
Learning from Modi’s Mistakes
November 8 will go down in history for two very different reasons in India and the US. The Americans elected Donald Trump to its highest office, while Indians will remember it as the day that PM Modi unleashed an unprecedented cash crunch. Under heavy criticism for not fulfilling his promise to combat corruption, PM Modi suddenly introduced a policy that appears more smoke and mirrors than substance, and at the very least ill thought out. With a simple pronouncement the Bharatya Janata Party (BJP) leader declared that all Rs500 and Rs1,000 bills — 86 per cent of the money in circulation — were not legal tender effective as of midnight. The cancelled bills must be converted to newly minted Rs2,000 notes before December 30, 2016, in regulated tranches to make it easier to track. Understandably, the populist move has created chaos in an economy where over 85 per cent of the wages and 90 per cent of transactions were cash-based. The announcement was intended as a “surgical strike” to clamp down on “black money,” or untaxed money and counterfeit currency, terrorism financing and corruption. Sadly, the intended targets are not the ones feeling the pain. In fact, responding to a batch of petitions, the Indian Supreme Court noted on Tuesday that rather than a “surgical strike” the policy was more akin to “carpet bombing” with the “collateral damage” being suffered by the average Indian. The court stated that the government’s objective of going after black money and fake currency may be laudable but “the common man should not be made to suffer.” The bench led by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur gave the Center a deadline of November 25 to submit documents to justify the move and to detail the measures it has undertaken to address the public concerns and troubles. The stealth nature was aimed at catching cash hoarders before they laundered their loot. The rich, of course, prefer real estate, other property, gold, stocks and most importantly money abroad as opposed to cash...
Making CPEC A Game Changer
Pakistan is caught in euphoria over China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Called a game changer, all hopes are pinned on this project to bring change in the economic conditions of Pakistan. This network of roads and the intervening projects, especially those related to energy are considered the only straw that would save Pakistan from falling off the delicate balance where energy crisis could either build or fail the country. The PML-N government would have to prove that their tenure had done the needful in bringing the country around from the energy crisis that had eaten away its potential to become the Asian Tiger — a metaphor that was initially spelled out by the PML when it was not annexed to the ‘N’ factor. It is now a matter of concern that much of the terror activities are targeted at Balochistan, where Gwadar is based. Whether it is China, that our so-called enemy India, and the half-friend-half-foe the US, are trying to intimidate, or it is Pakistan whose success is not acceptable to India, in both the cases, it is Pakistan, which would bear the brunt. How many lives will fall before CPEC begins bearing fruit is not known. However, the government does carry the burden of making this project bring structural changes in the lives of the people. That would only be possible if businesses thrive through a consistent supply of electricity. The government claims that it would end loadshedding or restore the country to a steady supply of power by 2018. According to the figures available, the country is producing almost 17,400 megawatts of electricity with the added success of taking up the receivables to 93.5 per cent. The circular debt is being managed at Rs320 billion per month, down from Rs 500 billion. The loss to the GDP due to the power sector was earlier 2.4 per cent, which has come down to 0.4 per cent. The annual loss to the electricity sector has been reduced to Rupees eight billion from Rs200 billion. Industrial units have been barred from...
ATC Sentences Five To Death Over Burning Alive Christian Couple In Kot Radha Kishan In 2014
An Anti-Terrorism Court on Wednesday sentenced five men to death on two counts for their involvement in the burning alive of a Christian couple in Kot Radha Kishan in 2014. ATC-I Judge Chaudhry Muhammad Azam imposed a fine of Rs200,000 on the five men identified as Mehdi Khan, Riaz Kambo, Irfan Shakoor, Muhammad Hanif, and Hafiz Ishtiaq ─ a local prayer leader ─ for their involvement in the lynching. Eight others have also been charged with involvement in the lynching and sentenced to two years each in prison. The eight men were identified as Muhammad Hussain, Noorul Hasan, Muhammad Arsalan, Muhammad Haris, Muhammad Muneer, Muhammad Ramazan, Irfan and Hafiz Shahid. A challan submitted in court claimed the five men handed the death penalty gathered a large mob of hundreds by making announcements over a mosque loudspeaker and incited them to violence with incendiary speech. Kot Radha Kishan lynching A mob of around 400 people lynched Shahzad and Shama for their alleged role in desecrating the Holy Quran in November 2014. Both husband and wife were brick kiln workers from Chak-59 of Kot Radha Kishan, a town in Kasur district. The woman, mother of three, was pregnant. Police and witnesses told Dawn in Nov 2014 that announcements had been made from mosques on Tuesday asking villagers to gather at the Yousaf brick kiln where 25-year-old Shama and her husband Shahzad Masih worked as bonded labourers. Over 1,000 charged people from three villages took out the couple from a room (where they had taken shelter) after tearing apart its roof. The mob tortured the couple before putting them into the kiln’s furnace. The mob held hostage five policemen who tried to rescue the couple. The villagers also manhandled some media personnel and snatched their cameras. Police registered a case against 660 villagers, including 60 who were nominated in a First Information Report lodged on the complaint of Sub-Inspector Muhammad Ali of Chowki Factory Area. The FIR said the mob had thrashed...
Afghan Weekly (Nov 18 – Nov 24, 2016)
This week witnessed another deadly attack claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria targeting a Shia mosque, Baqir-ul-Ulum Mosque, in the Kabul city, killing over 32 people while wounding 85.[1] In a press release by Pakistan’s Foreign Office, Pakistan conveyed profound condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and prayers for early recovery of the injured. Reiterating its unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all forms and manifestations, the Foreign Office reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment for continued efforts and cooperation for eliminating the menace of terrorism.[2] The US State Department, also, condemned the attack on the mosque in the strongest possible terms, affirming the US’ support to Afghanistan,[3] while the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, condemned the attack, endorsing India’s support to Afghanistan in the fight against terrorism.[4] Other highlights of this week’s security, internal politics, international engagements and socio-economic developments in Afghanistan follow below. A Security Overview 25 Insurgents, 8 Security Forces Killed in Separate Incidents – November 19, 2016 At least 13 insurgents were killed and 17 others wounded in Afghan security forces' ground operations and air strikes in Sar-e-Pul province.[5] Taliban Commander Killed in Badakhshan Attack – November 19, 2016 Rahm Khuda, a Taliban commander was killed in an attack on a security check post in north-eastern Badakhshan province on 19th November's night, local officials said.[6] 14 Insurgents Killed in Joint Operations Fourteen insurgents were killed in several operation around the country in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Interior said in a statement early 20th November. According to the statement the operations were carried out by the Afghan National Army and National Directorate of Security (NDS) members in Laghman, Uruzgan, Helmand, Paktiya, Maidan Wardak and Nangarhar provinces. "As a result 14 armed militants were killed, 10...
Akhundzada’s Challenges Bigger than his Predecessor
Taliban chief Hibatullah Akhundzada faces multiple internal and external challenges; internally, his movement is marred by differences and rebellion by smaller factions. The rebuttal of Taliban talks with the Afghan government and then its senior members’ private confirmation does show the desperate state of affairs inside the movement. Firstly, some of the Taliban senior leaders are opposing the idea of talks with Kabul as they dub the Afghan government as a US puppet. According to them, such a move could negatively affect the morale of their foot soldiers who are fighting against the government in Kabul. The Taliban breakaway faction, Mullah Rasool group, is opposing the talks openly and any move of negotiations with Kabul could push the disgruntled members of Taliban toward him. The Rasool’s group does not the government in Kabul and has been opposing the current Taliban leaders for differences with them since the days of Mullah Akhtar Mansoor to whom it never pledged allegiance and opposed his selection as the Taliban Chief. Several Taliban commanders including Manan Khan Niazi were angry with Mansoor for concealing Omar’s death and issuing statements for two years in his name.[1] They finally gathered and appointed Rasool as their Chief. Rasool was later on reportedly arrested in Pakistan.[2] Secondly, Akhundzada’s fighters are literally unable to hold to a territory for longer periods of time because of the lethal US air force. Thirdly, Taliban sources said that some of their leaders are war-fatigued and would like to find a way out of conflict the way Hezb-e-Islami’s Hekmetyar did. The loss of local support base probably is another big challenge. Regional dynamics is also in play right now; China and Pakistan, too, are eager to realize the dream of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that will not be possible if militancy continues in Afghanistan. Iran, too, is eager to expand its economic linkages through Pakistan to China and India. All this is...
Sindh Assembly Passes Bill Against Forced Religious Conversions
Sindh Assembly unanimously passed on Thursday a law against forced conversion of religion in the province. A private bill, Criminal Law (Protection of Minorities), was tabled by Pakistan Muslim League – Functional (PML-F) lawmaker Nand Kumar a year ago. It was referred to the standing committee for minority and human rights for feedback and has now been returned to the assembly. Sindh is the first assembly in Pakistan to pass the law. “Forced conversion is an abhorrent and violent offence and an issue that has become prevalent across Sindh [that] must be eliminated by recognising the importance of tolerance, peace and respect for all religions and persons, irrespective of their religion,” the bill read. The law will focus on recognising the right to freedom of religion of all persons, the right to freedom to marry and freedom of choice of marriage of all persons. Age of conversion According to the bill, no person shall be deemed to have changed their religion until they attain the age of maturity, which is 18 years. Similarly, the decision of a minor to convert to another religion will not be recognised until they reach the age of maturity. Defining the punishments for forced conversion, the bill states that any person who forcibly converts another person shall be liable to imprisonment ranging from five years to life and a fine will have to be paid to the victim. Whoever performs or facilitates a marriage while having knowledge that either one or both the parties are victims of forced conversion shall be liable to imprisonment for a minimum of three years or a fine to be paid to the victim or victims. “This shall also include any persons who have provided logistical support or any other essential services for the marriage ceremony,” states the law. It adds that in a case of forced conversion, the accused shall also be liable for other offences, including kidnapping, abduction or compelling a woman for marriage. Complaint mechanism Regarding the mechanism of...
Discussing Afghanistan
The power structures we have come to expect to dominate South Asia are slowly being replaced. The disaster that is the US war in Afghanistan means fewer countries trust it or expect it to deliver stability. The election of Narendra Modi in India has made it all but impossible for Pakistan to maintain good relations with its Eastern neighbour. China, thanks to the CPEC, has made a bold bid to be the primary political player in the region. And now Russia is trying to make its influence felt in the region too. The country that was humiliatingly forced to withdraw from Afghanistan in 1989 is now trying to have its voice heard in planning for the conflict-ridden country’s future. Moscow will be holding a conference, along with Pakistan and China, in December to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and what can be done about it. The meeting will be held the same month as the Heart of Asia conference in India, which is also concerned with peace and stability in Afghanistan. Russia is clearly hoping to dislodge Indian hegemony in South Asia by overtly supporting its neighbours and becoming more involved in regional issues. The opening to do so is certainly there since both Heart of Asia and the US-led Quadrilateral Crisis Group have failed to achieve any diplomatic breakthroughs in Afghanistan. Russia has made other moves recently showing it is ready to pursue a closer alliance with Pakistan. At the Brics summit in India, Russia and China were at the forefront of moves to block India from adopting a resolution denouncing Pakistan as a terrorist state. Russia also carried out joint military exercises with Pakistan, a clear thumb in the eye for India, which has traditionally been a Russian ally. The US, meanwhile, has drifted every closer to India and at the UN General Assembly meeting in September it even held a trilateral meeting with India and Afghanistan without inviting Pakistan. Such moves have led us to Moscow. Of course, Russia has close to zero influence in...
Trump Can't End the War in Afghanistan Without Iran
During his bid for the U.S. presidency, Donald Trump all but ignored the war in Afghanistan. He did, however, pledge to reduce the footprint of U.S. intervention abroad, end nation-building, and most notably rip up the Iran deal. Yet these policies are incongruent because the U.S. simply cannot leave Afghanistan as a functioning state without the help of Iran. The refusal of U.S. policymakers to accept this reality is one reason the war against the Taliban has lasted 15 years and Afghanistan remains effectively partitioned between Kabul and the militants. While Afghanistan has six immediate neighbors, its two most relevant borders are with Pakistan and Iran. Both borders remain porous and useful to the Taliban, with arms and militants moving in and out of Pakistan, and opium moving through Iran. The curtailment of the opium trade and therefore the Taliban’s cash flow was a key component of President Barack Obama’s 2009 surge to retake Afghanistan. Elite Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Foreign-Deployed Advisory and Support Teams (FAST) worked with special forces in southwest Afghanistan to destroy the opium labs and disrupt the flow out of the country. Although difficult to verify, it appears unlikely that the U.S. and Iran effectively coordinated in drug interdiction. Meanwhile Iran serves as the escape hatch through which Afghanistan supplies around 90 percent of the world’s opium. Despite historical animosity, Iran and the United State would have made natural allies in Afghanistan. After 9/11, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei condemned the attacks and, in a stark contrast to the scenes of jubilation observed in some Middle Eastern cities, Tehran publicly mourned the attacks. In 1998, the Taliban killed 11 Iranian diplomats in Mazar-i-Sharif and on the eve of 9/11 Iran was already conducting a proxy war against the Taliban through material support of the Northern Alliance. Iran shares many cultural and linguistic similarities with various ethnic groups in Afghanistan...
Trump Can’t End the War in Afghanistan Without Iran
During his bid for the U.S. presidency, Donald Trump all but ignored the war in Afghanistan. He did, however, pledge to reduce the footprint of U.S. intervention abroad, end nation-building, and most notably rip up the Iran deal. Yet these policies are incongruent because the U.S. simply cannot leave Afghanistan as a functioning state without the help of Iran. The refusal of U.S. policymakers to accept this reality is one reason the war against the Taliban has lasted 15 years and Afghanistan remains effectively partitioned between Kabul and the militants. While Afghanistan has six immediate neighbors, its two most relevant borders are with Pakistan and Iran. Both borders remain porous and useful to the Taliban, with arms and militants moving in and out of Pakistan, and opium moving through Iran. The curtailment of the opium trade and therefore the Taliban’s cash flow was a key component of President Barack Obama’s 2009 surge to retake Afghanistan. Elite Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Foreign-Deployed Advisory and Support Teams (FAST) worked with special forces in southwest Afghanistan to destroy the opium labs and disrupt the flow out of the country. Although difficult to verify, it appears unlikely that the U.S. and Iran effectively coordinated in drug interdiction. Meanwhile Iran serves as the escape hatch through which Afghanistan supplies around 90 percent of the world’s opium. Despite historical animosity, Iran and the United State would have made natural allies in Afghanistan. After 9/11, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei condemned the attacks and, in a stark contrast to the scenes of jubilation observed in some Middle Eastern cities, Tehran publicly mourned the attacks. In 1998, the Taliban killed 11 Iranian diplomats in Mazar-i-Sharif and on the eve of 9/11 Iran was already conducting a proxy war against the Taliban through material support of the Northern Alliance. Iran shares many cultural and linguistic similarities with various ethnic groups in Afghanistan...
Afghan Taliban Consider Options On Resuming Talks
The Afghan Taliban have been involved in ‘intense discussions’ on the crafting of a strategy for the possible resumption of peace negotiations, a member of the Taliban political office in Qatar said on Wednesday. Speaking by Skype, the Taliban negotiator said the leadership has also taken field commanders into confidence about the expected political process in a clear sign that the group is looking for a consensus view. “We are now exploring the options for talks with foreign stakeholders, as well as with the Afghan side,” the Taliban leader told The Express Tribune in an interview from Qatar. He was speaking on the condition that he would not be identified by name. “It will be a national level decision. The consultation process was strong. The Taliban military commanders, who had not been on-board earlier, have also been taken into confidence. I would say the consultation process was initiated at the grassroots level this time,” he said. He rejected the notion that the Taliban want a military solution to the Afghan problem. “We want a non-military solution,” he added. He condemned President Ashraf Ghani’s recent move to seek UN sanctions on Taliban chief Maulvi Haibatullah and said any such act could undermine the on-going efforts for talks. “We think that the Kabul administration’s efforts are aimed at creating hurdles in the way of peace. We view such acts as anti-peace. It seems the government leaders do not show sincerity in the political process,” he said. When asked if the talks would be held in Qatar, he said other countries could also host talks but the centre would remain the Qatar office, which is still closed. Responding to a question, he said the Taliban could accept the guarantee of Russia, China and other countries. The Taliban leader welcomed the growing Russian role in the Afghan peace process and said the Taliban view Moscow’s efforts as “positive.” He said the Taliban did not attend the Pugwash conference in Islamabad because they were not...
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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.