Current Projects
Pakistan, Russia, China Seek To Crack Afghan Conundrum
In international diplomacy, there are no permanent friends or foes. This oft-repeated cliché perfectly illustrates the current transformation of Pakistan-Russia relationship. When Afghanistan was in turmoil in the 1980s, Moscow and Islamabad were in opposite camps. But their Cold War rivalry has taken a dramatic turn. And the two countries are now exploring options to become partners for bringing peace in Afghanistan. For this purpose, Russia will host first-ever trilateral talks involving Pakistan and China next month in an effort to crack the Afghan conundrum. “This is a watershed moment,” said a senior Pakistani official, who believes the development is part of the realignment taking place in this part of the world. Last month, Pakistan and Russia held their first-ever joint military drills in a landmark development showing gradual improvement in their ties marred by Cold War rivalry in the past. Moscow ignored Indian demand not to hold joint military exercise with Islamabad after attack on its military base in Uri in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts also suffered a setback when President Vladimir Putin refused to toe his line on Pakistan during the recent BRICS summit in Goa. The official with knowledge of the upcoming Pakistan-Russia-China trilateral meeting told The Express Tribune that it clearly showed that Modi’s efforts to isolate Pakistan had failed. The official requested not to be quoted on the record because he was not authorised to speak to the media. He said the three-way talks will discuss how to bring an end to the long running conflict in Afghanistan and prevent groups such as Islamic State, aka Da’ish, from gaining a foothold in the war-torn country. When contacted, Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said the initiative was aimed at bringing peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region at large. “The deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan has raised concerns about the...
Acrimony to Amenity
The Sharbat Gula episode coupled with recent bomb explosions in and around Kabul continue to blemish prospects of any real improvement in bilateral ties with Pakistan. Both the countries may have to wait for a long time for an attitudinal change to happen. The level of mistrust has almost disturbed the DNA of the relationship. Figuratively speaking, foreign bodies are feasting more on the frail strength of Afghanistan- Pakistan fraternal ties and their proverbial plethora of common interests than the internal dynamics of their relationship. The commitment of Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah to “good and positive ties with Islamabad” at a meeting in Kabul with the combined delegation from CRSS (Centre for Research & Security Studies) & WPSO (Women &Peace Studies Organization) was indeed heartening. But sustained meaningful talks, which may infuse sanity as well as vibrancy, in the current atmosphere of hostility and misunderstanding on the part of ruling elites in both countries, will be next to impossible. The mistrust has spread through the entire body of relationship. The historic baggage and the one still in the making are hard to lay off. Is there no silver lining? Have the elites, especially hawks, forgotten how much both the countries have sacrificed for a war which was not their own and was imposed on them by outsiders. Afghanistan has suffered the most but Pakistan no less, both in blood and material. According to the Global Terrorism Index 2016 report released by the Institute for Economics and Peace this week, Afghanistan ranked number two, after Iraq, for the year 2015. Afghanistan suffered the worst year so far, resulting in nearly 18,000 deaths from the conflict in 2015. TOLO news shows that October was the deadliest month in the past two years with more than 6,000 insurgents, nearly 500 security forces and more than 700 civilians killed or wounded in October. Pakistan has so far suffered 60,000 deaths, billions of material damages and...
New Guidelines for Afghan Repatriation On The Cards
The Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (Safron) has finalised a set of proposals/guidelines for the repatriation of Afghan refugees that will soon be placed before the federal cabinet for approval. Senior officials in the ministry told The Express Tribune on Sunday that the guidelines have been devised for the smooth and voluntary return of Afghan nationals after Safron Minister Abdul Qadir Baloch consulted the mainstream political parties in parliament on the issue. They include: issuing multiple entry/special visas to Afghan students, investors and those with Pakistani spouses, while the people coming for health reasons would be granted visa on arrival at Torkham. Granting an indefinite visa or permanent residence — if not nationality — to all those born in Pakistan and advocated by several political parties, as well as civil society organisations, has also been under discussion, an official said. Afghanistan’s envoy Dr Omar Zakhilwal also confirmed that Pakistan is in the process of announcing a package for the refugees. “I am glad that the Chief Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees and the Ministry of Safron in consultation with us, have put together a package of proposals which will respond to the needs of these special categories once approved,” Zakhilwal, who is also President Ashraf Ghani’s special representative for Pakistan, told The Express Tribune on Sunday. “We are optimistic this package will be discussed and approved by the government of Pakistan in the near future,” he said. He said there are some categories of refugees that need special provisions — including those who own properties and businesses worth billions of dollars, Afghans who have Pakistani spouses and students who are in the midst of their studies in Pakistani universities. “While we are happy that 600,000 Afghan refugees have returned to their homeland (from Pakistan) since July, we encourage and welcome the return of thousands continuously on a daily basis,” he said. In Kabul,...
Pak-Afghan Dialogue Call For Enhanced Cooperation
Pakistani and Afghan delegates wrapped up their unofficial dialogue in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif with a call on both countries to boost cooperation in the field of culture, education, sports and the media. They agreed that enhanced interaction in the fields of education, culture and sports would help to bridge the trust gap as the relations between the two neighboring countries have deteriorated to the detriment of their respective interests, according to a joint statement issued at the conclusion of the meeting. The dialogue “Beyond Boundaries” under the Track-II mechanism was jointly organized by the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies in partnership with its counterpart in Kabul, Women & Peace Studies Organization (WPSO). On trade both sides urged their respective governments for the early finalization of the review of the Afghan Pakistan Trade Transit Agreement (APTTA) to give a boost to bilateral trade. The participants comprise five to seven members each from Pakistan and Afghanistan including security experts, parliamentarians, civil society, and business/media representatives. The Pakistani delegation comprised: Dr. Shoaib Suddle, former Intelligence Bureau Chief, Qazi Humayun, Mian Sanaullah (both former ambassadors), Shazia Marri, PPP member of the National Assembly, Imtiaz Gul, the CRSS director and Tahir Khan, journalist.In their recommendations both sides took note of the recent episode of the green-eyed Afghan girl Sharbat Gula which necessitates the need to evolve a legal mechanism for the benefit of vulnerable Afghan refugees especially a) females/ spouses, b) children born in Pakistan, c) protection of their properties and movable assets as per law. Both sides agreed to urge their respective governments to ensure repatriation of Afghan refugees with dignity and honor; particularly for Afghan investors, students, medical and other deserving categories. This article originally appeared in The Pakistan...
Parliament Kicks Out Ministers Again: A Multi-Dimensional Power Struggle
The Afghan parliament’s lower house has sacked seven ministers in a new wave of interpellations (estizah). It is not clear who instigated the estizah motions, MPs themselves or Palace intrigue, or who will come out as the winner (the president has told the ministers to stay in their posts and called on the Supreme Court to reverse the MPs decisions). But the affair shows that the long-standing conflict between the two camps within the government is far from over. The estizahaffair is compounded by additional rifts within the Jamiat party and the long-standing conflict between the executive and parliament. Thomas Ruttig (with input from Ehsan Qaane and Salima Ahmadi) looked into the various levels of conflicts and concludes that another painful process of appointments – and wrangling over them – could be restarted, further bogging down the government. Seven ministers voted off The Wolesi Jirga, the Afghan parliament’s lower house, voted seven members of the cabinet out of office last week. MPs scrutinised 16 ministers in five sessions held every day, an unusual although not unique pace of work (a 17th minister who was on the original list had already resigned for – genuine – health reasons and was exempted). Usually, the Wolesi Jirga only convenes on Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays and struggles to reach a quorum (see AAN analysis here and here), but for these sessions over 200 out of the current 235 MPs participated in each one. The procedure is called estizah (interpellation) and the power of the MPs to deliver such motions to call ministers to account is enshrined in the constitution. Use of that power, however, has often proved detrimental to government; it has regularly interrupted both the work of the cabinet and parliament itself (which could have devoted its time to more urgent legislative matters). For the National Unity Government (NUG), which took a painstaking two years to establish a full cabinet that finally completed in June 2016, this is the...
Afghan Weekly (Nov 12 – Nov 17, 2016)
The Global Terrorism Index 2016 report released by the Institute for Economics and Peace this week ranked Afghanistan number two, after Iraq, for the year 2015. As per the report, terrorism increased 29 percent to 4,502 deaths and battlefield deaths increased 34 per cent to over 15,000 in the previous year. The Taliban were responsible for 85 per cent of all deaths from terrorism, carrying out 1,094 attacks that killed 4,502 people. Police remained the main target of attacks by the Taliban and accounted for half of all attacks and deaths. Additionally, the US Department of State’s Humanitarian Information Unit also released a report this week disclosing that, on top of the existing 5 million refugee returnees since 2002, this year more than 550,000 Afghans are returning migrants and refugees from Pakistan, while another 485,000 are conflict induced internally displaced persons. As part of Afghanistan’s fight against terrorism, during a meeting with the UNSC delegation in Kabul this week, President Ghani urged the delegation to include the names of the terrorists together with Taliban chief in the sanctions list, also insisting that international talks should be held to help curb the financial resources of the militants. On the other hand, Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, in a meeting with the delegates of the unofficial Pak-Afghan dialogue convened by CRSS-WPSO in Kabul, stated that he looks forward to his upcoming visit to Pakistan where he expects to have substantive discussions on bilateral relations, including on the common threat of terrorism. He also affirmed that Afghanistan wants good and positive ties with Pakistan keeping in view the good neighborhood principle. More such updates on this week’s security, internal politics, international engagements and socio-economic developments in Afghanistan are as follow. A Security Overview Four Americans Killed in Unprecedented Suicide Attack at U.S. Base in Afghanistan – November 12, 2016 A...
Pak-Afghan dialogue: Regional peace hinges on eradicating terrorism
Delegates at an unofficial dialogue between Pakistan and Afghanistan renewed calls for both governments to take steps against cross-border movement of terrorists and stressed the need for rooting out terrorism in the interest of regional peace and stability. Recognising the deterioration in relations between the two countries, they underscored the need for enhancing interactions in education, culture and sports. Both sides discussed various crucial issues such as peace and security, refugees, media cooperation, movement of goods and people and liberalising visa regimes. The dialogue, titled ‘Beyond Boundaries’ under Track-II mechanism, was jointly organised by the Islamabad-based Centre for Research and Security Studies and the Kabul-based Women and Peace Studies Organization (WPSO). Discussions were held between five and seven members from Pakistan and Afghanistan and participants included security experts, parliamentarians, members of the civil society and business and media representatives. The Pakistani team included former Balochistan police chief Dr Shoaib Suddle, Qazi Humayun and Mian Sanaullah (both former ambassadors) and PPP MNA Shazia Marri. Focusing on the recent episode of Sharbat Gula’s deporation, both sides agreed upon the need for evolving a legal mechanism for benefiting vulnerable Afghan refugees. Both sides agreed to urge their respective governments to ensure repatriation of Afghan refugees with dignity and honor. On trade, both sides urged their respective governments to quickly review the Afghan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement. Members of the Pakistani group visited two under construction projects in Kabul, namely Jinnah Hospital and Rehman Baba School and hoste
CHINA WATCH [NOVEMBER 12-18] GWADAR STARTS FUNCTIONING
The opening ceremony of starting trade activities at Gwadar port was the top news of this week. Pakistan and China kick-started the fourth round of naval drill at Karachi. Jamaat-i-Islami hosted a multi-party conference in Peshawar to demand early working on the western route. Some lawmakers from Senate showed their concern that China might use the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to boost trade relations with India. Chief Minister of Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah said that his government has prepared plan to establish Industrial Zone with Chinese assistance at Dhabeji in Sindh. Gwadar Opening: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif launched the first shipment of trade supplies from Gwadar Port in hyped and celebratory manner. Chinese ambassador Sun Weidong, Pakistan’s Army Chief General Raheel Sharif, Balochistan’s Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri and other state officials and foreign dignitaries were also present on the occasion. The PM said that “[T]oday we have gathered to witness the dream of CPEC turning into a reality”.[1] The trade consignment included containers of Chinese goods that entered into Pakistan in the end of October and travelled on the western route to Gwadar. Sino Trans, a state owned Chinese logistics company, was managing the shipment of these goods.[2] Pakistan Navy escorted the two ships, MV Cosco Willington and MV al Hussain carrying the goods to Arab and African countries.[3] All Party Conference on CPEC: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) hosted a multi-party conference in Peshawar to push the central government for starting early work on the western route. Leaders from 16 political parties and groups participated in the conference and demanded that the Prime Minister follow the decisions made at the multi-party conference on CPEC on May 28, 2016 in Islamabad. JI provincial chief Mushtaq Ahmad Khan said that “[I]f Nawaz Sharif ignores the joint declaration of conference, then it will not only affect this gigantic project but will also cause major...
Behavioral and Attitudinal Improvements in Police Critical for Tackling Trust Deficit
The members of working group on police reforms, during a consultative meeting at DPO Office, Mardan unanimously underpinned the need for the capacity building of lower grade police officials who represent around 80% of the total police force. They said that the behavioral and attitudinal changes in police - especially for the officials at lower ranks - were critical to address the public-police trust deficit given their frequent interactions with the public. They concurred with each other that the major factor behind the rude behavior of police constables was their abnormally long duty hours. 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. The participating members of police said that given the importance of polices’ dealing with public for addressing the trust deficit, several efforts had been undertaken and work was in progress but further behavioral improvements were required. They also noted that the police today in KP had transformed significantly for increased transparency, accountability, public service, better internal communication and check and balance system. They said that the recruitment system of police had been revised to ensure merit and transparency with NTS at the core. While the system of promotion has also undergone revisions; linking with performance and training courses as an important criteria. “Educational workshops should be conducted at police station level to help an average policeman understand the reforms in...
Afghanistan Ranked Number Two On Global Terror Index
Afghanistan suffered the worst year so far in its war with the Taliban, resulting in nearly 18,000 deaths from the conflict in 2015. As a result it is ranked number two in the world on the terrorism index, the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) said in its latest Global Terrorism Index (GTI). In the fourth edition of the index, IEP said "while the international community's focus has intensified on ISIL (Daesh) and its activities in Iraq and Syria, last year recorded the deadliest year for the Taliban in Afghanistan. The increases in Afghanistan highlight the resurgence of the Taliban in a war that has now lasted 15 years, the report read. It said: "Both terrorist deaths and battlefield deaths committed by the Taliban significantly increased in 2015. Terrorism increased 29 percent to 4,502 deaths and battlefield deaths increased 34 per cent to over 15,000." The 2016 GTI report reinforces the fact terrorism is a highly concentrated form of violence, mostly committed in a small number of countries and by a small number of groups. The five countries suffering the highest impact from terrorism as measured by the GTI; Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan and Syria, accounted for 72 per cent of all deaths from terrorism in 2015. It said: "Effective military interventions appear to have reduced the impact of terrorism in Iraq, however the increasing intensity of violent conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan have led to rises in the number of terror related fatalities." The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) is a comprehensive study analyzing the impact of terrorism for 163 countries, covering 99.7 percent of the world's population. Meanwhile, deaths from terrorism also increased to the highest recorded levels overall, with 5,312 deaths recorded in 2015, up by 18 percent from the previous year. Deaths from terrorism and conflict in Afghanistan have increased every year for the past five years. "The Taliban was responsible for the majority of terrorist attacks and in...
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.