Current Projects
CHINA WATCH [September 4-9]: Punjab-Centric CPEC?
The week of September 4-9 was dominated by trouble in the parliament as it was revealed that Punjab is the recipient of 53% of all CPEC projects, as well as security related matters both in terms of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and bilateral defense strategy. Punjab-Centric CPEC The row over Punjab benefiting the most from CPEC was exacerbated further, as data revealed to the parliament showed 53% of the projects, or 176 of the 330 projects under CPEC, were in Punjab.[1] Just 8 of the 330 were in Balochistan. The political elite will continue to make the claim that as the province with the largest population, the biggest infrastructure, and the largest budget, this is the natural division of CPEC projects in the country. However, it will do little to placate detractors who have been decrying the lack of transparency and bemoaning Balochistan not receiving its due share. Similarly, Dr. Masood Alam, Dr. Mushtaq, Awami Workers Party (AWP) leader Fanoos Gujjar, former Federal Minister Faqir Muhammad Khan, and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (ideological) General Secretary Zubair Anjum have protested against the federal government. They alleged government for depriving Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) of its due share in the CPEC.[2] Security In order to secure the execution of the CPEC, the Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar has claimed that a special security division (SSD) comprising of 9 infantry battalions of 6 CAF wings has been established at a cost of Rs. 21.57 billion.[3] This is a fairly significant development, as it provides a tangible number allocated to the safety and operation of the CPEC corridor. In terms of bilateral security, in order to improve the defense and security cooperation, the long-term defense agreement with China has been discussed and finally approved by the cabinet.[4] This is a landmark move, as it will further cement the defense cooperation and ties between the two countries, especially in lieu of the pending CPEC project. The CPEC,...
Public Awareness on Police Reforms Needed to Tackle Trust Deficit
The members of working group on police reforms, during a consultative meeting at Press Club, Charsadda said that the training of KP police had been improved greatly; incorporating the contemporary capacity building needs and training standards to ensure maximum public service. In this regard, several specialized schools have been established in the province - to improve the capacity in the critical service areas - whose syllabus has been revised and tailored to the needs. Merit based and transparent recruitment has also been ensured in the department. 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. They said that the KP police was ever more focused on the community policing by not only offering services that are oriented towards public welfare but also working in close partnership with the community. At the core of community policing are the initiatives of Police Assistance Line (PAL), Police Access Service (PAS), and KP polices’ flagship Dispute Resolution Council (DRC) to provide speedy justice to the citizens approaching police. Given the counter-terrorism role of police, the elite school of police has been established with dedicated training and units for different specialized areas. With the SOS service – aimed at enabling vulnerable institutions to inform the police about any emergency through just a tap on the mobile phone – and the elite services of police, the response time to the events of terrorism has been improved greatly....
Instruments of Terror
The equation is quite even as far as allegations and suspicions go. Pakistan is at pains to convince the world that the intermittent violence it experiences is inflicted by groups, which can be termed instruments of terrorism and instability. Groups such as the TTP, Jamaatul Ahrar, the Islamic State, the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and the Baloch Republican Army stand out as some of those instruments. Outsiders like India, Afghanistan and the US look at the Haqqani network, the Afghan Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad in more or less the same way i.e., as instruments of terror using Pakistani territory against neighbours. The latest such pronouncement came from US Secretary of State John Kerry, making it clear to Islamabad that it needs to act against groups such as the Haqqani network and LeT that are suspected of operating from Pakistan to launch attacks against its neighbours. Kerry said this on August 31 in a press stakeout at New Delhi, using the occasion to also appreciate the pain that Pakistan has endured at the hands of terrorists. He more or less repeated the same words that constitute the essential part of the official Washington narrative and which underscores the Indo-American-Afghan convergence on the issue. Kerry did concede Pakistan’s “progress in the fight against extremism in recent months” but also underlined that it “has work to do in order to push harder against its indigenous groups that are engaged in extremist activities” and represent a threat to the neighbours. India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, too, think alike and have gone even further in speaking about countering terror with terror. Most of what we see today seems to flow from a deadly tit-for-tat contest of gaining influence in the region. At the same time, commercial interests trump oft-propagated virtues such as morality and principles. The brutal handling of Kashmiri protests and the near indifference to it from almost all...
Improving Police Behaviors Critical for Tackling Trust Deficit
The members of working group on police reforms, during a consultative meeting at DPO Office, Mardan said that the police today in KP had transformed massively - comparing to the police few years back - for increased transparency, accountability and public service. It is worth mentioning that KP police has got rid of the menace of corruption through reforms and vision to serve as a department oriented for public welfare. The trust public-police deficit will automatically be tackled if its root causes like corruption and unaccountability are addressed. As part of it, the hiring system has been improved where one cannot join the department through means of bribe and NTS clearance is mandatory is this regard. 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. They said that several initiatives as part of Police reforms had immensely benefitted the public, especially the Dispute Resolution Councils, Police Assistance Lines and Police Access services, but these changes need to be propagated by the media to inform and aware the public on means of access. It is enormously important to improve the public relations skills of the police officials, especially at the lower level. Albeit, given the importance of polices’ dealing with public for addressing the trust deficit, several efforts have been undertaken and work is in progress but further behavioral improvements are required. One of the outcomes of KP police reforms is the improved public...
Confronting New Wars
The German Bundeswehr's new "White Paper" is conceived as just a milestone in the ongoing development of German global policy and its instruments, according to an article published by Germany's leading foreign policy periodical. According to the article's two authors, who had been in charge of elaborating the "White Paper" for the German Defense Ministry, the White Paper's explicit claim to shape global policy and policy for outer space must be implemented and "brought to life" in the near future. While the German government is initiating new projects for upgrading military and "civil defense" measures, the EU is boosting its militarization: A growing number of government leaders of EU member states are supporting the creation of an EU army under openly proclaimed German leadership. According to a leading German daily, the balance sheet of recent German military involvements is "not exactly positive," but this should not discourage future military interventions. One should, however, not expect too much and harbor "illusions about rapid successes." "Shaping Global Order" The German Bundeswehr's new "White Paper" that was presented to the public on July 13, has already formulated more far-reaching objectives for German global policy than any of the preceding White Papers. "The horizon of Germany's security policy is global," the document succinctly notes and openly announces that, "due to its economic, political, and military importance," Berlin should begin to "actively help shape the global order." Germany is not only "prepared" to become involved, "resolutely and substantially, as a driving force in the international debate," but also to "assume leadership" in global policymaking. Berlin's claim to shape policy refers not only to global trade routes at sea, on land and in the air, but "explicitly also to cyber-, information- and outer space."[1] Just a Road Mark The leading German foreign policy periodical "Internationale Politik" just published an article...
KP Police is Seen Ever More Respectable Due to its Unprecedented Sacrifices, SP Security, Peshawar
The unprecedented sacrifices made by the KP police in war on terror (WoT), going above and beyond the call of their duties have made them look ever more respectable before the general public. The media also needs to report positively and responsibly on these inspiring examples to improve the image of police. The police today in KP is far better than the police one decade ago through the reforms which have improved its capacity significantly. Initiatives like Ulasi Police have helped improving the awareness among the general public about how police is reforming itself to be oriented for public welfare and addressing the trust deficit. KP Police has successfully archived systemic database that can be used for quick situational analysis post an event of terrorism. These were the remarks made by Mr. Sahibzada Sajjad Ahmad, Superintendent of Police (Security), Peshawar during the consultative meeting on KP police reforms in Peshawar. 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 other working group members of police included: Mr. Rokhan Zeb, Deputy Superintendent Police, Gulbahar, Peshawar, Ms. Aneela Naz, Deputy Superintendent Police, Training, Peshawar, Ms. Rozia Iltaf, Deputy Superintendent Police Investigation, Peshawar, Mr. Asfandyar, Assistant Director for Information Technology, Peshawar, Ms. Rizwana Tufail, Station House Officer, Model Police Station, Sherki, Peshawar, Imran Khan, Sub Inspector/ In-charge, Police Assistance Line,...
How Obama’s Asia Pivot Nudged China Toward Pakistan But Helped Aggravate India
AFTER MANY DISASTROUS years spent trying to shape the Middle East, the Obama administration has refocused its foreign policy toward defending U.S. interests in economically wealthy East Asia. President Obama’s “pivot to Asia” is widely perceived as an attempt by the United States to contain China’s growing economic and political clout in that region. But the resulting increase in U.S. pressure on China’s eastern periphery has had an interesting side-effect — it has led China to look elsewhere on the continent for opportunities to trade, invest, and build diplomatic influence. A major target of this redirected effort has been China’s neighbor to its west, Pakistan. A series of joint Chinese-Pakistani infrastructure projects are now underway, branded collectively as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). These investments are intended to build Pakistan’s economic capacity and increase its links to western China, while giving China access to port facilities on the Indian Ocean. Although the project could have significant long-term economic benefits to the region, it has engendered tensions with India, which has had contentious relations with both China and Pakistan in the past. How China navigates this effort to expand its influence with Pakistan, and how other powerful countries respond, could determine whether South and Central Asia embark on a new era of shared prosperity or remain trapped in a cycle of conflict. DURING A STATE VISIT to Pakistan in 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a series of high-profile agreements for Chinese companies to construct roughly $46 billion worth of highways, ports, and energy infrastructure in Pakistan. The projects are related to a larger Chinese effort to expand its economic and political influence in Asia, known as the Silk Road Economic Initiative. The massive investment in Pakistan is also seen as providing an economic anchor to the longstanding military and political relationship between the two countries....
The Enigma of Pak-Afghan Relations
The launching of combing operations by the Pakistan Army in areas close to the Pak-Afghan border in a bid to hunt down terrorists behind the American University attack in Kabul indicates a positive trajectory in the complex ties between the two countries. To share details of the attack, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called Army Chief General Raheel Sharif. Condemning the attack, General Raheel promised President Ghani of full cooperation in sharing information and helping hunt down the terrorists responsible for the ruthless attack, in case they are located on Pakistani soil. The Pakistan Army carried out combing operations in the Pak-Afghan border zones where Afghan SIMs remain active and information was shared with Afghan authorities. The Afghan side had claimed that three Afghan cell numbers were used for communication during the attack, allegedly from Pakistani regions. The fact of the matter is that cooperation by Pakistan in response to the attack in Kabul didn’t come in isolation. Afghanistan’s response, too, over hunting the plotters of the APS and Bacha Khan University attacks was constructive. The masterminds of these atrocities were reportedly killed in Afghanistan while some were handed over to Pakistan. Despite the gloom surrounding Pak-Afghan ties, what is promising is that both sides have started realising the efficacy of inevitable cooperation for containing terrorism on both sides of the Durand Line, as peace in one country is not possible without stability in the other. But differences over joint counterterrorism efforts in the larger context still persist. Time and again, it has been noted that the two countries have limitations when it comes to reaching agreement on issues like blocking Afghan mobile SIMs in Pakistan and vice versa. This doesn’t serve the interests of either country while only helping terrorists. The two countries have, so far, failed to agree on joint steps for border management though Pakistan unilaterally started taking...
Police, Crime and Terrorism
On August 4, the chief of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Police, Nasir Khan Durrani, walked a few dozen steps to the venue of an event being held on Youm-e-Shuhada (Police Martyrs’ Day) in Peshawar. The reason — special security arrangements that required all vehicles to park at a decent distance from the venue. But one of his deputies, in-charge of a special police force, huffed and puffed when his vehicle was stopped at the red line. He simply swept everybody aside and drove over the red line. This episode explains the paradoxes that result from the conduct of the privileged. On the one hand, the chief of the provincial police obeyed the standard operating procedures (SOP) laid down for the occasion. On the other hand, one of his senior colleagues snubbed his juniors and brazenly flouted the SOPs. The latter found following the SOPs below his dignity — as much as most of the ruling elite and those in positions of power in Pakistan do, where a culture of privileges, permits and perks continues to thrive at the expense of the blood and sweat of ordinary citizens. No surprise then that institutional reform has been difficult to come by in a system that is anchored in political and financial patronage, and pillage of national resources. It is also evident in the absence of political will for meaningful police reform in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. Police forces in these provinces remain very much in the clutches of the chief ministers. We have excellent, discerning and sincere individuals in the Police Service of Pakistan, but the predominance of political power simply trumps their good work and the desire to improve their service. The 1861 Police Act (Sindh and Balochistan) and the Police Order 2002 (Punjab) continue to be the service frameworks for the police in these provinces, which means there is little operational autonomy, emphasis on fear rather than on serving the people and little deterrence for law-violators, and hardly any merit or accountability mechanisms....
Will Russia and China Build an SCO-Based Joint Missile Defence System?
On Monday, experts in Moscow and Beijing spoke via video conference on the implications for regional security of the US deployment of missile defence systems in South Korea. And while the forum focused mostly on political and military implications of the THAAD deployment, experts also intrigued observers by indicating that it was possible for Russia and China to join together to create a single missile defence shield over the entirety of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the political, economic and military organization involving much of eastern Eurasia. Regarding the THAAD deployment, Moscow has repeatedly indicated that it was categorically opposed to the move. THAAD, capable of monitoring ballistic and aerial targets at distances of up to 1,500 km, is expected to give the US military the capability to 'see' into the territory of the Russian Federation, and even further into that of China. Speaking at the video conference on Monday, Vladimir Petrovsky, a senior researcher at the Moscow-based Center for the Studies and Forecasting of Russia-China Relations at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies, explained that the potential for a joint missile defence shield exists. Moreover, such a shield would be entirely appropriate given recent US moves, from its deployment of missile shield components in Eastern Europe to the deployment of THAAD in South Korea. "Russia and China could become the driving force in the area of missile defence. Special attention should be paid to the land-based interception systems which we have at our disposal," the analyst said. Recently, the analyst recalled, Japan, South Korea and the United States conducted drills practicing the interception of ballistic missiles using the maritime-based US Aegis system. The appropriate response from Moscow and Beijing, according to Petrovsky, would be for the two countries' air defence forces to conduct similar joint exercises at the Ashuluk range in Russia's Astrakhan region. Asked to comment...
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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.