The August 8 attack in Quetta kicked up a storm over the “effectiveness” of Pakistan’s anti-terror National Action Plan. It also refocused attention on the possible Indian hand in it, as suggested by provincial and federal ministers. Then Daesh and Jamaat ul Ahrar both claimed responsibility, further obfuscating the identity of the real perpetrators. Viewed from a historical perspective, Modi’s current invective against Pakistan can perhaps at best be characterized as the result of a self-serving juvenile attitude and at worst a denial of historical realities. His attempts to draw parallels between the anti-government movements or human rights’ violations in Balochistan and Kashmir are both ludicrous as well as illogical. Consider: First, the history of political excesses and injustices by Islamabad and Rawalpindi notwithstanding, Balochistan is a fully integrated federating unit of Pakistan. Since the late 1960s predominantly Baloch leaders—from Sardar Attallah Mengal to Akbar Bugti to Zulfiqar Magsi to the Jams, Jamalis and Sanaullah  Zehri—have been ruling the province. There is truth in the perspective that the military establishment wronged the people of Balcohistan and has the province firmly in its clutches. But it is also true that most of the ruling elites in the predominantly tribal Balochistan comprise nawabs, sardars, jams, almost all of who are divided into fiefdoms with little inclination for inclusive governance. Second, Kashmir still remains very much alive as a conflict by virtue of two 1948/49 UN Security Council resolutions and the special status accorded to it under the Article 370 of the Indian constitution, thanks to the commitment that modern India’s founding father Jawahar Lal Nehru gave to the international community at the UN. Third, the history of India-Pakistan dialogue highlights a glaring denial of the BJP and Modi’s current position on Kashmir; the phrase Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) constitutes an essential part of the Indo-Pak...

Through an ordinance passed in the post-18th Amendment scenario, for the first time, a province has tailored its own police law. Although law enforcement in the provinces has always remained primarily a provincial subject — either through the Police Act of 1861 or the Police Order (PO) 2002 — police law historically has remained a federal area of enactment. The Police Act of 1861 was a gift of the imperialist regime and in the post-Independence scenario, the PO 2002 was the first-ever concrete attempt to reform the police. However, it soon fell prey to those who were bent on maintaining their control over police hierarchy and before its full implementation, it was blatantly amended. There have always been strong voices calling for the de-politicising of the police. What is also needed is its simultaneous de-colonisation. The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police Ordinance (KPPO) 2016 is the first endeavour on the part of any province to make a police law in conformity with the ideals of the Constitution as well as public aspirations. KPPO primarily derives inspiration from PO 2002 and the outcome of the reforms experienced during the last three years. Another prime intent was to reconstruct and de-politicise the police, make it accountable through democratic institutions and incorporate the community in the law-enforcement apparatus. Section 4 of the law entrusts the police with 27 different duties, hence elaborating the limitation of the police for both the public as well as the police itself. In PO 2002, counter-militancy and terrorism were missing links but in the KPPO, police are also entrusted with the important duty of being combatants. The law has also defined that a police officer should also act as a protector of human rights. However, attainment of such ideals requires continuous training of the police. To cater to such needs, section 12(4) and (7) have been inserted. In line with this, the K-P police has established nine different specialised, training schools. In...

Una, Gujarat - Thousands of people belonging to the Dalit community, the former untouchables, have staged a massive protest in India's Gujarat state in response to atrocities against the community. The 10-day "Dalit Pride March" culminated in Una town in southern Gujarat on August 15 - India's Independence Day - as Dalits pledged to seek "freedom from atrocities and caste-based discrimination". The latest development started as a reaction to an incident last month in Una when members of a Dalit family were publicly assaulted and humiliated by members of a Cow Protection Committee for skinning a dead cattle. A group of mostly young people and civil society members formed the Una Dalit Atyachar Ladat Samiti [Una Dalit committee to fight atrocities] demanding an end to the practice and the right to at least five acres of land, as most Dalits are landless. Amid the chanting of Jai Bheem - a form of greeting popular among India's Dalits - people vowed not to dispose of dead cattle - a task that has been traditionally carried out by the lower caste people for centuries. Members from the Muslim community - which has borne the brunt of the cow vigilantes - also joined Dalits in the 400km-long march that started in the state capital, Ahmedabad. This article originally appeared on AlJazeera, August 16, 2016. Original Link.  

Una, Gujarat - Thousands of people belonging to the Dalit community, the former untouchables, have staged a massive protest in India's Gujarat state in response to atrocities against the community. The 10-day "Dalit Pride March" culminated in Una town in southern Gujarat on August 15 - India's Independence Day - as Dalits pledged to seek "freedom from atrocities and caste-based discrimination". The latest development started as a reaction to an incident last month in Una when members of a Dalit family were publicly assaulted and humiliated by members of a Cow Protection Committee for skinning a dead cattle. A group of mostly young people and civil society members formed the Una Dalit Atyachar Ladat Samiti [Una Dalit committee to fight atrocities] demanding an end to the practice and the right to at least five acres of land, as most Dalits are landless. Amid the chanting of Jai Bheem - a form of greeting popular among India's Dalits - people vowed not to dispose of dead cattle - a task that has been traditionally carried out by the lower caste people for centuries. Members from the Muslim community - which has borne the brunt of the cow vigilantes - also joined Dalits in the 400km-long march that started in the state capital, Ahmedabad. This article originally appeared on AlJazeera, August 16, 2016. Original Link.  

ALEPPO/BERLIN (Own report) - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier's newest diplomatic initiatives for ending the battle for Aleppo are aimed at increasing Germany's Middle East influence. His efforts to achieve a Russian ceasefire and the establishment of a corridor to airdrop supplies for the besieged neighborhoods coincide with Berlin's official announcement to "actively help shape the global order." Assuming a humanitarian image, Berlin is demanding that combat ceases, precisely at the moment, when a victory in this war for the government troops appears within reach. This contrasts with its earlier attitude in phases of the war. When the insurgents were on the offensive; Berlin was fueling the conflict with the development of major reconstruction plans for Syria for the aftermath of Assad's overthrow. In the current battle for Aleppo, whereas Steinmeier is officially promoting a ceasefire, Germany's close allies are intensifying the arms buildup of the jihadi militias. A report by Amnesty International has revealed the consequences of the support Germany's close allies have been providing the jihadis, for years - with Berlin's tacit consent: In the regions controlled by jihadis, the militias are using corporal punishments such as amputations and stoning, arbitrary abductions, torture and murder to secure their reign. "Assuming Leadership" German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier's recent initiatives to halt the battle for Aleppo must be seen in the context of Berlin's efforts to systematically enhance its influence in the Middle East. Over the past few months, the German government has repeatedly confirmed its intentions to expand its global political activities. As it is proclaimed in the Bundeswehr's new "White Paper," Germany is "prepared to become involved early, resolutely and substantially as a driving force in the international debate, to assume leadership," as well as "actively help shape the global order."[1] In his article in the US...

“Welcome to this gathering in nice weather but heated environment.” This is how Dr Abdullah Abdullah, the embattled Afghan Chief Executive, welcomed his supporters in Kabul on Monday. With this he encapsulated the heightened tensions unleashed by his tug of war with President Ashraf Ghani over delays in constitutional reforms and political appointments. The National Unity Government (NUG), as described on Sunday by the mass circulation daily, The Afghanistan Times, is “fractured” and needs to be dissolved. But, as the ruling elite battle it out for self-preservation, fear, confusion and uncertainty seem to have gripped the common Afghan — Taliban militants, on the one hand, continue to challenge the government’s writ even in northern territories. Increasingly difficult conditions for Afghans in neighbouring Pakistan and Iran are stoking more apprehensions, on the other. A number of people I bumped into in Kabul were visibly upset over the recent anti-refugee drive, unsure how their relatives — mostly settled there or even born in Pakistan — would deal with a country which is already reeling from uncertainty, rampant corruption, terrorism and a feuding political elite. The government narrative, following a few high-profile terrorist attacks and another six month’s extension given to them, has tended to conflate terrorism and Afghan refugees in Pakistan. Unfortunately, the decision to forcibly push the Afghans out of Pakistan has entailed serious consequences. One of them has been the harassment, extortion and blackmail by the police and other arms of the security apparatus in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Balochistan. Similar complaints have been heard come from Islamabad. In the name of verification of documents, police and security officials have found yet another way to mint money off hapless Afghans, many of them well settled. Police higher-ups in K-P have denied such high-handedness but a lot is happening under their noses and most Afghans tend not to report...

Pakistan often suffers from the inability of the political elite to rationally process complex national problems, and rely on rhetoric and misleading/emotive public sentiment to drive a particular agenda. Recently, this has been particularly true of the Afghan refugee/migrant issue, which has existed in one form or another for nearly four decades. At present, following high profile attacks blamed on cross-border terrorism from the Afghan side, and facilitators on the Pakistan side with Afghan connections, there has been a pronounced push to deal with the Afghan refugee/migrant issue. Unfortunately, the solution has manifested itself as national and social media campaigns calling for the immediate deportation of Afghan refugees. It is disheartening to see an incredibly complicated and longstanding problem whittled down to the bigotry and xenophobia. It is a horrid little sentiment, first to conveniently place the blame on the otherness of an already marginalized group, and second, to call for their blanket ostracization. This is not to say that there are no problems. The Durand Line osmosis is a persistent problem that is further exacerbated by porous mountain terrain. Further, with the sheer volume of refugees and migrants, it is inevitable that a small percentage of miscreants, criminals, terror sympathizers and militants will get through. Even in a country like Germany, currently experiencing the influx of a massive volume of refugees fleeing the Syrian war, the authorities accept the fact that even with heavy screening, a few bad apples will make it through to the population centers. However, for them, this is not reason enough to turn their backs on people who have fled a devastating warzone, fighting for their right to simply exist. Conversations with officials at the German Foreign Office show that they are fully cognizant of the problem, but this is not reason enough for them to close their doors to refuges. This is because the Germans, as a pluralistic...