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CRSS China Watch – April 8, 2016
The Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz had a meeting with Mr. Zhang, member of the political bureau of the Communist Party of China. In a meeting they discussed the enhancement of cooperation between the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region and Pakistan. Mr. Sartaj Aziz said that the strategic Pak-China relationship would endorse the regional peace and stability. It was asserted by Mr. Zhang that the two countries were joined by land, mountains and rivers. He ensured China’s unwavering support to Pakistan’s sovereignty, national security and territorial integrity. He extoled Pakistan’s efforts in combating terrorism and acknowledged its sacrifices. Highlighting the prominence of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), further he said that it would have long-term impact on the region and would be equally beneficial. [1] Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has also declared that the CPEC is a fusion of multiple development projects, aimed at the prosperity and well-being of the citizens of the country and the region at large. [2] The former president of Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) and UBG Chairman Iftikhar Malik stressed that Pakistan should strike the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China to stimulate the bilateral trade. [3] Xinjiang's top official visited Pakistan and the companies from Xinjiang signed deals worth about $2 billion to strengthen bilateral partnership. [4] [1] http://www.pakistanherald.com/news/10454/06-april-2016/pak-china-partnership-to-ensure-regional-peace(col)-aziz [2] http://nation.com.pk/national/07-Apr-2016/cpec-reflects-all-weather-pak-china-ties-nawaz [3] http://nation.com.pk/business/08-Apr-2016/china-fta-must-benefit-pakistan [4] http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-pakistan-idUSKCN0X507K
Bilateral Security and Communication Concerns Addressed In CRSS-CAF Dialogue
Beijing, China: Participants of a bilateral China-Pakistan security dialogue on Friday agreed that improved communication strategies and transparency were central to successful, friction-free implementation of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, the first major component of the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative. It is important for people of both countries to know how both governments are bracing for the political, administrative and security challenges arising from the CPEC projects, Pakistani and Chinese participants concluded at the end of the dialogue held between representatives from the Chinese Association for Friendship (CAF) and Pakistani think tank the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS). The day-long dialogue series addressed a range of issues including the complexities of the security landscape in Pakistan, Pakistan’s response to terrorism and the way forward, China’s role in facilitating political cohesion in Pakistan to ensure success of CPEC and OBOR, the reality and perception of the threats to CPEC, countering the common enemy through state-level strategic communication, and ways to secure CPEC. Chinese scholars from CAF, the Peking University and a members of think tanks gave their assessment of the threats both the CPEC as well as to the ever-growing Pak-China strategic relationship. They underscored the need for a more comprehensive joint approach to counter common threats such as terrorism and religious extremism. A few key points can be gleaned from the discussion that highlight some of the concerns Chinese think tanks have in Pakistan: The instability associated with the region through with the Western Route passes is of major concern. However, given the recent attack in Lahore, and the crackdown in Punjab, the Eastern Route is also a challenging proposition. The three primary security concerns are crime (such as political militancy in Karachi), terrorism (such as ETIM, TTP and IS), and sectarian disharmony within Pakistan, as...
Lessons From Sri Lanka – II
by Imtiaz Gul Can development projects substitute political reconciliation? Rehabilitation, reform and reintegration of ex-combatants, and the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) constitute the four important “R” challenges for post-conflict strategies. If handled in a politically injudicious way, they can hardly prevent a relapse of the rebellion. During my recent visit to Sri Lanka, I saw that Tamil nationalists are still wary of the high-handed and allegedly discriminatory handling of the conflict in the country by Colombo. They are demanding an international probe into the final anti-LTTE assault that reportedly killed tens of thousands in May 2009, and calling for accelerated Tamil-owned development strategies that can help the national integration of the eastern and northern territories. Tamils don’t trust the national Supreme Court, which is dominated by ten Sinhalese judges, although the chief justice is a Tamil. On the face of it, Colombo has done well as far as de-radicalization and rehabilitation are concerned. Soon after the elimination of LTTE chief, the central government threw in a lot of funds for infrastructure development, including massive uplift of road and rail communication. India also chipped in with funding for 43,000 housing units – repairs, reconstruction or entirely new construction – to facilitate Sri Lankan IDPs. They live under the shadows of suspicion In order to placate the Tamil sentiment, as many as 1,500 former LTTE cadres from Jaffna, Killinochi, Mannar, and Vavuniya districts have already been inducted into the army. Over 400 Tamil women have also joined the army since 2013, including close to 100 from Killinochi, once the LTTE stronghold. Besides the military’s plan to recruit 5,000 rehabilitated LTTE cadres from the North and East, the government also has plans to recruit 2,000 Tamil police officers from the Northern and Eastern provinces. But mistrust is a major issue. “It is a Catch-22 situation for the...
Any Judicial Reforms in Sight?
by Imtiaz Gul Pakistanis are great talkers. Charmers. Populists. High on complaints and diagnosis. Low on solutions — pro-active and reactive actions for course correction. The chorus of pontifications and lofty rhetoric from top positions grows ever louder. And people, at large, watch in awe and suffer in misrule. Their expectations, therefore, keep switching from politicians to the military to the judiciary and vice versa. This context also prompted Justice Amir Hani Muslim (March 24) into remarking that 17 judges of the Supreme Court could not make the system of the country right. The nation should not assume that the 17 judges of the Supreme Court could streamline the system of the country. Similarly, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Anwar Zaheer Jamali last week lamented the low conviction rate and called for greater introspection collective efforts within the justice sector and to turn things around. He was addressing a National Judicial Conference on ‘Transforming the Criminal Justice System’. “I have no doubt that the low conviction rate is a matter of concern for us all… no one organisation acting on its own can significantly change the conviction rate, as it requires a collective sector-wide coordinated and concerted effort from all parts of the justice sector,” the CJP said. Legislature, in its wisdom, had taken steps, but “we, as the justice sector, also need to address this scenario… in our respective areas of competence and available resources,” the CJP said. He hit the nail on the head when he pointed that the system’s apparent “inability” to provide justice to the aggrieved, adversely affected public confidence in the formal justice system, encouraging citizens to seek justice by whatever means possible, thereby undermining the formal rule of law. The phrase “justice by whatever means possible” — coming from no other person but the CJP himself — reflects a bitter reality as well as an admission of a bitter reality; in Fata, for instance, the...
CRSS China Watch – April 5, 2016
In an address to a high-level delegation from the Chinese region of Xinjiang and Uyghur, Sindh Governor Ishratul Ebad Khan said that Pakistan and China are time-tested and all-weather friends. He emphasized that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a proof of close friendly relationship between the two states. Further he said that implementation of this mega project would not only result in the creation of jobs in Pakistan but would also pave the way for industrial and economic development. In order to encourage more foreign direct investments in various fields, a special security unit has been formed for the security of the CPEC, the governor said. Chief coordinator Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) Ijaz AKhokhar declared that the PRGMEA had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Chinese textile and apparel companies. He further added that the delegation from China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textile and Apparel tend to appear in Texpo Fair scheduled to be held from 7 to 10 April. It would open the new prospects for the Pakistani merchandise. [1] [1]http://www.brecorder.com/cotton-a-textiles/185/32300/
The Panama Papers: how the world’s rich and famous hide their money offshore
The hidden wealth of some of the world’s most prominent leaders, politicians and celebrities has been revealed by an unprecedented leak of millions of documents that show the myriad ways in which the rich can exploit secretive offshore tax regimes. The Guardian, working with global partners, will set out details from the first tranche of what are being called “the Panama Papers”. Journalists from more than 80 countries have been reviewing 11.5m files leaked from the database of Mossack Fonseca, the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm. The records were obtained from an anonymous source by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and shared by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists with the Guardian and the BBC. Though there is nothing unlawful about using offshore companies, the files raise fundamental questions about the ethics of such tax havens – and the revelations are likely to provoke urgent calls for reforms of a system that critics say is arcane and open to abuse. The Panama Papers reveal: Twelve national leaders are among 143 politicians, their families and close associates from around the world known to have been using offshore tax havens. A $2bn trail leads all the way to Vladimir Putin. The Russian president’s best friend – a cellist called Sergei Roldugin - is at the centre of a scheme in which money from Russian state banks is hidden offshore. Some of it ends up in a ski resort where in 2013 Putin’s daughter Katerina got married. Among national leaders with offshore wealth are Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan’s prime minister; Ayad Allawi, ex-interim prime minister and former vice-president of Iraq; Petro Poroshenko, president of Ukraine; Alaa Mubarak, son of Egypt’s former president; and the prime minister of Iceland, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson. In the UK, six members of the House of Lords, three former Conservative MPs and dozens of donors to British political parties have had offshore assets. The families of at least eight current...
The Drone War – March 2016
US drones and jets killed at least 150 people in Somalia - the highest death toll from a US strike yet recorded anywhere by the Bureau. An American airstrike killed 50 al Qaeda fighters in Yemen - a casualty count not seen there since 2009. Not a single CIA drone strike was reported in Pakistan. Pakistan No CIA drone strikes in Pakistan during a month that saw a Taliban suicide bomber kill more than 60 people in a park in Lahore. Afghanistan There were only five reported US strikes in Afghanistan in March. Based on past experience, this could be a significant underestimate. In February there were 18 US air strikes reported in Afghanistan. This month the US Air Force released its aggregated data for February 2016, which showed that both the total number of strikes and the rate of strikes per day increased from the previous month for the second month running. There were 66 sorties with a weapon release in the 29 days of February, up from 51 in January. The Bureau is collecting data on individual strikes in Afghanistan, summarised above. However not all strikes are reported in open source material. The US Air Force publishes an aggregate summary of strikes in Afghanistan without any casualty information, which we have reproduced below. The figures for March 2016 will be released in the second week of April. Yemen The US Department of Defense publicly announced it had carried out an air strike in Yemen, the first time it had officially addressed an individual strike there. US aircraft killed 50 al Qaeda fighters, the Pentagon said. This was the highest death toll in a single strike in Yemen since US cruise missiles killed 55 civilians in December 2009. At least two more US drone strikes hit Yemen killing eight or nine alleged al Qaeda fighters. Six more drone or air strikes were reported in the month but the Bureau has yet to find conclusive evidence the US was responsible. Somalia US drones and jets killed 150 to 200 people in an attack on an al Shabaab...
Coal-Fired Power Generation in Pakistan Technology, Efficiency and Pollution
Engineer Arshad H. Abbasi In coal-fired power generation, the global trend is towards improving the efficiency of thermal power plants by generating more electricity while using the minimum quantity of fuel (Natural Gas, Coal and Residual Fuel Oil) as well as lowering emissions. In fact, High Efficiency and Low Emissions is the collective mantra of the 21st century with coal-fired power plants in operation having reached a thermal efficiency of 45%. Higher efficiency translates into less consumption of coal to generate a single unit of electricity while reducing carbon dioxide emissions, mercury and local air pollutants, releasing less local air pollutants, consuming less water, and leaving a smaller environmental footprint. Above all, it means lower tariffs for consumers. Download
CRSS Quarterly Security Report Q1, 2016
Despite a continued decline in violence annually and quarterly, the first quarter of 2016 saw a slight upsurge of violence, particularly in the Punjab province, when compared against Q4, 2015. Analysts have long predicted that Punjab will be targeted by extremists as their room to maneuver has been systematically choked in other parts of the country, particularly the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Karachi. Following a horrific bombing in Punjab’s capital Lahore on March 27, 2016, that left 72 dead, many of them Christians celebrating Easter, the focus of the anti-extremism drive finally shifted to Punjab. The next quarter will begin to paint a better picture of the efficacy of the Punjab operation, aimed at eliminating both militants and criminals. While most of the provinces experienced an escalation in violence, the province of Sindh recorded a significant decline in the number of victims of violence during this quarter – an achievement that could be attributed to the ongoing operation in Sindh or to a strategic shift in the policies of the militants. The decline in violence in Sindh, particularly District Karachi – which has historically been the most violent district in the country – puts the total number of fatalities significantly lower than the same time period from 2015. The first quarter also established that despite government and military claims, terrorists and militants have significant inroads into major population centers and are facilitated by locals. The fact that the terrorists can strike at universities, military and civilian infrastructure, and religious gatherings in the country’s second largest city, is a stark reminder that the fight is far from over. To assess and evaluate what new challenges and threats are being faced by the country, this report makes use of the national print and electronic media sources. CRSS endeavors to ensure that the data is as accurate as possible within the available resources. However, it does not...
Sabawoon Showcase: Harnessing Future Leaders (HFL) Program, a Youth Leadership Initiative of CRSS.
The Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) flagship radio program Sabawoon’s latest episode was about the Harnessing Future Leaders (HFL) program, a youth leadership initiativeby CRSS. The central points of discussion were the importance of youth capacity building projects, role and impact of HFL program to sensitize the selected students about issues that are pre-requisite for social peace and harmony, significance of youth engagement in communities for social causes, promoting peace, and enhancing youth leadership qualities. Furthermore, the program also accentuated the outcome of the youth leadership initiative to boost their confidence, communication, conflict resolutionskills in order to understand rule of law, democracy, governance, and civic engagement. The program was aired under the theme of “Da Simi Jaaj” (regional review), on Tuesday 29 March, 2016. Two HFL trained students, Mr. Usman Khan, from College of Global Technologies and Information (CGTI), Charsadda, and Ms. Javeria Hinna, from Abdul Wali Khan University, Pabbi campus Nowshehra, participated as guests in the program. The radio report shared the views of HFL program Manager, trainers, students, and political workers about the importance of the program and the impact of youth capacity building trainings. Mr. Safi Ullah Gul, senior trainer and journalist, said,“HFL was a tremendous opportunity for the students. We taught them rule of law, tolerance for diversity, conflict resolution, leadership, and motivation. I see a big difference in their attitudes and behavior towards social causes now. Before the training most of them were not aware about the terms like democracy, governance, rule of law, civic engagement, etc.” Mr. Mustafa Malik, Program Manager CRSS, said,“This youth leadership initiative of CRSS was focused on building and enhanceing students knowledge and understanding about rule of law, democracy, governance, leadership, rights and responsibilities, interfaith harmony,...
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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.