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India-Pakistan Relations:
by: Vinod Sharma Are The Two Nsas Scripting The New India-Pakistan Lexicon Of Peace? They’re talking but not through the media — which they’ve used only to let their actions speak. It’s a relatively new experiment in Indo-Pak relations bedevilled historically by vituperative slugs. Gentle nudges seem to be working for now. The etymology of the new lexicon could be in the growing chemistry — and suggestions of trust — between the two national security advisers. Their off-camera engagements have yielded results — including a terror alert last week to New Delhi from Islamabad. The optimism stems as much from other signals: Pakistan lodging an FIR on the Pathankot attack; its foreign minister saying a phone number the attackers used was traced to Jaish-e-Mohammed’s Bahavalpur base; the information that JeM chief Masood Azhar is in custody. Against this backdrop has come a bigger straw in the wind— the hanging on February 29 of Mumtaz Qadri, a police commando who pumped bullets into West Punjab governor Salman Taseer for seeking reforms in the country’s blasphemy laws. Politically, the execution is a big deal for the Sharif brothers — Nawaz and Shahbaz — given its religious-political implications in their home province. Qadri was deified after the 2011 killing by a rabid assortment of Mullahs and advocates. They feted and garlanded him for taking out the very person he was assigned to safeguard. The hanging and the intelligence alert NSA Ajit Doval received from Pakistani counterpart Naseer Janjua on possible cross-border attacks during Mahashivratri, could be read as a gingerly shift to containing, if not immediately confronting, anti-India groups based in the country’s eastern enclaves in Punjab. A Pakistani official distinguished the push in the east from the army’s Zarb-e-Azb operation on the Af-Pak border in the west. “The task in Punjab isn’t easy as it cannot be performed militarily,” he reasoned. In southern Punjab where groups such as JeM have formidable...
Respecting Diversity: Teachers Asked To Instill Civic Sense in Students
Every teacher has a broad role-modelling duty to inspire future leaders and responsibility for passing on sense of citizenry. While engaging with fundamental issues, there is need to reflect that every human being is equal regardless of gender, background, culture and religion. Fundamental human rights are global rights. These remarks were made by Australian High Commissioner Margaret Adamsonon Wednesday. She was speaking at closing ceremony of first round of collaborative workshops by Pakistan Centre of Excellence (PACE). Australia is one of the most diverse countries, she said. It has many minorities from its indigenous people to smaller communities that have arrived over the period of extensive migration that Australia has experienced and indeed welcomed, the envoy said. Centre for Research and Strategic Studies (CRSS) Executive Director Imtiaz Gul said that the idea of counter-radicalisation initiative was to reach out to potential opinion multipliers and induce them into critical thinking through a discourse anchored in fundamental global values such as socio-political diversity, acceptance of diversity, rule of law and equal citizenry. Dr SM Junaid Zaidi, founder rector of Comsats assured full support to the initiative and said that they were happy to collaborate for the programme and values and respect for peace. Dr Arshad Malik from Comsats also stressed that teachers should impart fundamental global values among students. The resource persons and intellectuals who interacted with participating lecturers and professors from different universities across the country included Dr AH Nayyar, Afia Salam, Safiullah Gul, Piotr Blacerowicz, Jahangir Khattak, Gulmina Bilal, Rehman Azhar, Jibran Nasir, Zeeshan Salahuddin and Malik Mustafa. The discussion themes were primarily rule of law, tolerance, diversity, fundamental human rights, equal citizenry and democracy and governance. PACE, a key initiative of CRSS, is cross-cutting, disciplinary and national while...
Pakistan’s Magnificent Human Capital Relies of Teachers’ Wisdom, Australian Envoy in Pakistan
Every teacher has a broad role modeling duty to inspire the future leaders and responsibility for passing on the sense of citizenry. Australia is one of the most diverse countries on earth and has many minorities from its indigenous people to smaller communities that have arrived over the period of extensive migration that Australia has experienced and has indeed welcomed. While engaging with fundamental issues, there also needs to reflect that every human being is equal regardless of the gender, background, culture, religion. Fundamental human rights are global rights. PACE - a key initiative of the CRSS - is cross cutting, disciplinary and national while engaging in the large global issues of today. These remarks were made by Ms. Margaret Adamson, Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan during the closing ceremony of Pakistan Center of Excellence’s (PACE) first round of collaborative workshops; a five day residential training program from March 5-9, 2016. PACE is a major CVE initiative launched by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) - with the support from the government of Netherlands and in partnership with the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology - to promote democratic values, respect for diversity, fundamental human rights and virtues of tolerance as a measure of ensuring social peace and harmony for peaceful co-existence. It aims to facilitate a socio-political discourse – the Alternate Narrative on democratic rights and responsibilities anchored in the globally accepted and practiced concepts such as Rule of Law, Equal Citizenry, Secular Governance as a primary condition for social cohesion, and Tolerance for, and acceptance of cultural diversity. The resource persons and public intellectuals who interacted with the participating university lecturers and professors from different universities across Pakistan included Dr. A.H. Nayyer, Ms. Afia Salam, Mr. Safiullah Gul, Mr. Piotr Blacerowicz, Mr. Jahangir Khattak, Ms. Gulmina Bilal,...
Intelligence Cooperation: A Game Changer?
by Imtiaz Gul Maha Shivratri is one of the biggest Hindu festivals that is celebrated with great fervour in India. It fell on March 7 this year but not without a bit of anxiety for many; both New Delhi, and parts of the state of Gujarat were placed on a high alert on the day following a tip-off on a possible terror attack by 8-10 Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists. The caution came from Pakistan’s national security adviser, General Nasser Khan Janjua, who informed his Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval, about a group of fidayeen from the LeT and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) cadres, possibly on a mission to a major strike in Gujarat. This alert, Indian national media reported, spurred four teams of the National Security Guard (NSG) to rush to Gujarat to reinforce security cover at and around vital installations and famous pilgrimage centres in the state. Quite a bit of drama that, ironically, placed the name of Pakistan on the radar of the Indian media the whole day. This time, for a mix of good and bad news though. The bad centered on LeT and JeM militants and the good related to the alert from General Janjua to counterpart Doval. This helped in dampening the noises about Pakistan, and some even talked of a possible game changer in the bilateral acrimonious ties. Most commentators such as Vivek Katju and Rana Banerji, a former special secretary of RAW, and AS Dulat welcomed the news, albeit with ifs and buts. Katju, who had led the negotiations for the release of the hijacked flight 814 from Kandahar in December 1999 and later served as the Indian ambassador to Afghanistan, said prima facie the intelligence sharing augured well and we should welcome it. “This sort of cooperation is certainly new. It hasn’t happened before and needs to be taken seriously,” Banerji said during the same show. “We need more time to assess things — how constant is the change or whether the Pakistani side is playing safe,” Banerji was quoted byHindustan Times. The Hindustan Times also quoted AS...
CRSS China Watch – March 08, 2016
Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak reminded the Federal Minister for Planning and Development, Ahsan Iqbal of the commitment made for the construction of ‘western route’ under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He inquired for the proper implementation of the decisions on the agreed terms on the commitments made. Moreover, he demanded for a written acknowledgment. [1] While commenting on the draft outline of 13th five-year plan, presented to the on-going session of the 12th National People's Congress for review, it was asserted by the officials that Chinese leaders are very keen to pursue the CPEC and other such projects for bilateral economic growth. They are entirely committed to endorse an open and shared development. [2] Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal signified the strategic importance of the CPEC. According to him, the CPEC compliments every part of the economy and it would accelerate the regional economic growth. [3] [1] http://nation.com.pk/national/06-Mar-2016/kp-asks-centre-to-fulfil-pledges-on-cpec-western-route [2] http://nation.com.pk/international/06-Mar-2016/pakistan-s-economic-corridor-projects-part-of-china-s-future-economic-strategy-officials [3] http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=392345&Itemid=2
PACE Launch: Opinion Multipliers Critical to Promote Democratic Values and Tolerance, Dutch Amb. Seppen says
CRSS Executive Director and Dutch Ambassador Mrs. Jeannette Seppen at the PACE launch event March 5, 2016, Islamabad: Participation of opinion multipliers in the potential exercise of tolerance and dialogue was the need of the hour, Mrs. Jeannette Seppen, Ambassador of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Islamabad, Pakistan. She was speaking at the inaugural session - held at COMSATS Islamabad - of Pakistan Center of Excellence (PACE), a major CVE initiative launched by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), anchored in the universally acknowledged democratic values promoting globally practiced fundamental concepts. “For the Netherlands, all issues of radicalization, extremism and fundamentalism have been a priority agendas across all those countries where we are involved through our international cooperation”, said Jeannette while adding that with the Dutch Military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq, they duly followed these issues from close by; maintaining its reputation of tolerance. Mr. Imtiaz Gul, Executive Director, CRSS, after showing a brief video to the audiences that encapsulated some of the ideals that prompted the creation of the Pakistan Center of Excellence for peace, said that these ideals also resonated those core values that are acknowledged, practiced and respected as fundamental to social harmony, political peace and national cohesion. “PACE is anchored in the central theme of equal citizenry and the rule of law because these are the critical values that can and may minimize conflict and help promote peace and generate respect for diversity of thought, faith and ethnicity. Mr. Gul said that that by sticking to the constitution, by promoting respect for the universal declaration of human rights, and by creating awareness on the UN indicators for rule of law and equal citizenry, we could help rationalize the conversation on governance, national unity, peace and harmony. For this critical thinking is...
Historical Baggage at Kabul Airport
by Imtiaz Gul A parliamentarian’s experience reveals the deep mistrust between Pakistan and Afghanistan Parliamentarian Shazia Marri’s recent experience at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul shows how Pakistan and Afghanistan have a heavy baggage of historical acrimony and mutual suspicion to deal with. Ms Shazia Marri flew from Karachi to Kabul – via Dubai – on March 1, to participate in the Pakistan-Afghanistan Beyond Boundaries Track II initiative. The organizers couldn’t make it to the protocol to receive her because the entire airport and the road leading to it had been literally sealed off due to two VVIP movements. Marri approached the immigration desk on her own. But to her surprise, the immigration officer got into an awkward, unwarranted microscopic scrutiny of her official passport. Meanwhile, he let an Indian passenger through with a wink, according to the member of Pakistan’s National Assembly. He began to ask her why the phrase “double entry” was handwritten. “He also tried to fault the visa, issued by the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad, on other flimsy grounds, holding me up for nearly 25 minutes,” an upset Shazia Marri recalled on the sidelines of the meeting. “Immigration staff the world over do not treat people with official passports the way the Afghan officer treated me,” she said. Her experience surprised many in the hall. Tensions are especially high at a delicate time in the region’s history. But there is a background to how the Afghans view Pakistanis today. Afghanistan voted against Pakistan’s United Nations membership nearly seven decades ago. And the Afghans remember Pakistan’s role in the anti-Soviet jihad and the War on Terror – both led by the US. For some Afghans, Pakistan has become the “near enemy”, while all those who funded and guided the two aforementioned geo-political ventures have either been forgotten, or are seen as the “far enemy” and thus remain immune from these suspicions. Security clearances for projects take...
Pakistan is Committed to the Peace Process, Pakistani Envoy in Kabul
The visiting Pakistani delegation of the third regional security workshop, Beyond Boundaries, met with Syed Abrar Hussain, Ambassador of Pakistan to Afghanistan on Sunday, February 28, 2016 at the Embassy premises. The Ambassador gave run-down of the bilateral talks as well as the developments since the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) peace mechanism came into being on the sidelines of the Heart of Asia conference in December 2015 at Islamabad. “Peace process; though a long procedure, lengthy and tedious but the only solution to bring peace and stability”, the ambassador said while stressing that talks should not be scuttled by the spoilers and those who are opposed to peace in Afghanistan and the region. He pointed out that securing Taliban’s commitment, bringing them on table for dialogue was the joint responsibility of all four stakeholders in the QCG (Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the United States). “Pakistan is committed to the peace process and will undertake all possible efforts for collective peace in the region”, he added. Underscoring the need for CBMs to lend credibility to the dialogue, the ambassador said that the dialogue should be result-oriented with meaningful talks on the peace agenda. “The media and journalists can play an enormously significant role in improving the perceptions on both sides and thus, both governments should help facilitate interactions between them”, said the ambassador while highlighting the role of media in the peace talks as a solution to the issues of acrimony and mistrust. Pakistan has - publically - several times reiterated its resolve for afghan peace process. Its sincere efforts for regional peace and friendship should not be maligned by anyone. Pakistan stresses talks so that the reconcilable and irreconcilables are identified.
Sabawoon Showcase: Lack of Female Participation in the Social Decision Making Process
March 2, 2016, Peshawar: The Center for Research and Security Studies’ (CRSS) flagship radio program Sabawoon’s latest episode was about the lack of women’s participation in the decision making processes in our daily life. The program discussed the isolation of females from the Jarga system, role of females in household chores, lack of access to basic rights, dearth of information on said rights. The program also discussed the role of elected females in national and provincial level legislation, pressures on women in social decision making, exclusion of women from political and public leadership, and lack of family support for females to contribute in the workforce. The program, under the theme of “Jwandey Jazbey” (alive spirits), was aired on Wednesday. Ms. Shumaila Khan, president Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Students’ Organization Female Wing, participated as the studio guest in the program. A field report from district Swat was included in the program. The report accentuated the findings of the first session of a Swat-based women’s assembly. Ms. Najma Gul, member of this Swat assembly, said, “We the females are always facing hurdles, inside the home and outside. It seems that we have to solve all these problem by ourselves, because others are not interested in solving our problems.” The speaker of the assembly, Ms. Sajida Iftikhar, said, “In national and provincial assemblies most of the females are selected on reserves seats. They don’t have any input in the legislation process that ultimately brings male dominated laws. Women need to take an active part in politics so that we can come up with some positive legislation for females.” Ms. Tabassum Adnan, member of Swat assembly, said, “This was our first session, all the findings and recommendations will be forwarded to pronvicial and national assemblies for necessary actions. I hope this platform will help to empower women with their basic rights at least.” Ms. Shumaila Khan, President FATA...
We Want Policy Changes, Not Hospitals, Afghan Dy. Foreign Minister
We don’t need hospitals or roads from Pakistan. We need those policies to change which have caused destruction in the past decades and continue to do so, Hikmet Karzai, Afghanistan’s deputy foreigner minister told a delegation on the sidelines of a Pak-Afghan Track11/1.5 in Kabul; Beyond Boundaries an initiative launched by an Islamabad based Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) - in partnership with its Afghan counterpart organization, DURAN Research and Analysis (DRA). No amount of funding, dams or hospitals will help the bilateral relationship as much a perceptible change in the policies that have harmed Pakistan as much as Afghanistan and we need to collectively fight the consequences of those policies, he underlined. Hikmet Karzai also acknowledged that as of now, Pakistan has been forthcoming as far as its commitment to the peace process within the QCG framework was concerned. For us state to state relations are the most important as long as this is based on respect for our sovereignty and commitment to fight all those elements that are killing our innocent people. Karzai pointed out that although the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) rests on respective roles of all four stakeholders, Pakistan’s role is the most critical in the reconciliation process. As the QCG about to kick off with high expectations attached to it, Karzai said, it offers us an opportunity to tell the new generation that Pakistan is playing an important role in the reconciliation efforts through. “Pakistan has the leverage and influence with Taliban leaders which we expect it to use. We also expect that the leverage needs to be used against all those elements who the QCG members feel are not amenable to peace in Afghanistan,” Karzai told the delegates. His remarks came a few hours after Pakistan’s advisor on foreign affairs, Sartaj Aziz for the first time publicly admitted that the Afghan Taliban’s leadership enjoys a safe haven inside his country Speaking at the Council...
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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.