Current Projects

Sabawoon Showcase: Health Community Protests and Effects on Female Staffers

February 15, 2016, Peshawar: The Center for Research and Security Studies’ (CRSS) flagship radio program Sabawoon’s latest episode was about the effects of Peshawar’s health community protests on female staff members and patients. The episode also covered lack of professionalism in hospital administrators and doctors, absence of basic facilities in operation theaters, importance of first aid for females during emergency, and the lack of basic facilities for female staff members in hospitals. The program, under the theme “Jarga Marraka” (debate and council), was aired on Monday. Dr. Alamgir Yousufzai, President Young Doctors Association (YDA) Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP), took part as a guest in the program. Ms. Gulshan Arra, Vice President of Pakistan Nursing Association, shared her opinions via telephone. A report was made part of the central theme of the program. The report shared the views of the female attendees, Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) Peshawar staff members, and the public about the impacts of health community protests against the proposed health reform bill. Ms. Gul Marjana Bibi, attendee in LRH, said, “Everything is disorganized because of the protest, and it is directly affecting us. It has been two days since I have been waiting for the doctor.” Ms. Alam Naaz Bibi, a female nurse in LRH, said, “Being a female nurse, I am not only supposed to work in the hospital but I have to perform the household chores as well because of our culture and marital status. The hospital administration adopts a non-professional attitude with us. Three nurses are sharing a single room in the hostel which is completely against the ethics. In every protest, we are affected the most because of the male dominance.” A total of five callers participated in the show. They urged the KP government to provide the basic facilities in hospitals and basic health units (BHU) in rural areas, and empower doctors and health practitioners so they can better perform their duties. A caller on the...

Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism in 2016

by Imtiaz Gul Let us first measure as to what year 2015 entailed for Pakistan; as a whole it meant considerable successes for Pakistan against terrorist outfits, religiously-inspired militancy, with world powers such as United States and China rallying around its efforts. The latter in particular went an extra mile by committing unprecedented infrastructure investments worth approximately US$46 billion over the news few years. If realised, this Chinese engagement could potentially be a game-changer both on the economic as well as the security front. It is likely to have pronounced impact on Pakistan’s struggle against economic adversity and jihadist outfits. This backdrop offers somewhat optimism for Pakistan’s battle with religiously-motivated terrorist and militant groups. And the major question staring it is whether Pakistan can build on the relative successes against these groups in 2015 as well as the international empathy and consolidate its gains against these groups in 2016. On the domestic front, as interior minister Chaudhry Nisar explained in his December 11 address at the National Defence University (NDU), the fight against intolerance, extremism and terrorism represents a continuous challenge in the years to come. “These had been plaguing the country for decades and our journey now, to a tolerant and progressive society is a long, painful and arduous task. This would also require an ever more vigorous and sincere implementation of the 20-point National Action Plan (NAP) adopted in December 2014 - virtually the first counter-terrorism roadmap in Pakistan. An associated internal challenge to counter-terrorism efforts is purging the militant and religio-political groups of the the Saudi influence, particularly those currently operating across various borders in south Asia. The war in Syria and the simmering conflicts in Yemen as well as in Iraq are some of the manifestation of how the Saudi geo-political agenda drives political narratives in countries...

Pakistan's Counter-Terrorism in 2016

by Imtiaz Gul Let us first measure as to what year 2015 entailed for Pakistan; as a whole it meant considerable successes for Pakistan against terrorist outfits, religiously-inspired militancy, with world powers such as United States and China rallying around its efforts. The latter in particular went an extra mile by committing unprecedented infrastructure investments worth approximately US$46 billion over the news few years. If realised, this Chinese engagement could potentially be a game-changer both on the economic as well as the security front. It is likely to have pronounced impact on Pakistan’s struggle against economic adversity and jihadist outfits. This backdrop offers somewhat optimism for Pakistan’s battle with religiously-motivated terrorist and militant groups. And the major question staring it is whether Pakistan can build on the relative successes against these groups in 2015 as well as the international empathy and consolidate its gains against these groups in 2016. On the domestic front, as interior minister Chaudhry Nisar explained in his December 11 address at the National Defence University (NDU), the fight against intolerance, extremism and terrorism represents a continuous challenge in the years to come. “These had been plaguing the country for decades and our journey now, to a tolerant and progressive society is a long, painful and arduous task. This would also require an ever more vigorous and sincere implementation of the 20-point National Action Plan (NAP) adopted in December 2014 - virtually the first counter-terrorism roadmap in Pakistan. An associated internal challenge to counter-terrorism efforts is purging the militant and religio-political groups of the the Saudi influence, particularly those currently operating across various borders in south Asia. The war in Syria and the simmering conflicts in Yemen as well as in Iraq are some of the manifestation of how the Saudi geo-political agenda drives political narratives in countries...

Pakistan: What Stands In CPEC’s Way?

When Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled the blueprint for the enormous $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project last year, Pakistan was understandably pleased. The Pakistani government considers the project a game changer for its fragile economic structure. This exhilaration partly stems from the country’s wobbly economic performance in recent years, which has seen it fall short of GDP and other financial targets. The project has also elevated Islamabad’s strategic partnership with the regional superpower. CPEC is viewed as a lifeline for Pakistan, yet three potential obstacles could yet derail this multifaceted project. Provincial Resentment in Pakistan A lack of domestic consensus can hinder development in any part of the world, and CPEC is no exception. When CPEC was initially introduced, every mainstream political party supported it, including the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN-N). However, the enthusiasm turned to deep concern when political parties from economically weak provinces (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan) felt that their province’s reservations about CPEC were not being addressed. This was well described by the Chief Minister of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak, who said, “It is not a western route but merely a road, because it has no such infrastructure that would improve the condition of neglected provinces such as KP, Baluchistan and Gilgit-Baltistan.” Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has already twice chaired an All Parties Conference to address provincial grievances and has formed a committee to tackle the issues. Regional parties from KPK (Tehreek-i-Insaf, Jamat Islami & Awami National Party) and Baluchistan (Baluchistan National Party-Mengal) have also organized APCs to discuss the provincial concerns. The debate has become so heated that China has felt it necessary to put out a statement urging parties to overcome their differences. A spokesman from the Chinese embassy in Islamabad said: “Relevant parties...

Annual Security Report 2015

Compiling and contrasting the data on various forms of violence between 2013 and 2015, this annual report examines various aspects of militancy and the outcome of counter-militancy strategies being pursued by the country under the National Action Plan (NAP) and the counter-terror Zarb-e-Azb operation. To evaluate and assess the marked decline in violence, this report scrutinizes all incidents of violence, number of fatalities of anti-state actors, their victims, the identity of the victims and claimants of crime. It also reviews new methods of criminality and militancy that non-state actors deployed during the last three years and how terror and violence affect citizen’s lives. All assessments and reviews are based on open source data, mostly national print and electronic media. CRSS endeavors to ensure that the data is as accurate as possible within the available resources. However, it does not rule out errors and omissions, which are always a possibility in such statistical work. Such mistakes, nevertheless, do not grossly affect the overall outcome and conclusions of this report. Readers can approach CRSS for information related to this report. Alternately, you may want send your queries to mail@crss.pk, directly to Mohammad Nafees, Senior Research Fellow, CRSS – the author of the report (nafees@crss.pk) or Zeeshan Salahuddin, Senior Research Fellow (zeeshan@crss.pk). Download

Sindh Assembly Approves Hindu Marriage Bill

Senior PPP leader and Sindh Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Nisar Ahmad Khuhro moved the bill in the provincial assembly which was later passed after a debate between the opposition and treasury benches. The bride and groom cannot be less than 18 years, according to the text of the approved draft. Married couples will be required to obtain a marriage registration certificate, while a couple can also face fines in case their marriage is not registered. Zoroastrians and Sikhs will also be able to register their marriages under the new law. Hindus, despite being the second-largest religious minority group in Pakistan, with a population of 3.3 million, had no legal mechanism to register marriages. Unlike the Muslim majority or Christians, Hindus lacked any legal framework for protection of their marriages and are unable to provide legal proof when required. Hindu women have had to face problems in proving their relationships when dealing with officialdom, while widows were particularly disadvantaged. Without official proof of relationships, getting government documents issued or moving forward on any other activity which involves documentation — from opening bank accounts to applying for visas — became next to impossible for any citizen. After the 18th Amendment, the issues of religious minorities and their family matters became provincial subjects but the Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies passed resolutions allowing the federation to legislate Hindu marriage law. A similar resolution is pending in the Punjab Assembly. A draft bill has already been passed by the National Assembly standing committee on law and justice, while Senator Nasreen Jalil, the chairperson of the Senate standing committee on law and justice, has also convened a meeting of the committee to take up the matter. A clause in the draft Hindu Marriage Bill, which states that a marriage will be annulled if any of the spouses converts to another religion, is being vehemently...

India’s Cast System: Untouchables/Muslims at the receiving end

In October 1931, Gandhi said of Ambedkar that “he has every right to be bitter. That he does not break our heads is an act of self-restraint on his part.” Meaning that given the background of the atrocities against him and his communities, Ambedkar was entitled to be harsh with his words. I thought of that as another college protest has attracted the ruling party’s anger. In Delhi, police have registered charges of sedition against students at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) over an event protesting the hanging of Afzal Guru. Sedition is the “the crime of saying, writing, or doing something that encourages people to disobey their government”. The FIR was lodged by the BJP MP from East Delhi, Maheish Girri, who in a written complaint called the students “anti-constitutional and anti-national elements”. Girri also wrote to Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani, telling them “strict action should be taken against the offenders so that such shameful and anti-India activities are not repeated”. This is a repeat of the sequence in Hyderabad where the BJP acted strongly against students protesting the hanging of another man, Yakub Memon. That episode ended with the tragedy of one of the students hanging himself. JNU, which says it had not approved the event, has set up a committee to inquire but again, the same problem of representation has arisen. The students’ union says there is no member on it from marginalised communities. There was a choice here for the BJP. Instead of throwing the book at the students, it could have shown some understanding of the issue, which is linked to caste directly. Why are dalits protesting against hangings in Hyderabad? Why is the focus on Muslims at JNU? Why are the students insisting on representation from marginalised communities when they are being judged by a committee? The fact is that India reserves the death penalty mostly for dalits and Muslims. A study that will be published later this...

India's Cast System: Untouchables/Muslims at the receiving end

In October 1931, Gandhi said of Ambedkar that “he has every right to be bitter. That he does not break our heads is an act of self-restraint on his part.” Meaning that given the background of the atrocities against him and his communities, Ambedkar was entitled to be harsh with his words. I thought of that as another college protest has attracted the ruling party’s anger. In Delhi, police have registered charges of sedition against students at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) over an event protesting the hanging of Afzal Guru. Sedition is the “the crime of saying, writing, or doing something that encourages people to disobey their government”. The FIR was lodged by the BJP MP from East Delhi, Maheish Girri, who in a written complaint called the students “anti-constitutional and anti-national elements”. Girri also wrote to Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani, telling them “strict action should be taken against the offenders so that such shameful and anti-India activities are not repeated”. This is a repeat of the sequence in Hyderabad where the BJP acted strongly against students protesting the hanging of another man, Yakub Memon. That episode ended with the tragedy of one of the students hanging himself. JNU, which says it had not approved the event, has set up a committee to inquire but again, the same problem of representation has arisen. The students’ union says there is no member on it from marginalised communities. There was a choice here for the BJP. Instead of throwing the book at the students, it could have shown some understanding of the issue, which is linked to caste directly. Why are dalits protesting against hangings in Hyderabad? Why is the focus on Muslims at JNU? Why are the students insisting on representation from marginalised communities when they are being judged by a committee? The fact is that India reserves the death penalty mostly for dalits and Muslims. A study that will be published later this...

Making sense of the CPEC Controversy — III

by Rafiullah Kakar In my previous articles on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, I deconstructed the government’s claims about having prioritised the western route of the project as well as critically examined the various justifications advanced by those defending the prioritisation of the eastern route. In the concluding part of this series of articles, I aim to examine the way our public policy is developed and the trade-off that often occurs between concerns for equity and those for efficiency. Specifically, I will deconstruct the public policy paradigm underlying the arguments advanced in favour of the eastern route. Public policies aimed at regional development have traditionally tended to focus on the trade-off between equity and efficiency. Most of the arguments advanced to justify the prioritisation of the eastern route of the CPEC are based on the technocratic efficiency-based criterion. There are three major flaws in this line of reasoning. First, the efficiency-based criterion ignores the history of past injustices and the absence of a level playing field between the developed and the lagging regions of the country. Pakistan inherited regional inequality from the colonial period. The British had strategic interests in contemporary Balochistan, Fata and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and therefore developed only the infrastructure that was vital for defence logistics. In contrast, they had deep economic and political interests in Punjab and Sindh. The infrastructure developed in these regions favoured agricultural growth and industrialisation. After Pakistan’s creation, the post-colonial ruling elite did very little to undo economic and political inequality among the different ethnic groups and regions. Power asymmetries among ethno-regional groups reinforced regional disparities and ensured that resource distribution remained biased in favour of Punjab. The fact that Pakhtun representation in the military and the bureaucracy significantly increased and...

Sabawoon Showcase: Regional review on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)

February 9, 2016, Peshawar: The Center for Research and Security Studies’ (CRSS) flagship radio program Sabawoon’s latest episode reviewed the security situation of the educational institutions in KP. The second part of the program focused on psychological stresses on the students, after terrorist attacks on Army Public School (APS) Peshawar and Bacha Khan University (BKU) Charsadda, lack of women and minorities’ participation in electoral system, and the development schemes in FATA’s Khyber Agency. The program, under the theme ‘Da Simi Jaaj’ (regional view), was aired on Tuesday. Mr. Muhammad Fahad Khan, District Nazim Charsadda, took part as a guest via telephone. Four reports were made part of the program from the districts of Charsadda, Peshawar, Swat and Khyber Agency. The first report shared the details about the security situation in the Government Girls High School (GGHS) Aziz Khail, Charsadda, and its impact on the students. Ms. Johar Taaj, Principal, GGHS said, “The boundary wall of the school has collapsed, due to which we are always in fear. I have requested relevant authorities, but I have not received any response yet. Students have a constant fear of a terrorist attack, due to which many students don’t come to attend the classes.” A student of this school, Ms. Zuhra, said, “If the government is not able to allocate funds for us, they should let us know, so that we will start a fundraising campaign to solve this issue.” Mr. Ikram Khan, a father of four daughters, who are all studying in GGHS, said, “I cannot send my daughters to their school because of the security reason. When they are in school, I am constantly praying for their safe return.’’ The second report emphasized the impacts of terrorist attacks on APS Peshawar and BKU Charsadda. These attacks are the reason of psychological stress in the students, which does not allow them to attend their school, colleges, and universities. Ms. Munawar, a school teacher, said, “We have become...