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CRSS China Watch – January 22, 2016
The recent terrorist attack at Bacha Khan University in Pakistan was strongly condemned by China, said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Hong Lei. China firmly opposes the militant attacks on innocent civilians[1] The Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafiq assured to the Senate body that the railways track will be stretched up to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Hassani highlighted that the center had deprioritized railways in the KP by assigning only $ 3.78 billion for the Railway. The ministry of railways was asked to present the complete record of railway land in the next meeting of the committee. The minister added that the demand of rise in the salaries of railway police has also been forwarded to the Prime Minister for evaluation.[2] [1] http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=383522&Itemid=1 [2] http://nation.com.pk/business/22-Jan-2016/cpec-govt-vows-to-extend-rail-track-to-fata
Status of Minorities: strangers in their own land
by Zeeshan Salahuddin On Tuesday, January 19, a private research institute in Islamabad released their second report on minorities titled “State of Religious Freedoms in Pakistan”. The publication documents and maps incidents of violence and atrocities against minorities since 2012, and the findings are shocking. With the advent of the National Action Plan (NAP), other institutions such as the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) have determined that the incidents of violence overall (and thus violence against minorities) have gone down in the last calendar year, this publication reports at least 351 incidents of violence against minorities since 2012. Minorities in Pakistan have always been presented as soft targets, easy picking for sectarian groups, and in recent years, even non-sectarian elements. The primary groups that suffer as a result of the state’s weak response are Shias (including Hazaras and sub-sects), Christians, Ahmedis and Hindus. Since 2012, 40 attacks of varying scale and intensity were carried out against the Christian community, the most significant ones being a massive arson attack on Joseph Colony in Lahore, and a church bombing in Peshawar. Christians account for 2.5 million individuals in Pakistan. During this period seven churches were damaged, and 14 Christians were charged with blasphemy. As stated before, the amount of violence in the country has declined overall, which also lowers the incidents of violence against minorities overall. However, through interviews, it is evident that the Christian community feels marginalized, a second class of citizen, unprotected practically despite being protected constitutionally, and a non-priority for the state. There has been an increase in violence against Shias Nearly 1 million Hindus reside in Pakistan, with 80% of them hailing from Sindh. Hindus bear the additional issue of being discriminated against institutionally, as they are labelled as untrustworthy, vile, and evil traitors,...
Quadrilateral Coordination Group: Roadmap to Reconciliation
Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and the US met in Kabul on January 18 for the 2nd Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) meeting to devise a roadmap for peace in Afghanistan. The meeting can be seen as a step forward, because its primary objective was to build on the work done in the first meeting at Islamabad on January 11. That is, to develop the roadmap for resuming the reconciliation process, which was suspended in July last year after the news of Taliban chief Mullah Omar’s death two years ago caused anger in Kabul. China’s special envoy on Afghanistan, Deng Xijun, and the US Ambassador to Afghanistan, P Michael McKinley, also participated in the meeting. Their presence resulted in reaffirmations by both Pakistan and Afghanistan of their commitment to fighting terrorist groups of ‘all shades’. In a joint statement issued at the conclusion of the meeting, the four countries reported “progress on the roadmap”. It also called upon all Taliban groups to enter into early talks with the Afghan government. The only substantive progress discernible from the statement was agreements on combating terrorism of all sorts and having better ties, diplomatic sources said. “The QCG countries agree that all forms of terrorism present a grave threat to the countries, the region and the world. The members indicated their commitment to a robust effort to eliminate all forms of terrorist groups, regardless of their national origin, operating in their respective territories,” said the statement. Pakistani officials, however, insist that the appeal to all Taliban for joining the talks marked a step forward, in a way – an apparent departure from the Afghan insistence on a crackdown against all Afghan insurgents it says are operating out of havens in Pakistan. Is Mullah Akhtar Mansoor the master interlocutor? This has been a major sticking point between Islamabad and Kabul. Afghan officials believe an all-out offensive first will force the militants into submission and compel them to...
State of Minorities in Pakistan
Violence against religious minorities in Pakistan has seen a considerable rise in recent years. Non-Muslims constitute about three percent of Pakistan’s estimated population of 200 million. Some 20 percent of the rest are Shia Muslims. Prominent among the non-Muslim minority groups are Christians (2.5 million), Hindus (1 million), and Ahmadis (3 million, considered as non-Muslims according to the Pakistani constitution). During the 2012-2015 period, as many as 351 cases of violence against religious minorities were reported. Christians, Hindus, Ahmadis and Shia Muslims remained major victims of religious discrimination.[i] Christians form the major part of the minority population and during 2012-2015 this community remained vulnerable to sexual assaults, harassment and forced conversions in some parts of the country. Some 14 Christians were charged under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws. Nearly 40 attacks on the Christian community, including seven churches, were also reported during the period under discussion[ii]. The All Saints Church in Peshawar suffered the deadliest assault in September 2013, which left over 100 worshippers dead. Discrimination towards Ahmadis led to the killing of 39 people during 2014-2015. In 2012, six places of worship of the Ahmadis were attacked. According to Ahmadis, they constantly face humiliation, threats to life and property by extremist groups. Anti-Ahmadi laws have played a vital role in separating the Ahmadi community from the majority population of the state. Hindu community also remained a target of abduction, forced marriages, rape of girls and kidnappings. These factors compel them to migrate to India. In Larkana, a Hindu community center was damaged by the extremist groups in 2014. Biased curriculum has been portraying Hindu minorities as evil and untrustworthy. Shia’s in Pakistan remained a greater victim of religious intolerance. There were 23 attacks on Imambargahs and Shia mosques, 203 target killings and 1304...
CRSS China Watch – January 21, 2016
Pak-China Trade Swells from $9.3b To $11.8b In One Year Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif has said that China is the most reliable friend, has always stood with Pakistan and helped it in all respects. He was speaking at Pakistan-China Business Opportunities Conference jointly organized by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Punjab Board of Investment & Trader (PBIT). A 100-member Chinese delegation also attended the Conference while LCCI President Sheikh Muhammad Arshad, Senior Vice President Almas Hyder, Vice President Nasir Saeed also spoke on the occasion while Consul General of China in Lahore Yu Boren, Chairman Pak-China Friendship Association Sha Zukang, Provincial Minister Ayesha Ghous Pasha, Chairman Punjab Board of Investment & Trade Abdul Basit, former LCCI Presidents, Senior Vice Presidents, Vice Presidents and Executive Committee Members were also present in the Conference. Chief Minister Punjab said that China is a very important partner in Pakistan Economic Development and Bilateral trade. The involvement of Chinese enterprises both in term of technical and financial assistance in several development projects is reflective of our cordial relations based on mutual trust and sincerity. Shahbaz Sharif termed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as an energy and infrastructure program with the investment of $46bn in Pakistan. He said that $ 46 billion is the biggest investment ever made by China in any foreign country. This program, he said, when completed would help end power outages in the country, and ensure seamless connectivity between China, South and Central Asia. He said that investment climate is getting better with every passing day due to best policies of Punjab government and all possible facilities are being provided to foreign investors. The LCCI President Sheikh Muhammad Arshad said that both the countries not only share border but also have unanimity of views on various political & economic issues. He said...
Sabawoon Showcase: Terrorist Attacks on Bacha Khan University, Other Institutes and its After effects
January 20, 2016, Peshawar: The Center for Research and Security Studies’ (CRSS) flagship radio program Sabawoon’s latest episode was about the terrorist attack on Bacha Khan University (BKU) Charsadda. The program also discussed a new wave of terrorism in Pakistan after the National Action Plan (NAP), psychological pressures on students due to continuous terrorist attacks on educational institutions, threats to educational institutions in Peshawar and Charsadda from terrorists groups, security monitoring in educational institutions, and the role of mainstreaming the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in countering terrorism. The program aired on Wednesday under the theme of ‘Jwandey Jazbey’ (alive spirits). Two journalists from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Mr. Aziz Buneri, and Mr. Inam Ullah, took part as guests in the program. While Ms. Summaya Tehseen, a student of BKU and eyewitness of the BKU terrorist attack, Mr. Saeed Khan, Public Relations Officer, BKU, and Mr. Shah Hussain, the father of a martyred BKU staff member, participated live via telephone calls. A live report from BKU highlighted the program’s central theme. The report shared the details about the terrorist attack. The reporter, said, “It was 09:00 am. The terrorists attacked the BKU campus from the cover of fog, gaining entrance from the back. They entered the hostel and start firing. The incident has taken 20 lives so far, including 16 students and 4 staff members.” A caller on the show, Mr. Niaz Ali Shah, said, “It is one the toughest situations for us, we need to be united in this stance to fight against terrorism. The government should play their role to counter terrorist activities efficiently, and prevent them from happenning.” Mr. Shah Hussain, Father of a BKU martyred staff member “I lost my son in this tragic incident, but I haven’t lost the courage to fight against terrorists. We have lost thousands of people in the war against terrorism. We will stand firm to fight them. Even if...
PIA too likely to land in Chinese Hands
State Minister for Privatisation Mohammad Zubair said on Tuesday that the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) would be on sale in the next one to two months whereas marketing process of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) privatisation will be started after the completion/resolution of some issues. He made these remarks while addressing the "Pakistan-China Business Friendship Conference" organised by the Commerce Ministry. PIA, the state-owned airline, is at its last stage of the privatisation process, said the minister, adding that they have already been talking to some of the private Chinese Airlines who have shown a lot of interest in this regard. He said they will start the marketing process after resolving some issues so it is being delayed for one to two months. The minister said there are a lot of investment opportunities in the country and especially for the Chinese investors. The government is talking about the PSM privatisation and it would be on sale in the next one to two months. In September, a road show was carried in China where a lot of positive response was received. The minister said that Pakistan significantly depends on Chinese investment and trade to boost its economy. There are a lot of investment opportunities not only for the local but for foreigners and Chinese investors especially, he said. Pakistan prefers China over other countries because of its ties with China and they needed to be further converted into meaningful economic relations. There is another way of investment in Pakistan and that is through the privatisation process, said the minister, adding that the objectives of privatisation in the country were to enhance service delivery to the people, strengthen Pakistan's fiscal position, attract private capital, technology and management and deepen Pakistan's capital markets. There are two modes of privatisation (i) strategic sale/Public-Private Partnership which comprises complete or partial sale of assets and business with transfer of...
The Mystery of Radicalisation
Intelligentsia in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation countries has miserably failed in offering genuine diagnoses and recipes for contemporary issues, such as religious radicalisation and terrorism mostly perpetrated by Muslims in countries of their origin and elsewhere. Surprisingly, ever since 19 suicide attackers flew commercial aircraft into the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in September 2001, most of the narrative on the phenomenon of religious radicalisation and terrorism has come from Western sources. This narrative has often centred on poverty, unemployment and ignorance (illiteracy) as the prime drivers of discontent. Intellectually unchallenged by Muslim scholars, Western officials, media and intelligentsia also coined phrases such as ‘countering violent extremism (CVE)’ — denoting terrorism being perpetrated by Muslim attackers. To the misfortune of the majority, the intelligentsia in Muslim societies kept parroting this terminology. It failed even in drawing a distinction between counter-radicalisation and deradicalisation. That is why a whole body of literature on CVE emerged during the last decade, the primary assumption of which was that poverty, economic adversity and denial of rights give birth to extremism that eventually translates into violent terrorism. And hence, we have seen countless interventions designed for counter-radicalisation based on these assumptions. By invoking the term, ‘violent terrorism’, authors inadvertently, or by design, equated terrorists, organised crime and geo-political proxies to ordinary Muslims, implying that the phenomenon was concentrated in Islamic countries only. This was an over-simplification of political and ideological issues. In fact, the dominant majority in Islamic countries does not subscribe to the radical ideologies of al Qaeda and its regional franchises, the Afghan Taliban, the TTP or even the Hizbut Tahrir. If poverty were one of the prime drivers of terrorism, how many of the nearly 400...
CRSS China Watch – January 19, 2016
The Senate Special Committee on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor steered a meeting over the alleged irregularities in the contract. The meeting was presided by its convener and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senator Taj Haider. The purpose of meeting was to show critical concerns for the loopholes in the tendering process of Karachi-Lahore Motorway. The committee requested for the comprehensive record of CPEC projects from the concerned divisions and asked the government to submit the report in the subsequent meeting.[1] Speaking in the opening session of the two-day Pak-China Business opportunities conference, the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan Sun Weidong declared that with the 3.6 billion dollar investment, the government of China has instigated its tycoons to invest in Pakistan. He affirmed the efficient execution of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.[2] The President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain also endorsed the significance of CPEC project in the Pak-China bilateral economic terms. Talking about the investment strategy 2013-17, he said that by the implementation of investment strategy, the government deliberated to attract more foreign direct investments.[3] [1] http://nation.com.pk/national/19-Jan-2016/senate-panel-on-cpec-shows-concern [2] http://dailythepatriot.com/china-satisfied-with-smooth-functioning-of-cpec-sun-weidong/ [3] http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2016/01/18/news/cpec-gives-a-new-dimension-to-pak-china-economic-ties-president/
Top Chinese University Hacked by Islamic State Infiltrator: reports
A hacker proclaiming allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group infiltrated the internal network of one of China’s top universities to display images of masked and mounted militants, reports said Monday. The hacker also reprogrammed pages of Tsinghua University’s in-house course portal to display Arabic verses from Islamic scripture accompanied by music, a student newspaper at the Beijing institution reported. Instead of displaying links to class resources and departmental information, the site showed a photo of four hooded fighters on horseback riding beneath the flag of Islamic State, according to screenshots. The cyber-intruder identified himself as an “Islamic State Hacker”. “God is great, I am unafraid of death, dying a martyr’s death is my ultimate goal,” reports translated an Arabic message as reading. The student newspaper report was widely reposted by state-run media, but the original has since been deleted. Mainland China operates some of the tightest online controls in the world, with content deemed to be sensitive deleted and access to some Western websites blocked. China’s far western region of Xinjiang is home to the mostly Muslim Uighur minority and the scene of sporadic, bloody violence which the ruling Communist Party attributes to separatist religious extremists with overseas links. Critics accuse Beijing of discriminating against Uighur culture and religion. Chinese state-run media have accused Uighurs of trying to escape the country to join terrorist groups abroad. The department responsible for maintenance of Tsinghua University’s website declined to confirm the incident to AFP. Tsinghua, in Beijing, quickly shut down the server after the breach on Sunday evening was discovered, the reports said Publisehd on http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2016/01/18/foreign/top-chinese-university-hacked-by-islamic-state-infiltrator-reports/
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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.