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Now we’re at War? We’ve been at War since 9/11, from Paris to Peshawar

Peshawar, Pakistan: a suicide bombing has torn through a police cadet parade and scores of people are dead. I arrive to find fresh blood staining the ground. A mangled motorcycle is strewn across the road. Cars are burned out and upended; shop windows are shattered. Bits of human flesh are embedded in the shrapnel-marked walls of surrounding buildings. Be’er Sheva, Israel: two buses have exploded. There is shattered glass, twisted wreckage and a convoy of ambulances ferrying the dead and wounded. There is already talk of reprisals against the Palestinian militants who have carried out this attack. Southern Thailand: Islamic separatists have taken shelter inside a mosque after launching a series of violent raids. In the preceding months there have been killings, bombings, beheadings. Now the Thai military open fire killing all inside the building. Soon after, I walk through the still smouldering mosque. There is blood dripping from the overhead fans. These are just some of the acts of terrorism I have covered as a reporter over the past 15 years. To this list I can add similar attacks in Egypt, Afghanistan, Gaza, Indonesia, China. This has been the pattern since al-Qaida targeted the United States on September 11 2001. Now we have the events in Paris and we are told this is war. What are we thinking? It has been war for more than a decade. For people living in Afghanistan, Pakistan or parts of the Middle East it has been even longer. We are rightly stunned and appalled at the loss of life and the brutality in France. But sadly, we should not be surprised. Just a day a before the Paris attacks, more than 40 people were killed in suicide bombings in Beirut. These were the deadliest acts since the end of Lebanon’s civil war in 1990. Only a month ago more than 100 people died in a terrorist attack in Ankara, Turkey. The country has been torn apart by violence this year. In July dozens were killed in a suicide bombing in Suruç. Now, we are told this is war? It was war...

Now we're at War? We've been at War since 9/11, from Paris to Peshawar

Peshawar, Pakistan: a suicide bombing has torn through a police cadet parade and scores of people are dead. I arrive to find fresh blood staining the ground. A mangled motorcycle is strewn across the road. Cars are burned out and upended; shop windows are shattered. Bits of human flesh are embedded in the shrapnel-marked walls of surrounding buildings. Be’er Sheva, Israel: two buses have exploded. There is shattered glass, twisted wreckage and a convoy of ambulances ferrying the dead and wounded. There is already talk of reprisals against the Palestinian militants who have carried out this attack. Southern Thailand: Islamic separatists have taken shelter inside a mosque after launching a series of violent raids. In the preceding months there have been killings, bombings, beheadings. Now the Thai military open fire killing all inside the building. Soon after, I walk through the still smouldering mosque. There is blood dripping from the overhead fans. These are just some of the acts of terrorism I have covered as a reporter over the past 15 years. To this list I can add similar attacks in Egypt, Afghanistan, Gaza, Indonesia, China. This has been the pattern since al-Qaida targeted the United States on September 11 2001. Now we have the events in Paris and we are told this is war. What are we thinking? It has been war for more than a decade. For people living in Afghanistan, Pakistan or parts of the Middle East it has been even longer. We are rightly stunned and appalled at the loss of life and the brutality in France. But sadly, we should not be surprised. Just a day a before the Paris attacks, more than 40 people were killed in suicide bombings in Beirut. These were the deadliest acts since the end of Lebanon’s civil war in 1990. Only a month ago more than 100 people died in a terrorist attack in Ankara, Turkey. The country has been torn apart by violence this year. In July dozens were killed in a suicide bombing in Suruç. Now, we are told this is war? It was war...

Pakistan Uproots Mangroves to Install Coal-Fired Power Plants

By Aamir Saeed in Islamabad At a time when international community is struggling to finalise a global climate action plan, Pakistan has removed mangrove forests on 205 acres of land to install coal-fired power plants of 1,320 megawatts. The project, known as Port Qasim Power Project, near Karachi will be jointly carried out by Chinese Power Construction Corp Ltd with 51% and Qatar’s Al Mirqab Capital with 49% stakes in the project with a total cost of US$2.1 billion. The plants are being set up along the coastline of Arabian sea, where the government has uprooted mangrove forests to carve out a passage for the coal supply. The project is part of a broad bilateral deal called as China-Pak Economic Corridor under which the Chinese government and banks will finance Chinese companies to invest $45.6 billion worth of energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan over the next six years. Environmentalists say the move would have serious consequences on not only tens of thousands of people living around the plants but also the marine life and livelihood of fishermen. Pakistan’s mangrove forests cover has already decreased from 400,000 hectares in 1945 to 70,000 hectares due to different factors including land grabbing, rising sea levels and decreasing flow of fresh water into the sea, says Mustafa Gurgaze, programme officer at Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, a Karachi-based non-profit organisation that works for welfare of fishing communities. “Karachi could be more vulnerable to disasters like cyclones and tsunamis as the natural shield to disasters like cyclones and tsunamis, mangroves, has been removed,” he said. The development should be eco-friendly and sustainable and long-term, he said, suggesting the government to review its decision of installing coal-power plants to overcome energy crisis in the country. Gurgaze said the fish stock near the coastline has already decreased nearly one-third due to fast depletion of the mangroves that serve as a natural breeding...

China to Include $14 bn Diamer-Bhasha Dam in CPEC

ISLAMABAD: In a major development, Beijing has shown its willingness to include $14 billion Diamer-Bhasha Dam into the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework and its financing plan will be finalised in the next Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) meeting. The estimated cost of the CPEC will definitely go beyond $46 billion, as China has also agreed to finance dual carriageway for western route starting from Burhan to DI Khan and onward to Gwadar. Both the countries have also decided to make Gilgit-Baltistan as the model area under CPEC whereby development projects would be identified in the next JCC meeting. “Pakistan has made a formal request to China for including Diamer-Bhasha Dam into CPEC framework and now Beijing has shown its willingness to discuss details of this important project in the next JCC meeting which will take place after six months,” official sources confirmed to The News on Saturday. Pakistan requested inclusion of western route into the CPEC framework because Parliament, especially nationalist parties of KP, were pressing the government to ensure timely construction of this route. They were even blaming the government for focusing only on the Punjab under the CPEC initiative so the government pressed the Chinese side to include dual carriageway of western route into the framework of CPEC. The government decided to unbundle Bhasha Dam into civil work. For civil work, the construction cost stands at $7 billion which can be financed through a consortium of multilateral and bilateral donors including China. Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal confirmed to The News that China had been formally requested to include Bhasha Dam into the CPEC framework for new projects going to be considered for 2016. “Pakistan’s food and water security is very important and Bhasha Dam seems feasible for them being located along the Karakoram Highway (KKH),” he added. After unbundling Bhasha, the minister said the civil work would be...

First meeting of the Pak-Afghan Regional Civil Society Group Concluded

The Center of Research and Security Studies (CRSS), in partnership with its Afghan counterpart organization DURAN Research and Analysis, launched a major Pakistan-Afghanistan Track 1.5/II project “Beyond Boundaries” (BB). The initiative, launched in the second week of November, is a part of the efforts to help improve relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. BB will be implemented in close coordination with the Government of Afghanistan, and the Government of Pakistan. The endeavor is anchored in workshops that feature eight representatives from Pakistan and Afghanistan each, engaging in an open discourse about narratives, grievances and the way forward. The workshop sessions comprise of two working groups; Regional Security Group (RSG), and Regional Civil Society Group (RCSG). Both groups are slated have three meetings each in Islamabad and Kabul, followed by a concluding meeting in Islamabad. The key objectives of the initiative are: expanding the peace constituency through friendship groups in both countries; improving support for better Afghanistan-Pakistan relationship through enhanced dialogue among the influential stakeholders of both sides; encouraging dialogues at various levels through official and unofficial communication channels; and, informing policy makers through forums, policy documents and media. Initiatives like BB will bring together influential government and non-governmental stake-holders who can help reduce tensions, address misconceptions, and revive some level of confidence. The ultimate objective is to eventually urge both governments and key stakeholders away from the mutual vitriol and antagonism, and towards a more trusting and collaborative approach that enhances peace, security, and regional cooperation. The first meeting of the RCSG working group was held in Islamabad from November 9-10, 2015 against the backdrop of a politically grim environment. The inaugural session was chaired jointly by the Federal Minster for Commerce,...

Lahore Disneyland-like Facility to Cost Rs36 billion

LAHORE: The Punjab government has signed an agreement with a Chinese company (Golden Bean Group) for the construction of a state-of-the-art Theme Park and Aquarium in Lahore at a cost of Rs36 billion which will have recreational facilities like Disneyland. The Chinese company will complete the world class Theme Park in one-and-a-half years. Lahore Commissioner Abdullah Sumbal along with Punjab Horticulture Authority director-general Mian Muhammad Shakeel and Chinese company chairman Jin Ming Nan signed the agreement here on Thursday. According to a handout, the Golden Bean Group will also participate in the bidding along with national and international companies for the construction of Sundar Workers Welfare Complex Phase-I, a project of the Punjab Labour Department worth Rs7.78 billion, where 2,900 apartments would be built for industrial workers and labourers. This complex will also have facilities of two separate PWWB schools for boys and girls, a community center, a mosque and other amenities of life. Labour secretary Ali Sarfraz and Chinese company chairman Jin Ming Nan signed the MoU in this regard. Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2015

What Awaits Pakistan's Strongman in Washington?

The Pakistani Army Chief Gen. Raheel Sharif’s Washington visit comes at an extremely critical moment of regional realignments in the neighbourhood. It coincides with an increasingly pro-active Chinese role, spurred by President Xi Jinping’s Corridor politics. By throwing his weight behind the CPEC as the first priority, Xi has clearly marked his preference for Pakistan. This also necessitates an active Chinese political role in the region (read Afghanistan). Many Afghan stakeholders desire China to take the lead. But the disunity within the unity government and the Taliban infighting continues to discourage the Chinese from taking an open position on the Afghan reconciliation. On the other hand, President Obama and his Afghanistan commander John Campbell have also declared Pakistan as “integral to Afghanistan” and once again pinned hopes on Pakistan’s support for the reconciliation process. The US and Chinese administrations are, it seems, cognizant of the competing Indo-Pakistan interests in Afghanistan. The latest US Congressional Research Service report, for instance, clearly speaks of the Indian bid to “deny Pakistan strategic depth in Afghanistan.” While Obama and co want to rely on the Pakistani shoulders, powerful section of the Afghan government remain adamant on denying Pakistan a role in the reconciliation process. Strangely, they want Islamabad to crush the Afghan Taliban, while the rest of the world wants the former to woo them into talks. The US administration still appears fixated on the possible negative consequences of the Pakistani nuclear programme and would want a cap on it. All this turns into a bitter cocktail of wishes. One would assume that Gen. Sharif shall have to deal with all those issues that impinge on the future presence of the US troops in Afghanistan, Indo-Pak relations and the nuclear programme – issues that the civilian government is supposed to be handling. This also places unusual burden on Gen. Sharif because, a) of military’s...

What Awaits Pakistan’s Strongman in Washington?

The Pakistani Army Chief Gen. Raheel Sharif’s Washington visit comes at an extremely critical moment of regional realignments in the neighbourhood. It coincides with an increasingly pro-active Chinese role, spurred by President Xi Jinping’s Corridor politics. By throwing his weight behind the CPEC as the first priority, Xi has clearly marked his preference for Pakistan. This also necessitates an active Chinese political role in the region (read Afghanistan). Many Afghan stakeholders desire China to take the lead. But the disunity within the unity government and the Taliban infighting continues to discourage the Chinese from taking an open position on the Afghan reconciliation. On the other hand, President Obama and his Afghanistan commander John Campbell have also declared Pakistan as “integral to Afghanistan” and once again pinned hopes on Pakistan’s support for the reconciliation process. The US and Chinese administrations are, it seems, cognizant of the competing Indo-Pakistan interests in Afghanistan. The latest US Congressional Research Service report, for instance, clearly speaks of the Indian bid to “deny Pakistan strategic depth in Afghanistan.” While Obama and co want to rely on the Pakistani shoulders, powerful section of the Afghan government remain adamant on denying Pakistan a role in the reconciliation process. Strangely, they want Islamabad to crush the Afghan Taliban, while the rest of the world wants the former to woo them into talks. The US administration still appears fixated on the possible negative consequences of the Pakistani nuclear programme and would want a cap on it. All this turns into a bitter cocktail of wishes. One would assume that Gen. Sharif shall have to deal with all those issues that impinge on the future presence of the US troops in Afghanistan, Indo-Pak relations and the nuclear programme – issues that the civilian government is supposed to be handling. This also places unusual burden on Gen. Sharif because, a) of military’s...

China, Pakistan Fighter Jet finds First Buyer: Media

BEIJING: The JF-17 fighter, jointly developed by China and Pakistan, notched its first sale at the Dubai Air Show and may receive additional orders in the future, the China Daily said on Wednesday, citing a Chinese executive. Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC) and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex closed the deal with an unidentified buyer at the airshow, the newspaper said citing an AVIC statement. It did not say when the contract was signed or how many jets were sold. "Several potential buyers have expressed to us their strong intention of introducing the aircraft," Liu Yu, deputy head of AVIC's military aircraft sales division, was quoted as saying. AVIC executives could not be reached immediately for comment. China's weapons exports jumped 143 percent in the five years to 2014 compared to the previous five-year period, but still only account for about 5 percent of the global arms market. Published on http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/china-pakistan-fighter-jet-finds-first-buyer-media/articleshow/49745011.cms

Bihar Elections — Mind your Own Business, Pakistan

Bihar has spoken. A thumping rejection of the Modi doctrine. Should Pakistanis rejoice? Not really. Let the non- BJP Indians relish what seems to be a combination of Nitish Kumar’s good work, the enraged Muslim population and the socio-political revolt by lower caste Hindus. Let India’s democratic and secular fraternity deal with the rifts that have become pronounced within the ruling BJP following the defeat in Bihar and the demeaning remarks by the party General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya about Shatrughan Sinha. The sin that the actor-turned-politician had committed was to congratulate Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav. “A dog runs after the car feeling it’s running because of him, but it’s not. The party doesn’t run because of one man” was how Vijayvargiya ran down Sinha in the aftermath of the BJP’s routing. Elsewhere in London, Britons of Indian-origin are also preparing to protest against the BJP government’s policies and have managed to project the words “Modi not welcome” onto the Parliament building on November 8, days ahead of Modi’s arrival there on November 12. The Awaaz Network — the umbrella organisation of these Indians — plans similar actions to protest “the unleashing of a violent authoritarian agenda that seeks to undermine India’s democratic and secular fabric”. Many Pakistani TV channels lunged at this, out of sheer sadistic pleasure. They also went into an overdrive to applaud the electoral snub that the BJP received in Bihar. Why should our government and media draw pleasure out of this? Is it really worth paying this much attention when we have plenty of things to worry about at home? Pakistan needs to focus more on the causes that continue to taint its image abroad and are a source of internal discord as well. Although the government claims improvement — also backed by statistics — yet most of Fata and parts of Balochistan remain embroiled in conflict. Much of this stems from Pakistan’s own skewed policies that for decades encouraged...