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Media, Free Speech and Consequences
Pakistan in its quest to exterminate every kind of extremism, terrorism and hatred from within its borders is formulating policies one after other to reach a conclusive solution. A National Action Plan (NAP) underlying points how to curb terrorism, on January 6, 2015 a 21st constitutional amendment was passed by the parliament empowering Army to trial terrorists and a lift on the ban of moratorium on death penalty to execute terrorists and more than two dozen have been executed so far. The water shed event of December 16, 2014, when Terrorists entered a Peshawar Army Public School and killed children inside indiscriminately has forced policy makers, intellectuals, media and general public to come up with a strong resolve, a collective national narrative and ending of past practices such as striking political deals with terrorists and ethnic groups involved in violence. Pakistan has so far banned 60 religious-political organization involved in hate speech and violence and arrested more than 1500 in this regard. However, what made the difference is “Media” both traditional and new age. The traditional fell to a competition of commercials thus neglecting reporting events as they happen, furthermore it was also not able to report unbiased and instances suggest that whether out of fear of attacks or complicity to some extent it has given more air time to parties at the hall mark of ethno-religious tensions. Meanwhile, the new age media (Internet) is also used to play with emotions, spread of propaganda and misinformation rather than rationality. In this regard a very much needed social cohesion is divided and people are exploited by their beliefs or on identity issues. Pakistan is not an exception, such a crisis has engulfed whole of the South Asia. For a detailed account of the regional scenario CRSS is publishing an article by Mirza Sadaqat Huda published in “Himal South Asian” showing how other South Asian states have been affected South Asia’s free speech...
China confirms it is building six nuclear power plants in Pakistan
A Chinese official has confirmed that China is involved in as many as six nuclear power projects in Pakistan. Wang Xiaotao said that China “has assisted in building six nuclear reactors in Pakistan with a total installed capacity of 3400 MW” BEIJING: A Chinese official has confirmed that China is involved in as many as six nuclear power projects in Pakistan and is likely to export more reactors to the country, indicating that the much-debated civilian nuclear cooperation between the two countries will go ahead despite concerns voiced that it is in contravention of Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) guidelines. While China has in the past declined to confirm or share details regarding the extent of its on-going civilian nuclear cooperation with Pakistan, a top official of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the planning body, was quoted as saying that Beijing has been involved in the construction of six reactors in Pakistan. Wang Xiaotao, vice-minister of the NDRC, was quoted as saying by State media that the NDRC was keen to support further exports to Pakistan and other countries. To this end, the NDRC is drawing up new guidelines to announce supportive financial policies for exports in the nuclear sector. Railways exports would also be supported under the new guidelines, Wang said. Announcing the guidelines at a Beijing press conference, Wang said that China “has assisted in building six nuclear reactors in Pakistan with a total installed capacity of 3.4 million kilowatts”. China was also exporting nuclear technology to Argentina, with the two countries on Wednesday signing a deal for exporting heavy-water reactors. China’s recent projects with Pakistan have come under scrutiny as the NSG does not allow members to supply nuclear technology to countries that have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). India had to seek a waiver from the NSG for its civilian nuclear cooperation with the US, and obtained one only after undertaking a...
Pakistan’s apathetic rulers
It may be unfair to characterise Pakistan as melting and burning from within. Dubbing it a dysfunctional state may also be an overstatement. But the current governance and the security mess are certainly direct consequences of misplaced priorities of the ruling elite, acute bureaucratic inefficiency and inertia. Additionally, the self-promoting personal interests of the predatory kith and kin surrounding the elite and the bureaucracy, do represent a bitter but unavoidable reality. The result: much-needed development moves at a snail’s pace and the political economy reeks. The chronically sick Pakistan Steel Mills and PIA, the deeply-indebted Pakistan Railways, the so-called International Islamabad Airport, which is under construction, the lingering Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project and the Metro Bus, epitomise this crony-based, personal interest-driven insensitive style of governance. They also reflect the rulers’ apathy to some of the urgent needs of the country. Power shortages are perennial, but look at what is happening to the 960 megawatts Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project. Already delayed, the project, according to national press reports, is facing a massive financial crunch, and officials associated with it fear that it won’t be completed by the end of 2016. The new Islamabad airport offers a similar story; the project was launched in April 2007 and was supposed to be completed within 30 months at a cost of Rs37 billion ($400 million). The project cost was revised in March 2012 over Rs 66 billion. Lo and behold, the Civil Aviation Authority revised the expenditures again in 2014 to Rs 95 billion with October 2016 as the promised completion date. This also merits a mention of the current Islamabad airport. It has already been regarded as the worst in the world in terms of cleanliness, facilities and customer service. Airports do symbolise social functionality and economic vibrancy of a country. But the first impression Islamabad gives to foreigners is that of...
China Confirms Pakistan Nuclear Projects
Top official confirms extent of the growing Sino-Pakistan nuclear link. A Chinese official publicly confirmed Monday that Beijing is involved in at least six nuclear power projects in Pakistan and is likely to export more to the country, media reports said. In a press conference in Beijing, Wang Xiaotao, the vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, said China “has assisted in building six nuclear reactors in Pakistan with a total installed capacity of 3.4 million kilowatts.” Wang, who was unveiling plans for new guidelines for Chinese exports in the nuclear sector, also said that Beijing was keen to provide further exports to countries, which would presumably include Pakistan given previous reports and trends. The Sino-Pakistan nuclear link has been well-known even though some specifics are often shrouded in secrecy. This is reportedly the first time that a top official has publicly admitted to such a scale of China’s cooperation with Pakistan. Revelations about the growing Sino-Pakistan nuclear axis comes amid continuing concerns expressed by some that ongoing cooperation is occurring without the sanction of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) which helps supervise the export of global civilian nuclear technology. China is a member of the NSG and existing regulations prohibit members from exporting such technology nations like Pakistan which do not adopt full-scale safeguards. China declared the first two reactors it already agreed to construct for Pakistan – the Chashma-1 and Chashma 2 – at the time it joined the Nuclear Suppliers Group in 2004, with the expectation that no new deals would follow. But in 2010, the China National Nuclear Cooperation announced it would export technology for two new reactors, Chashma-3 and Chashma-4 because it argued – rather controversially – that these projects were already grandfathered in under previous agreements rather than being fresh proposals. News of other deals has since followed, including a...
Pakistan’s War on Crime- Rethinking the Criminal Justice System
The 1898 British era Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) constitutes the foundation of Pakistan's criminal justice system. Socio-political developments, however, seem to have outweighed this dated legal code. The ineffectiveness of the system thus entails serious implications such as questionable investigation, exploitation of the system and long-drawn litigation. Heavy pendency in courts in Pakistan also reflects the obstructive nature of the CrPC, which lawyers and criminals exploit to the hilt. The seriousness of the matter is such that as many as 20480 cases are pending even before the Supreme Court of Pakistan. As of December 2014, the pendency before the Lahore, Sindh, Balochistan and Peshawar High Courts was 173037, 66475, 4923 and 26716 respectively. As many as 13387 cases were pending even before the relatively new Islamabad High Court. The situation at district courts was even worse; a staggering 1107634 cases pending in the Punjab district courts, followed by 132762 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 8444 cases in Balochistan and 124190 cases in the Sindh courts. The pendency before district courts in Islamabad is 30300 cases.[1] Further debilitating factors impacting justice delivery are the absence of professional autonomy, poor training, lack of access to basic data and inadequate tools to investigate are the main causes of undermining the investigative processes resulting in meagre 5 to 10 percent conviction rate in the country hence higher crime rates.[2] A number of Rule of Law initiatives in the last decade, including the Access-to-Justice led by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have focused on the reform of the system but none has been pursued in a holistic way. Most of the initiatives focused on the symptoms and not the root-causes to adapt the legal justice system to the current day mounting challenges. Repeated demands by the civil society and well-meaning jurists for a comprehensive reform of the CrPC have fallen on deaf ears. The PM Nawaz Sharif's 20-point...
Capacity building gaps Pakistan, China to organise joint training courses
Pakistan and China would jointly carry out capacity building training courses during 2015-17 based on the mutually identified capacity gaps, especially those relating to the Pak-China Economic Corridor (PCEC) projects, it is learnt. According to the sources, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has approved the proposal for negotiating a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard. They said that under the direction of the PM, a draft of the proposed MoU was placed before the cabinet for ex-post facto approval and the cabinet has approved the same. The sources said, the MoU was signed on the capacity building under Pak-China Economic Corridor (PCEC) between China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and Pakistan's Ministry of Planning, Development and Reforms. They said that main objective of the MoU is to jointly organise capacity building training courses in Pakistan and China during 2015-17 based on mutually identified capacity gaps, especially those relating to the CPEC projects. They also agreed on the future roadmap for various projects. By Naveed Butt, Published on February 08, 2015 on Business Recorder
20 Unique facts about China You Should Know
There are some unique and interesting facts about China that would make you gaze and wonder if this is the same China that is often criticized for lack of innovation. Well, China does have its glorious past when magnificent inventions were made and honorably shared with the rest of the world. These inventions are still beneficial to us. For example inventions like the compass, printing and gunpowder. Though there have been modifications, these inventions were first developed by the Chinese and transferred to other nations widely through the Silk Road trade. Below I have listed some common as well as lesser known intriguing facts about China. Most of these facts are inventions, and others are just some common knowledge which we all ought to know, however, next time you enjoy the luxury of the finest toilet paper, remember it was first made in China and meant for only emperors and royals. 1. Compass- The compass we know of today was invented in China as early as the periods between 475 BC-221 BC. 2. Papermaking- The art of papermaking was first developed in China by an official named Cai Lun after a long term experiment using plant fibers, bark, rags and torn fishing nets. 3. Printing- The first movable type printing technique were first invented in China and first introduced to Korea and Japan and then westward to Persia and Egypt. 4. Silk-making- The ancient art was such a closely guarded secret that anyone who gave the secret out to outsiders were considered traitors and could face the death penalty. 5. Education- Fourth graders are expected to know 2,000 o f over 40,000 Chinese characters. Before leaving college they should know about 4,000 to 5,000 characters through memorization. 6. Size- China is the fourth largest country in the world and sometimes a day ahead of the United States. 7. Time- Did you know that the whole of China is in one time zone- +8 hours despite it size. 8. Great wall- Did you...
Property disclosure of officials part of further anti-graft efforts
Wu Xiang, a lawyer and member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Guangzhou municipal committee, urged the local Party chief and mayor to disclose the property they own so as to propel a property disclosure system for officials. The move aroused nationwide discussion because such an initiative first emerged two decades ago, yet hardly any progress has been made. Comments: The leadership said that one of the main goals of the ongoing reform is to shut power inside a cage. One of the best cages must be the disclosure of officials' property - with their property under public supervision, they will lose the motivation for corruption, knowing that illegal properties will be reported and lead them to prison. We call for the central leadership to accelerate the building of this cage, which has been delayed too long. Qianjiang Evening News, Feb 4 Despite repeated public calls for officials to disclose their property, an effective mechanism has never been established. That's essentially why Wu's speech has won nationwide support from ordinary people - they hope the authorities can echo his initiative and introduce such a system. The problem lies in how to design the system and make officials accept it. Beijing News, Feb 4 Even without the system, some officials could still choose to disclose their property on their own initiatives. The problem is, without a mandatory system, bureaucrats will wait for each other to disclose their properties, and those daring to take the first step can be isolated by their colleagues. Proper measures need to be taken to encourage more officials to disclose the property they own. Qilu Evening News, Feb 4 As early as May 2010, the central Party and government authorities issued regulations that require officials at the deputy-director level and above to register their property information. The problem is, the authorities seem to have never bothered to check whether the reported information was true; besides, the...
Governance and Pak-China relations
Bad governance, the hallmark of the PML-N administration, continues to cause problems to the government and the country. Three projects started with the Chinese participation illustrate the point. The “fast track” Gadani Power Project with an estimated cost of $6-8 billion, which was the centrepiece of the PML-N’s power generation policy, has finally been consigned to the backburner after nearly two years. This has happened despite three visits to China by the PM and several by Shahbaz Sharif and Ahsan Iqbal. We gather now that the project was launched without the government settling financial and technical details with the Chinese partners and without any detailed site selection study. The PM was so much in hurry that he proceeded to lay the foundation stone without a clear agreement on crucial matters. Instead of accepting responsibility, the power ministry has put the blame on the ‘changing priorities of the Chinese government’ for the failure. The delay in the implementation of Nandipur Project, started with the help of a Chinese company, was used by Shahbaz Sharif to accuse the PPP government of corruption and of conspiring against Punjab. The project was taken into hands by the ‘efficient’ CM of Punjab soon after coming to power but it, too, has failed to meet several deadlines. The Economic Corridor being set up with the Chinese help has also become a subject of controversy because the original route was changed without taking all stakeholders into confidence. Beijing has meanwhile made it known that it played no role in the determination of the route. On Tuesday there were two walkouts from the Senate on the issue. An ANP Senator from KP declared that the party considered this a bigger issue than Kalabagh Dam and would forcefully oppose it with the support of nationalists in Sindh, Balochistan and KP and the depressed minority of Punjab’s backward areas. China is Pakistan’s sole strategic partner now. Beijing would not appreciate the way projects started...
Sorry state of bar & bench
Instead of tardy governance, Pakistan’s current crises most probably stem from hypocrisy and selfishness at all levels. We often blame the politicians and the military as the major source of sociopolitical degeneration and economic decline. But who among the ruling elite are unblemished? Most appear to shelve morality and principles for personal interests. Defence and prosecution lawyers, for instance, often fix hearings through connivance to accommodate each other. This is what a prominent counsel admitted during the commercial break of a TV show we were both participating in. In front of the camera, he was defending the bar but off the camera, he retreated into the defensive, conceding that the black coats, too, were often responsible for prolonged litigation and encouraging crime and terrorism by taking up cases they shouldn’t — from a sociopolitical point of view. Similarly, another brilliant jurist stood on the Supreme Court floor to defend a property tycoon in 2011. After I repeatedly pressed him for an answer as to why he did so, all he said was, “I did so because the president had asked me to.” As if he possessed no conscience of his own! Is the bench also driven by similar considerations or does it go just by the black and white as enshrined in the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)? Scores of pending cases before the superior and subordinate courts relate to the granting of stay orders — regardless of the efficacy or legitimacy of the complaint. The Capital Development Authority (CDA), for example, is currently locked in at least 1,160 such cases that litigants filed after administrative actions by the CDA against encroachments, illegal structures or inappropriate use of buildings. A document the CDA submitted before the Supreme Court, for instance, says that some 2,262 houses in the capital are being used for “other than the actual purposes”. The CDA says that owners of these properties, including government agencies, have obstructed roads, streets and...
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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.