The notion of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) as the epicentre of international terrorism has rapidly gained traction — not only are Pakistan and Afghanistan being affected by the militancy infested in the area, the threat has become credible enough for the international community to sit up and take note. A new debate is raging: what should Fata’s fate be? Fata is currently governed as a special tribal region under separate constitutional arrangements. The region, comprising a total area of 27,220 square kilometres, is inhabited by almost a dozen Pakhtun tribes. It is constituted by seven tribal agencies — Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Kurram, Orakzai, North Waziristan and South Waziristan — and six frontier regions (FRs): FR Peshawar, FR Kohat, FR Bannu, FR Lakki Marwat, FR Tank and FR Dera Ismail Khan. Almost all of the seven tribal agencies that constitute Fata as well as the adjacent frontier regions have been overrun by militancy and the military operations carried out in response. Four schools of thought exist about the future of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. What are their merits and demerits? The discussion on the fate of Fata restarted after Federal Minister for States and Frontier Region (SAFRON) Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch claimed that the government is planning to give Fata the status of a province. “The government is working to hand a Gilgit-Baltistan-like administrative status for tribal areas,” said the minister on April 22 while speaking at a conference. Baloch had earlier aired the same suggestion in February, during a meeting of the National Assembly’s standing committee on Safron. The minister’s stance gives weight to the idea that the Pakistan government remains under immense pressure to act decisively to bring the region into the mainstream, and to make special provisions to end underdevelopment, backwardness and violent realities of the tribes’ people. Western diplomatic circles also confirm that they too have been...

Topic:    Women’s Empowerment Hosts: Mr. Imtiaz Gul and Mr. Naveed Shanwari Guests:  •        Mufti Hanif ullah Bajaur Agency •        Sobia Khan MPA PML N •        Sana Ijaz Journalist •        Syed Aysha MNA Jamat e Islami Sawa Producer:  Muhammad Intisar ul Haq Theme: The show discusses the plight of women in FATA and tries to underline the need for treating FATA women as equal citizens. Academics, social activists and students agreed that the conservative social set up limited their access to basic rights, political representation, voting rights etc. The fact that if they are even recognized as an entity as a human being and enjoying basic rights to decision making, education, health etc. And what measures may be taken to empower them. Please watch the program Hum Bhi and share your feedback on 

Incidents of heinous crimes in Pakistan continued unabated in the months of May and June 2014. An analysis of incidents involving extortion, abduction for ransom, acid attacks,  murders,  gang-rape with murder and cold-blooded executions in the name of family honour, mob violence ( involving police, demonstrators, lawyers (also called heinous crimes) reflects the extent of growing violent tendencies across Pakistan.[1] The data in the charts below explains that a total of 49 incidents of heinous crimes were committed in the months of May and June. As many as 16 heinous crimes were committed in the month of May. This figure almost doubled (33) in the month of June. The restive province of Balochistan, with just about three heinous crimes, however, reflects a dramatic decline compared to the corresponding period a year ago. The generally peaceful province of Punjab tops the list of such crimes with 29 heinous crimes – over 60 percent. This data indicates how intolerance, poor law-enforcement and the tardy justice system is adversely impacting social behaviour, encouraging crime, and enabling criminals to get away with crimes such as murder. The increasing crime rate also reflects the incessant erosion of law-enforcement in the country. The gradual breakdown of the institutions, which is evident from the data mentioned above, reflects their seriousness and commitment to control heinous crimes across the country. The data is just an indicator breaking down of social institutions, inability and lack of interest of the State to perform its basic duties. Common to most of the crimes listed in the chart is ostensibly intolerance and the propensity to take law in one’s own hands even in minor cases. Lack of trust in police and prosecution probably is another ostensible reason of people often tending to resort to violence; Public perception of police torture, illegal custodies, target-killing in fake police encounters, and high-handed conduct of a politically-partonized...

Topic:    “Access to-, Access of -, and the Role of Media in FATA” Hosts: Mr. Imtiaz Gul and Ms. Farah Farooq Guests:  •        Mr. Ibrahim Shinwari, Former President Tribal Union of Journalists •        Mr. Haroon Rashid, BBC •        Ms. Farzana Ali, Bureau Chief AAJ TV Peshawar •        Mr. Asif Orakzai, Journalist Producer:  Muhammad Intisar ul Haq Theme: This show discusses what legal and administrative reforms are needed to ensure FATA citizens’ access to media. Alternatively, what can be done to ensure that Pakistanis outside FATA get more accurate information about what’s going on inside FATA? One of the political parties recommended extending PEMRA’s jurisdiction to FATA because FATA cannot establish its own electronic channels. As such they rely more on foreign media, FM radio and Pakistan State radio from the settled areas. Journalists and other media have limited access to FATA. In addition, journalists are generally barred from entering FATA because of the security situation and threats from the militants. And when they are inside, they are often intimidated, threatened and blackmailed by military and political agents. As a result, the reporting that comes out of FATA is unreliable and influenced by powerful actors. Please watch the program Hum Bhi Pakistan and share your feedback on 

Analysis: Pakistan’s embattled government finally overcame big opposition on July 2, when it  managed to push through the national legislature –lower house of Parliament – the  controversial anti-terrorism legislation titled the  “Protection of Pakistan Bill (PPB).” The Bill is supposed to support the armed forces and law-enforcement agencies in their fight against militants and anti-social elements across the country for maintenance of peace.[1]  The PPB had earlier sailed through the Senate – the upper house – on June 30, 2014, following a grand political consensus among all parties present in the house. Now after the expected assent by the President of Pakistan, the PPB will become an Act of Parliament and would be called Protection of Pakistan Act (PPA). The National Assembly[2], had initially passed the bill in its original form which kicked a big controversy among opposition political parties as well as rights’ groups , who termed it as a “carte blanche” to the security forces.  But the proposed legislation got stuck in the Upper House, where the ruling coalition is in a minority. The entire opposition opposed the draft terming it harsh.[3] Left with no choice but to incorporate the amendments proposed by the Opposition parties, the government then tabled a fresh Bill in the Senate where it was passed unanimously. Several Senators still expressed serious reservations but eventually consented to support it in what they said “in view of the serious security challenges” the country faces at the moment. While religio-political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) Senator Talha Mehmood, who is also chairman of the Standing Committee on Interior, had told the Senate that the committee approved the Bill “keeping in mind that it should be used on merit and not against religious seminaries.” Mehmoood, accompanied by his party’s Senator Hamdullah, walked out of the Upper House of the Parliament when the Bill was being passed to underscore his party’s reservations....

Center for Research and security Studies (CRSS) conducted an exclusive radio program ‘Jaraga Maraka’ from Peshawar on June 30,2014, highlighting the problems faced by the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and the government’s efforts to alleviate their problems. “A total of 38,000 Internally Displaced People (IDPs) have been registered so far and FATA Disaster Management Authority (FDMA) is taking every measure to help the IDPs in this extremely hot weather,” said Mr. Farmanullah, a representative of FATA-DMA in ‘Jaraga Maraka’, Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) radio show on June 30, 2014. He said FATA-DMA is providing Rs. 12,000 to the IDPs immediately after registration at ‘Sayed Gai’ check point. The situation of the IDPs is improving and with the help from a local cell company that is distributing free SIMs to the people in the camps; it is becoming easier to transfer money electronically through ‘Easy Paisa’ scheme. This was done on FDMA’s request so as to avoid long queues of the IDPs in the scorching heat. Farmanullah added that all the related departments are working in collaboration with FATA-DMA under the supervision of Commissioner Bannu. Problems facing IDPs are decreasing as many national and international organizations are providing food and other assistance to the IDPs along with FDMA, Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and the federal government. “All nonprofit and civil society organizations are allowed to help the IDPs. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), World Food Program (WFP) and UNHCR are all assisting in relief operations”. After Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Bannu IDP Camp, rehabilitation work is fast progressing and number of registration and food points has also been increased. Mr. farmanullah and other representatives of the respective relief organizations report to the Commissioner Bannu daily and coordinate with each other to alleviate the challenges facing the IDPs. Mr. Safdar Hayat Dawar, a...

What distinguishes Dr Tahirul Qadri from the militants operating out of the mountainous Waziristan region if viewed against the backdrop of the violence and lawlessness accompanying Qadri’s arrival on June 24th? Not much indeed because both: a) reject the current political edifice and demand a revamp of the system according to their interpretation of welfare state, b) question the legitimacy of the ruling elites and also doubt their commitment to people’s welfare, c) act as self-proclaimed reformers of the society. TTP’s foot-soldiers snipe and ambush security forces and people at large, while Qadri’s boys beat up the police in front of cameras. The TTP is being hunted by the army these days, while Qadri keeps projecting the armed forces as his only “credible interlocutors.” Both Qadri and TTP – and by implication their foot soldiers – treat law as rubbish. There is a bigger concern – how expedient military and civilian rulers responded to challenges raised by the TTP and mavericks like Qadri by bending and breaking the law for the opposition to save their own skin. What is the consequence? The erosion of the rule of law with every passing day. TV screens, for instance, were awash with images of baton-armed Qadri boys pouncing upon policemen in Lahore and Rawalpindi. Nearly three dozen landed in hospital. And the next day, the provincial government ordered the release of all the arrested hooligans, even including those who were subjecting law-enforcers to violence. More importantly, diversion of the Emirates flight from Islamabad to Lahore exposed the panic as well as the sheer incompetence of the ruling clique. Little did they realize the damage accruing from this very act. Secondly, by allowing Qadri to hold other passengers on board for several hours, the politicians and law enforcers trampled national international laws on civil aviation. What Qadri did amounted to an unruly conduct on board and for that there are very very clear regulations. The Tokyo...

Many in the international media are still not sure which of the two acronyms, ISIL and ISIS, is more suitable to describe the Sunni militia that recently made headlines as itcaptured the Iraqi city of Mosul and its adjoining districts. Until recently it was referred to as ‘The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant’, hence the acronym ISIL. The acronym now being commonly used is ISIS as the militant organisation is being referred to as ‘The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’. The Sunni militia, in Arabic, calls itself Al-Daulatul Islamiya fil Iraq wal-Shaam, meaning ‘The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham’. Thus calling it ISIS is correct. But few in the media know that Levant is not the same as present-day Syria. The Levant is an old term referring to countries of the eastern Mediterranean. Some scholars include in it Cyprus and a small part of Turkey. But basically the Levant has throughout history meant Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. This means Jordan, the West Bank (now under Israeli occupation) and Israel itself are part of the Levant. For Pakistanis there is added confusion because we refer to Syria as Shaam. Which is misleading, because the country we call Shaam is referred to by the Arabs as Soorya. In Arabic, the Levant is called Baldatush-Shaam, of which Soorya, with its capital at Damascus, is part. The Jordan river’s east bank was also part of Palestine. Now it is the state of Jordan and part of the Levant. The Levant is the world’s most blood-drenched land, especially the coastal strip, for there is no other place in the world which has been fought for so much, the next being perhaps Flanders. This article, written by Muhammad Ali Siddiqi, was published in daily Dawn, June 17, 2014. CRSS is sharing this with readers as part of its social obligation to disseminate critical information on socio-political issues. (Link http://www.dawn.com/news/1113209/what-is-the-levant)

The resolution endorsing support for military action in North Waziristan that started on June 15, 2014, was issued after a meeting of Civil Society Organization’s held in Karachi on June 16. The civil society organizations, intelligentsia and a number of politicians have been demanding for quite some time that the government and the military move against terrorist groups involved in indiscriminate killings of people at large. By posting this joint resolution, Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) also endorses the civil society call for a definitive offensive against terrorist havens in the Pakistan-Afghan border regions, and in Waziristan in particular. We, the representatives of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), fully support military operation in North Waziristan launched under the direction of the Federal Government and assert that the nation must stand behind our military and democratic forces as no country can allow insurgents to control parts of its territory. While appreciating the operation, the Civil Society Organizations demands: Pakistan should declare all terrorist and militant groups, including both their foreign and Pakistani supporters, as enemy of State State machinery should take action to eliminate these terrorist and militant groups State machinery should take action to de-weaponize Pakistan State should prohibit all political parties to organize and establish armed militant wings to show their power of militancy. The terms of existing discourse where terrorists and militants are seen as our ‘brothers’ should be changed to reflect what they really are – the enemies of Pakistan Government should tighten and implement regulations through PEMRA and other means to ensure that terrorists and militant groups, banned outfits and their supporters are not given space on media to incite people to violence A commission should be formed to highlight the security lapses that contributed to the Karachi Airport attack and fix responsibility for...