Current Projects
State in Turmoil
The Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) has released two new documents on contemporary issues; one publication titled 'State in Turmoil' is a compendium of five reports all of which primarily deal with security and governance issues of Pakistan in the year of 2012. The first report The Deadly Drone Campaign: Setting Dangerous Precedent: A Pakistani Perspective gives an overview of the drone strikes in Pakistan tribal areas, which have entailed implications not only for local populations and Pakistanis at large but also raise security and legal questions for the broader international community. The report argues that the use of the predators to hunt down al-Qaeda linked non-state actors– sets a dangerous precedent for future as more and more states are likely to adopt these means and methods in others– territories in the name of 'national security'. This could have dangerous consequences for international peace. The report Karachi: The State of Crimes, covers Karachi security situation from ethnic, political, criminal and militant perspectives. This report analyzes different aspects of all these crimes also highlights the discrepancies of the data maintenance and carries out comparative study of similar data from different locations to determine the areas that are dangerous in terms of crime rate. It is hoped that this analysis would be valuable for all those interested in understanding dynamics of violence in Karachi. The third report Pakistan Security 2012, like similar reports for the preceding years, provides an overall picture of violence and terrorism in Pakistan during the year of 2012. The fourth report Pakistan's Balochistan Province under Siege covers the relentlessly raging insurgency in Balochistan which is compounded by abysmal governance and extremely indifferent civilian and military ruling elite. It explains the linkages between politics, crime and militancy besides highlighting the salient features of the political landscape in...
Blasphemy Laws in Pakistan: A Historical Overview
This CRSS report provides an historical overview of the evolution of the blasphemy laws in British India and the pre-partition political background behind it. It gives a detailed account of the blasphemy laws inherited by Pakistan and specifically highlights the blasphemy laws before and during the rule of General Zia-ul-Haq (July 1977-August 1988). Moreover, this report provides extremely important facts and figures to support the argument that these laws are often abused out of personal motives or motivated reasons. It also talks about communal riots in Pakistan and controversies on new blasphemy laws in Pakistan. For further details go to the report.
The drone dilemma
Following the June 7 drone strike on Al Qaeda targets in the mountainous Shawal area of Waziristan, Pakistan summoned Ambassador Richard Hoagland, the deputy head of the US mission, to protest this violation of its sovereignty. It was the tenth time that an American official had to listen to Pakistani "umbrage" over the 353rd predator strike into Pakistani territory at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Officials there insist at least since 2010 no drone attack went unchallenged, mostly through formal protest notes. But drones continue to lob Hellfire missiles on suspected targets. President Asif Zardari in a recent interview with journalists and anchors representing various private Pakistani TV channels probably provided the answer to what a very senior army official had described as "helplessness". "Even if you shoot down a drone, what next?" Zardari quipped when one of the anchors pressed the issue and questioned Pakistan's inaction against the pilotless aerial vehicles. He probably knows that the CIA-Pentagon will chase and kill anybody they consider inimical to American interests - regardless of whether Pakistan or Afghanistan like it or not. The monthly average of deaths in the 342 strikes between January 1, 2004 and December 31 2012 is about 27, with 2,670 people killed. There were only eight or so strikes between 2004 and 2006. The number of attacks between 2008 and 2012 comes close to 67, or more than five per month. The figures for the first five months of 2013 indicate a substantial decline. Is it a result of raging criticism of the drone campaign within and outside the United States? Or is the anxious Obama administration - confronted with real hard choices ahead of next year's presidential election and the drawdown of troops in Afghanistan - looking for ways that could facilitate its Afghanistan strategy? Has it deescalated the controversial drone campaign as a quid pro quo? There have been just about 11 strikes in over five months this year, compared...
Tightrope walk ahead for Nawaz Sharif
On Wednesday, Nawaz Sharif made history by becoming a three-time prime minister of the embattled nation of Pakistan. His thumping 244-vote victory in the 342-seat house was a foregone conclusion following his party's runaway success during the May 11 general elections. But the unprecedented success, followed by the oath of office that President Asif Ali Zardari administered, hardly brought any smiles for Sharif. His glum face during the parliamentary proceedings betrayed the enormity of critical challenges that stare him in the face: crippling power-outages, a stagnating economy, crushing inflation, massive unemployment, and the al-Qaeda-linked Taliban insurgency in the northwestern territories are but a few of the daunting issues Sharif would need to attend to on a war-footing. During his acceptance speech after his election today, Sharif struck a conciliatory tone toward all friends and foes, promising to take them all on board in the "national interest." But he also chose to touch on an issue that has been a major source of friction with the United States: controversial drone strikes. "The chapter of daily drone attacks should stop. We respect sovereignty of other countries but others should also respect our sovereignty," Sharif said to the thumping of desks by MPs. Sharif seemed to be repeating what is already the consensus among most of the political elite, which as of now -- at least publicly -- stands united in its opposition to the drone attacks. With this, Sharif upped the ante, signaling that his government is ready to undertake a critical review of relations with the United States, including the thorny issue of the unmanned Predator drones that have been targeting al-Qaeda and its Pakistani auxiliaries in the rugged Waziristan region bordering Afghanistan. The new prime minister's statement not only raised expectations at home but also sent a clear message to the U.S. administration that both countries must find a way of conducting this warfare in a way...
Deal or no deal?
April 19, 2009 marked a watershed in the Pakistani military establishment's unrealistic view of Islamist militant groups. The then general officer commanding, Major General Ejaz Awan, and his troops had convinced the aging Maulana Sufi Muhammad to denounce suicide bombings at a public rally in the heart of Mingora, the administrative headquarter of Swat valley. Live on private TV channels, and facing thousands of people at the Grassy Ground, Sufi did not condemned violence, but declared Western-style democracy, the Pakistani parliament, the Supreme Court and the state un-Islamic, and thus turned the tables on the army. It was an utter shock to the military establishment which had hoped to take the sting out of Mullah Fazlullah's terror campaign by having his father-in-law speak against violence by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the valley. All this happened in the context of the second peace deal in the area on February 19, 2009, which had taken place with mutual agreement between the Awami National Party and the General Headquarters, as yet another attempt to wrest Swat back from the TTP. But between February 19 and April 19, the TTP had ambushed or robbed dozens of military convoys, snatched government vehicles, practically run or occupied government offices, and sat in courts. The TTP had also ruthlessly executed three Pakistan Army commandos caught from the mountains between Swat and Buner. This prompted a meeting at the GHQ on April 25, wherein the alarmed top brass decided to go for the kill. "When you raise a puppy, it becomes a member of the family, but when it develops rabies, it becomes an enemy, and that is the time to cull it," Gen Awan had remarked when reminded of the unholy nexus that had existed between some Taliban factions and the security apparatus. The army seemed to have learned its first lesson the hard way. The eventual May 7 invasion of TTP strongholds in the Swat valley practically ended the peace deal and gradually took Swat to where...
Pakistan Elections 2013: A Review
The May 11 general elections in Pakistan brought to an end weeks of speculation as to whether this will happen at all. This exercises culminated in a massive victory for ex-premier Nawaz Sharif ¿s Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), PML-N , - a center right party both at the centre ( 186 seats) and his stronghold the most populist Punjab province (with two-thirds majority). The Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) - a center left party, suffered serious setbacks and managed only about 39 seats in the 342-strong lower house - the National Assembly- , followed by Pakistan Tehrik e Insaf (PTI) - a relatively new centrist Party lead by Imran Khan. Its 35 seats in the National Assembly and the simple majority in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa marked a big shift in Pakistan political landscape and underscored the craving for change in the status quo. With this mandate, one trend seemed obvious that the people of Pakistan, with the exception of Mutthadia Qaumi Movement- MQM (a party representing the immigrants, or the Mohajirs, in Karachi, who came from India after partition in 1947), rejected all other parties on grounds of their five year performance. One of the major concerns after the elections was the situation and result in conflict riddled province of Balochistan. With less than ten percent voter turnout, the polls were nothing less than a disappointment in the region. The only hope for the province came with the participation of the Balochistan National Party, lead by Sardar Akhtar Mengal - a Baloch nationalist leader. Yet after the elections, Mengal was not happy with the results as he accused the security establishment for using all resources to manipulate results against him and his party. But largely, most parties agreed on the outcome and are desperately trying to form the government in the country area-wise largest province. Now, as Nawaz Sharif is set to take charge at the centre for a third time, and Khan party has already formed the government in the northwestern province,...
State Religion and Democracy:
Turk Scholars at Peshawar University Peshawar:Distinguished scholars from Turkey, Dr Ali Murat YEL, Head of the Department of Sociology, Faith University and Dr. Nuri TINAZ, Associate Professor Marmara University, Istanbul at the University for Peshawar on May 28th, 2013. Both scholars interacted with almost 200 students and teachers on thetheme 'State Religion and Democracy. The lecture series is part of CRSS counter-radicalization programme with the support of Heinrich Boell Stiftung, Germany and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Turkey.
Separation of Religion from Politics: CRSS Discussion Forum with Turkish Scholars
Islamabad, (May 27, 2013): Discussion Forum organized at the Center on the theme 'Separation of Religion from Politics.' Distinguished scholars from Turkey, Dr Ali Murat YEL, Head of the Department of Sociology, Faith University and Dr. Nuri TINAZ, Associate Professor Marmara University, Istanbul, led the discussion on the subject with intellectuals and media representatives including Dr.Moeed Peerzada,Farrukh Pittafi, Yasir Abbas, Adnan Aurangzeb.
State, Religion and Democracy
Two distinguished scholars from Turkey, Dr. Nuri TINAZ, Associate Professor Marmara University, Istanbul and Dr. Ali Murat YEL, Head of the Department of Sociology, Fatih University on Monday, May 27th spoke at the National Defence University on 'State, Religion and Democracy,' marking the launch of a series of lectures that the Center for Research and Security Studies– (CRSS) has initiated as part of its counter-radicalization advocacy. Both professors gave a comprehensive overview of the historical perspective on Turkey ongoing evolution from the Republican-dominated constitutional framework to the socio-political transformation that the country has been undergoing since 1983. Supported by the Heinrich Boell Stiftung, Germany and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Turkey, the dialogue aims to trigger a debate inside Pakistan about the need to keep view politics and governance from a purely universal democratic and human rights perspective, rather than using religion as the soul guiding principle. Under this programme, CRSS plans to invite academicians, intellectuals and political representatives also from Indonesia and Malaysia to Pakistan for presentations on their respective systems on how their governments ensure social peace and sectarian/religious harmony. Dr. Ali Murat explained to the students and teachers of the NDU that Turkey is not evolving into a theocratic state. Nor is it transforming into a typical Anglo-Saxon secular democracy because Islam is part of life but not part of the state business in Turkey. It is borne by several surveys according to which less than seven percent of its population supports the shariat-based political system. He also highlighted the fact that most Turks agree the sharia should not be the foundation for constitution. Most people there agree that sin is a matter between God and individual while punishment for violation of the law is the duty of the state. Using the example of hijab, Ali Murat said that until 2007 head cover...
CRSS welcomes Richard Barrett as a Senior Research Fellow
The Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) welcomes Richard Barrett as a Senior Research Fellow and Strategic Consultant (based in New York). Mr. Barrett will advise CRSS on counter-terrorism, and CVE-related matters. Richard Barrett holds a Masters degree from Oxford University. Since April 2013 he has been a Senior Vice President at the Soufan Group: A consultancy advising Governments and private sector clients on security and political risk. From March 2004 to December 2012 he worked at the United Nations (UN) in New York and before that with the British Government. Mr Barrett has served in Canada, Jordan, Turkey, and at the United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations in New York. Moreover, Mr. Barrett possesses invaluable experience in CVE and counter-terrorism. He has appeared frequently on television and radio and is the author of several book chapters, articles and commentaries including op-eds for The Guardian, The New York Times, The Financial Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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TESTIMONIALS
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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.