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Egyptian Turmoil Stoking Fears in Gulf
The stunning, though not unexpected, ruling by the Supreme Constitutional Court in Egypt on Thursday (June 14, 2012) ordered the dissolution of the elected parliament ´ dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood-led Islamist parties. It was a story foretold in view of the gradually escalating brawl between the Islamists and the remnants of old pro-Western ruling elite. The latter seeks to block the Islamists– ostensible grab of power in post Mubarak era. The court also allowed the toppled government last Prime Minister, Ahmed Shafik, a former air force general, to compete for the presidential runoff, set for last week of June. Many analysts and activists interpreted the Constitutional Court ruling as a blatant attempt by the military-led ruling elite to deny the Islamists right of forming government and to re-establish autocracy. Once the Islamists established their majority in the parliament, many had also almost foreseen what might eventually happen i.e. an attempt to deny them the right to rule. As of now, at least, this has happened, delivering serious blows to those who had hailed the Arab Spring as a real and genuine change. The continued turmoil in Egypt and Libya also prompts many to ask as to whether the Arab Spring really meant transition to peoples– rule. A recent conference in Bahrain (June 12-13th), held to the context of the changes brought about by the Arab Spring also resonated with issues that today confront some of the countries in the Arab Gulf. Titled 'Regional Realities of Gulf Security and Transnational Concerns,' and organized by the Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies (DERASAT), the conference delegates drawn from all over the world to discuss the threadbare consequences of the movement that has swept Tunisia, Libya, Yemen and now still causing ripples in Egypt as well as rocking Syria. Besides the singular external threat i.e. Iran perceived or real expansionist and influence-seeking policies, one of the themes that...
Pakistan Conflict Tracker Weekly Report (June 1 – 7, 2012)
The violence across Pakistan further escalated during the current week. Clashes between militants and military, and US drone attacks in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) resulted into the major loss of lives. Hostilities between warring ethno-political factions in Karachi also continued to inflict heavy human loss. The figures collected during the length of the week suggest that the total death toll in the city during the last five weeks has reached 132. The data collected (through ten newspapers that CRSS uses as the source) suggests that 150 persons were killed as a result of 59 incidents of violence across the country during the reported week (for details see data sheet).These violent incidents also left 74 people injured. At a time when total death toll saw a relative surge, the number of injured decreased sharply from last week 128 to 74 this week. Contrary to the common trend witnessed in the past nine consecutive weeks, the militant endured the worst ofthe ongoing spate of violence in the country. In total, 99 militants were killed and four others were injured under different circumstances and most the dead were in FATA region. Though the second highest number of casualties was ofcivilians, wherein 43 civilians were killed and another 57 were injured in different parts of the country, the overall civilian death count, however, dropped by 23 percent (28 percent of the total dead were civilians against last week 51 percent). Furthermore, the CIA operated unmanned drones– missile strikes in tribal region of Pakistan continued unabated during the week, as three drone attacks eliminated 27 suspected militants in different areas of North and South Waziristan Agency (FATA). The sabotage campaign launched by the militants continued to rip apart state infrastructure and undermine stability. A 66,000 KV power transmission line was blown up in Jar area of Khar town, Bajaur Agency (FATA), plunging the entire Bajaur Agency into darkness. Three schools were also...
Weekly Data Sheet (Jun 1 – 7, 2012)
Pakistan Conflict Tracker Monthly Report (May 2012)
All kinds of violence continued unabated during the month of May. Ethno-political violence in Karachi and religio-terrorism violence in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) amounted for almost two third of the total deaths during May. The spree of target killing in Karachi has claimed 240 lives since March. Meanwhile, religio-terrorism violence in FATA and KP ate up almost 300 persons during the month under review. The data collected through different sources suggest that some 530 people lost their lives in 271 incidents of violence across the country (for details see data sheet). The overall level of violence escalated in comparison to April, wherein 453 people were perished. The violent clashes also left 590 people injured across the country during the reporting month. A peer into the nature of fatalities suggests that civilians remain the most vulnerable segment of the society, with the civilians accounting for most of the deaths in various acts of violence and terror across Pakistan. As noted in pie chart I below, civilians accounted for almost 54 percent of the total dead in May. The proportion of the civilian deaths is slightly lower than the previous month, when 59 percent of the dead were innocent civilians. As a whole 287 civilians were killed in different circumstances during the month. The second highest number of fatalities is of militants– i.e. 36 percent of the total dead, 10 percent deaths were of the security forces and these were mostly recorded in insurgency infested areas of KP and FATA. Furthermore during May, eight CIA operated drone strikes were reported in North Waziristan Agency (FATA), leaving as many as 46 killed, most of them reportedly suspected militants. On the contrary during last month, only one drone attack was reported. It was very unusual lull in violence perpetrated by the US in tribal region. In total 23 drone attacks have left 132 suspected militants dead so far during the current year....
Pakistan Conflict Tracker Weekly Report (May 25 – 31, 2012)
After a relative respite of two weeks, the wave of violence picked up once again across Pakistan during the current week. Meanwhile, Karachi continued to be the killing field out of sectarian, criminal and ethno-political motives. The total death toll in the city during the last four weeks has reached 108. But unlike the past weeks, where Karachi was the epicenter of violence, during the current week the violence was evenly spread across all the familiar violent terrains i.e. Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Karachi and Balochistan. The data collected (through ten newspapers that CRSS uses as the source) suggests that 119 persons perished in 56 incidents of violence across the country during the reported week (for details see data sheet). These violent incidents also left 128 people injured across the country. Number of injured increased from last week 61 to 128. As a common trend witnessed in the past few weeks, the civilians continued to be the major victims of violence across the country as 51 percent of the total dead were civilians, and numerically 61 civilians were killed and 91 others were wounded. Meanwhile military vs. militants– clashes in different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and FATA resulted in 20 deaths. The salient feature of the week was the abrupt revival of CIA operated drone strikes in tribal region of Pakistan. According to reports, five drone attacks killed 31 suspected militants and injured eight in different areas of North Waziristan Agency (FATA). In total 23 drone attacks have left 132 suspected militants dead so far during the current year. The sabotage campaign launched by the militants continued to demolish state infrastructure and undermine stability; as a portion of railway track and a power transmission line were blown up in Pirkaniabad area of Sariab, Quetta (Balochistan) and Bajaur Agency (FATA), respectively. Two schools were also blown up by the suspected militants in Mohmand Agency...
Weekly Data Sheet (May 25 – 31, 2012)
Kidnappings in Balochistan: The New Source of Sustenance for Criminals and Militants
I The intransigent political and security volatility of the southwestern province of Pakistan, Balochistan is inviting every kind of crime and violence to the province, where the current provincial government has failed to make its presence felt for all the practical purposes during last four years of its reign. Analyze any dimension of governance and one finds that the province has become a vast abyss of pervasive lawlessness, bad governance, economic mismanagement and crime. At a time when Quetta is rocked by incessant targeted killings, bomb blasts, and sectarian violence, other parts of the province are being ripped apart by the tsunami of kidnappings for ransom. Its special targets are though foreigners, well off and least protected Hindus and the Parsi entrepreneurs, others too, are not safe from the menace of kidnapping that indeed is rapidly emerging as the new lifeline for the criminals and militants in an age of sheer paucity of financial resources. Due to its strategic location, enormous area, thin populations and poor law enforcement infrastructure; Balochistan has become home to almost 70 criminal gangs, safe haven for nationalist and religious militant organizations and international terrorist groups.[*] All of these violent actors supplement each other in one way or the other, by creating security vacuums through their respective tools of inflicting violence and perpetuating lawlessness. According to a recent report compiled by a nationalist political party in Balochistan, as many as 1, 047 persons have been abducted in the course of last four years.[1] These abductions were carried out purely out of financial motives and most of the times, abductors succeeded in getting money from the abductees– side. The practice is rapidly emerging as the much needed economic lifeline and convergence of interests between the criminals and militants operating in the province. Provincial Agriculture Minister Asadullah Baloch of BNP-Awami observed that 'Abduction...
Pakistan Conflict Tracker Weekly Report (May 18-24, 2012)
The wave of violence further subsided during the current week as compared to the past few weeks. Meanwhile Karachi continued to seethe under persistent sectarian, criminal and ethno-political violence, which has tossed the security and stability of the largest metropolis of Pakistan. The total death toll in the city during the last eight weeks reached 220, and during past 24 days, to 90. Out of the total 220 deaths in the city, almost 190 were the direct consequence of ethno-political violence in the city. Thus contrary to the past weeks, where Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) were the epicenter of violence, during the current week violence was evenly spread across all the familiar violent terrains i.e. FATA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Karachi and Balochistan. The data collected (through ten newspapers that CRSS uses as the source) suggests that 90 persons perished in 40 incidents of violence across the country during the reported week (for details see data sheet).These violent incidents also left 61 people injured across the country. Number of injured decreased from last week 113 to 61. As a common trend witnessed in the past few weeks, the civilians continued to be the prime target of violence across the country as 55 percent of the total casualties were of the civilians, whereby 50 civilians were killed and 50 others were wounded. Meanwhile military vs. militants– clashes in different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and FATA resulted in 17 deaths. Furthermore, one CIA operated drone strike was also reported during the week, killing four and injuring two suspected militants in Datakhel village of Miramshah, North Waziristan Agency (FATA). The sabotage campaign launched by the militants continued to raze state infrastructure and undermine stability; as portions of railway tracks were blown up in Pirkaniabad area of Sariab in Quetta and Noshki districts of Balochistan. Two schools were also blown up by the suspected militants in different areas of KP....
Weekly Data Sheet (May 18 – 24, 2012)
German Pakistan Media Dialogue: Perspectives on Pakistan and the Region
On May 20, 2012, CRSS hosted a dialogue between representatives of German and Pakistani media at Serena Hotel, Islamabad. The German media delegation flew into Pakistan after a visit to Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif in Northern Afghanistan. Prominent Pakistani journalists Mariana Babar (The News), Dr. Moeed Peerzada (Director/Anchor PTV), Shaukat Paracha, and Sultan Hali (Analyst) briefed the German media representatives on the socio-political developments in and around Pakistan. Pakistani journalists explained the dynamics of the current security crisis facing Pakistan. German delegates, representing the mainstream media were keen to know as to whether Pakistan has turned the corner as far as civil-military relations were concerned. They also wondered as to whether the Pakistani security establishment was undergoing a reform as demanded by the regional geo-political circumstances. German journalists were also surprised to know about the extent to which the India-Pakistani relations impact the course of events and politics in neighbouring Afghanistan. Pakistani media persons were almost unanimous in conveying the message that particularly with the departure of former military ruler General (Retd.) Pervez Musharraf in August 2008, and after the restoration of senior judges in March 2009, a new Pakistan was emerging in which the balance of power has gradually shifted away from the armed forces in favour of the civilian government. Pakistan was also witnessing the emergence of a new and parallel power structure i.e. the superior judiciary which is redefining the limits of arbitrariness of the army and the civilian government. The private media, at the same time, is supporting this democratic transition and also serving as the monitor and the mirror to what all state institutions are doing. German visitors, who are on the regional tour with the support of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation (BMZ) conceded that never before did they take a such a close look...
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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.