Current Projects

Pakistan is Gasping for Stability

Pakistan ´ In the Middle of Crises: Pakistanfinds itself in a perennial state of crisis ´ ranging from economic to acute power shortages to Islamist militancy to domestic political polarization to the unprecedented floods that have affected or displaced 20 million Pakistanis from the north to the south. The Indus river torrents continue to maroon thousands of villages in the south of the country, and have forced hundreds of thousands out of their homes. This represents a crisis bigger than the one Pakistan faced last year after its army moved against radical Taliban militants; the military operation resulted in displacement of slightly over two million in the Swat region. But the devastating floods have displaced several million within last three weeks, with little hope for hundreds of thousands in countless southern villages and towns right and left of the Indus. It is the Super Flood with no parallel in the last 120 years that has killed close to 1500, devastated over half of Pakistan cash crops such as cotton, sugarcane and paddy rice, wiping out about half a million small farmers financially. Already, half of Pakistan 180 million people live off less thantwo dollars a day. The scale of the disaster has already the United Nations and the Organization of the Islamic Conference scrambling for emergency meetings to think of ways how to help the impoverished millions. Backbone of the Agriculture Feared Broken: Agriculture Economists worry that hundreds of thousands offarmers along the Indus in the south would be unable to enter their excessively soaked fields for several weeks. The ground water level is already hardly 25 feet and the land would not absorb the waters quick enough to allow next sowing in time. Î“Ã‡Âªbut Political Landscape is Divided: Its consequences will also be gigantic, necessitating unusual response from the polarized political leadership. A former prime minister Mir Zafrullah Jamali and a federal minister Ejaz Aslam Jhkahrani are already locked...

CRSS to the World: Do not Punish the People for their Government

Pakistan Irresponsible & Clueless Leadership: Since it was established over a week ago, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani's Emergency Fund has attracted less than 50,000 dollars in donations. The same goes for a similar fund created a few days ago by chief minister of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province Ameer Haider Hoti. Flood waters are not the only bitter reality currently sweeping across Pakistan; mistrust in political leaders is spreading just as rapidly. President Asif Zardari's decision to commence a ten-day foreign tour -- despite solid warnings of an impending disaster and reports of hundreds of deaths -- has dealt yet another severe blow to the credibility and commitment of the head of the state. The KPK chief minister also faced similar public anger and resentment for disappearing for days as the floods marooned hundreds of thousands in the Malakand region. And the sense one gets from the province is that the government machinery in most of the affected areas -- KPK, Punjab and Sindh -- was slow in responding to the crisis. According to reports, many public officials appear utterly clueless, unable to even coordinate the aid that local and foreign NGOs have been bringing in. While private television channels kept flashing ever-mounting casualty figures and destruction stories, the state-run Pakistan TV obediently followed Zardari to Paris and London, sending home images that rubbed salt in Pakistan's wounds. Pakistanis were in agony while their leaders were airlifted to a chateau outside Paris. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Gilani, though in Pakistan, only deigned to glance at the plight of the poor masses from a helicopter. Gilani endured much criticism for staging such photo ops. Pakistani Government is Incompetent and Failed to Learn from History: The 2005 earthquake, we had hoped, gave Pakistan an opportunity to train and prepare for similar natural disasters in future. Pakistan welcomed the establishment of the National Disaster...

Floods Situation: People are Simmering with Anger over Government’s Negligence

Floods have Changed Pakistan Development Reality: Until two weeks ago, the M1 ´ that connects capital Islamabad with Peshawar was an express way where you could drive at 120 kms an hour. Today, the tail-end of the Motorway ´ some 50 kilometers, wears a different look; right in the middle of the Motorway ´ the divider of the express way hosts hundreds, if not thousands, of tents hosting peasant families that have been living here for generations. The area ´ with peach, plum orchards and wheat, maize and tobacco leaf fields ´ once formed part of the Kabul River delta, and hence know for its fertility. Today, with the Kabul river overflowing due to glacial melt and unusually heavy monsoon rains, vast swathes of these villages in the vicinity of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (formerly known as Northwestern Frontier Province), are at the mercy of the swollen river. People Fuming Out: 'Never ever did we imagine that we shall have to one day swim to safety from our homes,' said Wakeel Shah, a farmer of the Akbarpura village told CRSS. Heading a family of seven, Shah rescued his 12 year old son last of all when he was already shoulder-deep in water. 'All our goats, cows and chicks are gone , so is the grain stock,' said a despaired Shah, carrying his youngest near the tent, perched in the middle of the motorway that was the only higher ground to escape raging waters. Bakhtawar Khan, another villager from the same area saw his own mud-house melt into the water after the entire family had escaped to the safety of the motorway. 'The Motorway saved us, I would say,' said a dejected Khan, a farmer, who too lost his stock of the grains he had stored for the next few months. He also couldn–t save either of his cattle ´ two cows and four goats. Thousands of families are camping either on the road-side or in the middle of the road; only a couple of days ago, the town of Nowshehra, for instance, was half-submerged in raging waters, destroying or damaging even old...

Floods Situation: People are Simmering with Anger over Government's Negligence

Floods have Changed Pakistan Development Reality: Until two weeks ago, the M1 ´ that connects capital Islamabad with Peshawar was an express way where you could drive at 120 kms an hour. Today, the tail-end of the Motorway ´ some 50 kilometers, wears a different look; right in the middle of the Motorway ´ the divider of the express way hosts hundreds, if not thousands, of tents hosting peasant families that have been living here for generations. The area ´ with peach, plum orchards and wheat, maize and tobacco leaf fields ´ once formed part of the Kabul River delta, and hence know for its fertility. Today, with the Kabul river overflowing due to glacial melt and unusually heavy monsoon rains, vast swathes of these villages in the vicinity of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (formerly known as Northwestern Frontier Province), are at the mercy of the swollen river. People Fuming Out: 'Never ever did we imagine that we shall have to one day swim to safety from our homes,' said Wakeel Shah, a farmer of the Akbarpura village told CRSS. Heading a family of seven, Shah rescued his 12 year old son last of all when he was already shoulder-deep in water. 'All our goats, cows and chicks are gone , so is the grain stock,' said a despaired Shah, carrying his youngest near the tent, perched in the middle of the motorway that was the only higher ground to escape raging waters. Bakhtawar Khan, another villager from the same area saw his own mud-house melt into the water after the entire family had escaped to the safety of the motorway. 'The Motorway saved us, I would say,' said a dejected Khan, a farmer, who too lost his stock of the grains he had stored for the next few months. He also couldn–t save either of his cattle ´ two cows and four goats. Thousands of families are camping either on the road-side or in the middle of the road; only a couple of days ago, the town of Nowshehra, for instance, was half-submerged in raging waters, destroying or damaging even old...

Floods Situation: People are Simmering with Anger over Government's Negligence

Floods have Changed Pakistan Development Reality: Until two weeks ago, the M1 ´ that connects capital Islamabad with Peshawar was an express way where you could drive at 120 kms an hour. Today, the tail-end of the Motorway ´ some 50 kilometers, wears a different look; right in the middle of the Motorway ´ the divider of the express way hosts hundreds, if not thousands, of tents hosting peasant families that have been living here for generations. The area ´ with peach, plum orchards and wheat, maize and tobacco leaf fields ´ once formed part of the Kabul River delta, and hence know for its fertility. Today, with the Kabul river overflowing due to glacial melt and unusually heavy monsoon rains, vast swathes of these villages in the vicinity of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (formerly known as Northwestern Frontier Province), are at the mercy of the swollen river. People Fuming Out: 'Never ever did we imagine that we shall have to one day swim to safety from our homes,' said Wakeel Shah, a farmer of the Akbarpura village told CRSS. Heading a family of seven, Shah rescued his 12 year old son last of all when he was already shoulder-deep in water. 'All our goats, cows and chicks are gone , so is the grain stock,' said a despaired Shah, carrying his youngest near the tent, perched in the middle of the motorway that was the only higher ground to escape raging waters. Bakhtawar Khan, another villager from the same area saw his own mud-house melt into the water after the entire family had escaped to the safety of the motorway. 'The Motorway saved us, I would say,' said a dejected Khan, a farmer, who too lost his stock of the grains he had stored for the next few months. He also couldn–t save either of his cattle ´ two cows and four goats. Thousands of families are camping either on the road-side or in the middle of the road; only a couple of days ago, the town of Nowshehra, for instance, was half-submerged in raging waters, destroying or damaging even old...

Futility of Afghan War Continues

Wasteful Then and Wasteful Now: A British army chaplain, Reverend GR Gleig, in 1843,wrote a memoir of his posting in Afghanistan after the first Anglo-Afghan warand encapsulated his experience in one sentence: this was 'a war begun for no wise purpose, carried on with strange mixture of rashness and timidity, brought to a close after suffering and disaster, without much glory attached either to the governmentÎ“Ã‡Âªor the great body of troops which waged it. Not one benefit, political or military (was) acquired. Our eventual evacuation of the country resembled the retreat of an army defeated.' When the Afghan war began in October 2001, many believed that the British expeditions in the Afghan wasteland were a thing of the past when the technological advances were absent and a soldier gear was far inferior to that of the Western troops in 2001. Nearing the completion of its ninth year, all claims to win a war against a crafty and native enemy are now proving wrong. Whether anyone in the Western capitals agrees to this or not but the reality is that the war effort that the US led, UK feverishly sponsored and other European countries, under the flagship of NATO, dragged their feet into the messy pot now called Afghanistan. Despite all the analysis ´ some say manipulated intelligence -, technological edge, weaponry, mobility, international blessing and power intoxication, the US-led Afghan expedition is being termed as a failure, only in so many vague words. But those who have an eye to read between the lines and are keen observers of power moves, understand that a belief is baking strong in the hearts and minds of the Western Capitals on the futility of this war. Winning the War or Saving the Graces: Now the challenge is not to win this war. The challenge now is an 'honorable retreat!' 'How NATO and US-led forces reached at this point,' is a big question to which various Pakistani officials and authorities have been pointing out at for the last few years; especially...

No Easy Days for Pakistan Ahead

Pakistan is still Mistrusted by its Allies: For easing their troops out of Afghanistan, the US apparently needs a shoulder to rely on. And in the current scenario the Pakistan Army, headed by Gen Kayani, offers that shoulder. Hence, the overwhelming US desire to ensure continuity in command on the eastern side of the Durand Line. But beyond Gen Kayani extension, Clinton and Admiral Mullen latest visits (July 19 and July 24, 2010) need to be examined in the backdrop of the ever growing Indo-Afghan-American axis. Within six days, top leaders of these countries ´ Indian Foreign Affairs Minister S M Krishna, Hillary Clinton, President Hamid Karzai, and Afghan Commerce Minister Anwarul Haq ´ exchanged notes with Pakistani ministers and officials in Islamabad and Kabul. And on July 20, what stood out was the usual mistrust of Pakistan being the harbourer and promoter of terrorist forces. S M Krishna and Clinton left no doubt that mistrust remains the biggest thorn in the Indo-Afghan-American-Pakistan relationship. By practically insisting on the presence of Osama Bin Laden and Mulla Omar in Pakistan and asking for access to them, Ms Clinton practically indicted Pakistan for 'harbouring terrorists wanted by the United States.' Clinton claims also belied the niceties she showered around in Islamabad, belittling the claims of the desire 'for a long-term strategic partnership.' Regional Power ´ India ´ Still Skeptical of Pakistan Intentions: And this mistrust emanates not only from Washington but also sits deep in India, illustrated by the Deccan Herald on July 22: 'Clinton is right in the substance of her allegations, she is downplaying the magnitude of the problem. Knowledge of Bin Laden whereabouts might be restricted to elements in the Pakistan government but the support he and others of his ilk are getting is far more widespread from within the Pakistani establishment. In fact, Pakistan has made no shift away from its long-standing use of terrorism to further its...

Extremists’ Running out of Space in Pakistan

Pakistan Partnership in GWOT has Rattled Pakistanis: Until March 17, 2002, when an Afghan suicide bomber struck at the church located inside Islamabad diplomatic enclave, Pakistanis were unfamiliar with suicide bombings. But particularly since 2007, Pakistan has suffered almost 210 such attacks, piling misery and destruction in different locations. What becomes obvious from the trail of violence is the centrality of suicide bombings by brainwashed activists belonging to various groups; Lashkar-e- Jhangvi, Jaish-e- Mohammad, Tehreek-e-i Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (primarily sectarian in nature). Before September 11, 11 September 2001, the al-Al Qaeda did employ suicide missions as part its global jihad, yet in the aftermath of9/11, the extremist interpretation of jihad has undergone a more radical change, basically degenerating into a cult of suicide bombing. Pakistan ´ Suffering the Most: Most Pakistanis can tick off any number of militant attacks that have killed innocents in recent years. On May 28 gunmen and a suicide squad massacred nearly a 100 Ahmedi Muslims in Lahore. Three days later on June 1st, terrorists raided the hospital where a surviving attacker was under treatment, leaving killing another five killed in the ensuing battle with the security personnel. On the first of July 1, two suicide bombings killed about 50 at the popular Data Darbar Sufi e shrine in Lahore , one of Pakistan politically important cities. And on July 9th, a similarly well-coordinated terror strike in the tribal region - Mohmand Agency ´ left a bloody trail of death and destruction, killing; at least 106 dead and injuring dozens injured. The apparent target was the assembly of tribal elders with the local government administrator. As many as 32 prisoners, many of them terror suspects and accused, also escaped after parts of the road-side jail came crumbling down because of the massive impact. As of July 22nd, more than over 1,106 people ´ , including women,...

Extremists' Running out of Space in Pakistan

Pakistan Partnership in GWOT has Rattled Pakistanis: Until March 17, 2002, when an Afghan suicide bomber struck at the church located inside Islamabad diplomatic enclave, Pakistanis were unfamiliar with suicide bombings. But particularly since 2007, Pakistan has suffered almost 210 such attacks, piling misery and destruction in different locations. What becomes obvious from the trail of violence is the centrality of suicide bombings by brainwashed activists belonging to various groups; Lashkar-e- Jhangvi, Jaish-e- Mohammad, Tehreek-e-i Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (primarily sectarian in nature). Before September 11, 11 September 2001, the al-Al Qaeda did employ suicide missions as part its global jihad, yet in the aftermath of9/11, the extremist interpretation of jihad has undergone a more radical change, basically degenerating into a cult of suicide bombing. Pakistan ´ Suffering the Most: Most Pakistanis can tick off any number of militant attacks that have killed innocents in recent years. On May 28 gunmen and a suicide squad massacred nearly a 100 Ahmedi Muslims in Lahore. Three days later on June 1st, terrorists raided the hospital where a surviving attacker was under treatment, leaving killing another five killed in the ensuing battle with the security personnel. On the first of July 1, two suicide bombings killed about 50 at the popular Data Darbar Sufi e shrine in Lahore , one of Pakistan politically important cities. And on July 9th, a similarly well-coordinated terror strike in the tribal region - Mohmand Agency ´ left a bloody trail of death and destruction, killing; at least 106 dead and injuring dozens injured. The apparent target was the assembly of tribal elders with the local government administrator. As many as 32 prisoners, many of them terror suspects and accused, also escaped after parts of the road-side jail came crumbling down because of the massive impact. As of July 22nd, more than over 1,106 people ´ , including women,...

Extremists' Running out of Space in Pakistan

Pakistan Partnership in GWOT has Rattled Pakistanis: Until March 17, 2002, when an Afghan suicide bomber struck at the church located inside Islamabad diplomatic enclave, Pakistanis were unfamiliar with suicide bombings. But particularly since 2007, Pakistan has suffered almost 210 such attacks, piling misery and destruction in different locations. What becomes obvious from the trail of violence is the centrality of suicide bombings by brainwashed activists belonging to various groups; Lashkar-e- Jhangvi, Jaish-e- Mohammad, Tehreek-e-i Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (primarily sectarian in nature). Before September 11, 11 September 2001, the al-Al Qaeda did employ suicide missions as part its global jihad, yet in the aftermath of9/11, the extremist interpretation of jihad has undergone a more radical change, basically degenerating into a cult of suicide bombing. Pakistan ´ Suffering the Most: Most Pakistanis can tick off any number of militant attacks that have killed innocents in recent years. On May 28 gunmen and a suicide squad massacred nearly a 100 Ahmedi Muslims in Lahore. Three days later on June 1st, terrorists raided the hospital where a surviving attacker was under treatment, leaving killing another five killed in the ensuing battle with the security personnel. On the first of July 1, two suicide bombings killed about 50 at the popular Data Darbar Sufi e shrine in Lahore , one of Pakistan politically important cities. And on July 9th, a similarly well-coordinated terror strike in the tribal region - Mohmand Agency ´ left a bloody trail of death and destruction, killing; at least 106 dead and injuring dozens injured. The apparent target was the assembly of tribal elders with the local government administrator. As many as 32 prisoners, many of them terror suspects and accused, also escaped after parts of the road-side jail came crumbling down because of the massive impact. As of July 22nd, more than over 1,106 people ´ , including women,...