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Media should understand its responsibility is to report ideologies, not any specific ideology
One major impediment in taking Pakistan-Bangladesh relationship forward is communication gap as the issues are deemed so sensitive that they can’t be discussed on mainstream media. However, we should effectively utilize the social media to bring the conversation about these issues to the citizens of both countries. This will help in finding commonalities and hence enhancing people-to-people interactions. These were the remarks made by Ms. Amber Rahim Shamsi, Head of Communications, Tabadlab, while speaking at the third webinar in the series “Pakistan-Bangladesh Relations” organized by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), earlier today. Speakers included Mr. Sajjadur Rahman, Editor, Business Insider Bangladesh, Ms. Sumi Khan, journalist and media consultant, Bangladesh, and Mr. Imtiaz Gul, Executive Director of CRSS. She added that journalists’ interactions are important as they have a lot of commonalities on which they can build better collaborations. But Bangladeshi journalists aren’t willing to visit or collaborate with Pakistan. She suggested that the diplomatic gap between Pakistan and Bangladesh is because it’s been 50 years and the two countries haven’t communicated their grievances with each other. Mr. Sajjadur Rahman raised a very valid point that Pakistan and Bangladesh should try to enhance people-to-people relations as without anything happening on the diplomatic front, there is nothing for journalists to report. In order for media to play a role, something has to happen between the two countries, either on economic or trade grounds or on social grounds. He also highlighted the fact that Bangladesh has better trade and tourism relations with India as compared to Pakistan because Pakistan has a lot of internal issues specifically terrorism. Pakistan should take care of its internal issues to enhance people-to-people and bilateral relations. Ms. Sumi Khan, as well as Mr. Rahman, reinforced the recurring recommendation CRSS has been...
A New Perspective to Women’s Empowerment
With the evolution of the idea of intersectionality, there is no such thing as an abstract category of women, which includes all women. From the very moment of birth, we are all born into some structure in the form of a particular class, a particular ethnicity, a particular religion or a particular sect. And we are brought up according to that, and our level of power vis-a-vis the state and empowerment depends on where we are located in the social structure. There tend to be huge differences between and among different women with regard to their social class, ethnicity, religion, sex, and other markers of social differentiation. When these differences are kept in mind, one realizes that the approach to empowerment has to be holistic, it cannot just be the empowerment of women. If a woman is a laborer, then labor empowerment is also important to empower her, if she happens to be a woman as well as a Christian, than the empowerment of minorities is also imperative. Otherwise, even if she’s empowered in one context, she’ll be disempowered in another. So all kinds of empowerment must be all-inclusive and go together, including the empowerment of religious minorities, the empowerment of ethnic minorities, of social classes etc. Empowerment means different things to different people, so there is no single set definition thus far. Moreover, empowerment cannot be ensured by bringing changes at the individual level alone. Self-empowerment is an essential prerequisite for women to get economic empowerment and inclusion opportunities from the state. Basic Goal of Empowerment The ultimate goal of empowering anybody is to create equality in society, relative equality which means that we have to fight the social structure in which wealth and other resources are distributed unequally, as these inequalities tend to disempower people in different capacities. The principle of equality is also enshrined in Pakistan’s constitution; article 25 (2) of Pakistan’s Constitution says that...
Politics in Pakistan: A Gender Biased Domain
According to the global gender gap report 2021 by World Economic Forum, the four major gaps in women empowerment tracked Political Empowerment as the first and most important gap. Across 156 countries around the world, women only represent 26.1 of the 35,500 parliament seats and just 22.6 of over 3,400 ministers. In 81 countries there has never been a woman head of state as of January 15, 2021. At the current rate, it would take 145.6 years to attain gender parity in politics. The gender gap in Economic Participation and Opportunity remains the second largest gap with Educational Attainment as third and Health and Survival as the fourth. In Pakistani patriarchal society political participation of women has yet to be acknowledged as a “respectable” option due to the various prevailing stereotypes and assumptions regarding access to this option. Though the laws of the land and legislations have been ensuring the political rights of women, for instance a total of 10 seats was reserved for women in 1956 Constitution in the unicameral Parliament with five seats each from East and West Pakistan. The 1962 Constitution kept 6 seats for women in the National Assembly with three seats each from East and West Pakistan. The 1973 Constitution held in reserve 10 seats for women for a period of ten years from the commencing day of the Constitution or holding of the third general elections to the National Assembly, whichever occurred later. In 1985, ten (10) seats were increased to twenty (20), whereas the reserved seats for women were increased to sixty (60) in 2002 during Musharraf era. Various Constitutional provisions of 1973 constitution affirm the state’s determination to minimize gender disparity by the elimination of discrimination on the basis of gender and encouraging participation of women in all walks of life. Article 17 (2) of the Constitution provides every citizen with the right to form or be a member of a political party. Article 34 of the Constitution emphasizes...
Obituary and Remembrance – Nasir Khan Durrani
The Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) is deeply saddened to know of the untimely demise of Nasir Khan Durrani, former Inspector General of Police (IGP), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). As chief of the provincial police, Durrani worked tirelessly to professionally reorganize a police force that had been in the forefront of the fight against terrorism since the beginning of the questionable war on terrorism nearly two decades ago. Police force in the KP, which shares a 1350-kilometer border with Afghanistan, had been battered and demoralized when Durrani assumed the charge in 2013. He went on to reorganize the entire police force and professionalize their services with the establishment of several specialized training schools including explosives management, riot control and commando training for counter-terrorism missions. Durrani had always believed that the police succeeds only if it wins the trust of the common man. That is why, in an unprecedented move, Durrani made himself available to the public round the clock and established a quick response mechanism for addressing complaints of corruption or responding to unusual crime or security situation, through facilities like Police Access Service (PAS) and Police Assistance Lines (PAL). Dispute Resolution Councils (DRC) was one of his excellent initiatives as part of his efforts to reduce the burden on criminal justice sector institutions and help common citizens by addressing their grievances through an alternative dispute resolution mechanism. The DRC mechanism proved to be a staggering success, with many districts of KP reporting upto 75 percent success rate in resolving conflicts at the community level. CRSS is proud to have worked with the KP police after Durrani opened up to the idea of advocacy for a public-private partnership through a round of consultations. This allowed CRSS and KP police to collaborate and implement a community policing initiative Ulasi Police with dialogues, public fora, and TV...
Syeda Uruba Nisar Social Media Associate Syeda Uruba Nisar is a Social Media Associate at CRSS. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, Islamabad. At CRSS, she is responsible for facilitating and assisting project leaders in development of social media strategies and material for all programming in CRSS, along with assisting project leaders in editing/writing/developing of IEC materials, training manuals and project reports. Uruba is also an entrepreneur of an online retail business venture.
Farhana Kanwal Project Coordinator Farhana Kanwal is a Project Coordinator at CRSS, where she works primarily on Pakistan Center of Excellence (PACE), a project countering violent extremism. She has a Master’s degree in Political Science from University of Peshawar. She has previously worked with Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), Sarhad Rural Support Program (SRSP) and a government-run project in different capacities. At CRSS, she is responsible for the coordination, planning, operation, execution and reporting of PACE activities. She is also working as a Research Associate, and has contributed in publication of a research titled The NAP Tracker.
Mohammad Nafees Senior Research Associate Mohammad Nafees is working as a Freelance Journalist and Senior Research Associate with the Center for Research and Security Studies focusing on subjects mainly related with socio-political issues of the country. His columns appear in the print media (The Daily Times and The Financial Daily) and on-line media (Viewpoint). Other than writing columns, he carries out data based research on different socio-political issues of the country. His analytical studies and researches have been used by different national and international organizations. Since May 2013, he has been preparing monthly reports on violence in Pakistan that contain statistical data on violence-related casualties along with a narrative of the prevailing political scenario of the country. These reports are posted on the CRSS website. His professional carrier spans over 33 years of his association with General Electric Aviation Company, USA holding different positions from Technical Representative to the Program Manager at its Karachi Office with PIA. Being a Program Manager of the GE Aviation, USA for Pakistan and Bangladesh, he attended different business related training courses, conferences, and meetings held at different locations in the world. The countries he visited for these official purposes were USA, France, Turkey, UK, Bangladesh, UAE, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.
Malik Mustafa Manager Programs/ Team Leader Malik Mustafa is a development professional working with the CRSS as Manager Programs/ Team Leader. This position implies enormously important roles and responsibilities to promote a discourse embedded in the global democratic values and ideals critical to social peace and cohesion. This is mainly achieved through advocating for respect for fundamental human rights and differences, exhibiting tolerance for diversity, equal citizenry, adherence to rule of law and primacy of constitution, as a measure of strengthening social fabric of the society. Through the course of his work as a non-profit leader, he believes in the change he is working for and is steadfastly striving for a just society where all the inhabitants are acknowledged as equal citizens and have access to fundamental human rights enshrined in the constitution. The endeavors aim to address the critical contemporary issues – such as rule of law, democracy, governance, peacebuilding, social cohesion, counter-radicalization and cross-border engagement - falling within the ambit of the Center's thematic focus. This role complements the said organizational objectives; utilizing his skills/ expertise on devising, implementing and monitoring results based programs and strategies; manifest in strategizing, spearheading and evaluating over 15 different ongoing and completed projects on global democratic values, social cohesion, youth development, counter-radicalization, rule of law, governance, multiculturalism and cross border engagements, as part of Center’s strategic partnership with several international donor partners. This includes supervision of the programs such as i) Heinrich Böll Stiftung’s State, Religion and Democracy and ii) Governance, Community & Religion, iii) DFATD’s Balochistan Youth Forum and iv) Balochistan Democracy Awareness Initiative v) USAID’s Moong Qabail vi) UNICEF’s My Story, Our Voice vii) IRI’s Constituency Hour viii) Deutsche Welle...
Munawar Ahmed Virk Director Finance, Administration & HR Munawar Ahmed Virk is responsible for the financial, administrative and human resource operations of CRSS. He also provides executive administrative support to the offices of Chairman and Executive Director of the organization. Mr. Munawar Ahmed Virk brings with him a combined professional and industry background gained from over 15 years of experience in financial "analysis internal audit" accounting and risk management in both the profit and non-profit sectors. Prior to joining CRSS, Mr. Virk was working as the Chief Financial Officer in Dynamic Crop Sciences (Pvt.) Ltd., one of the largest companies operating in the agriculture sector, where he was responsible for import, manufacturing, distribution and liaison with the government regulatory bodies. Mr. Virk has also worked with Pakistan largest cellular company Mobilink, Pepsi Cola International and United States Agency for International Development (USAID). He has also worked and trained with M/s. A.F. Furguson & Co, which is the highest ranking Chartered Account firm in Pakistan.
Imtiaz Gul Executive Director Imtiaz Gul is the Executive Director of Center for Research and Security Studies that he founded in December 2007, with the support of Germany’s Heinrich Boell Stiftung. The Center is a research and advocacy outfit, focused primarily on security, radicalization and governance. He has been contributing to international and national print media; Foreign Policy, USA, Wall Street Journal, The Friday Times (weekly), Islamabad, Daily Express Tribune, on issues such as militancy, border regions, Afghanistan, and Indo-Pak relations. Besides offering advice as consultant to foreign diplomatic missions and development sector organizations, Gul regularly appears as an analyst/expert on Pakistani TV channels as well as the Doha-based Al-Jazeera English/Arabic satellite TV channel for his expertise in areas such as Afghanistan/Tribal Areas/ and the Kashmir militancy. Gul has presented papers and given talks at universities and international security and counter-terror conferences in Brussels, Tokyo, Berlin, New Delhi, Kabul, New York, Washington, the Hague, Riyadh, Italy, Oslo, Stockholm, Beijing, and has authored following books Pakistan: Before and After Osama bin Laden (Roli Books, India, September, 2012) The Most Dangerous Place: Pakistan Lawless Frontier (Penguin US/UK June, 2010) Al-Qaeda Connection: Taliban and Terror in Tribal Areas (Penguin-Viking India, August 20, 2009) The Unholy Nexus: Pak-Afghan relations under the Taliban (Vanguard Books, Pakistan, July 2002) Pakistan: Pivot of Hizbut Tahrir’s Global Caliphate (2014) Gul has also been part of an international group, put together by the New York based Century Foundation, that authored the report “Jago Pakistan” (Wake Up Pakistan). He is a member of the Bellagio Forum, Milan, initiative for the establishment of a UN University for Peace and Social Studies, and also participated in a 2-month Asia Leaders Fellowship Program by International House of Japan and Japanese Studies and...
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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.