Current Projects
Public-Police Partnership, Responsible Citizenship, Constitutional Education Preconditions for Rule of Law: DIG Hazara
The most important ingredient that goes into development of a cohesive society is public-private partnership that also upholds rule of law. Punishment comes as a last resort in the enforcement of rule of law. However, there are many other levels positioned prior to that, including but not limited to responsible and active citizenship, volunteerism, community policing, public-police cooperation and public education on rights and responsibilities. These views were expressed by Mr. Mir Wais Niaz, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Police, Hazara during the 31st round of Ulasi Taroon Youth Capacity Building Workshops, organized by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) at and in collaboration with the Hazara University , Mansehra. The DIG police Hazara said that while it is the responsibility of state to enforce law, rule of law is truly upheld with the law-abiding citizenship and citizenry cognizant of their rights enshrined in the constitution and laws enacted for their benefits. Working and friendly relationship between the citizens and law enforcement institutions only helps them to deliberate - in a democratic way - solutions to address the issues of communal and national concern. This relationship can alone strengthen rule of law more than anything. In the contemporary times, the scope of rule of law has been extended from offline to online domain, especially with the advent of world wide web and excessive application and use of social media. To address the public-police trust deficit and former fearing to interact with the latter, the institution should be seen as a service and not a force. Also the more the interactions, the less the trust deficit. While we expect police to be friendly in their interaction and behavior with the public, the same goes for the citizens to respect the members of law enforcement fraternity. They are all important stakeholders for social peace and harmony, and should empathize with each other. Despite its reputation and all...
Citizens’ Participation is Fundamental to Inclusive Democracy
Inclusive democracy comes through participation of citizens - without any discrimination of gender - in the dialogue and decision-making processes on the issues that concern them the most. That is only how you can cultivate the much-needed meaning and belonging among the citizens as a precondition for their agency for socio-political and economic development. Similarly, the role of citizens is crucially important in the matters of governance for accountability and responsiveness. It always helps bridging the gaps between public needs and key public services on offer. These views were expressed by Ms. Aisha Bano, Member, Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the 30th round of Ulasi Taroon Youth Capacity Building Workshops, organized by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) at and in collaboration with the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Peshawar. She said that culture should never deter, instead, it should be conducive to and encourage the participation of women in all walks of life as a matter of their constitutional right, empowerment and investment in the future of country’s stability. Mr. Ahmad Zunair, Assistant Superintendent Police (ASP), Peshawar noted that rule of law is a fundamentally essential prerequisite for social cohesion, peace and prosperity of any nation where it can never thrive on discrimination. It is only upheld when everyone is subject and accountable before law no matter how powerful. Societies with the weak state of rule of law are more vulnerable to extremism and violence. Police is not only one of the most important institutions as part of criminal justice system but also greatly responsible to uphold rule of law. It should adopt community policing models and best practices to ameliorate the public-police trust deficit. Community policing lays the foundation for the information sharing mechanism key to a crime-free and peaceful society. Every police official interacting with the public is...
Pakistan wants to open all universities to Afghans: Ch Fawad
Federal Minister for Science and Technology Chaudhry Fawad Hussain Tuesday said Pakistan wants to establish a campus of the COMSATS-the top technological university in Pakistan in the Qandahar province of Afghanistan. He was speaking at the Second Youth Entrepreneurs Conference held here, arranged by Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) to provide young entrepreneurs from both countries an opportunity to share ideas and experiences. The Minister also assured Pakistan’s readiness to open almost all its universities to Afghan students who aspire to get their higher education in Pakistan along with establishment of scientific and incubation centers across Afghanistan, as only quality education and enlightenment can ensure a bright and secure future. He said that there is a huge onus on the youth of both countries to forget the bitter experiences of past and work together for a better future which can only be achieved through innovation and learning from the past. Speaking on the occasion, Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan, Najibullah Alikhil said security and prosperity of Afghanistan and Pakistan are highly interconnected, so both countries should work together for their mutual benefits. He added that some remarkable progress has been made through Pak-Afghan partnerships particularly through people-to-people interactions. He expressed hope that joint ventures of public and private sector will help in enhancing relations between the two countries. He also highlighted that importance of such meeting and youth’s voices in enhancing the bilateral trade ties between the two neighbors. He added that lasting and durable peace is the fundamental demand and desire of all Afghans and is possible only by reducing violence and a comprehensive ceasefire. He was of the view that the youth from both sides can play an important role in peace building, countering terrorism, and for the development of Afghanistan. He concluded with mentioning Pakistan’s desire for Afghanistan...
CRSS Annual Security Report 2020
CASUALTIES OF TERROR ATTACKS AND COUNTER-TERROR OPERATIONS Pakistan had lost 600 lives to violence by the end of 2020. Among the wounded were 518 persons. The ex-FATA region emerged as the worst hit by violence, where 191 persons died. This was followed by Balochistan (138), KP (122), Sindh (92), Punjab (40), Islamabad (10), and GB (7) (see table 1). Although Balochistan lost fewer people than ex-FATA, the total number of casualties was higher in the province. Balochistan and KP (including FATA) recorded 75% of the total fatalities from violence. Sindh reported 15% of the fatalities. Punjab and Islamabad combined, recorded only 8% of total fatalities. Download
Road Map to achieve SDG-5 in Pakistan
Gender inequality and gender based violence stand as the most persistent but least recognized human right abuse and a pertinent issue internationally. However, the issue is more evident in under-developed and developing countries. Pakistan, like other regional countries, faces this issue. The cultural and religious setup in Pakistan has legitimized such issues and hence they have become an integral component of our societal setup. Regardless of Pakistan’s progress in the field of economy, several social inequalities seem to persist, particularly gender inequalities. However, Pakistan is making progress in the field of women empowerment and security. In 2018, the world economic forum placed Pakistan as the second worst county in terms of gender equality in its Global Gender Gap Index in 2018, behind Yemen, but the country ranks third-to-last, at number 151, on the 2020 Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI), showing positive progress. The country has been able to lessen the gender gap by 56 per cent, said World Economic Forum (WEF) in its report. The gender gap measures economic participation, professional exposure, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. Though Pakistan has shown a good progress in wage equality and on the educational attainment sub index within the last year, still a lot needs to be done in order to ensure gender equality in the country. The first thing that needs to be done in this regard is the normalization of women’s presence in public spaces. As our culture appreciates women’s presence in the homes only and gives public spaces’ ownership to men, it is extremely vital that we observe gender equality in this realm. Public spaces are a shared asset and all the citizens have equal ownership rights on it, so efforts should be made to make women feel safe in public spaces. This can be done by having a better lighting system in cities, improved transportation system, provision of comforts to women e.g. washrooms, nursing...
Beyond Boundaries
Ulasi Taroon
UlasiTaroon (Social Cohesion) is a counter radicalization initiative of Center for Research and Security Studies that aims to address the radicalization challenges, extremist ideologies and foster social cohesion through a discourse anchored in the core constitutional values which are fundamentally essential prerequisites for social peace and harmony. The endeavor aims to cultivate and sensitize the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in the core values in the Pakistani constitution and our social contract. It’s an attempt to highlight the criticality of abiding by these ideals – such as adherence to rule of law, primacy and sanctity of constitution, equal citizenry, responsible citizenship, respect for fundamental human rights, tolerance for diversity and different opinions, inclusive democracy and good governance – as a measure of fostering social cohesion and peaceful co-existence.
Pakistan Center of Excellence
Pakistan Center of Excellence (PACE) is a major CVE initiative by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) designed to trigger critical thinking through a discourse anchored in fundamental global values such as socio-political diversity, acceptance of diversity, rule of law and equal citizenry, as well as the rights afforded within Pakistan’s Constitution (articles 8-28). This landmark project is running with the support of the government of Netherlands.
Women Parliamentarians Beyond Boundaries group should be formed between Pak-Afghan parliamentarians, recommends Shandana Gulzar
Parliamentarians from Pakistan and Afghanistan on Thursday announced a new initiative Women Parliamentarians Beyond Boundaries (WPBB) to push for greater understanding and bilateral cooperation. The idea was floated by Member National Assembly (MNA) Shandana Gulzar, who said if doctors can operate without boundaries, why can’t public representatives do so by joining hands to serve and guide their people? Ms Gulzar said this at the Pakistan-Afghanistan Women Parliamentarians’ Dialogue, organized by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) and the Organization for Economic Studies and Peace (OESP) in Afghanistan. The conference was designed to bring together members of parliament and senior female officials from both countries to communicate and collaborate across a wide variety of common goals. The gathering was inaugurated by H. E. Najib Alikhil, the honorable ambassador of Afghanistan to Pakistan, who lauded CRSS’ efforts in expanding and improving people-to-people relations between the two countries and highlighted the women forum as a clear example of the organization’s success. He stated that the stability, security, and prosperity of the two countries was deeply linked, and cooperation needed to be improved in trade and transit, education, health, and security. He was appreciative of the positive recent diplomatic exchanges between the two countries and said that PM Imran Khan’s vision for of peace is achievable with direct contribution of all stakeholders and a comprehensive ceasefire. Shinkai Karokhail, Member Parliament Afghanistan and leader of the delegation, said that engaging more women can help change the face of Afghan politics. She stated that women’s role in lasting peace is critical, and Afghan women welcome and expect regional women to support them in whatever way possible. Dr. Nausheen Hamid, Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Health, stated that health is a common challenge and shared goal. She briefed the honorable...
Punjab launches Women Safety App: A step towards women security
The Punjab government, in its efforts to protect and empower women, launched a mobile phone application through the Punjab Police department named ‘Punjab Police – Women Safety App’. Inspector General of Police Inam Ghani on Sunday stated that safeguard of women and immediate solution to their issues was among top preferences of the Punjab Police and that’s why the women safety application was launched by using new technology. This news appears to be a ray of hope for the women of the province as the number of sexual, domestic, emotional, and verbal violence incidents was constantly rising, not just in Punjab, but in the whole country. At the launch of the application on January 31, 2021, IG Punjab stated that the application has been designed by the effective use of information technology and besides Punjab Police, important agencies like Rescue, Motorway Police, and Punjab Highway Patrol have also been included so that the process of protection of women could be improved and women face the least amount of difficulty in challenging situations. He also urged all female students, working ladies and housewives of the province to immediately download Punjab Police Women Safety App in their mobile phones and register themselves on it so that they can get all possible help and guidance from the options available on this app. The app is an excellent example of constructive use of modern technology. It is a simple mobile app that could be downloaded and used on all smart phones. Women can easily register themselves by entering basic information from their mobile phones, and the app makes Emergency Helpline-15, Rescue 1122, Highway Police, and Motorway Police just one click away, in case of any emergency. In addition to bringing the security departments close, the app allows women to scan the location before going anywhere by observing the reviews given by other women, moreover, they can also give feedback on their experiences of being safe, partially safe, and unsafe...
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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.