Current Projects
Centre of Economic Power Is Shifting From The West To East: Sartaj Aziz
Pakistan truly stands at a historic juncture. The country’s strategic location, once being a liability is now a bridge between Europe and Asia. Centre of economic power is shifting from the West to East. Over the years Asia has become a leading player in the emerging economies of the world, Planning Commission of Pakistan Deputy Chairman Sartaj Aziz said. Regional connectivity in Asia now lies at the centre of the Chinese-led Belt and Road Initiative, which aims at connecting Asia with Europe and CPEC, a central part of this network, is an all-inclusive economic corridor for the region, says a press release here on Monday. National Security Adviser (NSA) Nasser Khan Janjua said that Pakistan by connecting 86 percent (as 60% of the world’s population lives in Asia; about 10 percent in Europe and 16 percent in Africa) of the people of the world is a massive potential trade and industrial hub. He said this while speaking at the seminar on “Dynamics of Geopolitics, Regional Security and Economic Connectivity” organised by National Security Division (NSD), Government of Pakistan in collaboration with the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) here today, which was attended by the ambassadors of Central Asian Republics (CARs) in addition to other dignitaries. The NSA urged CARs to utilise the huge potential of Balochistan and access sea through Gwadar, which is the world’s largest deep sea port. Balochistan is our face, he said. Pakistan will multiply the economy of the entire region. Ali Alizada, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Pakistan enunciated that the landscape of the world was changing dramatically and countries were changing their state policies swiftly in the wake of unfolding global crescendos. Peace is the only option to move towards sustainable future. Pakistan has always supported peace and stability in the region and Azerbaijan is grateful to Pakistan for their positive role in this regard, the ambassador said. Giving Turkey’s perspective, on the...
Why De-Radicalization And CVE Remain Major Challenges For Pakistan?
Some lessons learnt: The Pakistan Center for Excellence (PACE) is a Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) initiative aimed at sensitizing young intellectuals and academics on “critical thinking.” Designed by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), PACE grew out of the need to trigger critical thinking through a discourse that is anchored in globally acknowledged and practiced values such as acceptance of socio-political diversity, rule of law, equal citizenry, freedom of faith and expression well as the rights afforded within Pakistan’s Constitution (articles 8-28). As many as 580 young university teachers and professors, drawn from 80 universities have gone through 29 training workshops, the feedback from these monthly gatherings leads one to conclude that religious radicalization, increasing religiosity and countering it through a critical discourse remain a major challenge for Pakistan’s policy makers and citizens at large. Outcomes: CRSS’s experience of working with such a wide array of young male and female teachers was a mixed bag; some were progressive in their ideas and approach, while others appeared less receptive or even reluctant to embrace notions on fundamental human rights that were being advocated during the workshops. Some were amenable to changing their perceptions, while others were not – as evidenced from the inter-active discussions with resource persons. An assessment of the pre and post training questionnaires also helped in determining the extent of influence these workshops had on the participants. Initially, most participants would agree that there were gaps in the ideals of inter-faith harmony and diversity and the actual practice. Soon after the dialogues, however, many participants reverted to their original conservative narratives on issues such as womens’ or equal rights for religious minorities. One surprising revelation was some participants even saying that Hindus, their fellow citizens, ought to leave the country if...
Politicians Must Put National Interest Ahead of Their Personal Interest: Muzafar Said, JI
Timergara, May 14, 2018: You cannot strengthen democracy in the country unless you promote democratic practices within families as well as political parties. Democracy means tolerance and a positive attitude. It also means indiscriminate accountability; an accountable, transparent and responsible government including accountability of the elected representatives to the public. The self-accountability is also important to strengthen the democratic practices. The notions were expressed by Mr. Muzafar Said, Former Finance Minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the sixth round of Ulasi Taroon, Youth Capacity Building Workshops organized by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) at Abdul Wali Khan University, Timergara Campus from May 11-12, 2018. Mr. Wahid, District Police Officer (DPO), Swat also spoke during the workshop. “If the politicians consider national interest paramount than their personal interests, it will the single most rewarding act of strengthening the democracy in Pakistan”, the JI leader noted while adding that the democratic values and ideals – fundamental to social peace and development - are clearly enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan. The real democracy lies in inclusion; consult public on the decisions that concern them and formulate policies in consideration of the issues that the concern citizens the most. He urged the future leaders for participating in the democratic processes actively. The workshops like Ulasi Taroon can help youth prepare for the future challenges and educate them in the issues critical to peacebuilding to lead conflict resolution in their respective social and professional spheres. The DPO Swat, Mr. Wahid said that rule of law means to act in accordance with law. Educating the society is the most significant milestone to achieve in ensuring rule of law and upholding sanctity of constitution. Rule of law is a doctrine of political morality that aims at ensuring the correct balance of rights and powers...
NSA Nasser Janjua Urges Central Asian Republics to Utilize Huge Potential of Balochistan
Pakistan: The National Security Advisor (NSA) Lt. General (retd) Nasser Khan Janjua has urged Central Asian Republics (CARs) to utilize the huge potential of Balochistan and access sea through Gwadar, which is the World’s largest deep sea port. “Balochistan is our face,” the advisor said while speaking at the Seminar on “Dynamics of Geo-Politics, Regional Security and Economic Connectivity” organized by National Security Division (NSD), Government of Pakistan in collaboration with the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) in Islamabad on Monday. The advisor said that Pakistan will multiply the economy of the entire region. Nasser Janjua said that Pakistan by connecting 86% (as 60% of the World’s population lives in Asia; about 10% in Europe and 16% in Africa) of the people of the World is a massive potential trade and industrial hub. The Seminar was attended by the ambassadors of CARs in addition to other dignitaries. While speaking at the Seminar on the common challenges faced by the region, Lt. General (retd) Asif Yasin said that good governance and governance alone would lead to internal stability, fight against terrorism and poverty in the region. Lt. General (retd) Asif Yasin said that Pakistan and Afghanistan have common stakes. He said that trans-Afghanistan and trans-Pakistan are the contemporary phenomena that will spell out future relationship between the two. Lt. General (retd) Talat Masood – who was the Chair and moderator of the Seminar – said in his concluding remarks that Pakistan’s biggest challenge is to ensure security and security challenges are not solved by military means but development. This article originally appeared on www.dnd.com.pk , May 14, 2018. Original link.
Sharif on Mumbai: New Storm over Old Stuff
What is new in Nawaz Sharif’s latest pronouncement on Mumbai attacks? Practically nothing. The only uniqueness attached to it is the proverbial “coming from horse’s mouth”; a three-time elected PM, all of a sudden waking up to revive the memories of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, indirectly hinting that his country allowed the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to cross border and stage those spectacular attacks. This way, he opened the floodgates (in Indian media) to another barrage of slur on the country he ruled thrice. Whatever spin Sharif himself or his cohorts put on his “out-of-context” statement, we need to look at it from two perspectives: one is about the abundance of documentation on Mumbai attacks, most of which implicates Pakistani militant groups (LeT, JeM, etc). Even former IG Tariq Khosa wrote about it in daily Dawn (August 2015): “Pakistan has to deal with the Mumbai mayhem, planned and launched from its soil. This requires facing the truth and admitting mistakes. The entire state security apparatus must ensure that the perpetrators and masterminds of the ghastly terror attacks are brought to justice. The case has lingered on for far too long. Dilatory tactics by the defendants, frequent change of trial judges, and assassination of the case prosecutor as well as retracting from original testimony by some key witnesses have been serious setbacks for the prosecutors.” Then came another similar statement from General Mahmud Ali Durrani, who briefly served as the national security advisor, “I hate to admit that the 26/11 Mumbai attack carried out by a terror group based in Pakistan on November 26, 2008 is a classic trans-border terrorist event.” He made these remarks at the 19th Asian Security Conference held at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses in March 2017. Durrani was swift to also clarify, “I know (this) for definite. I have very good information that the government of Pakistan or the ISI (Pakistan’s spy agency) was not involved in 26/11 (terror...
CRSS Initiative Brings Over 360 Pak-Afghan Youth Together
Launched on April 25, 2017, Afghan Studies Center (ASC), a Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS)’s self-funded initiative, brought together over 360 young Pakistanis and Afghans in its 20 Pak-Afghan youth dialogues and training workshops over the course of the past year. The workshops were focused on a range of issues of mutual concern, bilateral peace and cooperation, along with skill development for the youth of both countries. On the forum of the Center’s youth dialogues, recurring points raised by participants included the need for bilateral cooperation in the economic sector, particularly trade, as well as education; which they believed was a contributing factor in eradicating extremism and allowing development on both sides. The role of the media – both electronic and print – as well as the social media, also surfaced consistently at these debates. The outcome of these debates on media highlighted the mindfulness of the youth in understanding that negativities on the mainstream media were created as part of malevolent propaganda by certain factions and should be scrutinized for ending misperceptions. Participation in these activities by both Pakistani and Afghan youth has been a great source of encouragement and exhibits the desire of youth on both sides to normalize and improve Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral relations. In their various testimonials, video messages, and speeches (available on the website), young men and women from both countries continually reminded each other of their commonalities. These commonalities primarily included language, culture, religion, ethnicities, and ancestors for some, and, based on this, being inseparable neighbours. The participants also urged the governments of both countries to overcome the growing trust deficit by engaging in direct talks. The latest youth dialogue held on April 25 focused on the theme of the resumption of Pak-Afghan state level dialogue and future bilateral prospects following Pakistan’s PM...
Afghanistan’s Black Monday and ISIS
Our heads hang in shame and hearts bleed as survivors and families mourn the brutal deaths of at least 29 in the twin suicide bombings in Kabul on April 30. On April 22, an IS-K suicide bomber attacked a voter-registration center in Dashte Barchi, an area of Kabul where many Shi’a Afghans live. This followed another IS-K suicide attack on crowds gathered in Kabul to celebrate the Persian New Year in late March leaving a trail of death, with at least 31 innocent Afghans. These two attacks were, according to ISIS, were carried out by two bombers named “Kaaka al-Kurdi” Khalil al-Qurashi, suggesting they were both of Kurdish origin. They also turned out to be the deadliest for media, making it at least 36 journalists/media workers since 2016. These statistics beg the question as to whether one can decipher the ever growing footprint of Daesh /ISIS in Afghanistan’s already precarious circumstances? Apparently its almost impossible as there is little method in the madness that the ISIS is piling on Afghans. Afghan intelligence and security officials believe that Daesh is present in nine provinces from Nangarhar and Kunar in the east to Jawzjan, Faryab, and Badakhshan in the north and Ghor in the central west. Since June 2014, when ISIL proclaimed itself to be the Islamic State, according to a running count kept by CNN, this amorphous group has “conducted or inspired” over 70 attacks in 20 countries, including Afghanistan (excluding Syria and Iraq though). Escalation by ISIS , and the launch of Al-Khandaq operation by Taliban coincides with at least 215 missions on various targets inside Afghanistan by the US Central Command Combined Air Operations since January this year (a UN report recorded 950 air strikes in 2017, while the US Air Force’s figures for 2017 were 4,361 strikes during 1,248 missions). These missions since January this year, have largely targeted, though not restricted to, Islamic State of Khorassan (IS-K). One of its commanders in northern Afghanistan,...
Resumption of Comprehensive State Level Dialogue Raises Hope for Participants Of CRSS’ 11th Pak-Afghan Youth Forum
While the expressions ‘brothers’ and ‘conjoined twins’ used for Pakistan and Afghanistan by former President Hamid Karzai can be applied to the people of both countries, the state-to-state relationship between the two has always remained a challenge. This is particularly because whenever any positive development between the two has been pursued in the past, it has unfortunately been followed by an immediately occurring negative event that re-erects the wall of trust deficit on both sides. Senior Journalist and Analyst Hasan Khan believes the elephant in the room in this regard is the US which has the key to peace in Afghanistan if it sincerely worked towards it with all stakeholders taken aboard. However, he also acknowledged that peace in Afghanistan can only be achieved through an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led well-defined policy framework which Pakistan has time and again expressed its complete support for. Hasan Khan, who was invited as a key speaker at the 11th Pak-Afghan Youth Dialogue at the Center for Research & Security Studies (CRSS) alongside honorable Ambassador Ayaz Wazir, was speaking to young Afghans and Pakistanis enrolled in various universities of Pakistan on the theme, ‘Resumption of Pak-Afghan State Level Dialogue & Future Bilateral Prospects’ on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. Ambassador Ayaz Wazir, who was also invited as the Chief Guest and was moderating the session, proposed that the right direction to set in the bilateral relations of Pakistan and Afghanistan is to start with free-flowing trade between the two; as the modern mantra for development is to delink trade from politics. Trade would make space for cooperation in other arenas, and eventually impact politics positively as well, he asserted. There have been periods when both countries enjoyed reasonably pleasant relations; though admittedly never excellent, the Ambassador stated, the Pak-Indo 1965 War is one such example when, despite fractured relations between Pakistan and...
Sabawoon Inspiring Stories
Introduction: Sabawoon (dawn) is a flagship radio intervention of the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS). It is aired from Peshawar for the entire Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region. The shows are broadcast from private radio channels FM 101 Peshawar, AM 1260 Peshawar, FM 93 Dera Ismail Khan. Sabawoon has been designed to inculcate respect for human rights (especially female rights), underscore the need for good governance, create greater awareness for democratic and governance reforms, and to create avenues for the public to participate in policymaking either through formal institutions or informal consultations. The programs are meant to promote a democratic discourse, trigger critical thinking, and create social space for a counter-radicalization narrative in the militancy-stricken and religious extremism prone areas. Through this endeavor, the CRSS is also creating mechanisms for the inclusion of multiple social groups in the decision-making processes, such as youth and students, female members of society, and local government representatives. The radio programs have helped encourage civil society and local communities to formulate and express their positions on issues that affect them. All segments of Sabawoon radio programs emphasize that rule of law is an indispensable element for peaceful coexistence. Sabawoon has aired over 3,000 shows under its banner. The following are some of the inspiring stories collected from the field, in-studio, and via caller feedback. They showcase how these individuals have contributed to building a peaceful and democratic society. These are stories of resilience and perseverance. These are stories of heartbreak and heart-mend. These are stories of ordinary Pakistanis, in extenuating circumstances, doing extraordinary things. Please see the full PDF here.
Sabawoon Inspiring Stories
Introduction: Sabawoon (dawn) is a flagship radio intervention of the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS). It is aired from Peshawar for the entire Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) region. The shows are broadcast from private radio channels FM 101 Peshawar, AM 1260 Peshawar, FM 93 Dera Ismail Khan. Sabawoon has been designed to inculcate respect for human rights (especially female rights), underscore the need for good governance, create greater awareness for democratic and governance reforms, and to create avenues for the public to participate in policymaking either through formal institutions or informal consultations. The programs are meant to promote a democratic discourse, trigger critical thinking, and create social space for a counter-radicalization narrative in the militancy-stricken and religious extremism prone areas. Through this endeavor, the CRSS is also creating mechanisms for the inclusion of multiple social groups in the decision-making processes, such as youth and students, female members of society, and local government representatives. The radio programs have helped encourage civil society and local communities to formulate and express their positions on issues that affect them. All segments of Sabawoon radio programs emphasize that rule of law is an indispensable element for peaceful coexistence. Sabawoon has aired over 3,000 shows under its banner. The following are some of the inspiring stories collected from the field, in-studio, and via caller feedback. They showcase how these individuals have contributed to building a peaceful and democratic society. These are stories of resilience and perseverance. These are stories of heartbreak and heart-mend. These are stories of ordinary Pakistanis, in extenuating circumstances, doing extraordinary things. Please see the full PDF here.
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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.