Current Affairs Digest December 2008

Dear All,

 

This is to inform you that we have added Monthly Current Affairs Digest in our DRC. Those who are interested in reading are more then welcome to issue the Digest.

 

Main Contents:

• Pakistan : Rethinking “ Wana”: A Game Theoretic Analysis of the Conflict in the Tribal Region of Pakistan by Rabia Aslam 
• Pakistan/ Afghanistan: No Sign Until the Burst of the Fire Understanding the Pakistan Afghanistan Frontier by Thomas H. Johnson and M. Chris Mason
• Pakistan: Revival of the Constitution and Judiciary in Pakistan by Muhammad Akram Sheikh
• Pakistan: Water, Energy and Environmental Challenges and Quality of Life in Pakistan by Fateh M. Chaudhri
• Central Asia: Theories on Central Asia Factionalism: The Debate in Political Science and its Wider Implications by David Gullette
• Middle East: Clearing the Air in the Middle East by Bassma Kodmani

 

 

 

Regards,

Roohi Bano

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly Column

Side-effect

1971 and 2008 Friday, December 12, 2008 by Harris Khalique "You have to be born in Pakistan to understand what the country is about. No less." One lamented and others seconded him with so much conviction that I couldn't disagree. There were nine of us lounging in Waheed Noor Baloch's flat in Ghas Mandi in the old and historic neighborhood of Lyari, Karachi. I met this group of friends whom I really cherish, after quite some time, but nothing personal or light about our lives was discussed. After an exchange of pleasantries, we hurriedly moved on to politics and the economic downturn in the country. On the one hand they sounded helpless when talking about their own neighborhood being ruled by godfathers and on the other hand, everyone was cowed down with the state of affairs, nationally and internationally.  The clouds of war are looming large on our frontiers with India, the increasing alienation of Baloch youths with the Pakistani state is alarming, the military action in the North-West against Islamic extremists continues unabated, the hostility of the MQM towards Pashtuns in Karachi in the name of confronting Italianization is taking new turns and the construction of the enemy in Pakistani society finding new proponents in the shape of warmongering television commentators and jingoist columnists with a limited sense of history, economics and global affairs. The security doctrine of the Pakistani military remains unshaken even after losing legitimacy on various counts internally, but ironically finding its validation by the acts of their counterparts and expedient politicians in India. For instance, through incidents like the pulling down of the Babri Mosque, the Gujarat pogroms, Samjhota Express being set ablaze by a fanatic military officer, Christians killed indiscriminately in some places by Hindu zealots. Such happenings in India always lend a new life to the bigots in Pakistan. Finally, the incompetence of our upper classes, including politicians, is becoming more blatant with each passing day. I have witnessed such conversations grow in all parts of the country. The crisis has never been over since I was born and we have seen bad, less bad and worse times, both politically and economically. But things are coming to a head now. Veteran journalist and intellectual Ghazi Salahuddin fails to conceal the sadness in his eyes when saying that December 2008 is somewhat similar to March 1971 when the country is faced with fatal choices. Are we ready to redefine the state of Pakistan in modern terms and are Indian leaderships of all hues and colours mature enough to let that happen? Would we continue to let extremist outfits survive or dismantle them without differentiating between those fighting in FATA and the NWFP and those who fought in Kashmir? On another note, we remember how India and other outside powers intervened in 1971 when we were unable to resolve our internal issues due to the same insensitivity and incompetence that is being displayed by the powers that be towards the oppressed people living in different parts of the republic, belonging to different national, ethnic and linguistic groups. There is neither a sense of urgency in clearing up the mess within nor a level of seriousness that makes the onlooker believe in what one is claiming. Before it is too late, we should concentrate on making the country stronger from within through addressing the unresolved questions of economy and decent livelihoods, complete provincial autonomy and strengthening democratic institutions and dispensation of justice, which unbelievably is a long haul. Even a peacenik faced with the realities of the world today would not undermine the importance of a professional and technologically superior army to create a military and political deterrence. But that is the only role they should play. The rational citizens are seriously worried about where the country is being led by both national and international decision-makers. They are not as ignorant and simple as before and recognise where the economic, technological, military and political prowess of the country stands when a large part of the dominant forces in the world have decided to put a squeeze on Pakistan. The writer is an Islamabad-based poet and rights campaigner. Email: harris@spopk.org

 

 

Side-effect (Peace and South Asia)

Side-effect

Peace and South Asia Friday, December 05, 2008 by Harris Khalique The 11th annual conference organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Islamabad, coincided with the immediate aftermath of the highly condemnable Mumbai terror attacks. Ironically it was titled "Peace and Sustainable Development in South Asia." For the past ten years, scholars, practitioners and students from Pakistan and abroad debated ideas and options around multiple subjects within the overarching theme. Organisation of such events with consistency each year in Pakistan has to be widely appreciated. SDPI is one of the few independent institutions dedicated to research and analysis in Pakistan and facing the consequences of trying to create an island of knowledge in the sea of ignorance by not getting sufficient support. Perhaps the young, dynamic researcher, Dr Abid Suleri, who heads the institution, and his team need to shed their scholarly humility and cry out loud and challenge the consciousness of all stakeholders, telling them why institutions like SDPI need to be nurtured. This year's conference included discussions varying from rewriting history to climate change in South Asia. Issues surrounding military tensions, trade imbalances and cultural cooperation were highlighted within the caucuses or over coffee breaks and lunches. There was an earnest desire in all present to have a peaceful South Asia where people could live peacefully and prosper economically. The premise of Partition was to bring peace to the Indian Subcontinent, not to enter into a perpetual conflict. Problems in thinking and approach lie on both sides of the border since the very beginning. As usual, continued friction makes the common people suffer the most. Warmongering, heightening tension, sensationalising events, levelling allegations, etc., makes it a field day for hawks on both sides. The adrenalin level is so high among so-called experts in Pakistan serving narrow-minded interests that it makes them think they are the descendants of Afghan invaders of yesteryears who would have the final battle in Panipat. On the Indian side, there is a barge of unproven allegations against Pakistan and half-cooked evidences being aired from television channels and printed through newspapers whipping up the emotions of their audiences. Pakistanis need to realise at all levels--state and non-state actors, civil society and media--that India is our immediate neighbour, and the country with which we share our lives and culture the most. We belong to South Asia--neither Central Asia nor the Middle East. Indians have to come to terms with the fact that Pakistan should not be pressured into becoming a compliant, denuclearised state serving as a consumer market to the Mittals, Tatas, Birlas and Bajajs. A strong, democratic and friendly Pakistan would suit India more and bring prosperity to the region. The divide is kept illuminated by the terror attacks on both sides, both real and perceived support to insurgencies within each other's countries and, more recently, by not being able to address water disputes in time. Both countries are marred by poverty, hunger, injustice, a caste- and class-ridden social fabric and religious frenzy. If we start thinking in terms of the working classes and marginalised millions in both countries, the approach towards solving mutual disputes would thoroughly change. The last part of the book that I jointly wrote with my Indian friend Rohini Kohli includes Anna Akhmatova's poem, "Why is this age worse…?" Why is this age worse than earlier ages? / In a stupor of grief and dread / have we not fingered the foulest wounds / and left them unhealed by our hands? / In the West the falling light still glows, / and the clustered housetops glitter in the sun, / but here death is already chalking the doors with crosses, / and calling the ravens and the ravens are flying in. The writer is an Islamabad-based poet and rights campaigner. Email: harris@spopk.org

 

Former Pakistan army officials trained Mumbai attackers: NYT

Source: The Hindustan Times, December 04, 2008

Former Pakistani army officials trained the terrorists who went on rampage last week in Mumbai, The New York Times said on Wednesday quoting unnamed Pentagon officials.

"A former Defense Department official said on Wednesday that American intelligence agencies had determined that former officers from Pakistan's Army and its powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency helped train the Mumbai attackers," The New York Times said in its news report from Washington.

"But the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that no specific links had been uncovered yet between the terrorists and Pakistani government," it said, without providing any further details.

Pakistan has so far refuted Indian allegations, supported by the US, of having harbored these terrorists, who killed 183 people, several of whom were foreign nationals, and claimed that they are non-state actors.

The revelations by a former Defense Department official comes at a time when India has said that it has strong evidence and intelligence information that indicates the Mumbai attackers and their trainers came from Pakistan. It has also asked Pakistan to arrest and send to it 20 people wanted in India for terrorist activities. Pakistan has said that it would not extradite terror suspects.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was in New Delhi on Wednesday to demonstrate American support to India, urged Pakistan to take on terrorists within its borders.

"We believe Pakistan has a central role to play in this, to make certain that these terrorists cannot continue to operate and operate in this fashion," Rice said in New Delhi.