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Content

International 3
1 The Kashmir Conundrum: Policy options for Pakistan 4
2 Yemen: The forgotten war 8
3 Has COVID 19 killed globalization? 15
4 UAE-ISRAEL peace deal; features, significance, 20
implications, and policy options for Muslim Ummah

CSS Preparation in 4 Months with Nearpeer 24

1
National 30
1 New Political Map of Pakistan: Significance and Implications 32
2 The New Provinces Conundrum 37
3 Suspending Judicial Review in Times of Emergency 42
4 Will the Single National Curriculum (SNC) really end the 46
educational apartheid in Pakistan?
5 The Facade of Islamophobia 51

Nearpeer Diaries 54

Essay of the month 57

Monthly Press Review 64

General Ability 83

Past Paper MCQs Compilation 85

2
 CSS Magazine edition 2

International

3
Chapter 1
The Kashmir Conundrum:
Policy Options for Pakistan
Abdul Samad Khan

4
 CSS Magazine edition 2 Chapter 1

The Kashmir Conundrum:

Policy Options for Pakistan

Kashmir is a burning issue. Its solution is indispensable for durable peace- a solution that is in line with wishes
and aspirations of the people of Kashmir. Kashmir emerged as an independent kingdom under the leadership
of Duralabverdhan of the Korkot dynasty in the7th century A.D. It used to be a powerful kingdom which
conquered a bulk of surrounding areas. This was the time when the Arabs invaded the Indo-Pak sub-continent.

The same region saw the rule of many conquerors in the 19th century. Ladakh was conquered and annexed
into the state in 1834. Baltistan was annexed after being conquered by the Dogras in 1840. The Anglo-Sikh war
lasted from 1845 to 1856 and ended with the decisive victory of the British. As a result, the Valley of Kashmir
was annexed by the East India Company under the Treaty of Lahore. However, soon after the Valley was sold
to Gulab Singh for 7.5 million rupees under the Treaty of Amritsar. Thus, the forthcoming few decades of the
Valley saw unlimited atrocities and hostilities committed against the Muslim population of the area by the Sikh
rulers. With the Partition of the subcontinent, the princely states were given the choice to accede to either
India or Pakistan on the basis of geographic contiguity or religious majority or to remain independent if they
desired . Hari Singh delayed accession to Pakistan intending to retain the independent status of Kashmir. This,
along with the previous atrocities, prompted the local people to rise against him. The uprising was joined by
the tribesmen of the former FATA. Hari Singh being afraid called for Indian support and was told it would only
be extended after Kashmir’s accession to India. The Instrument of Succession was signed on 25th October,
1947, and Indian troops landed in Kashmir two days later. Following the insurgency, India took the matter to the
United Nations on 1st January ,1948. The UNSC passed a resolution which called for a free and fair plebiscite to
let the Kashmiri people decide their future with their own will. The said resolution was passed on 24th April,
1948. The upcoming four resolutions called for the demilitarization of the region. The free and fair plebiscite
has not held to date. While the table for negotiations has been set, none have reached a viable conclusion.

A year ago,India unilaterally withdrew the special status of the Kashmiris assured to them by the Indian
Constitution in Articles 370 and 35A. The stated intent was to mainstream the Kashmir and revive it
economically; but these were badly failed since the whole Kashmir has been under siege since the withdrawal
of its special status. The unilateral revoke was followed by the National Register of Citizens, the Citizenship
Amendment Act and the biased domicile law to change the demography of the illegally occupied region. All this
was done by the fascist and racist government of the BJP. Pakistan's new political map vows to resolve the
dispute via the UNSC's Resolutions.

Pakistan has various avenues to exploit for bringing about a longstanding solution to the Kashmir saga. One
cannot turn a blind sight to the bulk of problems Pakistan is facing. A Sinking economy is one of them.

www.nearpeer.org 5
It would not be out place to say that the main driving force
behind Pakistan’s diplomatic failure in Kashmir is its deplorable
economic conditions. China can support Pakistan’s narrative
vis-a-vis Kashmir under the banner of UNSC resolutions.
Russia has been a close partner to India on dint of Indian
purchasing power and having one of the largest consumer
markets in the world. Pakistan may get Russian support
through the implementation of trust building measures to
terminate the trust deficit. It can be made possible only with
the extension of military and economic cooperation.

India is one of the largest consumer markets in the world and

is attractive to the outsiders. Most of the Arab countries have
signed agreements and MoUs worth billions of dollars with
India. They also host a large number of Indian diaspora.
Kashmir has persistently fail to obtain the support of most of
the Muslim world. The crux of all this is the lack of a stable
economy in Pakistan which would reduce its dependency on
others. The recent warning to the KSA-led bloc about
clarifying its stance on the Kashmir issue is a move by Pakistan
to remind them of the steps Pakistan took in their best favour
like the skipping off the Kuala Lumpur Summit held in last
December in Malaysia.

Likewise, Pakistan should keep sensationalising the blatant

violation of human rights in Kashmir by the Indian armed
forces. It needs the activation of the parliamentary committee
on Kashmir to hold to the cause actively. A separate Kashmir
desk should be set up at Pakistan’s Foreign Office. Pakistani
diplomats should continue their efforts to familiarize countries
where they are appointed about the Indian atrocities and
brutalities in the IIOK. The Foreign Minister of Pakistan should
continue sittings with his counterparts in order to pressurize
India to put an end to the blatant human rights abuses in
Kashmir down and join Pakistan at the table of negotiations.
The Pakistani media should also launch a massive coverage of
the Indian atrocities and let outsiders see them. Moreover,
Pakistan should launch relentless efforts to bring the world
media, international human rights watchdogs and observers to
the areas to show Indian brutalities in the IIOK first hand.

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Pakistan needs to promote its soft image to counter the Indian narrative of Pakistan being a terror- sponsoring
state. It is one of the main driving forces behind the week position of Pakistan on the international front
vis-a-vis Kashmir. India has one of the strongest lobbies in the world which is consistently pushing India's
Kashmir narrative in the West. Pakistan should also promote its soft image via tourism, extending peace
gestures as in the case with the Kartarpur corridor, encourage the return of sports to grounds and highlighting
internationally recognised achievements in the field of tourism. The UN’s Secretary General visit to Pakistan
and his offer for playing the role of a mediator in the Kashmir dispute, along with Pakistan's compliance with
14 out of 27 points given by the FATF are additional highlights which show the improvement of Pakistan in its
security sphere. Moreover, Pakistan also passed various FATF related bills in the past days to comply with its
FATF’s demands.

Likewise, the implementation of confidence building measures can also give Pakistan an edge. Pakistan should
take regional players on board to pressurize India to show seriousness in the resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

In a nutshell, Kashmiris have not breathed in an independent atmosphere since the decolonisation of the
Indo-Pak sub-continent. The region has been a flashpoint between the two nuclear neighbours and the
disputed has left hundreds of thousands innocent Kashmiris dead and injured. The conundrum needs to be
resolved as an imperative for the regional and global peace.

The writer is an analyst of current affairs and has done his MA in English
Literature and Linguistics from NUML, Islamabad Pakistan.

*Figure Retrieved from

https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/infogra
phic-before-and-after-article-370/story/370816.html

www.nearpeer.org 7
Chapter 2
Yemen: The Forgotten War

Anmol Iftikhar

8
 CSS Magazine edition 2 Chapter 2

Yemen: The Forgotten War

Abstract:
Labelled as the ‘worst humanitarian crisis in the world’ by the United Nations and characterized as ‘entirely
man-made’, the ongoing crisis in Yemen continues to drag on unabated. The conflict in Yemen seems
forgotten considering the worldwide severe humanitarian catastrophes back in 2011 & 12. However, since the
conflict escalated in 2015, it became one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history and has no end in
sight. Thousands of people were killed even more displaced and the country faced tremendous food insecurity
as well as the world’s largest cholera outbreak. International interests played a major role and made it a proxy
war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. This all happened at the expense of the civilian population. Therefore, it is
urgent to analyze the actors involved, their interests within the conflict and furthermore searching for
possibilities to overcome it because if not now, than never.

Conflict Synopsis:
Since the end of civil war of 1994, ‘tribal identity’ has become an
important factor regarding matters of fulfilling state functions and
organizing civil life. In 2011, the Arab Spring reached Yemen, and the
calls for the resignation of President Saleh, who ruled the country
for over 30 years, became loud and violent.

With hindsight, severe mistakes were made. Briefly, despite the fact
that civil society, the youth, women, and tribes were involved in the
process, only their elites really participated. The population felt
that their interests were not represented, and on crucial points like
the division of the state, the southern issue and the transfer of
power, there was no agreement possible.

Today, at its core the conflict is about political power on the

national, regional and international level. The violence can be
divided into four sets: The Houthi – Hadi conflict; the regional
conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia; the extremist organizations
AQAP and IS which have seized the opportunity to establish
themselves in Yemen; and local power affecting tribal and sectarian
divisions.

www.nearpeer.org 9
Domestic & International Actors in the Crisis:

I. The Houthi & Hadi-Faction

On the domestic level there is the GPC and particularly Saleh´s loyal supporters which backs up the fighters.
The Houthi´s religious leaders believe they are on a mission to reform the country and are driven by
anti-Western. Internationally, Iran is termed as the main Houthi supporter. Further, with regard to diplomacy,
Russia aligned itself with the Houthi-Saleh Bloc referring to regional dynamics that tie Russia and Iran
together against Saudi Arabia.

On the domestic level for Hadi-faction, there is the internationally recognized external political and military
backing. The southern separatists (Al-Hirak) are divided on south should be independent. This fragmentation
is propelled by some of the external actors i.e. Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Thus, it is arguable that at least here,
the conflict changed from being a local towards becoming a regional one. Further, there is involvement by the
United Nations Security Council (SC), since it passed Resolution 2216 which unambiguously supports the Hadi
government.

II. International Actors’ position & interests

a) Saudi Arabia: Yemen has strategically great importance for Saudi Arabia not only in terms of sectarian or
regional politics rather it is important for Saudi Arabia’s economic survival as well. The access to the Indian
Ocean through Red Sea lanes via Strait Gulf of Aden is vital for the import of goods & export of Saudi oil
supplies.

On March 25, 2015, responding to the request by the ousted President of Yemen, Saudi Arabia launched a
military operation named ‘Decisive Storm’ against the Houthi rebels in a coalition with GCC countries with
support from the USA, UK, Pakistan and Turkey.

b.) UAE: The UAE, a vocal opponent of the Muslim Brotherhood, is training special task force units in South
Yemen to fight AQAP and extremists. It has established close cooperation with Al-Hirak, and is prepared to
contribute to the realization of its political programme. Since they came to power in some regions in South
Yemen, they blew up local Sufi religious centres, handed all the major mosques over to the Wahhabis and are
using the administrative bodies to persecute and eliminate opposition members.

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 CSS Magazine edition 2

‘In case of any violation of its territorial integrity or

any threat to Haramain Sharifain, Pakistan will stand
shoulder to shoulder with Saudi Arabia and its
people’ - Parliament of Pakistan, DAWN.

Although Pakistan has pledged Saudi Arabia to

safeguard its territorial integrity, Pakistan refrained
from direct armed involvement in the Yemen crisis
following the advice given by the Parliament of
Pakistan but it has faced annoyance of the Arab.
However, the real implications shall unfold after the
crisis is turned over in the years to come.

In his recent public address, Prime Minister, Imran

Khan has offered to mediate the conflict between
c.) USA: Thousands of civilians have died in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Pakistan’s geographical
and American-made bombs sold to the Saudis have proximity with the Yemen crisis is important due to
played a key role as the White House has sought to the alleged involvement of neighboring Iran in the
boost the arms industry. As the Yemen crisis Arabian Peninsula. Although Pakistan has extended
deepened, at least one firm, Raytheon Company, utmost support to Saudi Arabia in the event of threat
booked more than $5 billion in sales to the Saudis
and their partners since the Yemen war began went
to great lengths to influence American
decision-making, even after members of Congress
tried to halt sales over humanitarian concerns.

d.) United Nations: Since 2015, the UN and its

partners have been on the ground providing
lifesaving assistance and protection. Each month,
the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) distributes
100,000 metric tons of food commodities at more
than 5,000 points, reaching more than 8 million
Yemenis. The World Health Organization (WHO) and
the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have reached more
than 300,000 people with cholera vaccines. The UN
Population Fund (UNFPA) has provided sexual and
reproductive health services to 250,000 girls and
women. The UN Office for Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) works closely with the
government and humanitarian partners at all levels
to enhance coordination. to its national integrity, the Saudi predicament about
Iran’s involvement and continuous reservations
Pakistan and its neutral stance: regarding Iranian influence in the region has
The current crisis in Yemen has great significance embroiled Pakistan into an enigma where it can
regarding Pakistan’s prominence in the Muslim neither annoy it's time-tested friends like Saudi
world. It has been observed that Saudi Arabia and Arabia nor can afford to confront with a neighboring
UAE have been very eager for Pakistan’s support in country that is located along the already turbulent
the crisis. Balochistan province of Pakistan.

Hence, to play a neutral role by Pakistan, it will

provide a unique opportunity to bring the sectarian
divide on the political table of the Muslim world.

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Problems & Possibilities to overcome the conflict:

I. Current Situation:
Since August 2015, Yemen crisis succumbed to a grave humanitarian situation.

Still in 2020, the conflict in Yemen shows no real signs of abating as it enters its sixth year, and civilians from
across the country and generations continue to bear the brunt of military hostilities and unlawful practices of
state and non-state armed groups alike.

By the end of 2019, it was estimated that over 233,000 Yemenis would be killed as a result of fighting and the
humanitarian crisis. Meanwhile, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has documented
more than 20,000 civilians killed and injured by the fighting since March 2015. A man-made humanitarian crisis
has spiraled with approximately 16 million people waking up hungry every day.

4 out of every 5 people in Yemen need lifesaving aid in what is the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

Ending the war is the only solution. Yemenis desperately need peace - Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary
General, 2020.

II. Covid-19 effects on Yemen crisis

With the recent pandemic, Yemen has become the hell on earth! On 10th April 2020, Yemen reported the first
confirmed case of COVID-19, posing a terrifying threat to people weakened by years of conflict, and with a
health system on the brink of collapse. Since then, cases have risen to its peak, which, with extremely low
testing rates, are likely to be undercounted. This will lead to even more displacements, deaths, and increase in
inequality & instability regionally.

III. Possible Future Steps

The most recent peace attempt was in December 2018 as officials of Yemen agreed during UN-mediated talks
in Sweden on the so-called Stockholm agreement; & Hodeida agreement was significant. This deal is so far the
biggest step forward in UN mediation since 2015. However, it can rather be considered as a humanitarian
impulse instead of strategic efforts towards peace because it did not constitute the beginning of a peace
process.

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 CSS Magazine edition 2

Therefore, future steps should ensure that all

involved actors are willing to engage in peace talks
with everyone.

Saudi Arabia´s security concerns should be included

and addressed between Saudi-Yemen official talks
and informal Track II discussions.

Further, Iran also needs to be involved in border

security relations addressing ‘everyone’s interest’,
and fighting AQAP/IS, which might through
everyone’s cooperation satisfy the Saudis’ major
concern that Yemen could slip into Iran´s orbit and
might give Saudi Arabia the opportunity to exit the
war in a face-saving way.

Conclusion
With Yemen crisis grave threat to domestic as well as
regional instability, it urgently requires to follow the
above mentioned future steps to avoid an end-sight
to this ongoing terrible crisis on every possible level
i.e. military, economic, & humanitarian. Lessons
learned from past negotiations should therefore be
the inclusion of communities, local mediators and
interlocutors, addressing growing divisions within
municipalities, and letting local organizations and
traditional leaders help overcome obstacles, since
they are already present and accepted in the society.
As well as, vital roles must be played by international
organizations to settle up peace agreements and
make sure global justice order retains.

“Yemen will remain a global

hotspot for humanitarian
needs for the foreseeable future
with 24 million war-affected
Yemenis requiring assistance,
250,000 of whom are on the
brink of starvation”

*Figure Retrieved from

www.who.org | www.e-ir.info | www.economist.com | www.amnesty.org

www.nearpeer.org 13
CSS Magazine edition 2

Open for Enrollment in Nearpeer

14
Chapter 3
Has COVID 19 Killed
Globalization?

Kamil Mushtaq

15
 CSS Magazine edition 2 Chapter 3

Has COVID 19 Killed Globalization?

Major crises have major consequences. The Great Depression of

1930s spurred hyper-nationalism, fascim and World War 2; the
9-11 attacks brought two failed American interventions and
never-ending global war on terror; the financial crisis of 2008
generated anti-establishment populism that rose leaders across
the globe; the Arab Spring in the earlier years of the last decade
ushered an era of deadly proxy wars that resulted in millions of
casualties. Future historians will account for unprecedented
transformations unleashed by the forces of the ongoing novel
pandemic, COVID 19, which took the world by storm, and it
remains to be seen whether COVID 19 would have a long lasting
impact on the fate of globalization, or it has the potential to
thrive in future and keep the world ever so connected. Several
scholars opine that the ongoing pandemic will bring down the
curtain on the fate of globalization. Here, I ll try to debunk all
such myths surrounding the pessimist fate of globalization, and
why I believe it would still be able to find a way to dominate in
future, despite of certain downsides when it comes to tackling
crises times.

Globalization faced numerous blows in the past, and the global community is no stranger to the debate of the
decline of globalization. This can, certainly, be accredited to the lack of collaboration and consensus on
transnational and cross border problems in the past. The failure of United Nations and other regional
organizations to combat terrorism and bring global peace is one manifestation, climate change catastrophe
being another. Similar pattern of failure can also be observed in the financial institutions like IMF, World Bank,
World Trade Organizations etc. which were established with the purpose to eradicate gross economic
inequalities, global poverty, food insecurity; however, these institutions led to further economic stagnation of
the third world. Despite of all harsh realities, repeated failures and certain shortcomings, it continues to
emerge out as ultimate victor. The UK Brexit, being the most recent example, proved the skeptics wrong who
had labeled the major incident as the fracture point of the globalism; however the global community continues
to remain intermingled despite of such a huge setback. Needless to say, it takes more than a mere pandemic
to bring an end to what seems to be ultimate fate of the global society.

www.nearpeer.org 16
 CSS Magazine edition 2

Serious dent to the fate of globalization was, however, provided by

the recent global pandemic, posing serious question marks on its
efficacy to deal with the crises times. As a result, the global economy
succumbed to the unfamiliar forces and plummeted even below the
figures of the Financial Crisis of 2008. The volume of global goods
exports in 2020 could fall to a level last seen in the mid-to-late 2000s,
according to the latest WTO forecast. Moreover, current forecasts,
while inevitably rough at this stage, call for a 13-32% decline in
merchandise trade, a 30-40% reduction in foreign direct investment
as per Harvard Business Review. These numbers imply a major
rollback of globalization’s recent gains, but they do not signal a
fundamental collapse of international market integration, for the
recent forecasts call for international flows to start growing again as
the pandemic comes under control. Some countries have already
started to get back to the pre pandemic regulations, and some are
planning to do so as early as next month. Thus, 2020 is likely to be a
low point for many globalization metrics but, certainly, not the
extinction point.

The cross border movement and international travel also suffered

huge losses. However, such collapse, in contrast, stands out against a
much steadier growth trend, and its damage is indisputable. As of late
April 2020, every country had imposed restrictions on international
travel, and 45% of countries had partially or completely closed their
borders to foreign visitors which took a huge toll on global economy
as the revenue from tourism contributes more towards the global
output than the automotive manufacturing, and business travel
facilitates international trade and investment. This unprecedented
collapse, however, does follow an international travel boom but it
would still be very pessimist to believe that the pre-pandemic
globalized community would tend to stay in such an isolated state for
long. For instance, even if the international airline passengers fall by
two-thirds, there would still be more people flying abroad than there
were in 2003. Thus, the death of globalization, as an aftermath of
COVID 19, certainly, doesn’t look like a possible outcome.

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 CSS Magazine edition 2

There is a certain faction of skeptics, however, who believe that the process of de-globalization, a term
coined by many international relations scholars, started way earlier than the arrival of the novel pandemic,
and there’s no denying that fact. The global society was already on a move towards revival of populism based
order, as can be witnessed in the context of the rise of certain nationalist leaders on the realm of global
affairs: Putin in Russia, Trump in USA, Modi in India and many others in different parts of the globe. This not
only depicts their subsequent rise to the uppermost echelons of power but also expresses the nationalist
sentiments of the voting masses, clearly showing signs of transformation in outlook in the context of how
international community shapes up in future. Still, there remain certain questions unanswered: Is the
process of de-globalization inevitable or can it be prevented? Has COVID 19 accelerated the process? Will
globalized community find a way out? Such questions take birth, every now and then, because of gross
disparities of globalization in its delivery of prospects, and to say that the pandemic will bring about the
downfall of what seems to be the ultimate fate of the international society would be a bold statement. Major
testing events in the past like financial crisis of 2008 and the recent UK Brexit bear testimony of its ultimate
triumph despite of certain downsides; however, it did make global community start looking for an
alternative, to ensure equity at least. So, in answer to the stated question, the globalization would continue
to dominate in future, but it, surely, won’t run unchallenged, owing to inefficacy to tackle the crises times.

Thus, in a nutshell, Covid-19 looks like a “bend but won’t break crisis” for globalization. International flows are
plummeting, but globalization — and opposition to globalization — will continue to present business
opportunities and challenges in the future. However, the drivers of globalization need to curb the reverse
process of de-globalization by ensuring plurality of ideas at international platforms and corporations. Now is
the time for them to show their value by harnessing the best of the world’s capabilities to end the pandemic
and bolster the recovery.

*Figure Retrieved from

https://news.cgtn.com/
https://www.eetasia.com/
https://hbr.org/
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/03/coronavirus-end-globali
zation/

www.nearpeer.org 18
CSS Magazine edition 2

Open for Enrollment in Nearpeer

19
Chapter 4
UAE-ISRAEL Peace Deal;
Features, Significance,
Implications, and Policy Options
for Muslim Ummah

Written by: Ahsan Ahmed

Edited by : Zohaib Anjum (PAS)

20
 CSS Magazine edition 2 Chapter 3

UAE-ISRAEL Peace Deal;

Features, Significance, Implications, and
Policy Options for Muslim Ummah

Background of the deal:

On Aug 13, 2020, Israel and United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a historic peace agreement named Abraham
Accord that would allow the normalization of relations between 2 states. UAE became the 3rd Arab state
after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994 that had signed a peace agreement with Israel. It is the first Gulf state
to do so. Bahrain and Morocco are expected to follow UAE in their pursuit of peaceful relations with Israel.

Significance of the deal:

This deal would be followed by normalisation of business and trade relations, direct flights to and from UAE,
cooperation in technological and scientific sectors, and diplomatic ties at the ambassadorial level. It also
includes a security cooperation between 2 states against common regional enemies; Iran and its proxies.
UAE along with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia sees Iran as a threat in the region as Iran wants to dominate region
by advancing its military capability.

Why this deal?

As a result, Israel agreed to suspend its plans to annex West Bank settlements at least for now but Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that he is committed to act on this plan in the future. According to
UAE Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Zayed, the suspension of West Bank settlements was the main reason for
brokering of this deal but analysts argue that mutual mistrust of Iran, its regional plans, and secret nuclear
program were the most decisive factors behind this deal which they see as an existential threat.

UAE stands to gain militarily:

This surprise agreement was facilitated by US
President Donald Trump between UAE Crown Prince
Muhammed Bin Zayed and Israeli PM. This deal
could bring UAE back in the US' good boys list after
its image was tarnished due to involvement in the
Yemen civil war. US would give UAE access to
advanced US weaponry such as drones which Egypt
was able to get after the peace deal.

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 CSS Magazine edition 2

What Israel can offer to UAE?
Israel is technologically rich in sectors like biotech,
healthcare, defense, and cyber-surveillance. UAE
has already purchased Israeli technological weapons
like spyware for surveillance purposes. It has vast oil
reserves, per capita GDP of almost $40,000 and
recently it became the first Arab state to send a
mission to Mars.
Israel's political and economic interests:
It's been Israel's strategic goal to establish relations
with Middle Eastern states. It could just a start of
normalization of economic relations with the UAE
which is most likely to be followed by Bahrain,
Oman, and Morocco. Saudi Arabia is unlikely to
follow this path anytime soon. But All Arab countries
will be very cautious in their approach to a Peace
agreement with Israel considering their decades of
hostility.
not possible till the conflict is resolved in the light
of UNSC resolutions and Palestinians are given a
separate homeland. Iran said that UAE had betrayed
Islam. Muslim world seems to be split at this point.
The economic interests of the nations have pushed
back the concept of an Ummah.
So what are the policy options for Muslim
Ummah now?
The annexation of the west bank by Israel is illegal
and violates United Nations Security Council
(UNSC) resolutions. Its resolution no. 242 was
adopted after the 1967 Arab Israel war between
Israel, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. It asks Israel to
withdraw its troops from the territory occupied
during the war. It is also illegal under international
law and the 4th Geneva convention which states
that Israel can't shift its population to occupied
territory. Also, any country can't annex territory

Palestinian response:
Palestine has rejected this peace deal and considers
it a betrayal by an Arab ally and that Israel is getting
its benefits without any discussion on seized land by
Israel. On part of Palestine, it reflects a bad faith by
the US, Israel, and UAE, since Israelis and Emirates
have been discussing normalization of relations
even before the Abraham Accord.

Response of “UMMAH":
Iran, Qatar, and Turkey have criticized this Agree-
ment while Turkey even threatened that it can
withdraw its ambassador from Abu Dhabi. Muslim
world seems divided at this stage. Some Muslim
countries have accepted the deal and some Muslim
countries have termed it unacceptable and a stab in
the back of Palestinians. Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey
have rejected the Abraham Accord and said any
diplomatic or economic relationship with Israel is

www.nearpeer.org 22
 CSS Magazine edition 2

occupied during a war. So Israel is violating UNSC

resolutions, international law not only by building
settlements but also by annexation of the west
bank.

Many western countries and Israel close trading

partners like the UK, Germany, France, and Austra-
lia have condemned Israel plans to annex the west
bank and had clearly stated that it is a violation of
international law.
So Muslim Ummah needs to unite and the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation can play a key
role in this regard. OIC should call an immediate
emergency meeting on the Palestine issue and
condemn the Abraham Accord as well as Israeli
plans to annex West Bank. One message from the
mega platform of Muslims could have a strong
influence and then a United Nations Security
Council (UNSC) meeting could be called condemn
Israeli violation of UNSC resolution no 242, Geneva
convention, and international laws.

The biggest asset for Israel is United States' support

for its every illegal activity from occupying the land,
to supplying its advanced weaponry, building the
settlements, and finally the annexation of the West
Bank. But the rest of American allies and western
powers have condemned this Israeli move.

In the end, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Indonesia, Qatar,

and Malaysia with the help of Saudi Arabia should
try to form a united Muslim front and convey a
strong message to the world that the Middle East
couldn't achieve peace until the process of 2 states
solutions is accomplished. When Muslim nations
would be united on one page, then there is a chance
that their voice could have any sort of influence in
the United Nations (UN) and Israel could be
pressurized to withdraw its troops and migrated
population from occupied territories.

*Figure Retrieved from

http://en.alghadeer.tv
https://www.observerbd.com
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/arabic-press-review-palestinian-cleric-rejects-uae-involvement-al-aqsa
https://www.dw.com/en/uae-israel-firms-sign-deal-after-establishing-ties/a-54586440

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Open for Enrollment in Nearpeer

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National

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Chapter 1
New Political Map of Pakistan:
Significance and Implications

Zohaib Anjum, PAS

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 Chapter 1

New Political Map of Pakistan: Significance

and Implications

Fact Check:
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan unveiled new political map of Pakistan on August 5, 2020, one year after
the fateful Indian move to divide, and unionize the territory of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

This move was not only a reaction to Indian overtures of August 5, 2019 whereby India withdrew special status
and privileges extended to the people and territory of Jammu and Kashmir by the revocation of article 35A and
370 of the Indian Constitution.

In a fit of retaliation, exactly a year after the Indian launch of demographic apartheid in Jammu and Kashmir,
Pakistan retorted by issuing a new political map underscoring new politico-strategic realities.

Pakistan’s federal Cabinet approved the new map. Map was a consensual construct something uncommon for
the turbulent political kaleidoscope of Pakistan.

PM Khan claimed that the launch of new political map “is a first step in that direction (of making Kashmir part
of Pakistan)”.

Features of New Political Map:

•Kashmir conflict would be resolved through the UN resolutions under the auspices of United Nations’
commitments, international law and upholding aspirations of the people of Kashmir.
•Siachen is shown to be part of Pakistan, though it is disputed by India.
•Map reasserts and refutes Indian claims over Sir Creek demarcating Pakistani border on the eastern side
opposite to Indian claim which draws line on western side. Indian claims are based on Thalweg doctrine. This
would potentially add hundreds of square kilometers of sea to Pakistan’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
•Map identifies occupied Kashmir as a “disputed territory”.
•Map acknowledges the relevance of UNSC resolutions on Kashmir.
•Map upholds the right of self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
•FATA has been shown as part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
•Entire territory of Jammu and Kashmir including Gilgit Baltistan has been shown in green colour.
•Line of Control has been marked with read dotted line.
•Map reads that: “the state of Jammu and Kashmir and its accession is yet to be decided through plebiscite
under the relevant UNSC resolutions.”

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•Map marks the border of Kashmir as “frontier undefined”.

•Dotted line that previously marked the disputed areas had been removed from the map.
•Map has a new nomenclature for the area of Kashmir under Indian control; Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu
and Kashmir (IIOJ&K).
•New political map finally shows the lond due development with the extension of Line of Control (LoC) beyond
NJ980420 to the Karakoram Pass, separating Pakistan and India’s position in the context of Actual Ground
Position Line.
•Pakistan showed Junagadh in Indian Gujrat as part of Pakistan. Junagadh was a Hindu majority princely state
whose Muslim ruler opted to join Pakistan in 1947 but its Hindu subjects wanted to join India.

Indian Response:
Indian rejected the new political map. Indian
authorities termed the new political map “an exercise
in political absurdity”. Indians stressed that “…these
ridiculous assertions have neither legal validity nor
international credibility.” Indian External Affairs
Ministry in a statement labelled Pakistani actions as
“its obsessions with territorial aggrandizement
supported by cross-border terrorism”.

Pakistani Response:
Pakistan’s foreign office in response retorted, “India
cannot create a smokescreen for its illegal and
unacceptable actions in Indian Occupied Jammu and
Kashmir. It is preposterous for a country that is
compulsively expansionist, and a brazen practitioner
of state terrorism, to level charges against others.”

Significance of New Map

Pakistan’s political map highlights Pakistan’s claims of
sovereignty and its national thinking on its territorial
boundaries. This new map also invalidates all fake
maps of Pakistan. This new map is the authentic one
as far as Pakistan is concerned.

New map lends a fresh strategic thinking in the cloudy mist surrounding status of illegally annexed areas of
Jammu and Kashmir (including Ladakh) post abrogation of article 370 and 35A. It strikes down Indian claims
over Azad Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan and Aksai Chin.

New map does not declare Kashmir to be a part of Pakistan rather it reaffirms Pakistan’s belated claim over the
territory of Kashmir under Indian occupation. However, Pakistan’s claims are not unqualified rather
contingent upon the exercise of right of self-determination by the people of Kashmir. Pakistan is hopeful that
whenever an impartial plebiscite is held, people of Kashmir would choose accession with Pakistan.

New political map is a step in a new direction setting quite a departing tone from Pakistan’s earlier efforts
whereby it extended olive branch to India either through Kartarpur diplomacy or setting free Abhinandan.

Qureshi claimed that this map is a signal to the unarmed youth of Kashmir living under the threat of Curfew,
and slaughter that Pakistan stands with them.

August 5, 2020 exhibited a marked difference from the previous days as Pakistan expressed solidarity with the
people of IIOJ&K in an overwhelming manner by observing “Youme Istehsal”. This reflects new resolve of
Pakistan’s political and military leadership.

By laying claims over Junagadh, Pakistan has devised an offensive plan of action.

Hindu while responding to the situation wrote, “It is quite evident that Pakistan has followed Nepal.
Kathmandu had issued a map to emphasise its illegal claims on Lipulekh, Limiyadhura and Kalapani in India’s
Uttarakhand on 21 May 2020. It is not mere coincidence that both Pakistan and Nepal are close allies of Beijing
with the latter pumping in money in form of infrastructure aid to prop up both regimes.”

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Implications of the New Political Map

New map signals a hardening of Pakistani position on a dispute that has strained ties between the South Asian
neighbors. Similarly, the map was endorsed by the political parties and government of Azad Jammu and
Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan.

This new move has emboldened Pakistani position on disputed valley and Ladakh. Although previously
Pakistan resorted to a much benign tone after August 5, 2019. This new move has a lens of definitive
retribution and would exacerbate already tense situation between the two neighbors.

Modi government took away Indian-administered Kashmir’s

special privileges, provoking anger in the region. Indian took
away the region’s status as a state by creating two federally
controlled territories, splitting off the thinly populated,
Budhist-dominated region of Ladakh. No, this is not
acceptable, seems to be Pakistani response with the new map.
Pakistan has effectively moved to nullify the political and
geo-strategic significance of August 5 Indian actions.

Similarly, this move by Pakistan was also important in the

context that Nepal’s parliament also changed country’s
constitution to update the contours of the map incorporating
territories claimed by India. This was not received well in
India.

Way Forward
Pakistan has always been trying to solve the Kashmir issue
peacefully. What Pakistan can do in the present scenario is to
use electronic and print media, along with diplomatic and
political platforms, to further the implications of the Kashmir
issue.
The new political map is an attempt by Pakistan to make India
realise that it will not compromise on Kashmir. While Pakistan
has enough military capability to engage India in the
battlefield, the only reason for abstention is to avoid any
nuclear conflict or inflicting suffering on the millions of
people in the region.
In short, the world in general and the Muslim world in
particular need to pacify the situation in Kashmir through
plebiscite according to the UN resolutions, which gives the
Kashmiri people the right to self-determination.

*Figure Retrieved from

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2257952/pm-unveils-new-political-map-of-pakistan

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Chapter 2
The New Provinces Conundrum

Abdul Samad Khan

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 Chapter 2

The New Provinces Conundrum

The cry for the creation of new provinces is not a new one as we have been, time and again, experiencing it for
a long time. The demand for the Hazara province rose during 80s and 90s and still goes on. Bahawalpur and
Multan too, were princely states in the united India and the latter has gird up its lions since long to declare as
a separate province. The demand for the Jinnahpur province has also succeeded in securing its place in the
race for the formation of the new provinces.

The formation of new provinces can get nod only if they are initiated and invoked by the genuine demands:
administration, population, area and the division being on the basis of resources. The cry for new provinces
surfaces in order to ease the administrative conundrum or to make the distanced area short so as to
accomplish the needs of the people easily.

Contrary to the above, the demands for the establishment of the new provinces in Pakistan are triggered by the
ethno-lingual forces. The demand for the Saraiki province is totally based on the language and ethnicity. The
cry for the formation of the Jinnahpur province is on air for the motive of the promotion of Urdu Speakers. The
people of Hazara community are raising their voices for the formation of the Hazara province just because they
were not mentioned anywhere in the amended name of KPK. Their demand for a new province is not based on
deprivation and injustices as Hazara is comparatively more developed than the southern KP. The demand for
the Bahawalpur province is prompted by the narrative that the southern Punjab has been exploited by the
central Punjab.

The law of the land (Constitution) prescribes the formation of the new provinces under its Article 239[4] which
states that any alteration to the boundary of a province would be allowed and permitted only after the passage
of a bill with two-third majority of the provincial members of the concerned province and then the bill would
be referred to the governor to refer it further to the president who would send it to the federal legislature for
further deliberation and for the final voting.

The formation of new provinces is not even a herculean task. Nigeria moved to almost 17 provinces from its,
just, four provinces. Similarly, Indian states’ tool surged to 29. Afghanistan has almost 34 states. All these are
most probably for easing the business of administration.

Therefore, if making new provinces is not a hard nut to crack, then why Pakistan fails in doing away with it is
because of variant reasons. The politically oriented hurdle hinders the way to the formation of new provinces.
The major party(s,ies) in Punjab is not in favour of making new provinces out of Punjab. The logic behind this is

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that Punjab secures almost 141 seats in the lower House of the Parliament which means that if to command
majority in Punjab, you are in a better position to form the government. Moreover, the party system in Punjab
is deplorable which pushes the strong electable ahead who can easily be manipulated by the cunning
politicians. Similarly, the major party in Sindh-PPP- puts the demand for the creation of new provinces to
death or aside as it will reinvigorate the demand for the Jinnahpur province. This was the main reason on dint
of which it deliberately set aside somewhere at the committee stage the bill for the formation of the Janoobi
Punjab as a new province in 2012. Likewise, the major political party of KP(PTI) too, is not backing the demand
for the new provinces as it will reinforce and resurface the demand for the Hazara province.

Apart from the said political hurdles, the cry for
the establishment of new provinces is also being
curbed by the opposition of the establishment
which would stand by it only if it is based on the
administrative basis rather than being instigated by
the ethno-lingual factors which are primes inter
pares in bringing about the national disintegration.
Adding to the said, the demand has lost the nod of
the establishment because of its huge financial
implication under which the poverty-stricken
country like Pakistan cannothold its breath up.
The next factor which is a hindrance in the way to
the new provinces is the opposition of the civil
bureaucracy. It despises the notion of the creation of
the new provinces on account of its basis not being
laid on the administrative purpose but on the
ethno-lingual motive. The establishment of the new
provinces will split the powers of the chief
secretaries which would not hold water for the
bureaucrats.

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Another question that may surge here is whether Pakistan is able to come across this new establishment.
Although the formation of the new units may ease the doing of administration, yet the capacity of the maker
must be taken into account. Pakistan is facing a bulk of challenges now ranging from its deteriorating economy
to the new pandemic- coronavirus. It must be made clear here that the enactment of the new provinces may
cost enough stretching from the building up of the different buildings to the transmission of the records.

In a nutshell, the formation of the new provinces is suggested only on the basis of the administrative objectives
instead of ethno-lingual bases. “It will be in the best interest of Pakistan and its national integration if
democratic concerns like economic growth, social development, welfare and good governance are given
priority rather than the religious, ethnic, linguistic, caste to be the valid bases for conceding the demands for
new provinces”.

The writer is an analyst of current affairs and has done his MA in English
Literature and Linguistics from NUML, Islamabad Pakistan

*Figure Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-Central-Punjab-Pakistan-showing-the-study-area-and-major-cities_fig1_319951664
https://nayadaur.tv/2019/01/south-punjab-province-a-gimmick-or-serious-move/
https://www.reddit.com/r/pakistan/comments/8eck3a/new_provinces_for_pakistan/

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Chapter 3
Suspending Judicial Review in
Times of Emergency

Waqar Orakzai,
Advocate High Court Abbottabad

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 Chapter 3

Suspending Judicial Review in Times of

Emergency

Lot of measures taken today will become a fixture of life. That is the nature of emergencies. They are fast
forward of historical events. During the fight against Covid -19 Governments around the world have taken
drastic measures and adapted policies to clog the spread of this contagious diseases. The strategies and
guidelines reformed during this epidemic fight has raised urgent questions of constitutional rights and judicial
review. In response to the pandemic, which has taken over more than 685k lives around the world,
governments at all levels have enacted a host of policies that potentially threaten constitutional rights or butt
against structural limits on government power.

Actions challenging some of these policies in different parts of the world, arguing that they violate the Free
Exercise of Religion and Free Speech , freedom of trade and business , right to life, , separation of powers
principles, laws are inconsistent with the rights envisaged in the constitution and other provisions of federal
and provincial laws. How should we treat these claims? In particular, how should courts treat them? Similarly,
in Pakistan the apex Court challenged the policies of the Government . The court remarked that Why the
Legislatures cannot function when all the other institutions are functioning. The court further observed that,
this becomes more important when the passing of the executive orders to deal with the pandemic has
trampled and affected the fundamental rights of people” .

In light of these questions, these are some difficult questions which needs answer and this article might not
cover it completely because of the complexity of the matter. Whether normal judicial review should be
“suspended” during the ongoing pandemic.

In reviewing such challenges, should courts opt for “normal,” relatively non-deferential judicial review? Or
should they give the government broad deference, so long as there is a minimally plausible emergency
rationale for the challenged policy? The latter approach which should be called as the “suspension model,” and
offer three powerful considerations that count against it.

First, they emphasize that the suspension idea implicitly assumes that the crisis will be temporary, with civil
liberties and limitations on government power soon to be restored. But in reality, the crisis may go on for a long
time, especially if no effective vaccine or treatment is developed for the disease. The seemingly “temporary”
suspension could easily become a “new normal.” It is noted that this is a special danger with the coronavirus
crisis because it could easily last for a long time, and because restrictions on civil liberties—in the form of
mandatory closure and “social distancing” measures—are “central” to the policy response to the crisis. Mass
lockdowns that force millions of people to “shelter in place” and abjure most normal commercial and social

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interactions go far beyond anything seen in previous

public health emergencies. The scale of restrictions
on liberty makes it especially important to use
judicial review to ensure they go no farther than
necessary.

As the coronavirus crisis has developed over time, it

has become clear that it might potentially involve
multiple cycles of lockdowns and other restrictions
on civil liberties. Even if initial emergency measures
are loosened or lifted, they can potentially be
reinstated later. That makes it all the more important
to avoid assuming that the crisis is temporary and
will end quickly. At this point, it is difficult or
impossible to tell how long it might last.
Second, the suspension model is based on what they call “the oft-unsubstantiated assertion that ‘ordinary’
judicial review will be too harsh on government actions in a crisis—and could therefore undermine the efficacy
of the government’s response.” It is contend that this assertion is unwarranted, and that most legitimate
emergency measures can and do survive “ordinary” judicial scrutiny. Courts that have applied “normal” judicial
review have either upheld the challenged measures, struck down only limited aspects of them (as with
decisions opening of businesses in Karachi on the eve of Eid, requiring the government to permit people going
to mosques or protecting gun rights in USA or requiring the government to permit “drive-in” church services
if they permit similar secular services), or invalidated the measures on separation-of-powers grounds that
allow the state to reenact them if the legislature chooses to do so. Maintaining normal judicial review reduces
the risk of perpetual policies and helps ensure that even well-intentioned ones do not overreach.

Finally—and in my view most importantly—the suspension model entirely fails to account for the importance
of an independent judiciary in a crisis. The judiciary, they write, is “perhaps the only institution that is in any
structural position to push back against potential overreaching by the local, state, or federal political branches.”
Emergency situations are precisely when government power is often most likely to be abused. Rigorous judicial
review can help prevent constitutional rights against assertions of emergency powers whose necessity is
dubious, and whose claimed rationales often perpetual.

There is a long history of abuses of emergency powers, often legitimized by an over-deferential judiciary. The
1944 Korematsu case, in which the US Supreme Court upheld the internment of Japanese-Americans during
World War II, is a particularly notorious example, long seen as “overruled in the court of history,” that the
Supreme Court finally repudiated in 2018 as “gravely wrong the day it was decided.”

In many countries around the world, authoritarian leaders are using the pandemic as an excuse to expand their
power and crush dissent. But it would be naive to imagine we are immune from the tendency of governments
to exploit crises for their benefit. To the contrary, we too have a long history of crises being used to undermine
constitutional rights, subvert limits on government power, and target unpopular minorities.

One standard critique of non-deferential judicial review in such situations is that judges may lack the
specialized expertise needed to assess emergency policy. Few if any judges have expertise in epidemiology or
public health. But anti-coronavirus policies are, in most cases, enacted by politicians who themselves are not
experts. They can, of course, rely on advice provided by such experts. But the same is true of judges exercising
the power of judicial review, who routinely consider testimony and other evidence submitted by scientists and
other experts of various kinds.

If the government’s policies really are based on strong scientific evidence, then they should be able to prove
that in court, without any special judicial deference. Robust judicial review can actually incentivize the
government to improve the quality of the evidence it relies on, to provide greater specificity in its explanations
of the purposes restrictions on civil liberties are intended to achieve, and to take greater care to ensure that
those restrictions do not go too far.

If lack of technical expertise were a justification for suspending normal judicial review, it would apply to a vast
range of cases, not just challenges to public health policies. The same rationale can be (and often is) used to
justify broad deference in the fields of immigration, national security policy, and almost any other government

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action that addresses a complex issue. In many of these fields too, the government can and does claim that its
constitutionally questionable policies are necessary to save lives, and that those policies are based on
specialized expertise that courts are not qualified to assess.

The current emergency situation is the right time to bring judicial reforms. There will undoubtedly be parties
who take advantage of the present pandemic to needlessly delay hearings in courts or arbitrations. As such,
applications for permission to proceed by way of video or telephone conferencing may well become necessary
and common place. If parties are not taking this step themselves, or there is illegitimate opposition to a request
of this nature, Courts or Tribunals are generally within their powers to make appropriate orders to permit this.
The current crisis will cause inevitable disruption to some dispute resolution proceedings. Video-conferencing
is a technology available to mitigate some of that disruption while causing minimal prejudice to the parties. The
law generally provides for it and technology makes it possible. The only thing that remains is for parties to
embrace its use and dispel the perceptions of its inadequacy.

The above analysis does not by itself tell us how any

particular legal challenge to coronavirus emergency
measures should be resolved. But they do explain why courts
should not abjure normal judicial review in favor of the
suspension model. That insight is essential for as long as this
crisis lasts—and will be valuable for future emergencies, as
well. Sadly, this one is unlikely to be the last.

Waqar Orakzai
Advocate High Court Abbottabad

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Chapter 4
Will the Single National
Curriculum (SNC) Really End the
Educational Apartheid in Pakistan?

Maham Babar

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 Chapter 4

Will the Single National Curriculum (SNC) Really

End the Educational Apartheid in Pakistan?

The incumbent government has laid down a vision that emphasizes on the provision of a fair and equal
opportunity of high quality education to every child across the state, as enshrined in article 25A of the
constitution. The policy further aims to develop social cohesion, national integration and appreciation of
different cultures and religions. It focuses on developing critical thinking abilities and outcome based
approach with a focus on emerging international trends. The objectives enshrined are holistic development
of children and one system of education for all in terms of curriculum, medium of instruction and
assessment.

Although, the recently announced educational policy may have the vision the whole Pakistan foresees but
the chosen ladder would not lead to the destination. Not surprisingly, it has already stepped into the state of
controversies. The federal government appears to be quite keen in resolving the educational disparities and
resulting discriminatory system but only superficially. If reviewed closely, it has multiple fissures. The policy
lacks substance and clarity. It misses on substantial policy guidelines and initiatives that would end the
educational apartheid in Pakistan. The developing contention is that the prerequisite for attaining uniformity
in education is not a single national curriculum.

Some argue that the Single National Curriculum is the foundation of the educational policy. But the question
arises then why set a vision that has a scope so extended? Setting up an ambitious goal needs a well thought
out and serious plan that has enough power to reach out and outshine. Single National Curriculum is a
fraction of what could be done to foster uniformity in education. The differences are not only based on
curriculum but gender, religion, geography, socio-economic status and the overall disparities in the
educational system of Madrassas, public and private institutions. Therefore, the foundation on which this
edifice is to be constructed is in itself faulty.

The crucial issue that still remains in the grey area is related to the mainstreaming of the Deeni Madaris. The
new policy objectives and stratagem falls short in defining the curriculum for the Madaris. The inclusion of
critical thinking, modern education and science still remains an untouched area. Although, Musharraf’s
Madrassa reforms (2002) included secular subjects, but the dearth of quality teachers and lack of formal
course outline failed to resolve the issue. Under the new policy, the students still are away from quality
teachers, technology, science and critical thinking. These children cannot get the same facilities of quality
schooling as other children in the private schools. Hence, their assessment (matric/intermediate exams)
could not be termed as fair when such disparities are part of the pedagogical system. A single national
curriculum would seldom help in eliminating discrimination because equality in the syllabus does not
guarantee equality in access to education.

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The goal is provision of quality education to all but Madrassas and low cost private institutions still remain
unregulated under this framework. They offer cheap education but at the cost of quality. These institutions
continue to exploit the poor families - who wish for a better future for their children.

Furthermore, the vision and policy objectives stress on social cohesion, national integrity and respecting
other religions without any mention of a religious curricula for the non-Muslims. The non-Muslims have not
been offered any courses that could help them study their religion. In 2016, Ethics was introduced as an
alternate subject for Islamiat, but schools fail in providing teachers for the subject. Many teachers are even
reluctant to recite Quranic verses in front of non-Muslim students; who are interested in studying Islam.

In addition, the Single National Curriculum violates the rights as the non-Muslims have to read the Islamic
text in shape of Hamd, Naat and other ascriptions in books of Urdu and other subjects. Article 22(1) of the
constitution safeguards particular rights of religious minorities. It says; “No person attending any
educational institution shall be required to receive religious instruction, or take part in any religious
ceremony, or attend religious worship, if such instruction, ceremony of worship relates to a religion other
than his own.”

This must also be noted that not stressing on the

increase in literacy rate among girls is like
emasculating women from the realm of education and
further demeaning them. The educational
discrimination cannot end without inclusion of
women in the process. Since the inception of
Pakistan, the literacy rates among girls have been
appallingly low. A number of policies were devised to
end these disparities. The educational policy of 1970
and 1990 aimed to achieve universal primary school
education for girls, but, by the end of 1992 only 27%
girls enrolled in schools to attain basic education. In
the year 2010, the enrollment ratio was 37% at
primary level. In 2018, the primary school enrollment
was 67%. However, by grade VI 59% were out of
school and only 13% were in school by IX grade. In
Balochistan, 75% of women have never attended

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schools. The gender disparity combined with

geographical disparities have plunged women into a
state of abyss. They are unable to obtain their just
right to education. The recent policy fails to
mention any such initiative that would lead to an
increase in literacy rates among women.

Instead, the existing framework has stressed upon

increasing the course contents which will further
burden the students. Therefore, how can a Single
National Curriculum that focuses entirely on
bombarding young children with information
resolve the issue of educational disparities? How
does it ensure girls as part of the development
process? It seems no different from the half-baked
policies of the past, in fact, it seems to be an
incarnation of the previous policies with an
additional tint of ‘confusion’ and ‘misdirection’.

The policies must painstakingly focus on the increase in the overall literacy rate of the country. This involves
an even upgrade and not any selective measure that abandons a huge number in the lurch. It would require
to include the out of school children, women, minorities and revamping of the entire educational system to
enhance quality teaching across all educational institutions. The provinces must be provided with
infrastructure, teachers and funds that could provide the masses with opportunities to develop a bright
future. Policy guidelines must be set to educate women to reduce the prejudices in the attainment of
education. Furthermore, the religious minorities must also be a part of the National Education Policy to
eliminate educational apartheid in Pakistan. This would lead to a tolerant and pluralistic society that
promotes coexistence and social cohesion. Thus, an inclusive approach must be followed to transform the
existing educational system that is based on equality and fair opportunities for all.

*Figure Retrieved from

http://mofept.gov.pk/
https://pakistan.shafaqna.com/EN/105516
https://www.dawn.com/news
https://innnews.pk/literacy-rate-in-pakistan-2020/

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In Spotlight

5
Student Contributor
of the month

Chapter
The Facade of Islamophobia

M Hamza Ahmed

50
 Chapter 2
5

The Facade of
Islamophobia

This is November 2001. Four hijacked jets are there in the air of New York. One of them has been crashed
before hitting the target. Two are slammed in the twin towers. The last one is rammed into the pentagon.
This is the short story for the deadliest attacks which the world calls the 9/11 attacks. This incident changed
Lorem
theipsum
fate of the identity of Islam. The use of the term “Islamophobia” skyrocketed after this event. This term
was first used in the 1970s, but it got tremendously notorious after 9/11. What does this term mean?
According to Merriam Webster, Islamophobia means: “Irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against
Islam or the people who practice Islam”. Contrarily, the world has deviated from the original meaning of this
word. Contemporarily, this particular term is being used to tarnish the image of Islam. There are chauvinistic
entities in the world who are deliberately doing so. This is due to certain misconceptions. I have tried to
debunk them and eliminate the fallacies from the minds of the people.

To begin with, there is a misconception between two words that culminates the notion that Islam legitimizes
the extremism. The first word is ‘Qitaal’ and the second one is ‘Jihaad’. Both words are totally different in

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nature as people consider them the same and develop a beleaguered impression of Islam. The term ‘Jihaad’
literally means: “to resist”. According to Islam resistance is always in the name of Allah and for the oppressed
among his people. It does not mean to fight. The second word ‘Qitaal’ literally means: “to fight”. Islam strictly
prohibits the fight among the people. Islam does not allow extremism at any cost as it is the religion of
moderation in all aspects of life. Islam allows ‘Jihaad’ but after certain circumstances and conditions. Allah
says in Qu’ran, Chapter 4, Verse 75: “And what is (the matter) with you that you do not fight in the cause of
Allah and (for) the oppressed among men, women, and children”. Hence, the message of Islam is obvious and
it strictly forbids extremism at any level.

Furthermore, people, who mostly belong to the west, glean the image of Islam from those who carry out
terrorist activities. They consider them the representatives of Islam. However, those culprits have maligned
the image of the most peaceful religion. The portrayal of Islam should not be derived from them as they are
not the ones who represent this religion. The representative of Islam is the Holy Qu’ran and the world ought
to judge and procure its image from this holy book. The terrorists kill people in the name of Islam to achieve
their political benefits; however, Islam prohibits the killing of mankind. Allah says in Qu’ran, Chapter 5, Verse
32: “whosoever kills a person...it is if he had slain the whole mankind”. This is the pure message of Islam. The
world should consider Qu’ran and the teachings of our last prophet Muhammad(PBUP) in order to formulate
the image of Islam.

Keeping in mind the given justifications, we can ascertain that the term ‘Islamophobia’ is being used
erroneously. This term should be changed with ‘Muslimophobia’ in order to call upon those who practice
extremism. The so-called Muslims of the militant groups do not even deserve to be called Humans, then how
one can obtain the message of Islam from them. There is an urgent need to shift this paradigm and a new
normal should be introduced. A similar gesture has been shown by an American Scholar, Gary Wills, in his
book: “What the Qu’ran Means and Why it matters”. He argues, “Our enemy in this world is far less localized
than it was in the World War-2 and the Cold War. Terror is a tool, not a country. Declaring war on it is less
like normal warfare, country versus country, there is no VE Day or VJ Day in such wars...living with fear is
corrosive...the less we know the reality of Islam, the more we will fight shadows and false emanations and
our apprehensions. Ignorance is the natural ally of fear. It is time for us to learn about real Islam beginning
with its source book-The Qu’ran”.

The time is ripe for the world to enhance its understanding of the worthy religion Islam. The term
Islamophobia is a façade that should be replaced with another term that would hit those who are using Islam
for their political and economic gains.

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Another nuance of this debate refers to women's
rights. Some argue that Islam does not allow women
empowerment at all. This type of narrative has been
emanated from the clergymen who belong to those
militant groups. Those clerics are opined: Islam
does not allow women to go out, to get educated, or
to work et cetera. This type of rhetoric has added
the fuel to the fire and the portrait of Islam has
further aggravated. Nonetheless, Islam was the first
religion that talked about women’s rights. Before
Islam, there existed certain misogynistic trends
during the age of ignorance such as female
infanticide, burning alive, and other egregious
practices. Islam talked about the dignity, prestige,
and the rights of women centuries before the
western waves of feminism. This proves that Islam
is more modern than the so-called champions of
modernity when it comes to women’s rights.

We can reap some examples from the life of our Prophet Muhammad(PBUH). Our Prophet(PBUH)
considered education as a religious obligation for the genders. He(PBUH) educated his daughter and his wife
during his lifetime. The first wife the Prophet(PBUH), Hazrat Ayesha(R.A) was a successful businesswoman.
Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) would always stand up in respect of his daughter. This is the exact portrayal of
Islam. The world just needs to have a firm understanding of Islam and change the old normal.

What are the obligations of the government of Pakistan in this regard? First, I would like to quote the speech
of Prime Minister Imran Khan in the session of The United Nations General Assembly-which was lauded by
the majority. He explained, comprehensively, Islamophobia but he was unable to debunk the misconceptions
and mistaken use of the term. He could have emphasized the notion that some people are tainting the image
of Islam under the ambit of this word. Second, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Turkey agreed to fight against the
rising global trend of Islamophobia during the UNGA session in 2019. They also decided to launch a TV
channel to educate people for the sake of this cause. Yet this trilateral ambition has to see the light of the
day yet. The government of Pakistan can launch a channel on a national level to burnish the picture of Islam.
Third, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation can be used effectively to whiten the spots on Islamic
messages. The government ought to ask Muslim states to collaborate and take steps in order to shift that
sleazy narrative. Last, social media can be used influentially in this motive as it has empowerment people to
practice their right to freedom of speech and an explicit narrative should be added to our national
conversation. A massive campaign can be launched with the help of the government and civil society to clear
the worldly misconceptions. If steps are taken consciously for this cause, the suffering of the whole Ummah
can be reduced drastically as the Muslims are specifically subjected to antagonism.

*Figure Retrieved from

https://ips-dc.org/trumps-year-islamophobia/

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Open for Enrollment in Nearpeer

56
Essay of the
Month
Globalization has created more
problems than solutions

Mariam Younas Bhatti

57
Globalization has created more
problems than solutions

1. Introduction

2. Plethora of problems created by Globalization

•Pandemic threat – globalization of diseases
•Free market capitalism is widening global income inequality
•Global financial institutions are pushing countries towards neo-imperialism and debt trap
•Danger of great power competition and conflict over strategic zones
•Intensification of trans-national organized crime
•Rise of Populists promoting anti-globalization and pro nationalist agendas against elites and minorities
•Cultural globalization has intensified religious and ethnic conflicts
•Widening of Gap between have’s and have-not’s.
•Enhancement of threat of climate change and environmental degradation

3. Some fruits of globalization

•Transmission of knowledge and technology across borders
•Integration of women in economic fabric of society
•Regional connectivity among countries with similar foreign policy goals

4. Methodologies to cope up with the menace of globalization

•Global solidarity mechanisms for countering pandemic threats and damage
•Restructuring global financial institutions to curb economic dependency of developing countries
•Empowering global political institutions to contain hegemonic designs of powers
•Good Governance at state and local government level

5. Conclusion

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Picture an era marked with rapid flow of information and technology, capital, goods, services, rapid movement
of people and intensification of social interactions, an era with time space compression and
interconnectedness of the world, stretching activities across all spheres of the globe. Such ever increasing
global integration of economy, politics, culture and societies –referred to as Globalization- has connected the
world for more than four decades now. But it has impacted the world in both positive and negative ways.
Although Globalization has multitude of benefits, the problems created by it surpass its delivered fruits.it has
exacerbated many problems in the integrated world including mounting inequality, spread of disease as
pandemic, rise of populism and is deteriorating trust in global institutions. Multifaceted problems that have
been created by globalization in all spheres –economic, social, political - outweigh its benefits. Indeed,
globalization has created more problems than solutions.

Foremost, as evident from coronavirus pandemic of 2020, Globalization has been the ultimate cause of spread
of coronavirus so quickly. Due to globalization, the disease spread from China throughout the world and
became a pandemic. The interconnectedness of world through roads, railways, oceans and especially airways
accelerated the spread of coronavirus and its conversion into a pandemic as people moved from one place to
another and carried the virus along with them. This presents a negative side of the coronavirus that in case of
a contagious disease it can create havoc in the world, along with putting immense pressure of the health and
medical system and infrastructure of especially developing and under-developed countries, which are scarcely
able to provide basic health facilities to its citizens. Therefore, globalization carries with it the problem of
acting as a threat to human health security.

Similarly, spread of free market capitalism owing to globalization has created income inequality across the
world. It was thought that world in the form of global village will uniformly enmesh all the countries with
respect to financial and income equality. However, this is simply not the case. The rich benefit
disproportionately from global growth. Free flow of goods, global commerce and foreign direct investments
mostly benefit the Capitalist class and exploits labors with low wage, and the surplus goes in the hands of the
elite class. According to Forbes, world’s 45 percent wealth is in the hand of 1 percent Billionaires across the
globe. This example is evident of the fact that Skewed distribution of income in global political economy
ensures that income inequality remains entrenched in the globalized world.

Moreover, Global financial institutions are imposing neo-imperialism on countries by pushing them into debt
trap. After the world wars, these prestigious institutions like IMF and World Bank were formed for the relief of
developing countries. It was aimed to grant those loans and foreign aid so that those countries could get rid of

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viscous cycle of poverty. In contrast, these
institutions are serving corporate interests,
imposing their self-interest policies and harsh
conditions of loans on countries, thus creating
sphere of influence – neo-imperialism- on them.
Our own country comes in this umbrella. For
instance, Pakistan received its 22nd bailout package
from IMF in 2019 and has never come out of the debt
trap despite these loans and grants .Hence, global
financial institutions have dragged countries in
viscous cycle of debt trap
Furthermore, Globalization has accelerated great
power competition owing to economic
interdependence and global trade. It was anticipated
that dependence of economies of countries on each
other would deter them from rivalry and
containment of each other. Instead, this integrated
global economy has been unable so far to satiate
great powers, rather it is exacerbating the
competition between them as they are forming
various strategic alliances and blocs against each
other. For instance , competition of China and
America in South China sea and Indo-pacific is a
living example of efforts of each power to contain
other bringing with it dangers for other developing
countries. Both the powers are building their naval
and military bases in these strategic zones to secure
their interests. Thus, globalization is exacerbating
great power competition instead of fostering peace
and cooperation between them.
One of the other issues peculiar to globalization is
that it has led to spread of transnational organized
crime. Crime has also benefited from technological
advances accompanying globalization. Today’s
transnational criminals are involved in range of
interconnected activities of organized crime. Money
laundering, cybercrimes, and illegal drug trafficking
are one of the most important beneficiaries of
globalization. For example, according to an estimate
by United Nations, one of the world’s largest
transnational economic enterprises is illegal global
drug trade of worth about 400 billion dollars with
some 200 million customers. Control of such
organized crimes is hard as we can see that Pakistan
is still struggling with Money laundering ant
terrorism financing to control them under the
instructions of FATF. Therefore, globalization has
created the problem of spread of transnational crime
which is extremely difficult for countries to solve.
Another factor that manifests the problems created
by globalization is the rise of populists across the
world promoting their nationalist agendas. With
increasing income inequality, strain on resources of
countries, migration and other socio-cultural factors
owing to globalization, populists have risen to
exploit public sentiments. The rise of the new
populism is seen to be drawing its strength from
those left behind by globalization: working class and
laborers. For example, make America great again and
BREXIT are great examples of consequences of
populism. This phenomenon is undermining the very
foundation of globalization as populist policies are
against Global trade and global political institutions.
Therefore, the menace of populism is adding to the
problems created by globalization.
Similarly, cultural globalization has intensified
religious, ethnic and civilization identities, instead of
homogenizing the cultures of the world. Since some
decades, spread of ideas and norms of west, and
eroding cultural identities have been resulting in
backlash against Globalization. Samuel Huntington,
in his historical theory: “ Clash of civilizations” , has
said that “ the fault lines between civilizations will be
the battle lines of the future, which means that the
cultural and religious identities of people will be the
main cause of conflict in the 21st century. The world
can truly witness that increasing globalization has
led to shrinking of the world with eroding cultural
identities. The result of this is emerging ethnic and
religious groups. Moreover, anti-Americanism is also
growing in the world, a historic example of which is
Iranian revolution of 1979. So, globalization has
created problems in the form of ethnic and religious
backlash rather than integrating cultures together.
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In addition, Globalization has been increasing the gap between elites and poor of societies. While the
bourgeois and skilled people benefit exponentially from the Industrial and information revolution, the poor
people in societies suffer because of not being skilled enough in latest industrial or technological skills. For
instance, Digitalization is occurring all across the world; various works previously done by manpower or
manually are now being replaced by Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms. The author of the
book “21 lessons for 21st century” contends that confluence of InfoTech and biotech would be the biggest
threat to human employment in coming years. As technology will progress by leaps and bounds and the people
who wouldn’t be at par with a good technological skills would be left unemployed. This means that
Globalization is creating more problems than solutions by leaving the poor or have not’s in an abysmal situation
, thus widening the income inequality gap.

Regretfully, Globalization has made mankind vulnerable to the menace of environmental degradation and
climate change. As Global world got enmeshed in global trade and commerce; industrialization and
advancement in agriculture also grew. This was aimed at the flow of capital across the world and betterments
of living standards on the whole. But the solution of this poverty problem came at the expense of deteriorating
climate conditions. Global warming is increasing, droughts, heat waves, sea level rise and extreme climate
change conditions are a threat to human security in all respects. According to United Nations, a 2 degrees
increase in global temperature due to Global warming would put unbearable stress on our ecosystems , food ,
water and human security and we are left with just 11 years to limit a catastrophe. Therefore, it goes without
saying that impacts of globalization on climate change and environmental degradation make us see a dark side
of Globalization.

In the above paragraphs, a holistic view of the problems created by globalization were presented.it is now
imperative to shed a light upon its blessings also so that the other side of globalization can be explored.
However, still, globalization currently poses more problems than solutions/blessing.

It goes without saying that globalization has contributed to transmission of knowledge, technology, and skilled
labor all over the world. There is an ever increase in the interdependent trade between people accompanying
transfer if technology. Globalization brings a key benefit—it stimulates the spread of knowledge and
technology, helping spread growth potential across countries. Investments in education, human capital, and
domestic research and development are thus essential to build the capacity to absorb and efficiently use
foreign knowledge. An example of this fact is that every year , millions of students go to study abroad to
acquire higher education , many universities now provide online degrees and high skill certificates. This
transmission of knowledge, culture, and skills couldn’t be achieved without the blessings of Globalization.

Another blessing of Globalization lies in the fact that it has integrated women into the socio-economic fabric
of societies. Rising female labor force participation has been one of the most remarkable economic
developments of the last century. Before Globalization, there were only a few women contributing towards the
well-being of their families and overall growth potential of their countries. With ever increasing spread of
knowledge and service jobs all over the world, skilled women have now been able to work online, acquire higher
education and in various other means. This has also contributed to increasing gender equality in the world. For
instance, according to World Bank data, Women employment rate has increased upto 20 percent in last 5 years
in Pakistan. Thus, it goes without saying that globalization is acting as an enabler of women empowerment.

Regional connectivity is also a blessing of globalization. Owing to globalization, countries with similar foreign
policy goals are able to connect more rapidly through road, oceans, skilled labor, and technology transmission.
Pakistan is also all set to benefit from the aspect of globalization as BRI and CPEC initiatives have injected a new
spirit in the ideas of regional connectivity. Moreover, with globalization, it is easier for countries to invest
through Foreign direct investment and go joint collaboration construction programs such as pacific region
connectivity program and agreement between countries for development of ports and other infrastructure
programs. Thus, globalization has led to regional connectivity in long run.

Indeed globalization has come up with many positive sides ; however, its downsides and problems pose serious
problems to humanity and overshadow its blessings.

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In the wake of various problems created by globalization that supersede its solutions, several methodologies
must be adopted to revamp globalization and lessen its problems. Most necessary of them are global solidarity
and cooperation mechanisms to counter common threats to humanity: pandemic, climate change, nuclear
proliferation. Global political and financial institutions need to be empowered at this need of the hour. Today’s
challenges need inclusive multilateralism at all levels. For instance, in dangers like pandemic and climate
change, all countries need to show mutual cooperation under the umbrella of Global political institutions and
need to work on 2030 Sustainable development goals. The 2030 agenda symbolizes the world’s commitment to
collaborate on efforts to address humanity’s biggest challenges. However, these efforts will only be successful
when underpinned by an inclusive collaboration among governments, regional cooperation organizations,
economic and political entities, scientists, industry, private sector and civil society.

Similarly, good governance at all levels is mandatory accompanying social inclusion at all levels. Developing
countries should especially carve out a process of governance based on strengthening democracy, improving
service delivery, ensuring accountability, and upholding the rule of law. When good governance , social
inclusiveness , and human development is lacking in a country , sometimes violent upheavals are seen as a
result or sometimes there is a threat of division of a country into ethnic or other faultiness. Good governance
bridges the gap between the elite and the poor, brings social justice and social equality at all levels, and rapid
service delivery. In this case, the problems created by globalization can be overcomed by a country if it is
internally strong.

In a nutshell, though global integration of economy, politics, cultures, and global social connectedness has
benefitted the world in many respects, yet it has also created much havoc stretching all spheres of mankind.
Moreover, the problems created by globalization surpass the number of solutions by it. On one hand ,
globalization of economy and global interdependence has widened inequality gap across countries; on the
other hand , globalization has disrupted security situation of the world in the form of transnational crimes ,
vulnerability to climate change ,and has also acted as a threat to human health security as seen in the form of
recent coronavirus pandemic. Prudent measures at all levels are needed to contain the problems of
globalization and convert them into blessings which include empowering global financial and political
institutions along with good governance at all levels and global solidarity mechanisms. IN sum, problems
created by globalization exceed the solutions and measures need to be taken to rectify the problems posed by
globalization

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Open for Enrollment in Nearpeer

63
 Monthly
Press Review

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 CSS Magazine edition 2

Monthly differences over the Rohingya

refugee crisis, the Citizenship
investments in Bangladesh. With
over $10 billion worth of Chinese

Press Review
Amendment Act, and the infrastructure projects already
construction of Ram Mandir in there, Bangladesh is now seeking
Ayodha have sparked a diverse another $6.4 billion for new

Can Pakistan
array of skepticism from Dhaka. projects, and $1 billion for Teesta
river management.

and Bangladesh Meanwhile, where the

India-Bangladesh drift has largely “Under the Turkey-led Muslim
Be Friends? remained under the radar, bloc, both Pakistan and
Pakistan has visibly undergone a Bangladesh can get more
diplomatic metamorphosis over prominence as compared to what
China and Turkey are providing the
the past three weeks. Three senior we have under the Gulf states,
opportunity for Pakistan to sit with
diplomats interviewed for this who have not only failed to
Bangladesh again. Islamabad must
piece discussed the recent foreign provide support for Kashmir,
do so with sincerity and
policy reshuffle in Islamabad. they’ve actively enhanced their
self-reflection.
defense and energy cooperation
Pakistan’s unprecedented, and with India, and even Israel,” said a
On August 14, Pakistan’s
previously unthinkable, move to senior diplomat.
Independence Day, the country’s
call out the inaction of Saudi
high commissioner in Dhaka, Imran
Arabia and the Organization of The UAE-Israel deal epitomizes
Ahmed Siddiqui, lauded the role
Islamic Cooperation (OIC) over the rapid splintering into a new
that Bengalis played in the creation
Kashmir earlier this month has cold war reality, with the Gulf
of Pakistan in 1947. That was
firmly placed the country in the states firmly in the U.S.-Saudi
preceded by Pakistani foreign office
Chinese and Turkish camps. While camp. This opened the possibility
spokesperson Aisha Farooqui saying
Army Chief General Qamar Javed for South Asian Muslim countries
that Islamabad was now actively
Bajwa’s visit to Riyadh last week to back the potential
working on “moving forward” with
was aimed at salvaging China-Turkey bloc. Thus
Dhaka. Before that, the two
Saudi-Pakistan military ties, Pakistan’s efforts to woo
premiers, Imran Khan and Sheikh
Islamabad is now openly backing Bangladesh, backed by China and
Hasina, held a July 22 telephone
Turkish and Chinese bids for Turkey, are rooted in global, and
conversation.
Muslim and global leaderships regional, realignments more so
respectively. than any bilateral efforts to
While August is usually an annual
reconcile with a tumultuous past.
reminder of what binds India and
One diplomat informed The
Pakistan together, this year
Diplomat that with both China Therefore, while Pakistan and
provided a rare opportunity for
and Turkey wholeheartedly Bangladesh might find common
Islamabad and Dhaka to reminisce
backing Islamabad’s Kashmir interests in coexisting in the same
about their own fractured past. This
narrative, much of Pakistan’s bloc, for the two to actually
was duly felt in New Delhi as well,
recent diplomatic engagement become friends requires an
with Foreign Secretary Harsh V.
with Bangladesh has been with honest discussion on what
Shringla rushing to meet Hasina and
regard to this fast-growing transpired in 1971 – and the events
Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.K.
alliance. leading up to it. That mandates
Abdul Momen last week.
Pakistan self-reflecting about its
With China more invested in own past, wherein it could find
Pakistan’s recent overtures toward
Kashmir because of its growing roots of many of its present
Bangladesh have overlapped with
rivalry with India, and its bid to predicaments, and in turn the
growing disputes between New
involve itself in conflicts as the pathway toward a progressive,
Delhi and Dhaka, largely centering
global superpower, Dhaka’s pluralistic future.
around the growing anti-Muslim tilt
interest in being a part of the
of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party
China-Pakistan-Turkey nexus Much of what ails Pakistan today
(BJP) in India. In the recent past,
could also be piqued by Beijing’s can be traced to country’s

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 CSS Magazine edition 2
mistreatment of the Bengalis from
1947 to 1971, resulting in the two
wings that fought together for
Partition of India separating from
one another within 24 years. That
bloody divide in 1971 delineated
many of Pakistan’s paradoxes that
have been rooted in the country’s
existence, but remain,
unaddressed, in the national
ethos.
The 1971 war helps explain why a
majority launched a separatist
movement, and why despite losing
an entire wing Pakistan never had
to alter its name. It reminds us
how the two epicenters of the
Pakistan movement, Uttar
Pradesh and Bengal – the latter
where the Muslim League was
founded in 1906 – are no longer in
Pakistan. It underlines how the
1940s separatist movement that
claimed that the Muslims of the
Indian subcontinent are “one
nation” has since divided them
almost equally into three separate
states.
More critically for Pakistan, its
divorce from Bangladesh unveiled
the implosive fault lines that have
only deepened since 1971. For
instance, the military’s dominance
in Pakistan – and then in
Bangladesh – is rooted in efforts
to deny the democratic principle
of “one person one vote,” because
it was feared that it would result
in the Bengali majority ruling over
the two wings of Pakistan.
As a result, civilian leaders in the
then-West Pakistan were more
keen on enjoying certain perks
under military hegemony than
letting East Pakistan have the
majority say in running of the
country. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had
collaborated with the military to
reject the 1970 elections, in turn
orchestrating the separation of
Bangladesh; Pakistan’s continued
history of civilian leaders
undermining democracy to gain
proximity to power has since
included Nawaz Sharif, Benazir
Bhutto, and now Imran Khan.
Similarly, Pakistan’s paranoid,
jihadist, and India-centric security
policy is also rooted in events
leading up to 1971. The 1965
Operation Gibraltar incorporated
two military strategies that have
been engraved in Rawalpindi’s
General Headquarters: the use of
non-state mujahideen and a focus
on strategic depth.
Leaving its eastern wing open as
bait in the build up to the 1965
war, Bhutto, then foreign minister,
hoped to lure India to the east,
while it was to be forced to fight
on two fronts near Assam if China
moved in. While India
counterattacked on the western
wing instead, and China never
moved in across multiple
Indo-Pak military engagements,
the alienation of Bengalis and
Pakistan’s obsession with strategic
depth were permanently etched.
The fixation with strategic depth
has since evolved into Pakistan’s
regional security policy,
exemplified by its support for
jihad in Afghanistan and Kashmir.
Pakistan’s usurpation of
Balochistan’s resources, its
labeling of Pashtun nationalism as
“treason,” the military’s
occupation of territory, and its
undermining of democracy are all
reminiscent of the state’s
marginalization of Bengalis. The
growing number of Baloch missing
persons and extrajudicial killings
are a similar throwback to the
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violence that eventually led to the
Bengali genocide of 1971 – one that
Pakistan is yet to recognize.
“Bangladeshis across the board
feel that Pakistan needs admit its
mistakes of the past, acknowledge
that its army had perpetrated a
genocide and apologize for the
atrocities committed,” Ali Riaz,
professor of political science at
Illinois State University and
nonresident senior fellow at
Atlantic Council, said while talking
to The Diplomat.
“With emerging global dynamics,
there are various possibilities. But
without the acknowledgement
and apology of Pakistan for its
heinous crimes in 1971, the road
leads to nowhere,” he added.
While military dictators like
Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf
have acknowledged the events of
1971, Pakistan’s leaders as a whole,
and the state officially, has failed
to accept the gravity of its crimes.
In recent years, the death
sentences issued by Bangladesh’s
International Crimes Tribunal for
1971 war crimes have sparked
condemnation from Pakistan. This
in turn is seen as Pakistan’s
resistance to accept the war
crimes from 1971, let alone
apologize for them.
“Indeed an apology is long
overdue. I think the SAARC
Charter should be implemented in
letter and spirit,” said historian
Ishtiaq Ahmed, the author of
“Pakistan: The Garrison State,
Origins, Evolution, Consequences
(1947–2011),” while talking to The
Diplomat.
Where China and Turkey might be
providing the opportunity for
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 CSS Magazine edition 2
Pakistan to sit with Bangladesh
again, it must do so with sincerity
and self-reflection. That will not
only help Islamabad formulate
progressive bilateral ties, it might
also ring a timely reminder to
undo many of the same errors of
the past.
For while opportunistic alliances
can be temporarily beneficial,
Pakistan is currently at a
crossroads that could lead to
formulation of a more durable
unity based on mutual respect and
inclusivity. The failure to embrace
such a self-identity in 1947 led to
South Asia’s goriest post-Partition
crimes in 1971.
Collective self-reflection might
also help undo the contrasting,
but tangible, Islamization
damaging the two states. Indeed,
the divisive ideology that couldn’t
keep the east and west wing
together is now separately
impairing Bangladesh and
Pakistan.
By Kunwar Khuldune Shahid, The Diplomat
How Did
Pakistan
Flatten the
Coronavirus
Curve?
Despite ending its lockdown early,
Pakistan managed to flatten the
curve. But the country is still far
from achieving herd immunity.
In May, Pakistan appeared to be
on the edge of a devastating
COVID-19 outbreak. The
government defied all norms by
deciding to lift its lockdown at a
time when the country was
recording a daily average of over
5,000 cases, with local
transmission accounting for at
least 90 percent of the spread.
By mid-August, the global COVID
tally crossed 23 million, with over
810,000 deaths. Pakistan’s
numbers remained relatively low,
at around 292,000 infections and
over 6,200 deaths in a population
of 220.4 million. While the world
recorded more than 4 million
infections and over 200,000
deaths in the past three weeks,
Pakistan contributed around
12,000 cases and less than 250
deaths to that tally.
The government reopened the
economy in phases and in doing
so achieved the impossible by
flattening the curve. But, as the
saying goes, things are not always
what they seem.
A seroprevalence study,
conducted in July by the Health
Services Academy (HSA) in
collaboration with multiple
partners including the Agha Khan
University Hospital and World
Health Organization, estimated 11
percent of Pakistanis have
developed COVID-19 antibodies
while 89 percent remain at risk.
“It means that every 10th Pakistani
has developed antibodies in their
blood against the SARS-Cov-2
virus,” reads the study. People
between the age of 20 to 60,
current smokers, urban residents,
and those who have had contact
with a known COVID-19 positive
person were found more prone to
be exposed to the virus.
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“There is a very large number out
there that needs to be protected
from the virus,” said National
Command and Operations Center
(NCOC) chief Asad Umar.
Epidemiologist Dr. Rana Jawad
Asghar interprets the findings to
be in line with global studies
suggesting 11 to 20 percent of the
population in most countries have
been exposed to the virus.
“The 11 percent could also
represent the most vulnerable of
the population and the remaining
may not be susceptible to the
virus,” he added, while expressing
doubts over the seroprevalence
study’s accuracy.
The Mystery of the
Flattened Curve
The scientist-recommended
strategy to contain the spread has
been lockdowns, testing, and
contact tracing. But it is nearly
impossible to get a developing
country where two-thirds of the
population relies on daily wages
to stay at home.
“There is a universal
acknowledgment that the virus’
spread can be slowed down
through behavioral change in the
society,” said Umar. “It can be
voluntary with the masses
informed of the risk and how to
save themselves or it can be
administratively enforced. We
chose to do both.”
He explained Pakistan’s strategy:
“Media played an important role
in creating awareness, which was
backed by our testing, contact
tracing, and quarantine program.
We managed to increase testing
capacity in a very short period
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and applied a sophisticated
tracking system that ran through
the ground to apex level.
“At one point, we had over 10,000
contract workers and more than
3,000 contact tracing teams. It
became an integral part of our
strategy coupled with smart
lockdowns in high-risk areas and
hotspots and SOP compliance.
Those in violation were fined or
sealed.”
Despite the SOPs (standard
operating procedures) and smart
lockdowns, a walk through
Karachi’s streets on a
midsummer’s evening in mid-July
showed business as usual.
“For the first three months, we
saw a significant change in
behavior. People wore masks and
maintained social distancing.
Once the cases slowed down, we
saw less adherence to the SOPs,”
said Umar.
This was followed by Eid-ul Adha
celebrations, which also fueled
local tourism with thousands
driving to the mountains during
the holidays. The curve, however,
continued on a downward
trajectory.
Asghar, the epidemiologist, said
he had found the high cases tally
and death toll projections for
Pakistan incredulous. “Outbreaks
don’t behave in such a way,” he
explained. “If there is an outbreak
in a city, it doesn’t mean every
person living in the city will get
infected.”
The worst-hit countries have an
average age of 35-45 with a high
mortality rate in the geriatric
population due to the virus’
spread in old-age homes. In
contrast, Pakistan has a young
population and a social construct
that vetoes elderly placements in
group homes.
It is not astounding, then, that the
study found seropositivity more
common in young adults and
significantly less in children and
older adults. It was also more
prevalent in urban areas than
rural.
“The youth steps out to work and
the population in cities is dense,”
reasoned Asghar. “Our social
circles aren’t as expansive as
those in the West. An ordinary
citizen’s social network stays
within the bounds of his
neighborhood.”
Ashgar believed the high
temperature and humidity during
summers also helped slow down
the spread.
What about India, where cases
have topped 3 million? “Their
testing capacity is way ahead of
ours,” he interjects. He pointed
out that social stigma around the
virus and the fear of government
intervention had prevented many
families from getting tested.
One theory for Pakistan’s luck
suggests the majority of the
country’s cases are mild due to
locals having high tolerance and a
strong immune system. Asghar,
however, disagrees. “Pakistan may
have fewer cases but its mortality
rate (2.13 percent) is higher than
India’s (1.8 percent),” he noted,
adding that the infection rate
depends on multiple factors such
as the host body and environment.
WHO COVID-19 technical lead Dr.
Maria Van Kerkhove says it is
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dangerous to compare crude
fatality rates across countries.
“Some of it has to do with the
infected people. In South Korea,
particularly in the beginning,
many of the people infected were
quite young, [and] therefore didn’t
have as many underlying
conditions that could progress to
severe disease or death.”
Recently, speculation around
genome mutations increased
when South Korea identified a
genetically mutated coronavirus
from a case imported from
Pakistan.
“A change in DG41G mutation was
first identified in February. This is
a predominant strain in Europe,
North America, and it has come
back into Asia again,” explained
Kerkhove. “More than 75,000 full
genome sequences are available
publicly and globally from
countries all over the world.”
She added that a
WHO-constituted research group
is looking at each of the changes
and mutations to see which are
important. “It isn’t just to identify
a change but to see whether it
means the virus could potentially
behave differently.”
Notably, the HSA study strikes
down the possibility of herd
immunity in Pakistan. “The classic
requirement is for 70 percent of
the population to develop
antibodies either through
exposure or vaccination,”
explained Asghar.
Whether the COVID-19 antibodies
can prevent reinfection is also a
puzzle waiting to be solved. “The
science is not clear on how long
this immunity will last or effective
it will be,” Umar said.
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Prepared, Unprepared:
What’s Next?
“We’re down to targeted actions
because the daily tally is low.
We’re homing in on precise areas
to prevent a large-scale spread,”
stressed Umar. “Our current focus
is to ensure people practice their
religious beliefs without
endangering themselves or
others.”
Although the seroprevalence
study deems reopening schools a
risk due to the low seropositivity
rate in children under 10 years of
age, the government is adamant
students must return to
classrooms.
“Tremendous amount of efforts
have gone into it. Experts have
been mobilized to develop
training programs for both
teachers and students,” said Umar.
“But we will continue to optimize
until the very day school starts.”
Recalling Iran’s second spike in
infections, Umar said the
government is very much aware of
the risk and plans vigorous
monitory to prevent a surge. “If it
does happen, we are adequately
prepared for it,” he added.
Asghar, however, argued the
government needs to expand
disease surveillance systems to
detect clusters and contain
outbreaks on district levels.
“When you rely on hospital and
lab data, you discover an outbreak
three or four weeks after it has
occurred. It is too late.”
He recommended the government
have field epidemiologists
conduct tests and contact tracing.
“Results should be available within
24 hours to ensure the patient
does not have a chance to infect
more people. If our test results
come back after days with no
contact tracing then we are just
wasting time and resources.”
“One Big Wave”
Technically, the first wave needs
to end for the second to begin.
While some countries, such as
China and Germany have
managed to bring down the
number of infections, others like
the United States, India, and Brazil
are still struggling to control the
spread.
Meanwhile, countries that
flattened the curve and began
relaxing restrictions are seeing a
surge in infections.
But the WHO has maintained that
the coronavirus is unfolding in
one big global wave with no
evidence that a change in season
has an effect over its spread. It
has also predicted the pandemic
will go on for a long time.
For a country with a frail
healthcare system, a prolonged
pandemic may prove to be
catastrophic – specially with 89
percent of its population at risk.
By Niha Dagia, The Diplomat
www.nearpeer.org
Good
governance
roadmap
ONE of the world’s oldest written
constitutions, the Massachusetts
constitution of 1780, decreed that
when the government fails the
people, “the people have a right
to alter the government, and to
take measures necessary for their
safety, prosperity and happiness”.
This implied a right to revolution.
When the social contract
between the rulers and the
governed is weakened or breaks,
violent upheavals follow.
It is in this context that, 73 years
after winning our independence,
there should be serious
introspection on the relationship
between the Pakistani state and
society. Jinnah helped create a
new state, but its citizens could
not uphold and sustain the values
that formed its basis — equal
rights, rule of law and
sovereignty of the people —
hampering our progress as a
democratic, enlightened polity.
Frequent military rules and
successive inept civilian
governments have resulted in a
lack of trust between state and
society.
There should be serious
introspection on the relationship
between the Pakistani state and
society.
While important to admit past
mistakes, it is more important to
move beyond blame and towards
the serious task of nation
building. We have no choice but
to work together to carve out a
charter of governance, based on
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strengthening democracy,
improving service delivery,
ensuring accountability, and
upholding the rule of law.
Democracy: (i) Though mutilated
by military dictators and civilian
despots, reviving the social
contract is only possible within
the near-consensus 1973
Constitution. (ii) Any
constitutional amendments must
be undertaken only after
extensive parliamentary and
public debates, and with active
involvement of civil society. (iii)
The National Assembly’s tenure
may be curtailed to four instead
of five years, with a maximum of
two four-year tenures for the
chief executives of the federation
and provinces. (iv) Free and
transparent elections must be
ensured by an independent,
empowered election commission,
and dispensing with superficial,
arbitrary and expensive caretaker
governments. (v) Senators should
be elected through a direct vote
of the people instead of a
patronage-based,
selection-cum-election process.
(vi) The federal cabinet should not
exceed 25 ministers or ministers
of state; comprising 50 per cent
MNAs, 25pc senators and 25pc
technocrats, appointed by the
prime minister subject to
simple-majority ratification by
parliament. No minister or adviser
should be a dual national. (vii)
Effective elected local
governments must be put in
place.
Service delivery: (i) There
should be zero-tolerance for
military involvement in federal,
provincial and local governments.
The current practice of
accommodating serving and
retired military personnel in
civilian departments causes
widespread resentment. Due to its
discipline and organisational
skills, military assistance should
be sought during crises like
Covid-19 and natural disasters. (ii)
A significant number of civil
servants have become politically
aligned and in some cases
corrupt; an independent
commission should scrutinise and
send home the incorrigible lot.
(iii) Promotion to BPS-22 should
not be monopolised by one
service group; 5pc from each
cadre may form the apex of the
civil services pyramid, with those
from smaller provinces given their
due share through a merit-based
process. (iv) In appointing federal
secretaries as head of divisions
within ministries, specialists over
generalists should be preferred;
25pc of technical and
commerce-related divisions and
departments should be headed by
technocrats and professionals, on
a fixed three-year term through
an open selection process. (v)
Security of tenure must be
ensured. Removal, transfer or
disciplinary action should be
through an institutional process
of inquiry. (vi) Key performance
indicators should be approved and
independent monitoring
mechanisms instituted. (vii) The
practice of doling out plots to civil
servants, judges and defence
personnel on nominal charges
should be dispensed with.
Accountability: (i) NAB can be
restructured along the lines of
Hong Kong’s Independent
Commission against Corruption.
(ii) No one should be arrested
during complaint verification and
inquiry stages. (iii) Arrests of
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white-collar criminals should not
be arbitrary; the chairman,
prosecutor general and director
general should reach a consensus
and then seek the judge’s approval
to arrest an accused. (iv)
Accountability court judges
should not be appointed by the
federal government but by the
five-member administration
committee headed by the chief
justices of the high courts, for a
three-year term. (v) 90-day
pre-trial detention should be
curtailed to 30 days. If a reference
has not been decided within 60
days, the accused should be
released on bail and placed on the
ECL. (vi) Chairman NAB should be
appointed after meaningful
consultation between the chief
justice of Pakistan, the prime
minister and leader of the
opposition, subject to ratification
by the Senate, for a
non-extendable four-year term.
Rule of law: (i) Judges should
have unimpeachable integrity and
administer justice without fear or
favour; ie a completely
independent judiciary. (ii) The
process of judges’ appointment to
the superior courts should be
improved and streamlined. (iii)
Certain administrative powers of
the chief justices should be
regulated through a
committee-based system. (iv) Suo
motu powers may be reviewed in
accordance with draft rules
prepared by a former chief justice
so that the exercise of this
authority is streamlined. (v) Police
should be depoliticised and
accountable to citizens.
Institutional safeguards need to
be provided. An independent
commission may be constituted to
implement the January 2019
recommendations by the Police
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Reforms Committee. (vi)
Security of tenure of police
commanders must be ensured in
federal and provincial
departments. (vii) Civilian and
military intelligence agencies
must work within a legal
framework legislated by
parliament, and monitored by an
IG appointed by parliament under
a statutory framework of
oversight. (viii) Fundamental
rights must be jealously
safeguarded; freedom of
expression must not be muzzled,
and no one should be illegally
detained or tortured by any
segment of the security apparatus.
Such a charter of governance,
though limited in scope, would
nudge our republic from
authoritarianism to egalitarianism;
from totalitarianism to
humanitarianism; from oppression
to magnanimity; from fear to
trust; from dual standards to unity
of purpose. Above all, it is a
message to our leaders not to rule
but to govern. They should pay
heed to Goethe’s words: “It is bad
governments, not bad people, who
cause revolutions.”
The writer is a former IG Police and author in villages, which are deep
of The Faltering State and Inconvenient
Truths.
Published in Dawn
Evolving
politics?
IDENTITY has defined Pakistani
politics for long. Even the drive for
it was based on identity politics. But
after 1947, ethnicity replaced faith,
as many ethnic groups found their
interests being ignored, as with
Muslims earlier.
Conservatives abhor identity
politics and expect all to
assimilate into the dominant
identity. Even some liberals see it
as dividing class-based solidarity,
undoing ideological politics, and
emerging from elite intrigue. This
ideal view came from the West
where ideological politics
dominates for contextual reasons.
It arose there with increased
urbanisation as whole families
shifted to cities and bread earners
worked in industry.
Also, most Western states were
then highly homogenous. So
labour class-based politics
emerged naturally. But despite
higher mobility, education and
incomes, identity politics has a
key role in many Western
countries like the US, as
immigration and political sway of
weak identity groups has
increased. Biden’s choice of
Kamala Harris reflects this trend.
Could a mass party unite people
across ethnicities?
Developing countries are highly
diverse and rural. Even migrant
labour usually leaves family back
reservoirs of ethnic content.
Regular visits back to villages keep
ethnic identities strong among
migrants. But some think we are
moving towards post-ethnic
politics. Can this be true for us
when it is not for the rest of South
Asia or the West? Ethnic politics
holds firm in diverse Saarc
countries like India, Sri Lanka,
Nepal and Afghanistan, the first
two being politically the most
developed. But in both, a perverse
majoritarian identity politics now
prevails, which instead of
assimilating minorities, segregates
and marginalises them.
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Given that our ethnic identities are
still strong, and will remain so,
ethnic politics could only abate if
the state dealt with all fairly and
devolved power. The 18th
Amendment did this only partially
inter-provincially, while ignoring
intra-provincial ethnic gripes. Its
fruits have been undone partly by
the great undoing of democracy
since 2018 via controversial polls,
crackdown on the media and
opposition, establishment sway and
informal recentralisation, all of
which may fan ethnic woes again
even provincially.
Our three main parties — the
PML-N, PPP and PTI — are on the
surface non-ethnic and national.
But the top three or four leaders of
each belong mainly to one
ethnicity, a trend increasing over
time. Dynastic hold dictates this in
the PPP and PML-N. But oddly,
even the PTI lacks a truly national
top leadership. Each practises
ethnic politics often, though the
PTI less so.
A look at each province reflects the
extent of ethnic politics. Punjab is
the hegemon others resent. Much
earlier, it voted in the ‘outsider’ PPP
regularly. But ‘insider’ PML-N and
PTI are now firm pets. Aggrieved
ethnic minorities exist in each
province. But only in Punjab is the
minority (Seraiki) seen as politically
and economically inferior to the
majority. Yet oddly, sub-provincial
ethnic politics is the weakest in
Punjab as a popular Seraiki party
has never won big in South Punjab.
Sindh has always voted for the PPP
in fair polls and will continue to do
so in the foreseeable future.
Regional ethnic tensions are the
greatest in Sindh. Mohajirs dumped
their long-term local favourite
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MQM in 2018. Yet this is not a sign
that the Mohajir community’s
complaints and identity politics
have ended. It is only a reflection of
the MQM’s implosion,
establishment ploys, and the
community’s calculus, right or
wrong, that their woes may be
better addressed by voting for the
PTI. Even in Karachi, a city-wide
political identity hasn’t emerged.
KP has been the most open to
voting for ‘outsider’ parties. Yet
rumblings of Pakhtun nationalism
can be heard, though mainly in
ex-Fata via the PTM. Then there is
the Hazara belt which rarely votes
in synch with the Pakhtun belt. In
Balochistan, local parties usually
hold sway in fair polls. A civil war
driven by ethnic woes rages on.
Ethnic politics is alive nationally
and a post-ethnic identity hardly
seen. This is an added reason for
devolution besides its
administrative logic true globally.
Our polls have never been won via
issues-based politics but by
patronage and cult politics. Even
the 1970 polls were won more by
cultist politics around Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto’s slogans and charisma.
Could a mass party unite people
across ethnicities via class-based
solidarity? It is easier to mobilise
through the crude pull of cult,
patronage, ethnic or right-wing
bigoted politics than liberal
intellectual politics. Aspiring
groups will first have to come up
with workable solutions and
communicate them widely in their
lingo. Neither seems likely soon.
Until mass politics emerges, ethnic
politics is a useful second-best
option for addressing at least some
societal inequities.
Niaz Mustafa, published in Dawn
Can China
Replace Saudi
Arabia for
Pakistan?
Islamabad needs both Riyadh and
Beijing for its domestic as well as
foreign imperatives.
Just before leaving for China last
week on a two day official visit to
attend the second round of the
China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’
Strategic Dialogue, Foreign
Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi
termed his visit “important“and
that he had a discussion with
Prime Minister Imran Khan before
leaving. The visit came just days
after Chief of Army Staff (COAS)
General Qamar Javed Bajwa and
the ISI head General Faiz Hameed
were denied an audience with
Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad
Bin Salman during their visit to
the Kingdom. The COAS and ISI
chief’s Saudi Arabia visit was a
damage-control effort after
Qureshi criticized the Saudi
government and threatened to
circumvent the Kingdom by
calling an Organization of Islamic
Cooperation (OIC) meeting
separately. During this whole
episode, Qureshi has remained
the key player, claiming his Beijing
visit strengthened the
“All-Weather Strategic
Cooperative Partnership” between
China and Pakistan.
Pakistan,already tangled with
tough domestic problems ranging
from unbridled inflation to
hours-long power outages and
threatening economic indicators,
might not have afforded to offend
the Saudis. But Qureshi’s
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surprising criticism puts the
country in an awkward
situation. Islamabad doesn’t
have enough support from the
international community and
angering the Saudis at this point
may have serious repercussions.
Qureshi’s China visit, although
having taken place for
previously scheduled foreign
minister level talks, aims to get
Chinese support on two levels
immediately: financial and
diplomatic. The big question is
whether China can once again
rescue Pakistan given the
latter’s excessive reliance on
Saudi Arabia.
Over the years, Pakistan has
received an abundance of Saudi
financial aid and oil payment
deferments. Riyadh bailed out
Islamabad on a number of
occasions — it provided 50,000
barrels of free oil per day to
Pakistan for a year when the
country came under sanctions
after the 1998 nuclear tests. The
Kingdom also lent a hand to
Pakistan when Pakistan’s foreign
currency reserves were
dwindling steeply by giving $1.5
billion in 2014. Likewise in 2018,
Saudi Arabia provided $3 billion
to Pakistan in foreign currency
support for a year to address its
balance-of-payments crisis, and
a one-year deferred payment
facility for import of oil worth
up to $3 billion. Last year, the
Saudi Crown Prince visited
Pakistan and signed a number of
agreements including one to set
up an $8 billion refinery and
petrochemicals complex in the
coastal city of Gwadar.
Furthermore, more than 2.7
million Pakistani expatriates live
in Saudi Arabia who send back
billions in remittances — $2.7
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billion alone in fiscal year 2019-20
— contributing to capital inflow
to the cash-strapped country.
On the other hand, China is
termed an all-weather friend of
Pakistan that has maintained
cordial and working relationship
with Islamabad through thick and
thin. Like the Saudis, China has
also extended financial support to
Pakistan more than once, and lent
support during tough times.
In 2018, China agreed to provide
Pakistan $6 billion in aid to
minimize Pakistan’s dependence
on the IMF bailout package. In
July 2020, Pakistan received $1.3
billion in commercial loan from
China, helping Islamabad achieve
the foreign exchange reserve
target of around $12 billion by the
end of fiscal year 2019-20. During
the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,
China has so far provided aid
worth $4 million to Pakistan along
with a large quantity of medical
equipment. To avoid defaulting on
international debt obligations,
Pakistan recently once again
turned toward China. Reportedly,
a few weeks ago Pakistan took a
$1 billion loan from China to repay
the same amount to Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia has often supported
Pakistan on foreign policy issues
including generous support
during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani
War when it pushed India to
return Pakistan’s prisoners of war.
The two Muslim states furthered
their engagements during the
Cold War years with the Saudis
providing funds to thousands of
madrassas and supporting
Pakistan’s Kashmir stance.
Pakistan, on its part, also stood by
the Saudis on foreign policy
issues on multiple occasions. Last
fall, Pakistan dropped the plan to
attend Kuala Lumpur Summit.
Ostensibly due to pressure from
Riyadh, Pakistan didn’t attend the
summit to which Saudi rivals Iran,
Turkey, and Qatar were invited to
attend but not the Saudis. There
were, however, elements of rifts
between the two sides when in
2015 the Pakistani parliament
rebuffed the Kingdom’s call for
military involvement in the
Saudi-led coalition fighting
Houthi rebels in Yemen. Quite
recently, Saudi Arabia’s shying
away from calling a special OIC
meeting on Kashmir irked
Pakistan. Deepening Saudi
Arabia-India relations have also
annoyed Islamabad.
Given the numbers involved, we
can safely assume China can help
Pakistan financially even if the
Saudis don’t for various reasons.
However, there have been
numerous calls warning Pakistan
to avoid being caught in Chinese
“debt traps.” Besides, Pakistan
cannot get oil from China nor can
China accommodate millions of
Pakistani workers in its country.
Both factors leave policymakers in
Islamabad in limbo on ways to
keep foreign money coming in
form of both remittances and aid.
Recently, Pakistan’s diplomacy has
relied more on China than on
Saudi Arabia given the latter’s
foreign-policy preferences and
geographical detachment from
South Asia. On the other hand,
China — because of its extended
regional interest — sees Pakistan
as a connecting link to the warm
waters of the Indian Ocean and a
balancer against Indian
hegemonic designs. This is a
win-win situation for both
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Pakistan and China. China’s
continuous support to Pakistan
on Financial Action Task Force
(FATF) steps, unlike the Saudis,
provides breathing space to
Islamabad. Beijing has fully
supported Pakistan on the
country’s call against India’s
decision to effectively abrogate
Article 370 of the Indian
Constitution (pertaining to
Kashmir’s autonomous status).
Since August 5 last year when
New Delhi announced this
decision, China has repeatedly
supported Pakistan’s Kashmir
stance. China has also urged India
to show restraint along the
India-Pakistan Line of Control.
Pakistan’s bold move to shout at
the Saudis, so to speak, seemingly
hasn’t worked and the Saudi cold
shoulder indicates the Kingdom
cannot be the brother Pakistan
wants it to be, at least on the
Kashmir issue. And then again,
the whole situation puts Beijing in
the limelight by having
supplanted Riyadh as Islamabad’s
main backer, at least for now.
Pakistan cherishes Chinese
financial support,
socio-economic ventures, and
diplomatic backing. Yet parting
ways with Saudi Arabia cannot
serve Islamabad well at this point
when it needs not only to avoid
FATF blacklisting but diplomatic
isolation too.
By Ameena Tanvir, The Diplomat
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Under one flag
HAVING celebrated Independence
Day yesterday, what should be our
aim for the next Independence
Day? Here are 10 targets:
1. Covid-19 introduced many
Pakistanis to the comfort of
travelling from Karachi to Lahore,
Islamabad and Peshawar by
motorways. Once the
Sukkur-Hyderabad section of the
motorway is complete, ease and
efficiency of travel for private and
commercial purpose will increase
significantly. Building roads and
highways has been good policy
that has started paying dividends.
Target: Invest more in road
infrastructure and have clear
achievable targets for Aug 14,
2021.
2. Prime Minister Imran Khan said
on Thursday he was wrong about
BRT Metro and Pervaiz Khattak —
who pushed for the project — was
right. This admission means that
Shahbaz Sharif was also right to
build metro buses in various cities
of the Punjab. In fact, all of them
are right. Urban transport
networks are as important as
motorways. Greater ease of travel
for citizens will have direct
economic benefits. PTI was wrong
to make it a political issue. Imran
Khan is right to accept he was
wrong. Target: Invest more in
urban transport and identify next
cities to have metros and other
transport schemes by Aug 14,
2021. From better education and
healthcare facilities to improved
governance at the local level, a
number of objectives must be met
in the next one year.
3. Covid-19 has led to significant
upgrading of our health
infrastructure. But the overall
state of the health sector is so bad
that even these initiatives may be
a drop in the ocean. The last few
months have proved that if we
make it a national priority, we can
actually make a difference in this
neglected but absolutely critical
area. Target: Keep the momentum
going by planning massive
improvements in the health
sector. A federal task force on the
lines of NCOC can act as a central
coordinator with each province
identifying public-sector
hospitals etc that will be reformed
to an international level by Aug 14,
2021.
4. The six-month closure of
schools during the pandemic has
exposed many aspects of our
educational failures. Two are
noteworthy. First, when we as
policymakers, teachers and
parents are worried sick about
the harm done to students who
have been out of school for six
months, we might want to recall
that nearly 23 million Pakistani
children are out of school
permanently. Second, we may
have realised the heavy
dependence of our basic
education on private schools (that
have faced the brunt of Covid-19
damage from closures). If we do
not focus on uplifting
public-sector education now, we
would be giving up on our future.
Target: Prime Minister Imran
Khan should declare an education
emergency (as promised) with
provinces drawing up clear
quantifiable targets to be
achieved under this emergency by
Aug 14, 2021.
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5. Heavy rains in the last few
weeks have once again exposed
the pathetic conditions of urban
planning and essential services in
most cities and towns of the
country. NDMA and FWO may be
called to clear clogged drains
once or twice but this is not the
solution to these woes. The
answer lies in empowered local
governments. All agree but none
wants to implement. Insecure
politicians fear losing power to
fully empowered municipalities.
In this, all three main parties —
PTI, PML-N and PPP — are at
fault. Pakistan cannot govern
itself like this anymore. Target:
Provinces must target to have
local bodies legislated, elected
and in place by Aug 14, 2021. If
need be, other state institutions
should pressure them to do so.
6. On Tuesday this week, the
Punjab police once again proved
itself to be a thuggish and
ill-trained force. In the clash with
PML-N supporters accompanying
Maryam Nawaz Sharif for the NAB
hearing, Punjab police was seen
hurling rocks and smashing
vehicles. Never more did a police
need reforming. Prime Minister
Imran Khan is speaking about
everything under the sun but he
has conveniently forgotten this
central promise. Target: PM
should lay out Punjab police
reform plan and declare key
targets to be achieved by Aug 14,
2021. (Sadly there are zero
expectations from the Sindh
government for police reform.)
7. In the wake of Tuesday’s fiasco
in Lahore, there has never been a
greater need to inject credibility
in the accountability process.
Among the many unfulfilled
promises of PTI (like police
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reform) one key failing has been
the inability — or perhaps
unwillingness — to delink
accountability from political
agendas. If Pakistan’s governance
has to match basic constitutional
requirements, NAB laws must be
reformed. PTI will have control of
the Senate in March 2021 and can
legislate its priorities. Target: NAB
Ordinance must be reformed by
Aug 14, 2021.
8. This week government and
opposition achieved a rare
consensus in passing FATF
legislation. This may be one of the
few times that parliament actually
worked like it is supposed to,
instead of being a forum for
screaming matches. The
government must now grow out
of its container mode and build
consensus in order to push
forward a progressive legislative
agenda, especially since it will
control the Senate too. Target:
The government should map out
a legislative to-do list that should
be passed into law by Aug 14, 2021.
9. Earlier this week, a large
number of prominent women
journalists issued a statement
saying government officials were
‘instigating’ online attacks against
them. This is only the latest
example of vulnerabilities faced
by women and minorities in
Pakistan (a number of minorities
have been gunned down in the
last few weeks). Nothing could be
more urgent for a government
inspired by Madina ki riyasat to
afford protection to the
vulnerable segments of society.
Target: PTI government should
have a list of policies and
legislation for women and
minorities ready and enforced by
Aug 14, 2021.
10. One year after India scrapped
Article 370 and reoccupied
occupied Kashmir, Pakistan is
searching for actionable clarity in
its Kashmir policy. Symbolic
gestures are insufficient. This
must change. Target: We should
have a proactive policy spelt out
and in full operational mode by
Aug 14, 2021.
No more shallow rhetoric please.
Let’s get to work.
By Fahd Husain, Dawn
Bumps on the
road to Afghan
peace
The news coming out of
Afghanistan is often bleak, but the
recent announcement of the start
of peace talks next month offers a
glimmer of hope.
Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of
the High Council for National
Reconciliation and Kabul’s leading
peace negotiator, said that
discussions with the Taliban will
begin sometime in September. At
the same time, Pakistani Prime
Minister Imran Khan invited
Abdullah to Islamabad to discuss
cooperation between the two
countries to help bring an end to
hostilities.
While Pakistan’s overtures when
it comes to the Taliban will always
be viewed with skepticism, the
fact that this invitation was
extended to Kabul at all is
encouraging.
A considerable amount of time
and a lot of patience have been
needed to get to this point — and
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it could be that the talks are
delayed again. The past year has
been a rollercoaster ride for
negotiations, with optimism and
pessimism, progress and
setbacks.
It has been almost a year since US
President Donald Trump
abandoned his planned gathering
at Camp David with
representatives of the Taliban to
hammer out the final details of a
cease-fire agreement. After this
meeting was abruptly canceled
due to continued militant attacks,
it took many months more for the
US and the Taliban to sign an
agreement in Doha in February.
Also, complicating matters was
the presidential election in
Afghanistan last September. The
results of the poll were not
finalized until last February, with
President Ashraf Ghani declared
the winner. Then it took several
weeks more for President Ghani
and his main political rival,
Abdullah, to come to a
power-sharing agreement.
After the US-Taliban deal in
February it was hoped that
intra-Afghan talks would begin in
Oslo the following month. But this
has been delayed for two reasons.
First was the continued Taliban
attacks against Afghan forces that
breached the spirit of the peace
process itself.
Second, there was a disagreement
between the Afghan government
and the militants on the issue of
prisoner swaps. This resulted
from the ambiguous wording in
the agreements the US made with
the Taliban and Afghan
government in February.
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In recent months, the issue has
slowly been resolved. Over the
summer about 400 Taliban
prisoners remained in Afghan
government custody. In early
August, a Loya Jirga, or tribal
council, was convened to settle
the matter. In the end the Loya
Jirga agreed that it was in the
interest of peace to release the
remaining captives.
The impact of the coronavirus
pandemic is further complicating
the peace process as Afghanistan
struggles to cope with the
overwhelming demand on what is
already a fragile health system.
Added to the health pressures is
the severe flooding this week in
more than eight provinces in the
country’s north. Floods in Parwan
province, just north of Kabul, have
killed more than 150 people with
hundreds more injured. More
than 2,000 homes have been
destroyed and at least 1,000
people displaced. Hundreds of
hectares of agricultural land have
been destroyed and major roads
washed away, complicating relief
efforts.
Political turmoil, continued
Taliban attacks, a global pandemic
and severe flooding — will
Afghanistan ever get a break?
However, even amid these
challenges, Afghans — including
the government, civil society and
the Taliban — must find a way to
sit around a table for peace. Only
a genuine and enduring
agreement between all Afghans
can bring stability to the country
after 40 years of war.
Of course, there are many
potential spoilers. Perhaps the
Taliban as a movement is too
decentralized to speak with one
authoritative voice. Even if there
is some sort of pact with the
Afghan government, there could
still be a continuing insurgency in
areas of the country.
There is also the threat of the
so-called Islamic State Khorasan
(IS-K). The extremist group has
been responsible for some of the
most atrocious attacks in recent
months in Afghanistan. Many
disgruntled Taliban fighters who
do not want peace are joining the
IS-K ranks. The terror group
thrives in chaos and it is in its
interests to see peace talks fail.
“There will be ups and downs,
cease-fires and attacks, optimism
and frustration. But the Afghans
will eventually figure it out. The
rest of the world must be patient
and supportive along the way.”
Finally, one of the biggest threats
to the process is the US and the
international community losing
interest in Afghanistan
altogether.
Regardless of any settlement that
might or might not happen
between the Afghan government
and the Taliban, the global
community must remain fully
engaged with the country. In the
1990s, we saw what happened
when the world ignored
Afghanistan after the Soviets left.
This created the conditions that
led to the rise of the Taliban and
to the 9/11 attacks. Nobody, least
of all the Afghan people, will
benefit from a repeat of this.
If recent history is any guide, the
international community should
lower its expectations for the
talks next month. The discussions
might not even happen. The
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journey to this point has been a
long one, so it must be assumed
the peace process itself will also
be lengthy.
There will be ups and downs,
cease-fires and attacks, optimism
and frustration. But the Afghans
will eventually figure it out. The
rest of the world must be patient
and supportive along the way.
Luke Coffey is director of the Douglas and
Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy at
the Heritage Foundation, Arab News.
The making of
a Hindu India
If India is today a Hindu nation, it
is also a tinderbox in which the
self is defined by the perpetual
hatred of others.
On August 5, India's Prime
Minister Narendra Modi laid the
foundation stone for a Hindu
temple in the northern city of
Ayodhya. This fulfilled the orders
of India's Supreme Court, which
last November awarded a victory
to those who have long been
campaigning to build a temple
there, in place of a Mughal-era
mosque that was demolished by a
right-wing Hindu mob in 1992.
The speculation that the mosque
was built on the ruins of an
ancient temple marking the
mythological birthplace of the
epic hero Ram remains unproven.
The ground-breaking ceremony
for the temple was set on that
particular date to commemorate
the altering of the country's
constitution to justify a shift from
indirect to direct colonialism in
the disputed Muslim-majority
region of Jammu and Kashmir
exactly a year ago.
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The temple construction in
Ayodhya, just like the
constitutional amendment that
revoked the Indian-administered
Kashmir's limited autonomy, is a
calculated move by the Modi
government to consolidate the
new majoritarian polity in India.
Today, we are witnessing the final
stages of the project to remake
India into a Hindu nation, but
little is being said about the
fabulous falsehoods and cunning
sleights of hand that this
ambitious project was built upon.
Colonial origins
The word "Hindu" is a Persianate
derivative of "Sindhu", Sanskrit for
the Indus River. Only during
India's colonial encounter in the
19th century did "Hindu" become
an ascriptive label for a wide
range of practices and ideas
across South Asia that do not fall
within the three world religions
labelled "Islam", "Christianity", and
"Buddhism". But this term defined
by negation did not mean much
to those located within a mosaic
of Indic ritual and philosophical
traditions that lacked a holy book
based on divine revelation.
Scholars have attributed the
invention of "Hinduism" as much
to men from dominant castes who
sought to reform and remake a
colonised society as to colonial
missionaries. These 19th-century
reformers sought to go back to
ancient texts such as the Vedas or
the Upanishads to propose a
de-ritualised, quasi-monotheistic
creed for a modern India. Such a
move mimicked the textualist
methods of the Protestant
Reformation, and the then
fashionable European efforts to
appropriate ancient Sanskrit
spiritual texts to construct an
"Aryan" race identity.
The reformers were answering
British criticisms of Indic
polytheisms as "beastly" and
"superstitious". They
enthusiastically embraced the
colonial view of Muslims being
wholly separate from Hindus,
ignoring the accommodations and
intermixing over centuries that
had produced shared ritual,
intellectual, sartorial, culinary,
and musical traditions between
the two groups.
As the reforming Hindu men
worked to draw sharp lines
between "Hindus" and "Muslims",
the newly emerging print media
became their accomplice. The
adoption of the Nagri script by
reformist groups such as the Arya
Samaj contrasted with the shared
orality of a public sphere defined
by the Hindustani language.
Devanagari, the divine Nagri as it
became known, also started to be
used alongside Urdu and English
in the new world of print
technology, helping reformists in
their efforts to create a distinct
Hindu identity.
Then, as it is now, the chief
obstacle to transforming India
into a Hindu nation was the caste
system which divided society into
strict hierarchical groups. To
accommodate the lower orders of
society, the conservatism of the
Brahmins, the traditional priestly
class who sit atop the rigid caste
hierarchy, had to be diluted. But
to de-brahminise Hinduism would
have dissolved the abstract new
polity of the reformers'
imagination into a melange of
lived traditions across the
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localities and regions of India.
From the colonial to
the post-colonial
A century ago, the arrival of
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
on the political scene provided a
solution to the reformers'
dilemma. Gandhi claimed that his
religion as much as that of most
"Hindus" was Sanatan Dharma,
the perennial faith, not the
new-fangled textual abstractions
put forward by the reformers.
Caste, he argued, was a necessary
evil in the subcontinental life. It
could neither be wished away nor
reformed out of existence.
A hierarchical society, suggested
Gandhi, could learn to be humane
and to avoid excesses. Vertical
hierarchies could be held
together by horizontal alliances
between those of similar rank,
whether at the top or the bottom.
Hindu and Muslim elites could be
tied together by common
interests of peace and prosperity
just as the Hindu and Muslim
masses were held together by
shared solidarities of class and
occupation.
The Gandhian solution to the
problem was largely embraced by
the anti-colonial movement in
India led by the Congress party.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who led
the campaign for a separate state
of Pakistan, had also endorsed the
Gandhian solution in British
India, but he was prescient to
realise that its appeal would wane
steadily with modernisation once
the fortunes of Indian Muslims
were placed at the mercy of a
consolidated Hindu majority.
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The principal critics of the
Gandhian solution - anti-caste
thinkers such as Bhimrao Ramji
Ambedkar and theorists of Hindu
nationalism such as Vinayak
Damodar Savarkar - preferred a
modern and egalitarian solution
to the problem faced by the
19th-century reformers. Both
Ambedkar and Savarkar sought
equality in politics and society,
not hierarchy. Yet Ambedkar
reposed his faith in new
constitutional liberalism derived
from the French and American
constitutions. Savarkar
endeavoured, by contrast, to
create a new political religion,
called Hindutva (Hindu-ness) to
unify India along the lines of the
Italian Risorgimento.
In the early decades after
independence, the Congress
governments balanced the
hierarchical accommodationist
view proposed by Gandhi with
modernism rooted in equal
citizenship regardless of caste or
faith. This was an era in which all
were equal citizens of India, even
Kashmiris, even if long-standing
social hierarchies remained intact.
Elite Muslims and Christians
featured prominently in public life
just as they had done in the
colonial era.
With economic liberalisation and
neoliberal globalisation since
1980, the old hierarchies have
been shaken up. The myriad
castes that constitute Indian
society have been shattered into
infinitesimal fragments, which
have given rise to fractalised
identities vying for equality at the
expense of each other. The
centrifugal force in pursuit of
equality in public life led to
dissensus, not a new national
consensus.
In response, the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP), particularly under
Modi, has revived Savarkar's
vision of Hindutva as a political
religion, albeit in a distinctly
populist vein. One's religious
beliefs and practices matter less
in Hindutva than an absolute
commitment to a Hindu "rashtra"
or polity. The fractalised selves of
post-liberalisation have been
brought together by the
centripetal force of electoral
rituals, digital media, and a new
Hindu state, all of which offer an
insurgent sense of equality.
Political Hinduism
Rhetorically, the Hindu rashtra is
opposed to discrimination based
on caste for political Hindus.
Modi's own humble origins and
his rise to power are presented as
clinching evidence of a new
egalitarian modernism. But, in
practice, Hindutva is willing to
accommodate the everyday
oppressions that define Indian
society. In effect, some are more
equal than others. Conservatism
is now couched increasingly in
the modern semantics of class
("rich" and "poor") rather than in
traditional caste terms.
Those who do not identify as
political Hindus - Muslims,
Christians, leftists, anti-caste
activists - are the new objects of
discrimination and exclusion. In
principle, if individuals from these
groups embrace Hindutva, they,
too, would be considered political
Hindus. The lines are, in sum,
permeable, and everything is
negotiable in the new Hindu
polity.
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At least for now, the Hindu
rashtra is a highly personalised
regime, almost a cult, in which
Modi is the state and
countenances no opposition, not
even from the judiciary or the
central bank. Civil society, the
media and academia are treated
with suspicion because they
breed dissent. Through a mix of
carrot and stick, the media have
been compelled to voice
propaganda, and prominent
journalists, activists, and
academics have been arrested or
bullied into silence.
The electoral system is now
dominated by a single political
party committed to Hindutva,
namely, the BJP. Other parties,
including the Congress, have been
compelled now to speak the
language of Hindutva and
acquiesce in the new political
religion.
Oddly enough, we know little
about the ritual lives and personal
beliefs of Modi or his
predecessors. The new political
religion of Hindutva seems to
define itself almost entirely by
negation vis-a-vis the Muslim (or
Christian) Other. Other Indic
traditions defined traditionally in
opposition to Hinduism -
Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism - are
simply seen as Hindu offshoots.
The territorial boundaries of the
nation are sacralised in Hindu
India. Nowhere is this more
apparent than in Kashmir, where
long-standing legal arrangements
have been forcibly undone. These
violent rituals of integration are
meant to build communitas
among political Hindus, the true
citizens of the new polity. Settler
colonialism is now expected to
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complete this process of national
integration.
Kashmiri Muslims as colonial
subjects stand metonymically for
all Indian Muslims. The project of
subjugating religious minorities is
now regarded as a sacred duty in
the service of the nation.
By contrast, ethnic minorities in
northeast India are encouraged to
negotiate the terms of their
political assimilation within Hindu
India. In response to activists'
claims about indigenity in these
regions bordering China and
Myanmar, the BJP now claims that
all Indigenous peoples of India are
Hindu, and all Hindus are, by
definition, indigenous to India.
Hindutva is, undoubtedly, an
abstract political religion, stripped
of contextual or historical depth.
This is precisely what the
colonial-era reformers and
Savarkar had dreamed of: an
all-India Hinduism that reins in
the problem of caste via the
dazzling dream of equal
citizenship. Not only is a Hindu
rashtra now a reality, but the
Muslim Other has been subjugated
within it. The inauguration of the
Ram temple in Ayodhya, much like
the colonisation of Kashmir, has
accomplished both tasks in the
highly symbolic and theatrical
world of Hindutva.
If India is today a Hindu nation, it
is also a tinderbox in which the
self is defined by the perpetual
hatred of others. Whenever India's
youth tire of this majoritarian
politics of hate, they will reflect on
the paths not taken to make their
country a prosperous, equitable,
and decent.
By Uday Chandra, Aljazeera
Tackling Deluge and
corruption climate change
Climate change is being caused by
In light of the adage “What you
human activity. Humans have
allow is what will continue”, we
become weapons of mass
welcome the top court judgment
destruction
Corruption and misuse of power
The recent heavy rains and floods
are the greatest banes of our
in Pakistan and the occurrence of
society. It is high time to put this
unusual weather events in
menace to an end root and
different parts of the world have
branch. The Supreme Court has
proven beyond doubt that climate
given the ruling that government
change is something not far off. It
officials who are found involved in
is here; it has happened. Pakistan
embezzling state property or
is among the 10 countries of the
funds can never be allowed to
world most vulnerable to climate
continue in employment. A
change. In recent years, we are
division bench, headed by the
witnessing excessive heat and
Chief Justice of Pakistan, gave the
excessive rainfall. With every
decision on a petition challenging
passing year, heat and rainfall
the Punjab Service Tribunal order
have been increasing in intensity
to reinstate a senior revenue
so much so that this year what
official who had admitted that he
Karachi, the biggest city of
had illegally transferred state land
Pakistan, and other parts of Sindh
measuring 270 kanals to private
experienced were not floods but a
individuals. A departmental
deluge. The floods caused
inquiry had found the official
unprecedented devastations in
guilty and recommended his
most parts of the province. This
dismissal. However, the tribunal
happened mainly due to years of
declared that the act of the
neglect, indifference and frigid
revenue official did not constitute
unconcern on the part of those
misconduct and as such, dismissal
who were in the position to
from service was too harsh a
prevent the catastrophe.
punishment as it did not
commensurate with the gravity of
Climate change acted as merely a
the offence. It reduced the
catalyst. In view of the thundering
punishment to forfeiture of two
reality of climate change experts
years from the service tenure of
and activists have stressed the
the official.
need for investing in
nature-based solutions as they
can provide environmental and
economic benefits at a low cost.
They say healthy freshwater
systems are the key to climate
change and global warming. Many
glaciers are expected to disappear
in 2021, and this will affect
Pakistan too. Experts have long
been warning that in Pakistan
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 CSS Magazine edition 2

more than 80% of rainwater flows

into the sea, so there is an urgent
need to build dams, mainly small
dams, to store water for future
use and also to ensure that
rainwater returns to the soil. In
order to do this it is necessary to
adopt methods of harvesting
water in a big way. Now in the
absence of harvesting rainwater
the water table in most places of
the country are going lower. At
places where formerly it was
available at a depth of 50 feet now
it is available at a depth of several
hundred feet.
Climate change is being caused by
human activity. Humans have
become weapons of mass
destruction.
Published in The Express Tribune
Expeditious
justice
The law’s delays are well known
and countries have tried to
eliminate this with varying
degrees of success
In order to expedite justice in
cases involving jail petitions, a
Supreme Court bench has
proposed formation of
three-judge benches to hear
appeals filed by people convicted
by high courts. Such petitions are
known as jail petitions. Now
around 2,500 such petitions are
pending in the top court. The
need for three-judge benches
arises out of the difficulty that
usually a division bench (a
two-judge bench of the apex
court) takes up such cases but
they cannot pass a final order in
cases where a division bench of a
high court has convicted a
person. This is causing delays in
the dispensation of justice.
involving another adage, Justice
hurried is justice buried, don’t
arise. Justice Isa said formation of
three-judge benches would
substantially reduce the large
number of such pending cases.
Our courts have long been
struggling with the pendency of
cases. In March this year, as many
as 1.8 million cases were pending
in the courts of Pakistan. Only in
the Supreme Court, about 45, 500
cases were pending till July 31.
The top court has 17 judges.
Former Chief Justice of Pakistan
Asif Saeed Khosa had said that if
judges were appointed to 25% of
the vacancies in the system, the
backlog of cases would be cleared
within a year or two. The law’s
delays are well known and
countries have tried to eliminate
this with varying degrees of
success.
Published in The Express Tribune

Hearing a jail petition recently, a

division bench of the Supreme
Court headed by Justice Qazi Faez
Isa took notice of the difficulty
and asked the registrar of the
apex court to inform the Chief
Justice of Pakistan about the need
for setting up three-judge
benches to hear pleas against
decision given by division
benches of high courts. The
bench noted that the present
system often led to inordinate
delays in hearing of petitions
extending from 10 years to 20
years, which means that by then
petitioners would have served life
sentence or half of a life sentence.
This goes against the adage,
justice delayed is justice denied,
even though here questions

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Open for Enrollment in Nearpeer

81
 General
Ability &
Past Papers
Mcqs Compilation

82
 CSS Magazine edition 2

GENERAL ABILITY 6. Salaries of Ravi and Sumit are in the ratio 2 : 3. If

the salary of each is increased by Rs. 4000, the new
ratio becomes 40 : 57. What is Sumit's salary?

1. SCD, TEF, UGH, ____, WKL A. Rs. 17,000

B. Rs. 20,000
A. CMN C. Rs. 25,000
B. UJI D. Rs. 38,000
C. VIJ
D. IJT 7. If one-third of one-fourth of a number is 15, then
three-tenth of that number is:

2. B2CD, _____, BCD4, B5CD, BC6D A. 35

B. 36
A. B2C2D C. 45
B. BC3D D. 54
C. B2C3D
D. BCD7
8. The difference between a two-digit number and
the number obtained by interchanging the
3. DEF, DEF2, DE2F2, _____, D2E2F3 positions of its digits is 36. What is the difference
v between the two digits of that number?
A. DEF3
B. D3EF3 A. 3
C. D2E3F B. 4
D. D2E2F2 C. 9
D. Cannot be determined
E. None of these
4. A sum of money is to be distributed among
A, B, C, D in the proportion of 5 : 2 : 4 : 3. If C
gets Rs.1000 more than D, what is B's share? 9. A two-digit number is such that the product of
the digits is 8. When 18 is added to the number,
A. Rs. 500 then the digits are reversed. The number is:
B. Rs. 1500
C. Rs. 2000 A. 18
D. None of these B. 24
C. 42
D. 81
5. The ratio of the number of boys and girls in
a college is 7 : 8. If the percentage increase in 10. A father said to his son, "I was as old as you are
the number of boys and girls be 20% and 10% at the present at the time of your birth". If the
respectively, what will be the new ratio? father's age is 38 years now, the son's age five years
back was:
A. 8:9
B. 17:18 A. 14 years
C. 21:22 B. 19 years
D. cannot be determined C. 33 years
D. 38 years

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11. Present ages of Sameer and Anand are in the 11. The sum of the present ages of a father and his
ratio of 5 : 4 respectively. Three years hence, the son is 60 years. Six years ago, father's age was five
ratio of their ages will become 11 : 9 respectively. times the age of the son. After 6 years, son's age will
What is Anand's present age in years? be:

A. 24 A. 12 years
B. 27 B. 14 years
C. 40 C. 18 years
D. Cannot be determined D. 20 years
E. None of these

ANSWERS
1.C 2.B 3.D 4.C
5.C 6.D 7.D 8.B
9.B 10.A 11.A 12.D

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 CSS Magazine edition 2

6. Which country has the largest gas reserves?

PAST PAPER MCQS
COMPILATION A.
B.
Pakistan
Saudia Arabia
C. Russia
D. None of these
1. Each year the “International Day of Peace” is
observed around the world on 7. The Suez Canal connects the

A. 17 December A. The Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea

B. 21 November B. Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean
C. 21 September C. The Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea
D. 23 October D. None of these

2. The first “Muslim Nobel Laureate” was 8. How many member states are there in the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)?
A. Anwar Sadat
B. Shirin Ebadi A. 57
C. Abdul Salam B. 58
D. None of these C. 59
D. None of these

3. The objectives resolution was presented by

9. The number of European Union (EU) member
A. Mian Muhammad Iftikharuddin
states is
B. Liaquat Ali Khan
C. Shabir Ahmed Usmani
A. 26
D. None of these
B. 27
C. 28
4. The world’s largest producer of cotton is D. None of these

A. China
B. Pakistan 10. The “Cold War” period between the Soviet Union
C. USA and the United States and their particular allies
D. India was

A. 1947–1991
5. The collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist B. 1945–1989
Republics (USSR) was due to C. 1962–1991
D. None of these
A. Economic Failure
B. Perestroika and Glasnost
C. Nationalist Movements 11. NPT is an abbreviation for
D. All of these
A. National Proliferation Treaty
B. New Proliferation Treaty
C. Non–Proliferation Treaty
D. None of these

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12. AFP is the news agency of 18. The largest Province of Pakistan in terms of the
land area is:
A. UK
B. France A. Punjab
C. USA B. Sindh
D. None of these C. Balochistan
D. KPK

13. The oldest “Satellite Site” in the world is 19. All India Muslim Students Federation was
located in founded at:

A. Kazakhstan
A. Calcutta
B. Russia
B. Dhaka
C. USA
C. Lahore
D. None of these
D. Ali Garh

20. The Lucknow Pact of 1916 was made between:

14. Which of the following country was once
the colony of the United Kingdom (UK)?
A. The moderates and the extremists
A. Thailand B. The British and the Indians
B. Burma C. The Hindus and the Muslims
C. Vietnam D. The Congress and the Muslim League
D. None of these
21. When the Simla Conference was concluded with
failure?
15. The world’s oldest tennis venue is
A. June 14, 1945
A. Wimbledon B. July 14, 1945
B. Rotterdam C. August 14, 1945
C. Acer Arena D. None of these
D. None of these
22. Under which Act Muslims were given the right
of the separate the electorate?
16. When was Gas (Natural) discovered at Sui
Baluchistan? A. Indian Act of 1935
B. Indian Act of 1940
A. 1950
C. Indian Act of 1909
B. 1952
D. Indian Act of 1919
C. 1954
D. None of these
23. Simla agreement was signed by Indian PM:

A. I.K Gujran
17. Baluchistan got the status of province in:
B. Shastri
C. Indira Gandhi
A. 1970
D. None of these
B. 1971
C. 1930
D. 1935

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24. When the Congress Ministries resigned

from 29. Water is a _______ most abundant molecule in
their offices? the universe.

A. November 1937 A. Second

B. November 1938 B. Third
C. November 1939 C. Fourth
D. None of these D. None of these

25. Gupta Dynasty ruled over most of India from 30. The crystal structure of water is:
320 BC to:
A. Hexagonal
A. 575 BC B. Pentagonal
B. 510 BC C. Octagonal
C. 475 BC D. None of these
D. 550 BC

26.The building blocks of elements are called: ANSWERS

A. Atoms 1. C 2. A 3. B
B. Molecules 4. D 5. D 6. C
C. Compounds
D. Isotopes 7. C 8. A 9. B

10. A 11. C 12. B

27. Who first gave the concept of ‘Atom’?
13. A 14. B 15. A
A. Kapila
B. Robert Edwards 16. B 17. A 18. C
C. Kanada
19. B 20. D 21. B
D. John Dalton
22. D 23. C 24. C

28. Which of the following was the first organic 25. D 26. A 27. D
compound to be synthesized in the laboratory?
28. D 29. B 30. A

A. Citric acid
B. Formic acid
C. Lactose
D. Urea

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