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 TABLE OF
CONTENTS
1 Monthly Round Up 04

2 National 08

a. Elections in Punjab and KPK 9

b. Endeavors to Improve Gender Equality in Pakistan 13
c. Terrorism in Pakistan: New Action Plan Needed 16
d. What does Political Stability mean for Pakistan at this very Moment? 19

3 International 21

a. An Unanticipated Saudi-Iran Détente 22

b. Is Future Asia? 25
c. How do Invasions Empower the Russian President? 28
d. Can the Russia-Ukraine War Lead to the Third World War? 31

4 Monthly Review 35

5 Essay Special 56

6 MCQs Compilation 59

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3
EDITION 10
VOLUME 3
CSS | CHRONICLES

MONTHLY ROUND UP:

FEBRUARY AT A GLANCE

4
CSS Chronicles Volume 3 | Edition 10

Dates Events

1 The government resumes virtual talks with the International

Monetary Fund (IMF) to finalize revenue and expenditure figures for
the next four months.

2 The government of Gilgit-Baltistan, through a letter, proposed the

federal government increase Central Superior Services (CSS) quota
seats for candidates from GB.

3 Iran has agreed to reconnect surveillance cameras at several

nuclear sites and increase the pace of inspections, the head of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on March 3, 2023.

4 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on March 4, 2023, slammed

the world`s rich countries and energy giants for throttling poor
nations with `predatory` interest rates and crippling fuel prices.

5 A US delegation arrived in Islamabad on Sunday (March 5, 2023) for

counterterrorism talks, days after an official US report warned that
terrorist groups were once again regrouping in the Pakistan and
Afghanistan region.

6 BBC News in India was raided by Tax officials which depicted Media’s
shrinking freedom under Modi.

7 Pakistan was asked to give an assurance that its balance of

payments (BoP) deficit is fully financed for the fiscal year ending in
June to unlock the next tranche of IMF funding, on March 7, 2023.

8 Pakistan improved its ranking on Global Anti-Money Laundering

Index. It has now reached 6.16 which is the Medium Risk category.

9 At least nine personnel of the Balochistan Constabulary embraced

martyrdom and 13 others were injured after a suicide bomber riding
an explosives-laden motorbike struck a police truck on the
Sukkur-Quetta Highway in the Bolan district.

10 A Senate committee recommended charging a Rs 500 `radio fee`

from all vehicles, excluding motorcycles, at the time of registration to
generate an additional Rs15 billion per year revenue for the
financially-hit state-run Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC),
commonly known as Radio Pakistan.

11 The UN stated that so far donors have fulfilled only 40 percent of the
pledges they made at an international conference early this year to
help the victims of last year`s floods in Pakistan.

5
CSS Chronicles Volume 3 | Edition 10

Dates Events

12 South Korea announced plans to compensate victims of Japan`s

forced wartime labor, aiming to end a `vicious cycle` in the Asian
powers` relations and boost ties to counter the nuclear-armed North.

Seoul and Tokyo declared they have ramped up security

13 cooperation in the face of growing threats from Kim Jong UN`s North
Korea, which is expanding its nuclear weapons program in defiance
of UN sanctions.

Ukraine broadened a request for controversial cluster bombs from

14 the United States to include a weapon that it wants to cannibalize to
drop the anti-armor bomblets it contains on Russian forces from
drones, according to two US lawmakers.

Afghan universities reopened after a winter break, but only men

15 returned to class with a `heartbreaking` ban by the Taliban
authorities on women in higher education still in force.

The Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs approved

16 an amendment to the Elections Act, 2017 removing the word
`Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata)` from the law, according
to a handout from Senate.

The government planned to amend the National Accountability

17 Ordinance the law that governs the National Accountability Bureau
(NAB) to empower accountability courts to decide the fate of over
200 undecided, dormant references.

Pakistan`s efforts to tackle air pollution took a significant step forward

18 as the country`s first National Clean Air Policy (NCAP) was approved
by the federal government, aiming to improve air quality in the
country by reducing pollution.

19 Xi secured a precedent-breaking third term as president of China.

20 As part of continuous relief assistance on government directions to

quake-affected people of Turkiye and Syria, the National Disaster
Management Authority (NDMA) sailed off another ship PNS Moawin
with 550 tonnes of relief goods from Karachi.

21 Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo once again

urged angry Baloch insurgents to come down from the mountains
and resolve all issues with the government through dialogue.

6
CSS Chronicles Volume 3 | Edition 10

Dates Events

22 A bomb struck the convoy of Sardar Khan Rind a former district nazim
and the son of a PTI provincial lawmaker in the Sunni Shoran area of
Kachhi district, killing two of his private bodyguards and critically
wounding a third.

23 Pakistan reported its first polio case of 2023 after a three-year-old boy
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa`s Bannu district became the latest victim of
the crippling disease, the health ministry confirmed on March 23, 2023.

The Foreign Office claimed that Pakistan had played a role in

24 facilitating the dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

With over 60 percent of the job done in Sindh, an official from the
25 Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) made it clear on March 25, 2023
that `persons will be counted in the area or city where they live and
whose resources they use, regardless of [the place] where their
identity card is based`.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) announced that it will

26 rehabilitate 100 primary healthcare centers in 12 districts of
Balochistan badly damaged in last year`s monsoon rains and heavy
flood and provide them the required medical equipment and solar
systems.

27 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) carried out a study that led to the
preparation of a `Climate Investment Roadmap` for Peshawar to
address the effects of climate change surrounding the city.

28 The European Union (EU) removed Pakistan from its `list of high-risk
third countries` that had strategic deficiencies in the Anti Money
Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/
CFT)regime.

29 The National Assembly on March 29, 2023 passed the bill aimed at
clipping the `unilateral` powers of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) in
initiating suo motu cases.

30 Another Pakistan Navy ship, PNS Moawin, which was deployed on

international humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mission,
reached the Syrian city of Lattakia.

31 The government stated to have achieved `progress` in external

financing from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates direly
needed to reach a staff-level agreement (SLA) with International
Monetary Fund (IMF) that has been in limbo since Feb 9.

7
 CSS | CHRONICLES VOLUME 3 EDITION 10

NATIONAL

8

Pakistan has been facing
the worst form of constitu-
tional crisis along with the
economic crisis which in
turn, puts the country in a
deep quagmire. There has
been a constant fight, and
conflict going on between
the Pakistan Democratic
Movement (PDM)-led feder-
al government and the
PTI-led opposition which
has caused immense
damage to the economy as
well the political environ-
ment of the country.
PTI-led Governments in the
two provinces—KPK and
Punjab—dissolved the gov-
ELECTIONS
IN
PUNJAB
& KPK
Qaiser Rizvan Abbasi
ernments in an attempt to
force the federal govern-
ment to call the general
elections. But PDM-led gov-
ernment has been unable to
improve the economic
prospects of the country
which has increasingly
diminished its political capi-
tal.
On the other hand, PTI’s
Imran Khan has been able
to enhance its political envi-
ronment by appealing to the
general public and the
masses. His efforts to
defame the PDM govern-
ment have gained momen-
tum and PTI’s success in
various by-elections proved
that PTI has become the
largest and most popular
political force in Pakistan,
which makes it difficult for
the PDM-led parties to con-
test elections easily and
won in this tense political
environment.
Owing to these factors, the
PDM-led federal govern-
ment is trying to get away
with the timely elections as it
is well aware of its failing
prospects in the general
elections. However, as the
Punjab and KPK govern-
ments have been dissolved,
it is the constitutional
9
CSS Chronicles Volume 3 | Edition 10

responsibility and obligation

of the elections commission to
hold elections within the stipu-
lated time period of 90 days.
But, the government has
restrained itself from conducting
elections on the pretext of the
prevalent terrorism, militancy,
and security challenges posed by
the TLP to the country.

Not only this, the government has

also come up with the excuse that it
is facing a serious economic and
financial crisis which makes it impos-
sible for the government to hold free
and fair elections in a timely manner.
Considering this grim and heated politi-
cal environment, the Supreme Court of
Pakistan had to intervene in order to calm
down the political environment and get the
country out of the constitutional crisis.

Three-member Supreme Court bench headed

by the Chief Justice ruled that the decision was
given on the part of the Election Commission of
Pakistan to postpone elections to the Punjab
Assembly was unconstitutional and unlawful. In the
same ruling, SC announced 14 May as the new poll-
ing date. It made crystal clear orders to the PDM-led
government to ensure the provision of the
much-needed funds to the Election Commission of
Pakistan along with ensuring the prerequisite security
for the electoral exercise to be conducted in the
country.

This crucial judgement has certainly transformed the

political landscape in the country. Though it is being
considered the major nonsuccess for the PDM-led fed-
eral coalition government, it has been viewed as a big
success for the PTI-led Government which is celebrating it.

However, the PDM-led government has rejected the ruling

and called for the full bench to hear the case else it will
aggravate the political situation. What has made the situa-
tion worse is the stubbornness of the federal government
not to hold the elections leading to political instability and

10
CSS Chronicles
political crisis and most
importantly, economic
crisis. The doors of the nego-
tiation to end the political
turmoil seem to be closed
as both parties consider the
other the worst enemy to be
destroyed than to be
engaged.
In this condition, Zahid Hus-
sain in his Op-ed published
in Dawn aptly wrote: “There
is a fear that the crisis could
also suck the security
establishment more deeply
into the political fray. Not-
withstanding its claims of
neutrality, the military is not
totally out of the game.
There are strong indications
that the military leadership
is not in favour of early or
scattered elections, with the
defence ministry asserting
that the armed forces would
Volume 3 | Edition 10
not be available for poll
security duties because of
the security situation. Unlike
in the recent past, when the
judiciary was seen to go
along with the security
establishment, its latest
position on polls in Punjab
and KP indicates a diver-
gence of views within.
Among other factors, the
fear of the PTI sweeping the
polls has brought the estab-
lishment closer to the gov-
ernment’s position.”
It is without a doubt that
Pakistan is facing daunting
economic as well as political
challenges that need to be
addressed before it gets too
late. Timely elections may
end this political uncertainly
and pave the way for the
political stability in the best
possible manner.
11
 CSS Chronicles Volume 3 | Edition 10
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12

Pakistan, like many other
countries, is struggling to
achieve gender equality.
This issue is rooted in the
country's deep-seated cul-
tural beliefs and traditional
practices. Women are often
considered inferior to men
and are subjected to
discrimination, violence, and
abuse. This grave issue not
only violates the basic
human rights of women but
also hampers economic
development in the country.
Therefore, promoting
gender equality is not only a
moral obligation but also an
economic imperative for
Pakistan. Here are some
ENDEAVORS TO
IMPROVE GENDER
EQUALITY IN
PAKISTAN
Bakhtawar Narejo
ways in which gender
equality can be promoted.
Empowering Women
Through Education
Education is a powerful tool
that can transform the lives
of women and enable them
to fulfill their potential. The
government needs to invest
in quality education for girls,
especially those living in
rural areas. The curriculum
needs to be revised to
include gender-sensitive
content that challenges ste-
reotypes and promotes
gender equality. The enroll-
ment of girls in schools
needs to be encouraged by
providing them with safe
and secure facilities, trans-
port, and other necessities.
Promoting women's em-
powerment is essential for
improving gender equality
in Pakistan. Women have
traditionally been marginal-
ized in Pakistani society, with
limited access to education
and employment opportu-
nities. However, NGOs like
Aurat Foundation and
Shirkat Gah are working to
change that. They provide
training and education pro-
grams to help women
develop marketable skills,
which enable them to par-
ticipate in the formal econo-
13
CSS Chronicles
my. The success of such
programs is evidenced in
the increasing number of
women entering the work-
force.
Enhancing Women's Eco-
nomic Empowerment
Studies indicate that gender
equality is directly linked to
economic growth, and
women's economic em-
powerment can create a
positive impact on GDP and
development. Therefore,
policies must focus on
enhancing women's oppor-
tunities to participate in the
labor force, access financial
resources, start their busi-
nesses, and reduce the
gender wage gap. Women
entrepreneurs should be
supported to scale up their
businesses by providing
access to finance, markets,
and training. Another
important approach is to
address cultural and social
norms that may limit wom-
en's opportunities, such as
restrictive gender roles or
societal expectations
around women's behavior.
Efforts to promote gender
equality and empower
women in all areas of soci-
ety can help to break down
these barriers and encour-
age greater economic
involvement.
In addition, providing
access to financial resourc-
es and support can be criti-
cal in enabling women to
start and grow businesses,
particularly in areas where
access to capital may be
limited. Offering microfi-
nance loans or other financ-
Volume 3 | Edition 10
ing options, as well as busi-
ness development and
mentoring services, can
help to support women
entrepreneurs and make it
easier for them to break into
new markets and grow their
businesses.
Finally, creating an enabling
environment for women in
the workplace, including
offering flexible working
arrangements and fami-
ly-friendly policies, can help
ensure that women are
better able to balance their
work and family responsibil-
ities, which can support their
increased economic
involvement over the long
term.
Combating Gender-Based
Violence
Gender-based violence is
one of the most pressing
issues in Pakistan, where
women are subjected to
sexual harassment, domes-
tic violence, rape, honor
killings, and acid attacks.
Therefore, there is a dire
need to address this issue
by creating a comprehen-
sive legal framework
14
CSS Chronicles
against gender-based
violence. Surveys indicate
that the social stigma
attached to reporting such
crimes and the mistrust of
law enforcement agencies
are barriers to reducing GBV.
Therefore, awareness cam-
paigns are required to pro-
mote a culture of zero-toler-
ance for GBV and encour-
age change in social norms.
Gender-based violence is
prevalent in Pakistan and
permeates all areas of life.
However, initiatives like the
Gender-Based Violence
(GBV) Bill are being intro-
duced to combat it. This
entails making changes to
existing laws to increase the
punishment for gen-
der-based violence offens-
es. NGOs like War Against
Rape (WAR), Rozan, and
Acid Survivors Foundation
are also contributing to
reducing gender-based
violence through counsel-
ing, education, and raising
awareness campaigns in
communities.
Promoting Women's Politi-
cal Participation
Political representation is
another essential facet of
promoting gender equality.
Women's political empow-
erment is critical to their full
participation in deci-
sion-making processes that
impact their lives. Women's
quotas in parliament, wom-
en's rights advocates in civil
society, and the inclusion of
women's issues in political
parties' priorities can pro-
mote gender equality. The
underrepresentation of
women in the political
sphere is another major
issue in Pakistan. In 2018, the
National Parliament and
Provincial Assemblies
passed a law reserving a
quota of 10% of seats for
women in the local govern-
ment councils. NGOs like the
Aurat Foundation and
Paiman Trust are also
focusing on raising aware-
ness on the importance of
women's representation in
politics.
Changing Mindsets by
Promoting Role Models
Finally, gender equality can
be promoted by encourag-
ing and promoting role
models. Women who have
challenged stereotypes and
broken barriers can inspire
other women and change
social norms. Famous
women in Pakistan such as
Asma Jahangir, Pakistan's
first female lawyer to be rec-
ognized by the Supreme
Court, Sharmeen
Obaid-Chinoy, the two-time
Academy Award-winning
Pakistani filmmaker, or
Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel
peace prize winner for child
education, can be celebrat-
ed as role models for young
girls in educational institu-
tions and social media.
Volume 3 | Edition 10
Conclusion
Promoting gender equality
in Pakistan is a long-term
and challenging issue. It
requires a concerted effort
from all stakeholders,
including the government,
civil society, private sector,
and individuals. Only by
addressing the root causes
of gender inequality and
creating systemic changes
that promote women's em-
powerment can Pakistan
succeed in achieving its
gender equality goals.
Investing in women's educa-
tion and economic empow-
erment, combating gen-
der-based violence, pro-
moting women's political
participation, changing
mindsets, and creating role
models can all promote
gender equality in the coun-
try. By taking action now,
Pakistan can build a better
and more equal future for all.
15

Pakistan is already dealing
with a challenging political
situation and a crippling
economic crisis. With the
record-breaking inflation
and the aftermath of the
recent floods, Pakistan
cannot afford to allow inter-
nal security to deteriorate
any further.
Terrorism has been a long-
standing problem in Paki-
stan and has caused signifi-
cant damage to the coun-
try's social fabric, economy,
and international reputa-
tion. Pakistan has faced a
range of threats from
domestic militant groups to
TERRORISM IN
PAKISTAN:
NEW ACTION PLAN
NEEDED
Umme Abeeha
transnational terrorist orga-
nizations like Al-Qaeda and
the Islamic State (IS). These
groups have targeted civil-
ians, security forces, and
critical infrastructure, caus-
ing significant loss of life and
economic damage.
After a short time of relative
peace, the latest trends of
terrorism show a resurgence
of terrorism in the country.
The recent attack on Sar-
band police station in
Peshawar in January, the
Karachi police station
attack, the Bolan suicide
bombing in March, recent
Kech District attack all show
that terrorism is on the rise
again in 2023.
Furthermore, a deadly triad
has been formed. This
includes the Tehrik-e-Tali-
ban Pakistan (TTP), Baloch
Liberation Army (BLA), and
the Islamic State of Kho-
rasan Province (ISKP).
Pakistan has implemented
several counter-terrorism
measures, but a new action
plan is needed to address
the root causes of terrorism
and emerging threats.
In this article, let’s talk about
some important elements
16
CSS Chronicles
that the new action plan
must include. These compo-
nents range from address-
ing the root causes to
strengthening law enforce-
ment in Pakistan and
increasing cooperation with
international partners. Apart
from that, we must also take
some steps in the social
context. For example, coun-
tering extremist ideologies is
key to curbing the menace
of terrorism. Apart from that,
relations with Afghanistan
must be improved too so
that Afghan soil is not used
as a launching pad for
terrorist attacks against
Pakistan. By including such
points, Pakistan can form an
all-rounded comprehensive
strategy to combat terror-
ism.
Addressing the Root
Causes of Terrorism
One of the primary reasons
why terrorism persists in
Pakistan is because of the
existence of socioeconomic
disparities. The government
must develop an integrated
plan to tackle poverty and
unemployment, which are
two of the primary factors
contributing to terrorism.
The government can con-
sider the following mea-
sures:
a) Investing in Infrastructure:
The government should
invest in critical infrastruc-
ture, including roads, hospi-
tals, schools, and housing
projects, to boost economic
development and job cre-
ation. This will help in
addressing the underlying
socioeconomic disparities
that drive terrorism.
b) Promoting Economic
Growth: The government
should also promote eco-
nomic growth by offering tax
incentives to companies
that invest in Pakistan.
c) Promoting Education:
Lack of education is a signif-
icant contributor to terror-
ism in Pakistan. The govern-
ment should promote edu-
cation by building schools,
training teachers, and offer-
ing scholarships to under-
privileged students.
Strengthening Law
Enforcement
Pakistan has a range of law
enforcement agencies that
are responsible for main-
taining law and order in the
Volume 3 | Edition 10
country. However, these
agencies often lack the nec-
essary training, equipment,
and resources to combat
terrorism effectively. The
government must prioritize
the following measures to
strengthen law enforce-
ment:
a) Training and Capaci-
ty-Building: The government
should invest in the training
and capacity-building of
law enforcement agencies
to improve their capabilities
in tackling terrorism. This
includes equipping them
with the latest technology,
intelligence resources, and
training programs.
b) Recruitment of New Offi-
cers: The government
should recruit new officers
to fill the gap in the existing
law enforcement agencies.
The new recruits should be
thoroughly screened to
ensure that they have no
links to extremist organiza-
tions.
c) Specialized Counter-Ter-
rorism Units: The govern-
ment should establish spe-
cialized counter-terrorism
units within existing law
enforcement agencies to
17
CSS Chronicles
target terrorists more effec-
tively. These units should be
adequately equipped with
the latest technology and
intelligence resources to
carry out their operations.
Promoting International
Cooperation
Pakistan must work closely
with international partners
to counter terrorism effec-
tively. The government can
consider the following mea-
sures:
a) Intelligence Sharing: Paki-
stan should share intelli-
gence with international
partners to identify and
track terrorist networks
operating in the region.
b) Joint Operations: Pakistan
can conduct joint operations
with international partners to
target transnational terrorist
organizations like Al-Qaeda
and the Islamic State.
c) Regional Cooperation:
Pakistan should work with
other regional partners to
address the broader threat
of terrorism. This includes
coordinating with neighbor-
ing countries to tackle
cross-border terrorism
effectively.
Volume 3 | Edition 10
Countering Extremist Conclusion
Ideologies A sustainable and proactive
Terrorist organizations often national plan must be made
use extremist ideologies to to improve the internal
justify their actions and recruit security of the country.
new members. Countering NACTA must coordinate with
extremist ideologies is, there- the local CTDs and improve
fore, an essential aspect of the current counter-terror-
combating terrorism. The ism strategy. We are already
government can consider the facing an economic and
following measures: political crisis. With the
resurgence of terrorism, the
a) Effective Messaging: The government must take the
government should launch right steps quickly before
an effective messaging the situation spirals out of
campaign to counter the control.
propaganda of terrorist
organizations. This includes
using social media plat-
forms to promote messages
of tolerance and peace.
b) Outreach Programs: The
government should work
with religious leaders,
schools, and civil society
organizations to promote
tolerance and peace. These
organizations can help in
countering extremist ideolo-
gies and promote a culture
of peace.
c) Rehabilitation Programs:
The government should also
develop rehabilitation pro-
grams for former militants
who have renounced terror-
ism.
18

Political stability has been
something unknown to the
corridors of government in
Pakistan since the inception
of the country. The country’s
founding fathers died soon
after the birth of Pakistan.
His death ensued a long tale
of political instability in the
country. Scores of Prime
Ministers were ousted from
the country in a matter of
few years. This earned the
country huge disrespect in
the international arena and
all this mayhem ended with
the first military coup in the
history of the country. How-
ever, this military coup and
the other 2 following military
WHAT DOES POLITICAL
STABILITY MEAN FOR
PAKISTAN AT THIS VERY
MOMENT?
Hamza Tanvir
coups did not prove enough
to teach the political leaders
the essence of democratic
culture. The country has
been struggling with politi-
cal instability since then.
Pakistan has paid a heavy
price for this political insta-
bility. It has earned the
country terrorism and eco-
nomic instability.
The people of the country
lag behind many other
nations of the region. Paki-
stan was once on its way to
becoming the South Asian
Tiger but it became a South
Asian Snail due to bad gov-
ernance and political insta-
bility in the country. The
country was once seen as
the fastest-growing econo-
my in the region. The textile
industry of Pakistan was also
growing at a very fast pace
but all this was drowned due
to the political instability in
the country. The political
leaders of Pakistan have
always been fighting for the
turf instead of letting
democracy prevail for the
greater good of the country.
This political instability was
among the major reasons
behind the secession of the
Eastern wing of the country
in 1971.
19
CSS Chronicles
The country is still facing
chaos in its political arena.
This instability has entailed
a host of problems for Paki-
stan and its people. The
unemployment rate, eco-
nomic crisis, inflation, and
terrorism are touching their
peak due to the current
political instability in the
country. The country is
facing one of its biggest
brain drains due to the cur-
rent political chaos in Paki-
stan. As per reports, more
than 7 lacs of the youth of
Pakistan have left the coun-
try in the year 2022. In the
current year, this number
seems to grow at an
unprecedented level. Terror-
ism is also raising its head
once again in the country as
the political leaders are
busy pulling each other’s
legs. Economically, a default
threat is looming over Paki-
stan’s head. The country is
struggling with gaining a
loan from IMF which can
save Pakistan from an eco-
nomic default. Inflation is
also rising at an unprece-
dented level. The ratio of
street crimes has surged to
a grave level.
Political stability is more
needed than ever at this
very juncture of the coun-
try’s history. Pakistan needs
to be politically stable to
cope with all the domestic
and international challeng-
es. The nation needs collec-
tive wisdom and consensus
to counter rising terrorism in
the country. Terrorist organi-
zations use the political
divide in the country for their
own benefit. They use the
political fault lines to create
division among the popula-
tion. They use this division to
implant hatred and the gap
between the people of a
country and its armed
forces. Pakistan is facing this
situation at an alarming
level. A huge gulf can be
seen between the youth of
the country and its armed
forces due to ill-witted
statements and policies of
some political demagogues.
The rift between the people
of Pakistan and its armed
forces could be exploited by
the enemies of Pakistan
which could prove inimical
to the sovereignty of the
country. Pakistan also needs
political stability to counter
rising inflation. Political
instability, protests, and long
marches impact the busi-
ness activity of a country.
Protest culture is very
common in Pakistan. It has
touched novel heights since
2014. This has infringed on
the economy of Pakistan
and has ultimately led to
unprecedented levels of
inflation in the country. It is
due to this inflation and its
ensuing impacts that many
people have died in their
search for a free floor. This
shows the abysmal situation
of poverty in the country
which is also a byproduct of
political instability in the
Volume 3 | Edition 10
country. Political stability is
mandatory to tackle this
rising inflation and poverty.
Bad governance is also
among the major issues of
the country. It is due to bad
governance, that many
people in the country died in
the recent floods and other
catastrophes. Bad gover-
nance is also caused by
political instability in the
country as gaining power
seems to be the only priority
of the political leaders of the
country. Pakistan needs
political stability to counter
brain drains from the coun-
try. The young talent of the
country is fleeing from Paki-
stan. The main reason
behind that is the lack of
availability of employment
and resources. Political sta-
bility is the only panacea to
all these ills. If Pakistan did
not achieve this stability in
the near future, nothing can
save it from an economic
default and unprecedented
levels of terrorism and
extremism in the country.
20
 CSS | CHRONICLES VOLUME 3 EDITION 10

INTERNATIONAL

21

On March 6, 2023, Chi-
na-brokered discussions
lead to a meeting between
representatives from Iran
and Saudi Arabia – two
long-standing regional
rivals. Four days later, Riyadh
and Tehran announced the
unanticipated restoration of
bilateral ties after seven
years of clashes and a dip-
lomatic hiatus. The March 10
agreement was signed in
Beijing, which being a medi-
ator took a great leap
forward in its rivalry with
Washington. This landmark
détente has the potential to
modify the Middle East by
readjusting its major powers
AN
UNANTICIPATED
SAUDI-IRAN
DÉTENTE
SANIA SALEEM
and substituting the current
Arab-Iranian split with a
complex web of relation-
ships. The thaw is hoped to
bring far-reaching impacts
for the Middle East thereby
clearing the path for a more
stable and peaceful region.
Tehran and Saudi Arabia
had shown great inclination
– evident from bilateral talks
in 2021 and 2022 – in seeking
a détente owing to their
mutual interests attached to
the matter.
The interest in Iran was in
ending the diplomatic isola-
tion it is facing, imposed by
the West. The likelihood of
Washington-driven Sau-
di-Israel talks further added
to Iran’s foreign policy con-
cerns. This will have not only
intensified Tehran’s isolation
but also antagonized its
security challenges. In Con-
trast, the motive behind
Saudi Arabia’s interest
stemmed from its security
anxieties. With the escala-
tion in Saudi-Iran tensions,
in the recent past, Saudi
Arabia has witnessed vari-
ous attacks including
attacks on its oil facilities
and infrastructure. In 2019,
Riyadh blamed Tehran for a
missile and drone attack on
its oil-processing installa-
22
CSS Chronicles
tions. The incident leftover
half of Riyadh’s oil produc-
tion affected. Resultantly, for
Saudi Arabia, reduced stiff-
nesses with Iran aims to
address these security con-
cerns. There are other fac-
tors attached to the diplo-
matic move as well. The fact
that Washington was nei-
ther a reliable ally anymore
nor a guarantor of its securi-
ty – galvanized Riyadh to
direct its foreign policy in an
independent direction.
Events including, America
plummeting its diplomatic
and military footprint in the
Middle East, emphasizing
more on its strategy to
counter China, and intense
friction between the Biden
administration and the
Saudi Leadership were
enough to shape the out-
come.
Additionally, in a domestic
context, the Saudi motive
behind the détente lies in
pursuing its reform agenda,
the Vision 2030 plan, which
urges regional cooperation
and a stable milieu. Vision
2030 plan encompasses a
plan to make the country a
global investment hub by
increasing expenditures for
infrastructure and social
segments and expanding
the Saudi economy. Under
the leadership of Crown
Prince Mohammed bin
Salman, Saudi Arabia has
not only seen substantial
reforms in the country but
also initiatives abroad that
have set a new track for its
foreign policy. Riyadh has
moved to restore ties with
Doha and Ankara. Further-
more, Riyadh has shown
that it can distance itself
Volume 3 | Edition 10
from Washington, prompt-
ing many experts to observe
that MBS is gradually pursu-
ing a foreign policy inde-
pendent of the West.
The resumption of harmoni-
ous relationships has raised
various questions about
how the rapprochement will
affect conflict in the region
in which the two countries
have been at loggerheads,
especially Yemen and with
that also in Syria, Lebanon,
and Iraq. Certainly, if the two
countries are capable of
implementing the new
understanding, the likeli-
hood of regional stability will
immensely increase. Saudi
Foreign Minister Prince Faisal
bin Farhan Al Saud has
called the détente an indi-
cation of his country’s em-
phasis on “political solutions
and dialogue”. Advance-
ment in talks on Yemen will
be the first test of whether a
peace dividend can result
from the dialogue. There are
many speculations about
the follow-up and scope of
the reconciliation as to the
various stakes of the parties
involved therewith. Hence-
forth, China’s role is seen as
critical as a guarantor of the
agreement, it has a high
stake in ensuring that the
détente gains ground. As a
matter of fact, China has
attained a major diplomatic
23
CSS Chronicles Volume 3 | Edition 10

victory by playing the role of mediator. Thereby, China has not only
exhibited its increasing global influence but also has established
itself as a key player in the Middle East. Moreover, China is the prin-
cipal trading partner of both countries and has a good relation-
ship with both, unlike the US, to plays the role of peacemaker. Chi-
na’s stakes in the region are evident from the fact that the region
accounts for 40 percent of China’s oil imports.

Contemporarily, Washington has been diplomatically marginal-

ized by the progress. Its attempt to isolate Iran has endured a
major hiccup at a moment when tensions are escalating between
Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear programme. Further-
more, the US tactic behind normalizing Saudi-Israel relations has
also been hampered for the immediate future. Israel, after the
recent development, faces a major setback in seeking to build a
regional alliance against Iran. Israel’s former Prime Minister Naftali
Bennett has called the agreement a “serious and dangerous”
development and a “fatal blow to the effort to create a regional
alliance” against Iran. The muted response by Washington vindi-
cates its disquiet and concern over the reconciliation. Numerous
Western analysts, nevertheless, accepted the thaw for what it is.
Peter Baker penned in The New York Times that the Chinese-bro-
kered deal had “upended US diplomacy in the Middle East”. Jef-
frey Feltman, a well-reputed former senior UN and US official, was
quoted in news reports as saying the thaw “will be interpreted —
probably accurately — as a slap at the Biden administration and
as evidence that China is the rising power”. Various trials lie
ahead for the settlement to gather momentum but as of now, it
holds the optimism of regional powers seeking regional way
forwards to their disputes.

24

In Asia, the stage is getting
set; multiple powers are
rising across the Asia conti-
nent. Since China started
the project Belt Road Initia-
tive; it is leading towards
connecting Asia with other
countries. China has been
emerging major power in
Asia which is hammering
out the future of Asia. Grow-
ing geostrategic and
geo-economics partner-
ships between Russia and
China are establishing trust
for other countries. Recent
visit in March, Chinese Presi-
dent Xi Jinping is meeting
with his Russian counterpart
Vladimir Putin on a
IS
FUTURE
ASIA?
Bilal Ashfaque
three-day visit aimed at
boosting Beijing-Moscow
ties and cementing China’s
status as a global power-
broker. Furthermore, India is
also rising as a regional
power in terms of economic
growth. India has emerged
as a regional power and net
security provider in the
Indo-Pacific, said Union
Defence Minister Rajnath
Singh. Moreover, Turkey and
Arab countries are also
tilting towards Asia and
establishing partners with a
major power such as China
and Russia. All these factors
illustrate that the future is
Asia in terms of economic
growth, security measures,
and energy provider to the
rest of the world.
Geo-strategic Partnership
between Russia and China
On February 4, 2022, Chinese
President Xi Jinping hosted
his Russian counterpart,
Vladimir Putin, at the open-
ing of the Olympic Games in
Beijing. After talks, the two
sides released a joint state-
ment declaring that China
and Russia’s bilateral part-
nership was greater than a
traditional alliance and that
their friendship would know
“no limits.” Moreover, Beijing
sees Moscow as its most
25
CSS Chronicles
important partner in the
wider project of altering a
global order that it per-
ceives as skewed unfairly
toward the West. In this
order, according to the Chi-
nese and Russian lines, the
United States and its allies
set the rules to their advan-
tage, defining what it means
to be a democracy and to
respect human rights while
retaining the power to
isolate and punish actors for
failing to uphold those stan-
dards. Beijing and Moscow
purport to seek a “fairer,”
multipolar order that better
takes into account the views
and interests of developing
countries. In short, the Chi-
nese-Russian alignment
has proved far more threat-
ening to the U.S.-led order in
its conception than in its
operation. It is true that this
partnership will damage the
US and its allies.
Iran and Russia Growing
Nexus
Isolated from much of the
rest of the world through
Western sanctions, Russia
and Iran have been building
closer economic ties with
each other. Russia and Iran
are building a new trans-
continental trade route
stretching from the eastern
edge of Europe to the
Indian Ocean, a
3,000-kilometer
(1,860-mile) passage that’s
beyond the reach of any
foreign intervention. Iran
seeks to leverage its poten-
tial as a transport hub
between Asia, Russia, and
Europe. Moscow, New Delhi,
and Tehran signed an
agreement back in 2002
laying out plans for the
International North-South
Transport Corridor, which
would connect India and
Russia through Iran and
Azerbaijan, bypassing the
Suez Canal. For Russia, the
corridor would provide a
major export channel to
South Asia without needing
to go through Europe, which
has been working to cut
Moscow's loss economically
since its invasion of Ukraine.
When Russian President
Vladimir Putin visited Iran in
July, he and his counterpart
Ebrahim Raisi agreed on the
need to finish the Rasht-As-
tara rail link in northern Iran,
part of the proposed route.
Volume 3 | Edition 10
Energy Hub for World and
Oil Producer Countries is
Moving towards Each Other
in Asia.
The Middle East includes five
of the top ten oil-producing
countries and is responsible
for producing about 27% of
world production. Saudi
Arabia is the world's largest
oil producer and accounts
for roughly 15% of global
output. Iraq has increased
production since the end of
the Iraq War and is now the
second-largest producer in
the Middle East. Iran is one of
the world's largest oil pro-
ducers, but its output is
below potential due to eco-
nomic sanctions. Russia
produced 540 million tonnes
of crude oil, accounting for
13% of global production. Of
this, 260 million tonnes were
exported directly as crude
oil, comprising 13% of global
exports. Recently, the Chi-
na-brokered Saudi-Iran
deal has had great impacts
26
CSS Chronicles
on the Middle East and
beyond. Almost 50% of
crude oil is exported from
Asia. Now it is easy to control
oil production for Asian
countries because all these
major states establish
alliances geo-strategically.
It will create a great hurdle
for USA and EU. Asian coun-
tries can easily Control oil
production which can pose
huge repercussions for the
EU and USA. It will be a
greater blow for the EU than
nuclear war. However, Asia
can control the world by
controlling oil production
and price.
Turkey is Emerging as
Regional Power
Turkey is playing a vital role
at the global level and work-
ing as a mediator for the
world. Russia and Ukraine
agreed to extend the Black
Sea grain deal for 120 days
in Istanbul with the support
of Türkiye, which played a
mediator and guarantor
role in brokering the deal
and overseeing its imple-
mentation. Moreover, Russia
was the world's largest gas
exporter until February 24,
when Moscow invaded
Ukraine, shaking global
energy markets and forcing
Europe to end its depen-
dence on Russian fossil
fuels. Europe imposed sanc-
tions on Russia, which
Turkey has refused to apply.
Since the war began, Turkish
Volume 3 | Edition 10
President Recep Tayyip Thailand remains in second
Erdogan has sought to play place, while Vietnam, sur-
a mediating role in the con- prisingly, comes in third with
flict, supplying weapons to an impressive economic
Kyiv while maintaining close performance. In conclusion,
relations with President Asian countries are rising in
Vladimir Putin. In response, terms of economic growth
Putin proposed in October to
make Turkey a hub for Rus-
sian gas deliveries as an
alternative supply route to
Europe — a plan backed by
Erdogan.
Asian GDP in 2023
According to Asian Develop-
ment Outlook (ADO) April
2023, Growth in developing
Asia is forecast at 4.8% this
year and in 2024, up from
4.2% last year. The People's
Republic of China's (PRC)
recovery and healthy
domestic demand in India
will be the region’s main
growth supports this year
and next. China is by far the
largest economy in Asia,
with a GDP that is more than
three times that of Japan.
China is still the world's
greatest manufacturer in
terms of output, with con-
siderable manufacturing of
steel, electronics, and
robots, among other things.
China, Japan, India, South
Korea, Indonesia, and Iran
are the six Asian nations with
GDPs over $1 trillion. Further-
more, according to the IMF's
forecast for 2023, Indonesia
remains the only country in
Southeast Asia with a GDP of
one trillion dollars.
27
 HOW DO INVASIONS
EMPOWER THE
RUSSIAN
PRESIDENT?
Abdul Samad

It is a widely held narrative

that crises usually generate
opportunities. Though this
might be limited to a few at
the cost of many, the few
widely celebrate and advo-
cate crises-driven situa-
tions wherein they may
have a number of opportu-
nities to boost personal
stakes. This is usually done
by parochial-minded per-
sons. The same is applied to
the state which takes
advantage of crises thrown
its way. Taking this to the
Russian World, one may
easily find that the Russian
President, Putin, is getting
stronger day by day in the
ongoing skirmish with
Ukraine. The skeptics and
critics sum it so that his behind the continuation of to the war willingly. He has
position is being strength- the war is that the war would cloaked the war as an inva-
ened by the ongoing crises. keep creating crises and sion of the sovereignty and
disturbances inside the independence of Russia. He
The Russian President is country which would in turn uses such catchy phrases
brought under storm for keep its inhabitants busy in as the Russian World, Our
driving the war with Ukraine conversation about it. Thus, Historical Land, etc, which
for giving his rule a strong he would keep himself on hooked the masses while
footing thereby crashing all the safe side from the strong appealing to their senti-
the barriers to his rule. He is criticism of his countrymen. ments. This is why he has
reported and even alleged, been reported to have been
leveled by the neo—realists, He is alleged to have inten- supported by even his critic
to have deliberately extend- tionally kept the people of for his war against Ukraine.
ed the warlike situation and Russia from bringing his rule Thus, the Russian skirmish
not intended to end the war under storm by applying the with Ukraine has added to
with Ukraine. His philosophy soft technique to stick them the power of Putin.

28
CSS Chronicles
Likewise, Putin has thrown
one of the most celebrated
causes behind Russian—the
Ukraine standoff that the
skirmish is basically being
fought to push Westernism
back. He argues that the war
with Ukraine has been
unleashed as a response to
the obdurate Western move
to extend Nato and the EU to
the world of the Russian
sphere apparently. Latently,
the West had been alleged
to have intended to install
Western politico—economic
and social order in the
neighborhood of Russia
which is in stark contrast
with that of the Russian one.
Similarly, the Russian Presi-
dent has tried to justify his
move by putting up the
reason that Ukraine is a Rus-
sian sister country. Both
were part of the erstwhile
‘pompous' Soviet Union.
Moreover, Ukraine is home
to millions of Russian lan-
guage speakers and those
who uphold Russian culture.
Thus, the protection of such
land, as well as their people,
becomes a moral duty of
Moscow. In this way, Putin
succeeds in driving his
masses in his way.
Apart from the above, Putin
is reported to have put the
Volume 3 | Edition 10
country’s leading indepen-
dent media outlets under
the blockade. This is a widely
held belief that controlling
the source of information
may serve well as an
authoritarian and dictated
move. The common Rus-
sians have been deprived of
having access to a fair anal-
ysis of the ongoing war and
thus they are just being pro-
vided with manipulated
news which creates a
pro-war narrative.
Likewise, Putin is reported to
have got more powers amid
the ongoing crises as a
result of the imposition of
29

strong sedition moves.
Under such measures, the
anti—war opinions are not
only forbidden but also pun-
ishable. Thus, he just gets
appreciation and support.
This has further been accel-
erated by the indulgence of
the country’s military in the
ongoing scuffle which has
engaged them completely
thereby keeping their eyes
off the imposition of martial
law or a military coup. More-
over, the same crisis situa-
tions are also favoring the
military men as they are
being provided with mas-
sive financial and equip-
ment support which they
can rarely and even hardly
obtain during peacetime.
Similarly, the strong position
of President Putin is further
strengthened by the fact
that he has largely suc-
ceeded in calming down the
possible voices of critique
by recruiting more from the
lower and working class in
the fighting ranks. This has
made the upper and middle
classes silent since they can
hardly lose their lives and for
the rest they damn care.
Notwithstanding all the
above measures adopted to
strengthen the posture of
Putin as President, there has
been massive financial and
human loss as the country
has lost almost 200,000
people as well as a huge
death blow to its economic
growth. The war has exacer-
bated internal situations
and had turned the country
into a depressed and
poly-crises one. Amid this,
though getting himself on a
strong footing might be
possible to an extent, there
is a popular demand for
taking tangible measures to
set all the prevailing crises
aside thereby installing a
peaceful atmosphere.
While wrapping up this
write—up, it is made clear
that the presence of crises
even the invasions has
largely increased the
powers of the Russian Presi-
dent. As mentioned above,
he is gaining mostly
pro—war continuation opin-
ions as a result of the differ-
ent measures adopted by
him (mentioned above).
Above all, the art of conflat-
ing an invasion with a move
taken for national prestige
and even for its protection
can largely affect people’s
way of thinking. Such a sen-
timental move may raise
above logic and reason
which might reject any bel-
ligerent approach. In the
case of Russia, the war
might be of national impor-
tance, but at the individual
level, the classical real-
ism—driven man is solely
responsible for mongering
warlike situations or crises.
The alleged popular con-
cept of driven internal views
of inhabitants to an artificial
crisis made outside the
border or even inside the
border though widely cele-
brated and practiced, turns
into a huge blow with a
massive cost. Therefore, a
responsible way out is
strongly suggested.
30

Former Malaysian prime
minister Dr. Mahathir
Mohamad has said that the
current crisis between
Russia and Ukraine can be
interpreted as the "start of
the third World War".
1. Realignment and shifting
Alliance
European Union (EU) states
were quick to respond with
major sanctions and action
against Russia. The Rus-
sia-Ukraine war has been
creating a fracture in the EU.
Despite some fragmenta-
tion, for example, on the oil
price cap, and Germany’s
reluctance to send tanks
CAN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE
WAR LEAD TO THE THIRD
WORLD WAR?
Bilal Ashfaque
and other weaponry.
According to Financial
Times Zelensky launched an
excoriating attack on Ger-
many over its policy towards
Ukraine, accusing its leaders
of placing good economic
relations with Vladimir Putin,
Russia’s president, over the
security of Europe. Further-
more, a week after the inva-
sion, the UN General Assem-
bly resolution condemning
Russia’s aggression was
passed by an overwhelming
majority. However, there
were 35 abstentions, among
them three Commonwealth
states – South Africa, Paki-
stan, and India. In Asia, only
Singapore, South Korea, and
Japan took a side with
Ukraine. The region’s largest
rising powers – China, India,
and Indonesia – have all
refused to take a side. Asia
has largely rejected Western
framings of the conflict as a
battle between might and
right,’ says Ben Bland, Cha-
tham House Asia-Pacific
program director. Most
Asian nations pragmatically
choose to maintain their
relationships for a combina-
tion of economic, military,
and diplomatic reasons.
Iran has taken advantage of
both tactical and strategic
deals, says Chatham House
31

Middle East and North Africa
deputy director Dr. Sanam
Vakil – providing Russia with
sanctions-busting support
and hundreds of attack
drones while, in return,
Moscow provided surveil-
lance to help Tehran sup-
press recent domestic pro-
tests. Moreover, Arab coun-
tries also take the side of
Russia, It can be seen when
the USA requested Arab
countries to increase oil
production in order to
reduce the oil price, and the
high price of oil is directly
benefiting Russia’s econo-
my. Saudi disagreed with
the USA despite its visit of
Biden to Saudi Arabia. Sec-
retary of State Antony
Blinken stated that “Arabs
states directly supporting
Russia to not increasing the
oil production”. In addition,
India also strengthened its
relationship with Russia in
terms of defense and eco-
nomic cooperation despite
being the strategic ally of
America. It is clear that
shifting alliances and
realignment across the
world are evidence of the
stage taking place for world
war three.
2. Security Challenges
The Russia-Ukraine war is
triggering another chal-
lenge for many countries
which is national security.
‘For many of Russia’s neigh-
bors, the Russian invasion of
Ukraine confirmed that they
had been correct in their
analysis of the threat posed
by Moscow’s regional ambi-
tions,’ says Alice Billon-Gal-
land, research fellow in the
Europe program. Indeed,
European countries
responded with significant
increases in their defense
budgets, most notably Ger-
many committing to two
percent of its GDP in Chan-
Volume 3 | Edition 10
cellor Olaf Scholz’s recali-
brating ‘Zeitenwende’
speech. €2.5bn cash and
hardware provided to
Ukraine’s defenses by Euro-
pean Peace Facility.
3. Cyber and Drone war - a
new type of information
warfare.
According to CNBC, Iran has
transferred drones to Russia
for use on the battlefield
across Ukraine. The reason
for those shipments centers
on Iran pursuing strength-
ened relations with a key
strategic ally, Russia; help-
ing Moscow in its effort to
combat Western hegemo-
ny; and enhancing its own
role as a major weapons
exporter. In response,
Ukraine’s security has been
backed with strengthened
NATO cyber security cou-
pled with a motivated
Ukraine vigilante ‘cyber
army’. Alongside the chang-
es to Europe’s security
architecture, Russia’s illegal
invasion has ushered in a
new type of information
warfare says Magdalene
Karalis, Chatham House
Stavros Niarchos academy
fellow, especially the wide-
spread use of open-source
intelligence (OSINT). Indirect
involvement and support for
Russia and Ukraine with
multiple sources such as
cyber tactics and drone
technology can trigger
world war three across the
globe. It is an alarming situ-
ation for all.
32
CSS Chronicles
4. Nancy Pelosi's Visit to
Taiwan
Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan
is another alarming situa-
tion to start world war three.
"A visit by a high US official to
Taiwan caused an increase
of tension between China
and Taiwan. Both are
arming and the US has sold
a lot of weapons to Taiwan,
while China became more
belligerent." Beijing’s
response; Before the arrival
of the Congressional dele-
gation to Taiwan, during the
phone call with Joe Biden on
the 28th of July, CCP’s
Leader Xi Jinping warned
about “playing with fire”
about Taiwan. On the 1st of
August, the Chinese Eastern
Theatre Command pub-
lished a spot calling “Be
ready and fight, bury each
enemy that comes along”.
Chinese Minister of Defense
Wei Fenghe vowed that “if
anyone dares to split Taiwan
from China, the Chinese
army will definitely not hesi-
tate to start a war no matter
the cost”. The day after, he
announced that the Eastern
Theatre troops will be on
high alert. China’s Maritime
Safety Administration issued
a navigational warning indi-
cating that part of the South
China Sea will be excluded
because of the Chinese mil-
itary drills between the 2nd
and the 6th of August. Rus-
sian foreign minister stated
that
5. Nuclear weapons – risks
return: Putin pulls back
from last remaining nucle-
ar arms control pact with
the US
Putin pulls back from the last
remaining nuclear arms
control pact with the US. The
announcement, which
came a day after President
Joe Biden made a surprise
visit to Ukraine, shows how
the confrontation between
Russia, the U.S., and Europe
is approaching a perilous
crossroads one year after
Putin ordered Russian forces
to invade. From the start of
the war, the U.S. and NATO
have raised fears about the
risks of wider war and
sought to avoid escalation
even as they provided
Ukraine with billions of dol-
lars worth of weaponry and
military aid. The possible
collapse of the last arms
control pact between the
world’s two nuclear super-
powers illustrates how the
security situation is growing
more precarious, not less, as
the war enters its second
year despite Russia’s strug-
gles to gain ground in
Ukraine. Russian President
Vladimir Putin said he is sus-
pending his country’s par-
ticipation in the New START
nuclear arms reduction
treaty with the United States,
imperiling the last remain-
ing pact that regulates the
world’s two largest nuclear
arsenals.
33
 Volume 3 | Edition 10

6. Increasing defense
budget across the world
Countries started to
increase their defense
budget in order to protect
sovereignty. Russia has
announced a 2023 defense
budget of approximately
$84 billion, more than 40%
higher than its initial 2023
budget announced in 2021.
According to the Arms con-
trol association The Russian
war on Ukraine has led to
significant increases in U.S.
defense spending this year
in terms of direct war-relat-
ed expenditures and the
Pentagon’s base budget.
Even before the war, howev-
er, the push to invest more in
the defense had been
advancing with the backing
of a majority in Congress
concerned about rising
threats from Russia and
China. The United States is
operating in a new strategic
environment, they say, one
with two near-peer strategic
rivals in Russia and China;
enduring threats from North
Korea, Iran, and proxy terror-
ist groups; and new, emerg-
ing technologies and
war-fighting domains. To
these worried minds, the
solution is obvious: a strong
military bolstered by a
robust defense budget to
address all these threats
simultaneously. Hence
increasing the defense
budget across the world is
also the manifestation of
preparation for world war
three.

34
 CSS | CHRONICLES VOLUME 3 EDITION 10

MONTHLY REVIEW

35
CSS Chronicles Volume 3 | Edition 10

The case for an mass burning and greatly middle of the century. For
environmentalism improve living standards. comparison, the Interna-
More copious and reliable tional Energy Agency, an
that builds electricity will be needed for intergovernmental
effective adaptation, too. If think-tank, reckons that
Published in The Economist
heatwaves are not to worldwide spending on
become ever more lethal, electric grids is currently
The sheer majesty of a
grids in developing coun- around $260bn a year: far
five-megawatt wind turbine,
tries will have to reliably less than is needed and, tell-
its central support the
power wider use of air con- ingly, less than is invested in
height of a skyscraper, its
ditioning in energy-hungry upstream oil and gas.
airliner-wingspan rotors
cities.
tilling the sky, is hard to
In addition to investment in
deny. The solid-state
The trouble is that the scale new projects, existing ones
remorselessness with which
of the changes needed to must be speeded up. Too
a field of solar panels sucks
adapt the world’s electricity many that need connec-
up sunshine offers less obvi-
grids is vastly underappre- tions are delayed by red
ous inspiration, but can still
ciated. Too little investment tape, as are vital new trans-
stir awe in the aficionado.
is taking place. Planning mission lines. Reforms to
With the addition of some
rules get in the way. And, in a planning rules must make it
sheep safely grazing such a
deep and damaging irony, easier to build big and often
sight might even pass for
some of the biggest advo- unpopular bits of infrastruc-
pastoral. The sagging wires
cates of slowing climate ture.
held aloft by charmless,
change do not accept the
skeletal pylons along which
logic that to do so requires If those plans are to work,
the electricity from such
building more. and to do so legitimately,
installations gets to the
there also needs to be less
people who use it, by con-
As our Technology Quarterly objection to building in the
trast, are for the most part
explains, expanding and first place. That would make
truly unlovely. But loved they
greening the grid will be timid politicians more com-
must be.
demanding—and phenom- fortable with legislation
enally expensive. A recent designed to streamline
If the world’s climate is to be
report by the Energy Transi- things; it would hasten the
stabilised, stopping electric-
tions Commission, a global arrival of essential new
ity generation from produc-
group of experts, sees the capacity; and, by reducing
ing fossil-fuel-derived
split in costs between the uncertainty, it would lower
emissions is crucial. So is
new generating capacity the cost of capital.
greatly increasing the
needed for an ample supply
amount of electricity avail-
of clean electricity and the One way forward is incen-
able. With more generating
distribution, transmission tives. Modern grids allow for
capacity, it will be possible
and storage systems more local energy markets;
to power motor vehicles and
needed to make that supply they make it more feasible,
warm homes with electricity,
useful as a roughly 55:45 say, to lower the cost of
rather than by burning dirty
proposition. The 45% that electricity to people who
fuels. Expanding access to
goes on grids and storage have a wind farm nearby, or
power for people in the
comes to about $1.1trn a whose land is needed for
poorest countries will
year between now and the transmission lines. A
reduce emissions from bio-

36
CSS Chronicles
scheme whereby some
postcodes in England have
lower electricity prices when
the winds spinning a nearby
turbine get stronger seems
to have proved popular.
Variable prices can both
favour people near renew-
ables and improve overall
grid efficiency.
The design of such incen-
tives will be important.
Research undertaken in
Germany shows that when
landowners get money but
the community at large
does not, opposition can
increase. Even when every-
one gets a share, enthusi-
asm may not follow; being
offered money makes
people worry about what,
exactly, they are giving up.
Other European studies
show that clear communi-
cation about the decarboni-
sation a project is designed
to bring about works in a
way cash does not.
We had to loot the planet in
order to save it
That leads to the crux of the
matter. The strongest objec-
tions to building are often
lodged in the name of the
environment, and by those
keenest on a greener future.
The skyline must be pre-
served, they might say, or
the woodland is too ancient
to fell, or the colony of terns
too important in and of itself.
But climate change is a
problem of a different mag-
nitude from almost all other
environmental concerns,
and of a different kind. That
it was brought to the world’s
attention mostly by the
environmentally minded is
to the movement’s credit.
But it cannot be tackled
merely with the values cen-
tral to classical environ-
mentalism. Those most anx-
ious to achieve the energy
transition must acknowl-
edge that more building is
the most practical course of
action.
And it is economic growth
that will make possible the
building of new transmission
lines, gigawatt-scale
renewable power installa-
tions and, indeed, the mines
from which the minerals
these things need are
sourced. To demonise it, as
some environmentalists do,
is to expose the world to
more climate change, not
less. Many environmentally
minded politicians now
boast of the “green jobs”
that their policies will bring.
Seeking extra jobs makes
sense only in the context of
the continued economic
growth they make possible.
Those who believe there is
no way to stop climate
change through growth are
fond of quoting Albert
Einstein to the effect that
“We cannot solve our prob-
lems with the same thinking
we used when we created
them.” This has two difficul-
Volume 3 | Edition 10
ties. One is that there is no
evidence that Einstein actu-
ally said it. The second is
that to change the way the
world thinks, person by
person, is a yet more ambi-
tious task than changing the
ways in which the world
generates and distributes its
electric power.
If the energy transition
cannot be achieved with the
habits of mind already
available, it is hard to see
that it can be achieved at
all. For some of those who
see themselves as green,
that may be a counsel of
despair. To those who want
humans to flourish on a
planet they can care for, the
idea of an environmental-
ism that builds must be a
call to action.
The War in Ukraine
Could Formally End in
Mongolia
Published in The Diplomat
Nobody knows how and
when the war in Ukraine will
end. But what we do know is
that, at the time of Ukraine’s
choosing, it will end through
peace negotiations. When
that time comes, Mongolia is
in a unique position to facili-
tate talks between Ukraine
and Russia.
For any high-stake negotia-
tion to succeed, it should
take place at a location
where both sides feel com-
37
CSS Chronicles
fortable. This was why the
two summits between North
Korea’s Kim Jong Un and the
United States’ Donald Trump
took place in Singapore and
Vietnam – countries that
kept their diplomatic doors
open to both sides. At the
moment, there are not
many countries where both
Ukraine and Russia would
feel comfortable negotiat-
ing.
Mongolia is the only func-
tioning democracy in the
entire continental Eurasian
expanse, stretching from
South Korea to Ukraine.
Mongolia has maintained
close diplomatic and mili-
tary ties with the West. As a
“democratic oasis” in
between two of the most
autocratic countries on
earth, Mongolians empa-
thize with the plight and
aspiration of Ukrainians
more than anyone.
Yet Mongolia is 90 percent
energy dependent from
Russia. Mongolia’s absten-
tions on the U.N. votes on
Ukraine were the best
Ulaanbaatar could do given
the circumstances. Mongo-
lia also did not impose any
sanctions on Russia.
Mongolia has also hosted
thousands of Russians since
the war started. Every Rus-
sian who is in Mongolia is a
Russian who is not fighting in
Ukraine. This is Mongolia’s
quiet contribution to ending
the war.
There are also close person-
al ties among Mongolia’s
political elites to both Russia
and Ukraine. Among the four
Mongolian presidents who
studied abroad, two were
trained in today’s Russia
and the other two were edu-
cated in western Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volody-
myr Zelenskyy himself spent
three years of his childhood
in Mongolia. His father was
an important figure in
developing Mongolia’s
major Erdenet copper mine.
Ukrainian culture and
people have a significant
place in Mongolia.
Mongolia’s open foreign
policy and improbable
democracy make it an
attractive place to facilitate
bilateral negotiations. For
example, before the recent
global pandemic, Japan
and North Korea intelligence
officials held a secret meet-
ing in Mongolia. This is just
one of the publicly known
negotiations. Mongolia was
also a close contender to
host the Kim-Trump summit
in 2018.
Our geographic constraints
force us not to be hostile
against Russia. But our
democratic predilections
make us see what Russia is
doing in Ukraine as repre-
hensible. There are a few
countries in a similar posi-
tion, but many of them have
Volume 3 | Edition 10
unashamedly benefited
from this war. Mongolia is a
unique country in this
respect, which is genuinely
interested in facilitating a
lasting peace between
Ukraine and Russia.
Mongolians want the war in
Ukraine to end as soon as
possible. Hosting the even-
tual Russia-Ukraine negoti-
ations would be our way of
contributing to the peace.
We hope this will not only
help uphold the rules-based
world order, but offer a
homecoming for Zelenskyy
to his childhood home Mon-
golia.
Israel’s violence is
open terrorism —
stop calling it
‘clashes’
Published in Al Jazeera
Here we go again. The state
of Israel is committing
unchecked barbarism
against Palestinians and the
Western corporate media
has decided it all comes
down to “clashes”.
The latest round of so-called
“clashes” – sparked when
Israeli police decided to
mark the Muslim holy month
of Ramadan by repeatedly
attacking Palestinian wor-
shippers at Jerusalem’s
Al-Aqsa Mosque – has pro-
duced predictably dispro-
portionate casualties.
38
CSS Chronicles
Hundreds of Palestinians
have been arrested and
wounded as Israeli forces
have once again flaunted
their handiness with rubber
bullets, batons, stun gre-
nades and tear gas. In
return, the police have suf-
fered minimal injuries, while
also undertaking to accom-
pany illegal Israeli settlers
into the mosque compound.
And apparently not satisfied
with simply unleashing
violence in Jerusalem, Israel
has also launched a bar-
rage of air strikes on the
Gaza Strip and southern
Lebanon following reported
rocket fire.
As with all previous instanc-
es of Israeli-Palestinian
“clashes”, the media’s
choice to deploy such
terminology serves to
obscure the Israeli monopo-
ly on violence and the fact
that Israel kills, maims and
mutilates at an astronomi-
cally higher rate than its
supposed counterpart in
“clashing”.
It also obscures the reality
that Palestinian violence is
in response to a now near-
ly-75-year-old Israeli policy
defined by the ethnic
cleansing of Palestinians,
the occupation of Palestin-
ian land and the periodic
perpetration of massacres –
pardon, “clashes”.
Take your pick of contem-
porary, Israeli military
assaults and you’ll find ma-
noeuvres like Operation Pro-
tective Edge, the euphe-
mism for the 2014 slaughter
of 2,251 people in the Gaza
Strip, including 551 children.
Over a period of 22 days
starting in December 2008,
Operation Cast Lead took
the lives of some 1,400 Pal-
estinians in Gaza; three
Israeli civilians died.
“Clashes” also abounded in
2018 when, in response to
the Gaza border protests,
the Israeli military killed
hundreds of Palestinians
and wounded thousands.
And in May 2021, an 11-day
Israeli rampage titled Oper-
ation Guardian of the Walls
killed more than 260 Pales-
tinians, approximately
one-fourth of whom were
children. As it so happens,
this last operation was set
off by – what else? – “clash-
es” at Al-Aqsa Mosque
This bit of trivia has prompt-
ed certain news outlets to
fret about what the current
“spiralling bloodshed”
between Israelis and Pales-
tinians may portend –
another media catchphrase
that ultimately whitewashes
Israel’s predominant role in
the shedding of blood.
It is difficult, of course, to find
any linguistic or moral
equivalent to the media
obsession with reporting
Israeli savagery as “clash-
Volume 3 | Edition 10
es”. One would not perceive
an elk as “clashing” with a
hunter’s rifle, just as one
would not perceive a “clash”
between a human neck and
a guillotine.
Nor would one describe the
United States’s lethal 2015
bombing of a hospital in
Kunduz, Afghanistan as a
“clash” between a medical
facility and an AC-130 gun-
ship.
But while clearly unethical,
the Western media’s obse-
quiousness vis-à-vis the
Israeli narrative is nothing
new. Much of this has to do
with the fervent backing of
the US, in particular, for the
Israeli point of view, which
casts victimisers as victims
and slaughter as self-de-
fence.
Perhaps the very founding of
the state of Israel in 1948 –
which saw thousands of Pal-
estinians massacred and
more than 500 Palestinian
villages destroyed – was in
the end nothing more than
one big “clash”. To be sure,
Israel’s long-term propa-
ganda campaign to con-
flate Palestinians with
terrorism continues to pay
considerable media divi-
dends.
This is the case even among
ostensibly more progressive
venues that are willing to
call out Israeli crimes but
that still can’t quite manage
39
CSS Chronicles
to place Palestinians on the
same level of humanity as
Israelis. In February of this
year, for example, The New
Yorker magazine’s Lawrence
Wright tweeted a video of
Israeli soldiers shoving and
kicking Palestinian peace
activist Issa Amro while
Wright was interviewing him
in the occupied West Bank
city of Hebron. The New
Yorker writer’s takeaway: “I
can’t stop thinking how
dehumanising the occupa-
tion is on the young soldiers
charged with enforcing it”.
In other words: Israeli
soldiers are victims of moral
degradation and dehuman-
isation while Palestinians
don’t really ever get to be
humans in the first place.
Now, as Israeli security
forces proceed to dehuma-
nise and be dehumanised in
Jerusalem and Gaza, the
whole jargon about “clash-
es” only validates the idea
that Israel is fundamentally
justified in its violence, which
is cast as merely part of a
fair, tit-for-tat competition
between two equitable
sides.
In August 2022, a three-day
assault by the Israeli army
on Gaza killed at least 44
Palestinians, including 16
children – the bloodiest epi-
sode since Operation
Guardian of the Walls in May
2021. Exactly zero Israelis
were killed as a result of the
August affair and yet, the
Western media were still
standing dutifully by with
breathless reports of “clash-
es”.
As I noted in an article for Al
Jazeera at the time, the
online version of the Cam-
bridge Dictionary defines
terrorism as “(threats of)
violent action for political
purposes”. And the more
often we remind ourselves
that Israel is literally terroris-
ing Palestinians, the sooner,
perhaps, we can put a stop
to all this talk of “clashes”.
President Biden is
turning the heat on
Netanyahu
Published in Arab News
Officials in Washington are
running out of euphemisms
to express their dismay with
the current Israeli govern-
ment and the person who
leads it.
It is quite a novelty, and a
welcome one too, that criti-
cism of the reckless
anti-democratic moves by
Israeli Prime Minister Benja-
min Netanyahu and his
allies is no longer coming
from so-called anonymous
sources, but straight from
the horse’s mouth — that of
US President Joe Biden or
Secretary of State Antony
Blinken, for instance.
Volume 3 | Edition 10
Disagreements between
Washington and Israel are
not without precedent, and
there have been previous
moments of crisis, including
President Dwight D. Eisen-
hower’s demand that Israel
withdraw from the Sinai
Peninsula after the Suez
crisis of 1956, or President
Jimmy Carter’s less than
subtle pressure on Israeli
Prime Minister Menachem
Begin to make the neces-
sary concessions to reach a
peace agreement with
Egypt in 1978, and the threat
to take action with financial
implications should Israel
not stop building new settle-
ments when the US was
focusing its efforts on con-
vening the 1991 Madrid
Peace conference. In all
these cases, as in others,
Israel adjusted its behavior
in line with the senior
member of this close
alliance.
However, in all previous
crises no American admin-
istration has questioned the
bond between the countries,
and all have made it clear
that the disagreements
were between friends. Nev-
ertheless, there is presently
a clear denunciation by
President Biden himself and
very senior people in his
administration of the
attempts to weaken Israel’s
judiciary, to the extent that
their critique questions the
very nature of the relations
between the two countries
40
CSS Chronicles
should this policy become a
reality, and this is a funda-
mental change in approach.
It is also as much the
frequency and the source of
the disapproval, as it is the
actual words that are used
to express it that typifies the
rift opening between these
two allies over the efforts to
compromise the liber-
al-democratic nature of
Israel. Moreover, it seems
that American denuncia-
tions of Netanyahu and his
government are becoming
bolder as the protests
across Israel against the
so-called judicial reforms
gather momentum, which is
bound to give the protesters
a tailwind to continue their
just struggle to preserve
their country’s democracy.
Prime Minister Netanyahu
keeps mentioning his more
than 40 years of acquain-
tance with Biden, and that
the current occupant of the
White House is a close relations between the
long-standing friend of
Israel. Two genuine facts, not
to be taken for granted
when it comes to anything
Netanyahu says these days,
but this also explains why
Biden is extremely con-
cerned for the future of
Israel as a democracy.
Biden trusts neither Net-
anyahu personally, nor his
motivation behind the legis-
lation his government is
pursuing. Last month in a
phone conversation
between the two leaders,
Biden urged Netanyahu to
seek a compromise over his
planned judicial reforms, but
instead of heeding this
advice Netanyahu careless-
ly announced the sacking of
his defense minister for sug-
gesting he halt the pro-
posed legislation for a few
weeks, prompting tens of
thousands to spontaneously
take to the streets in protest.
This was another a clear
indication that Netanyahu is
ready to risk the security of
the country in an attempt to
cling on to power, and by
that not only to put Israel’s
interests at risk but also
America’s interests in the
region.
Netanyahu is continuing
with this irresponsible
behavior while appearing to
ignore the fact that no
country is able to use its
influence on Israel in the
same way that America can,
as a result of the web of
two countries.
Moreover, it has become
apparent that the Biden
administration is ready to
do just that and pressurize
Israel for the sake of pre-
serving its democratic
system.
When asked recently
whether Netanyahu would
be invited to the White
House, Biden expressed his
frustration with the Israeli
government by plainly and
Volume 3 | Edition 10
succinctly stating “not in the
near term.” Not only was this
a clear, painful and public
diplomatic slap to Netanya-
hu, but it also established
clear blue water between
the US approach to the
unfolding events in Israel
and that of some of Europe’s
leaders, who are “happy” to
welcome Netanyahu and
pay mere lip service to
disapproving the anti-dem-
ocratic path his government
is taking. The very fact that
they greet him in their offi-
cial residencies reduces the
impact of their expressed
reservations about his
behavior, and plays into the
Israeli right’s narrative that
regardless of what they do
to rip apart Israeli democra-
cy or entrench the occupa-
tion, the country will remain
part of the Western-demo-
cratic world and continue to
enjoy the advantages that
come with that but not the
obligations.
In diplomacy, appearances
can sometimes be as pow-
erful, if not more so, than
rhetoric. Moreover, as was
put to me by a former senior
official in Israel, whatever
the world says or thinks
about his country, is at best
received politely, but is
hardly taken much notice of.
However, this is not the case
with Washington, on which
Israel relies for its security
and prosperity. Despite
some flippant remarks from
certain right-wing quarters
41
CSS Chronicles
in Israel calling on Washing-
ton to refrain from com-
menting on internal Israeli
affairs and “mind its own
business,” as one Israeli pol-
itician put it, conveniently
ignoring the massive mili-
tary, economic and political
support Israel enjoys from
the US, Israel ignores Wash-
ington at its peril. Moreover,
the US is home to Israel’s
largest and most supportive
Jewish community, the vast
majority of whom vote
Democrat. One of the main
reasons for this unwavering
support through the years
has been the liberal-demo-
cratic nature of Israel,
including its acceptance of
different strands of Judaism.
But all of this is being
severely jeopardized in the
hands of a far-right-messi-
anic government, and with it
also the state’s bond with
America’s Jews.
In preparation for last’s
month’s second annual
Democracy Summit, an
initiative of the current US
administration, President
Biden reiterated that the
“struggle to bolster demo-
cratic governance at home
and abroad is the defining
challenge of our time. That is
because democracy — now reveals that the world’s
transparent and account-
able government of, for, and
by the people — remains the
best way to realize lasting
peace, prosperity, and
human dignity.”
To emphasize the earnest-
ness that the administration
sees adhering to these prin-
ciples, Hungary and Turkiye
were not invited to this
summit, although Israel and
India were. It begs the ques-
tion: For how long can the US
afford on the one hand, as
President Biden did, to
express grave concern with
the anti-democratic policies
of an Israeli government
that ignores the will of the
people, and continues to
deprive Palestinians living
under it occupation of
almost all their rights, yet on
the other still give it prefer-
ential treatment?
Why the China-US
contest is entering a
new and more
dangerous phase
Published in The Economist
You may have hoped that
when China reopened and
face-to-face contact
resumed between politi-
cians, diplomats and busi-
nesspeople, Sino-American
tensions would ease in a
flurry of dinners, summits
and small talk. But the
atmosphere in Beijing just
most important relationship
has become more embit-
tered and hostile than ever.
In the halls of government
Communist Party officials
denounce what they see as
Volume 3 | Edition 10
America’s bullying. They say
it is intent on beating China
to death. Western diplomats
describe an atmosphere
laced with intimidation and
paranoia. In the Diaoyutai
State Guesthouse, multina-
tional executives attending
the China Development
Forum worried what a
deeper decoupling would
mean for their businesses.
The only thing both sides
agree on is that the best
case is decades of
estrangement—and that the
worst, of a war, is growing
ever more likely.
Each side is following its own
inexorable logic. America
has adopted a policy of
containment, although it
declines to use that term. It
sees an authoritarian China
that has shifted from
one-party to one-man rule.
President Xi Jinping is likely
to be in power for years and
is hostile to the West, which
he believes is in decline. At
home he pursues a policy of
repression that defies liberal
values. He has broken
promises to show restraint
when projecting power out-
ward, from Hong Kong to the
Himalayas. His meeting with
Vladimir Putin this month
confirmed that his goal is to
build an alternative world
order that is friendlier to
autocrats.
Faced with this, America is
understandably accelerat-
ing its military containment
42
CSS Chronicles
of China in Asia, rejuvenat-
ing old alliances and creat-
ing new ones, such as the
aukus pact with Australia
and Britain. In commerce
and technology America is
enacting a tough and wid-
ening embargo on semi-
conductors and other
goods. The goal is to slow
Chinese innovation in order
that the West can maintain
its technological suprema-
cy: why should America let
its inventions be used to
make a hostile regime more
dangerous?
To China’s leaders, this
amounts to a scheme to
cripple it. America, in their
eyes, thinks it is exceptional.
It will never accept that any
country can be as powerful
as itself, regardless of
whether it is communist or a
democracy. America will
tolerate China only if it is
submissive, a “fat cat, not a
tiger”. America’s Asian mili-
tary alliances mean that
China feels it is being encir-
cled within its own natural
sphere of influence. Red
lines agreed on in the 1970s,
when the two countries
re-established relations,
such as those on Taiwan,
are being trampled by igno-
rant and reckless American
politicians. China’s rulers
think it only prudent to raise
military spending.
In commerce, they view
American containment as
unfair. Why should a country
whose gdp per head is 83%
lower than America’s be
deprived of vital technolo-
gies? Officials and business-
people were appalled by the
spectacle of TikTok, the sub-
sidiary of a Chinese firm,
being roasted in an Ameri-
can congressional hearing
this month. Although some
Chinese liberals dream of
emigrating, even worldly,
Western-educated techno-
crats now loyally condemn
shows of wealth, promote
self-reliance and explain
why globalisation must
serve Mr Xi’s political priori-
ties.
Given two such entrenched
and contradictory
world-views, it is naive to
think that more diplomacy
alone can guarantee peace.
A meeting in Bali between
President Joe Biden and Mr
Xi in November eased ten-
sions, but the deeper logic of
confrontation soon reas-
serted itself. The spy-bal-
loon crisis (Chinese officials
mock America for downing
what they call a stray
“naughty balloon”) showed
how both leaders must
appear tough at home.
America wants China to
adopt guardrails to control
the rivalry, including hotlines
and protocols on nuclear
weapons, but China sees
itself as the weaker party:
why tie yourself down with
rules set by your bully?
Nothing suggests the hostili-
ties will ease. America’s
Volume 3 | Edition 10
election in 2024 will show
that China-bashing is a
bipartisan sport. Mr Xi faces
a slowing economy and has
tied his legitimacy to a
vision of a muscular and
“rejuvenated” nation.
Faced with such an oppo-
nent, America and other
open societies should
adhere to three principles.
The first is to limit economic
decoupling, which the imf
reckons could cost anything
between a manageable
0.2% of world gdp and an
alarming 7%. Trade in
non-sensitive sectors also
helps maintain routine con-
tact between thousands of
firms, thereby narrowing the
geopolitical divide. Embar-
goes should be saved for
sensitive sectors or areas in
which China has a choke-
hold because it is a monop-
oly supplier: these account
for a minority of Sino-Ameri-
can trade. Where possible,
businesses that straddle
both sides of the cold war,
such as TikTok—accused of
spreading Chinese misinfor-
mation—should be
ring-fenced, sold or spun off,
not be forced to close.
The second principle is to
lower the chances of war.
Both sides are locked in a
“security dilemma” in which
it is rational to shore up your
position, even as that makes
the other side feel threat-
ened. The West is right to
seek military deterrence to
43
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meet a growing Chinese
threat—the alternative is a
collapse of the Ameri-
can-led order in Asia. But
seeking military dominance
around flashpoints, notably
Taiwan, could spark acci-
dents or clashes that spiral
out of control. America
should aim to deter a Chi-
nese attack on Taiwan with-
out provoking one. This will
take wisdom and restraint
from a generation of politi-
cians in Washington and
Beijing who, by contrast with
the leaders of America and
the Soviet Union in the 1950s,
have no personal experi-
ence of the horrors of a
world war.
The last principle is that
America and its allies must
resist the temptation to
resort to tactics that make
them more like their auto-
cratic opponent. In this rival-
ry, liberal societies and free
economies have big advan-
tages: they are more likely to
create innovations and
wealth and to command
legitimacy at home and
abroad. If America sticks to
its values of openness, equal
treatment of all and the rule
of law, it will find it easier to
maintain the loyalty of its
allies. America must be
clear that its dispute is not
with the Chinese people, but
with China’s government
and the threat to peace and
human rights that it poses.
The 21st century’s defining
contest is not just about
weapons and chips—it is a
struggle over values, too.
Politics of ruin: Why
Modi wants to demol-
ish India’s mosques
Published in Al Jazeera
A historic 16th-century
mosque, Shahi Masjid, in
Prayagraj city in India’s Uttar
Pradesh state was demol-
ished by bulldozers on Jan-
uary 9 under a road-widen-
ing project.
The demolition took place
even though, according to
the mosque’s imam, a local
court was supposed to hear
a petition seeking a stay on
the city administration’s
plans on January 16, a week
later.
This incident should have
caused public outrage, but
the matter hardly made any
headlines. The destruction
of structures using bulldoz-
ers in India has become a
banal occurrence and has
already lost its shock value.
Shahi Masjid is also not the
first ancient mosque to have
been sacrificed for a road
widening project. Last
November, a 300-year-old
mosque in Uttar Pradesh’s
Muzaffarnagar district that
stood in the way of a high-
way was razed.
Another mosque, one of the
largest and oldest in India,
Shamsi Jama Masjid, an
Volume 3 | Edition 10
800-year-old national heri-
tage site in Budaun, Uttar
Pradesh, became a matter
of dispute last year when a
court case was filed on
behalf of a local Hindu
farmer — backed by the
right-wing Hindu nationalist
group Akhil Bharat Hindu
Mahasabha (ABHM) —
alleging that the mosque is
an “illegal structure” built on
a demolished 10th-century
temple of Lord Shiva. Their
petition states that Hindus
have rightful ownership of
the land and should be able
to pray there.
The claim of illegality rests
on a far-right narrative
according to which most of
the Indian mosques were
actually temples at one
point in time and were
forcefully converted into
mosques by Muslim rulers.
Even though most historians
today deny these claims
because there is little mate-
rial evidence to support
them, they have enormous
popular support.
The rule of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) is
increasingly marked by a
destructive urgency. The
party’s attempts to cultural-
ly homogenise India began
with the renaming of places
in an overtly Hindu vocabu-
lary and progressed to new
strategies such as bulldoz-
ing Muslim monuments and
archaeological excavations
44
CSS Chronicles
to find Hindu roots at Muslim
religious sites.
In the past few years, there
have been a number of
controversies surrounding
Mughal monuments. Even
the Taj Mahal, a monument
of global importance, has
not been spared. Far-right
Hindu groups claim, again
without any evidence, that it
was a Hindu temple.
The fate of Indian Muslims
has reached a watershed
moment. Scores of petitions
have been filed by
right-wing Hindu groups
against mosques across the
country.
The past several years have
also seen the activation of
an informal apparatus of
religious volunteers who use
religious processions to
establish dominance over
Muslim places of worship,
including mosques and
Muslim shrines. During sev-
eral Hindu festival celebra-
tions in 2022, including Ram
Navami and Hanuman
Jayanti, armed Hindu mobs,
led at times by BJP mem-
bers, entered Muslim neigh-
bourhoods and chanted
obscene slogans while
planting saffron flags on
mosques.
MS Golwalkar, one of the
founders of Hindu national-
ist ideology or Hindutva,
claimed in his most
renowned text, Bunch of
Thoughts, that “wherever
there is a masjid [mosque]
or a Muslim mohalla [colo-
ny], Muslims believe that it is
their own separate territory”.
It is important to remember
that the belief in exclusive
ownership of Indian land did
not emerge with the BJP’s
election to power, but has
always been a central tenet
of Hindu nationalist thought.
Golwalkar throughout his
writing maintained a defini-
tion of “nation” that kept the
“natural” congruence
between a Hindu monocul-
ture and territory, excluding
from within it all those who
the Hindu right views as a
political or cultural threat.
It was no coincidence that it
was the destruction of a
historical mosque that
fuelled the rise of the
far-right nationalist politics
that dominates India today.
The illegal destruction of a
historical Mughal-era
mosque, the Babri Masjid, on
December 6, 1992, served as
the declaration of a mute
war cry against history. The
mosque was reduced to
rubble by religious volun-
teers who claimed that an
ancient Ram temple stood
at the same site. Images of
the demolished mosque
gave graphic representa-
tion to the idea of a pre- and
post-Babri India, signalling
the beginning of a national-
ist project that rejects all
Volume 3 | Edition 10
possibilities of plurality on
Indian land.
The demolition of Babri
Masjid, in many ways the
most significant single event
in post-independence India,
triggered a spiral of violence
in several cities, culminating
in riots.
The heterogeneous social
fabric of Indian cities was
violently transformed, with
urban spaces reorganised
along religious lines. The
memory of those violent
encounters continues to
inform the logic of spatial
segregation in many Indian
cities up to this day.
But Babri was not destined
to be the only mosque to be
demolished; rather, it was
only the first of many monu-
mental martyrs that were to
follow. The slogan, “Babri to
bas jhanki hai, Kashi Mathu-
ra baki hai” (Babri is only a
sneak peek; Kashi and
Mathura are yet to happen),
attests to the longing that
persists even today. A list of
such Muslim landmarks and
monuments marked for
demolition has been in
broad public circulation for
quite some time.
Meanwhile, in 2019, the
Supreme Court of India
issued a ruling according to
which the land of the Babri
Masjid was handed over to
Hindus as the birthplace of
Lord Rama. This embold-
45
CSS Chronicles
ened the right wing to shift
from illegal mob violence to
legal methods.
Indeed, Hindu groups have
challenged the continuing
existence of historic
mosques in Mathura and
Varanasi (also known as
Kashi) through court cases.
And a Mathura court has
already ordered a survey
based on the claims of the
petitioners that the land of
the Shahi Idgah Mosque is
actually the rightful birth-
place of Lord Krishna.
Several states in India have
gone through their own
unique rebranding as Hindu
religious sites, including
Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and
Uttar Pradesh. The Hindutva
framework requires the
deployment of a spatial
imagination where all Indian
territory is defined as a
sacred landscape in an
overtly Hindu religious
vocabulary.
The necro-economy of
Hindu nationalism today
invariably relies on making
history its most important
site, which has to be trans-
formed and moulded to
justify its present-day rule.
Golwalkar also claimed that
Muslims have transformed
the Hindu nationalist home-
land into “just a hotel, only a
land for enjoyment”, effec-
tively equating the presence
of Muslims and mosques
with the symbolic violation
of the Hindu homeland.
Any sign of cultural expres-
sion in Muslim architecture,
under this nationalist vision,
is thus seen as a violation of
the purity of the holy land or
Bharat Mata – Mother India.
It is this spirit of vengeance
that has lived on, violently
unfolding its own inner hori-
zon, both temporally and
spatially. The truth about
today’s unrelenting violence
on ancient Indian mosques
is best understood through
its deep roots.
Historically, the cultural
cleansing of an entire
people has been accompa-
nied by the destruction of
monuments and a clear
intent to erase their memo-
ries. To deny a people their
future, the past is razed first.
The events of the tragic
night of the broken glass
“Kristallnacht” especially
shed light on this phenome-
non. Hundreds of syna-
gogues were burned to the
ground, while many others
were damaged on a night
that arguably signalled the
beginning of the Holocaust’s
last phases. They were not
destroyed because they
housed Jews, but because
they stood as a testament
to the Jewish presence on
that land.
Monumental architecture,
by virtue of its perceived
Volume 3 | Edition 10
permanence and timeless-
ness, creates a space for
communities to gather and
serves as a fixed anchor
around which traditions are
invented. Thus, its destruc-
tion promises not just a
rebuilding of spatial rela-
tions but also of historical
traditions.
Spatial violence is therefore
not just an aggressive
retributive tool for causing
terror but a calculated strat-
egy that aims to reinvent
cultural meanings associat-
ed with territory and rede-
fine them in terms of a
nationalist conceptual
grammar.
The political work of the BJP
and its far-right Hindu allies
resembles a war machine,
stuck in frantic, endless
attempts to deconstruct the
present. The failure to find
the ghost of the past is
compensated by inventing
one in the present. Monu-
ments have thus become
portals for this proxy war.
Saudi Arabia’s nod to
the Shanghai
Cooperation
Organization
Published in Arab News
PAs the Kingdom steadily
treads its path in line with
Vision 2030, it won’t stop
startling those less vigilant
watchers who trumpet ste-
reotypes instead of more
46
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nuanced analyses.
The Cabinet’s approval of
Saudi Arabia’s partnership
with the Shanghai Coopera-
tion Organization did not
happen out of the blue. A
meticulous process coupled
with multiple bilateral and
multilateral contacts has
been afoot for the past four
years.
Riyadh applied for SCO dia-
logue partner status in 2019,
which was formally
approved in September 2021
and officially granted exact-
ly a year later. Turkiye, Egypt
and Qatar are other current
dialogue partners while Iran
is set to be granted full
member status in April. The
process of becoming a full
member involves a few
steps besides the consen-
sus of all existing members.
There appears to be no hur-
dles to the Kingdom’s inclu-
sion by the member-states
and secretariat.
From the Saudi perspective,
the process of initiating
engagement with the Chi-
na-led SCO is based on the
drive to diversify multilateral
engagements globally as
well as regionally. For
decades, the Kingdom has
been pursuing an inter-
est-based foreign policy,
which on occasions shook
the world significantly — for
example, the 1973-74 oil em-
bargo. As Beijing is Riyadh’s
topmost trading partner, it is
only natural for the country
to cement ties with the
world’s second superpower.
The Kingdom is keen to
engage deeply with the
Central Asian republics
alongside Pakistan, Russia
and India through one plat-
form where heads of state
or governments meet every
second year. The embrace
also fills the void in Saudi
foreign policy outreach
when it comes to Central
Asia and Eurasian states.
The SCO, which already
brings archrivals India and
Pakistan to the table, will
now see Saudi Arabia and
Iran share the same forum,
after the UN and OIC. After
the recent breakthrough
talks in Beijing, the two Gulf
neighbors have committed
to improving their bilateral
relations. As the first step,
their severed diplomatic ties
will resume. Then, the Irani-
an president is likely to visit
Saudi Arabia. For now, a lot
depends on atmospherics
and confidence-building
measures agreed to by both
sides. Given the age of
polarization and anarchy in
global affairs, the Kingdom
is betting on improving ties,
especially with its antago-
nist neighbors. That is in
sync with the spirit of the
SCO, which urges its mem-
bers to set aside differences
and work on commonalities.
Some observers speculate
that Saudi Arabia’s entry
Volume 3 | Edition 10
into the SCO is a byproduct
of the Beijing breakthrough.
They are outright wrong.
Riyadh initiated the process
of affiliation about half a
decade ago when rap-
prochement with Iran was
far from expected.
Iran, on the other hand, has
sought the bloc’s member-
ship since July 2005 but its
own policies and actions
resulting in sanctions
obstructed its entry. The
pressure eased with the
signing of the Joint Com-
prehensive Plan of Action in
July 2015, but the Trump
administration’s policies led
some members to object to
Tehran’s membership.
The SCO’s main goals
include: Strengthening
mutual trust and neighborli-
ness among member
states; promoting their
effective cooperation in pol-
itics, trade, economy,
research, technology and
culture, as well as in educa-
tion, energy, transport, tour-
ism, environmental protec-
tion, and other areas;
making joint efforts to main-
tain and ensure peace,
security and stability in the
region; moving toward the
establishment of a demo-
cratic, fair and rational new
international political and
economic order; and estab-
lishing an internal policy
based on the principles of
mutual trust, mutual benefit,
equality, mutual consulta-
47
CSS Chronicles
tions, respect for cultural
diversity, and a desire for
common development,
while conducting an exter-
nal policy in accordance
with the principles of
non-alignment, non-target-
ing any third country, and
openness.
The Council of Heads of
State, the SCO’s supreme
decision-making body,
meets once a year and
adopts decisions and
guidelines on all important
matters for the bloc. The
council also convenes once
a year to discuss the bloc’s
multilateral cooperation
strategy and priority areas,
to resolve current important
economic and other coop-
eration issues, and to
approve the bloc’s annual
budget.
The bloc is not just expand-
ing but its identity is evolving
too. With the rise of China as
a superpower, not all mem-
ber-states have similar
expectations from the bloc.
Certainly, the SCO is not
merely emerging as some
kind of security alliance,
which enhances its accept-
ability. It is a geopolitical
and geo-economic forum
with a wealth of natural
resources, manpower, and
interconnectivity. Nonethe-
less, the SCO holds anti-ter-
rorism drills every other year,
bringing together militaries
that usually don’t engage in
war games at bilateral or
multilateral forums. Except
for this tactical interaction,
security issues are off the
table. With some bitter rivals
sharing the platform, the
bloc is beset with many
stress tests ahead.
For the SCO, the Kingdom
brings bigger financial
muscle and greater ideo-
logical diversity, undercut-
ting the existing seclusion
and current snail-paced
progress. Saudi Arabia can
help the bloc in strengthen-
ing its Inter-Bank Consor-
tium. Despite Beijing and
Moscow’s desire, there is still
internal opposition to linking
the SCO’s financial infra-
structure to the BRICS Bank.
Joining the SCO also opens
Saudi Arabia’s economy
and companies’ opportuni-
ties to invest in diverse mar-
kets with better rates of
return in accordance with
Vision 2030.
Making the Constitu-
tion work
Published in Dawn
WHAT could be more ironi-
cal than a country experi-
encing a constitutional
breakdown while ‘celebrat-
ing’ the golden jubilee of its
constitution? Speakers at a
commemorative conven-
tion held at Parliament
House vowed, one after the
other, to uphold the sanctity
of the document. But very
few among them seemed to
Volume 3 | Edition 10
have really understood its
guiding principles and the
spirit in which the basic law
of the country was framed.
Fifty years on, we are still
struggling to establish a
truly democratic order, in
accordance with the aspi-
rations of the Constitution
adopted on April 10, 1973.
While commemorating the
historical event, it is also
time to reflect on where we
have gone wrong in our
constitutional journey.
Since its birth half a century
ago, the Constitution has
gone through phases of
suspension and attempts to
change its core principles
that ensure fundamental
human and democratic
rights.
For a long period, the coun-
try was under direct military
rule. For those uniformed
usurpers, the Constitution
was ‘just a piece of paper’
that they could tear up at
any time. Gen Ziaul Haq, in
particular, tried to reframe
the basic objectives of the
Constitution that are based
on the freedom of expres-
sion and faith.
But it was not military rulers
alone who tried to change
the Constitution according
to their wishes. Soon after its
enactment, an entire com-
munity was assigned a
minority status through an
amendment in the Consti-
tution in 1974. It altered the
48
CSS Chronicles
nature of the state envis-
aged by the nation’s found-
ing fathers.
As it acquired the power to
categorise people accord-
ing to their beliefs, the state
got deeply involved in mat-
ters of religion, with
long-term consequences
for society as well as demo-
cratic values. Gen Ziaul Haq
who ruled the country for
more than a decade used
the document to enforce his
version of religion in an
attempt to turn Pakistan into
a theocratic state.
He redefined the ideological
contours of the state that
strengthened religious
obscurantism. The rise of
religious extremism and
sectarianism largely owes
itself to the laws enforced by
the military dictator. Paki-
stan has never been the
same again, with various
insertions in the Constitution
under the Zia regime.
His incorporation of the
notorious Eighth Amend-
ment in the Constitution had
long-term implications for
the democratic process in
the country. But one of the
most debated aspects was
the change that made the
Objectives Resolution, that
was formerly a preamble to
the Constitution, a substan-
tive part of the document.
It has been argued that this
provided impetus to the reli-
gious parties striving to turn
Pakistan into a hard-line
theocratic state. It was all
done to the nation’s detri-
ment. It could never be
changed by subsequent
elected governments out of
fear of a backlash by the
religious groups.
Interestingly, some demo-
cratically elected leaders
too tried to alter the Consti-
tution to strengthen their
political powers. While the
13th Amendment made
during Nawaz Sharif’s
second government abol-
ished the Eighth Amend-
ment in a positive develop-
ment, the 14th Amendment
ensured that there could be
no dissent in any political
party, and no defection from
the latter. It was passed by
both houses on the same
day that it was introduced.
Nawaz Sharif’s move to pass
the 15th Amendment
through which he hoped to
declare himself
amir-ul-momineen was
thwarted because of his
failure to win a two-thirds
majority in the Senate. This
episode reflected the mind-
set of our political leaders
desiring to accumulate
absolute power. Such
moves undermined the
democratic process.
Not surprisingly, the govern-
ment of Gen Musharraf in
1999 reintroduced the
powers of the president that
Volume 3 | Edition 10
he came to enjoy under Arti-
cle 58(2)(b) of the Constitu-
tion. It was back to the days
of despotism.
The Musharraf regime also
introduced the 17th Amend-
ment to the Constitution in
order to indemnify the
actions of the military gov-
ernment. The frequent
disruption of the democratic
process and prolonged mili-
tary rule have been a major
reason for the distortions in
the Constitution.
It is not only direct military
rule but also the establish-
ment’s deeply entrenched
power which has been a
major reason for constitu-
tional democracy not taking
firm root in the country. It
may be true that the Consti-
tution is an organic docu-
ment and there is always a
need to make changes in it
as society and politics
evolve, but they should be in
conformity with the basic
democratic principles.
Undoubtedly, the passage
of the 18th Amendment in
2010 by parliament, with the
consensus of all the main
parties, was a landmark
development in Pakistan’s
chequered political history.
It overhauled almost a third
of the Constitution, abolish-
ing many of the distortions
created by the illegal
actions taken by military
regimes. It removed Article
58(2)(b) of the Constitution,
49
CSS Chronicles
shifting the balance of
power back to the prime
minister and parliament. It
returned Pakistan to a truly
parliamentary system, limit-
ing the powers of the presi-
dent.
But the most significant part
of the 18th Amendment has
been the strengthening of
the federal structure of
state. It has transformed
centre-province relations.
The division of power
between the state and its
units has been amongst the
most contentious and
recurring issues in Pakistan.
The devolution of power to
the federating units
removed the main source of
tension between the centre
and the provinces. Yet
another enduring impact of
the 18th Amendment is the
recognition of children’s
right to education and the
provision of free and com-
pulsory education to all girls
and boys up to the age of 16
years.
Notwithstanding the positive
side of the radical changes
it introduced, the 18th
Amendment left untouched
some of Gen Zia’s regressive
insertions that have caused
the rise of religious extrem-
ism. Besides, it did not do
away with the clause that
bans non-Muslims from
holding the office of presi-
dent, therefore strengthen-
ing the sense of exclusion
among minority members
of society.
Surely, 50 years of our con-
stitutional history calls for
celebrations but what is
most important is to make
the document actually work.
Unfortunately, that has not
happened.
The country is still struggling
to find a way forward. A
reckless power struggle has
left the democratic process
much weaker than before,
raising fears of yet another
derailment of the Constitu-
tion.
The incredible
women of Pakistan
Published in Express Tribune
At a time when the country
is passing through multiple
crises and hopes seem to
diminish, any ray of light
gives some confidence that
not all is lost. What keeps the
spirits alive that there are
few leaders out there who
may not be in the forefront
but possess qualities that
bring a good name to the
country and keep the flag
flying high. Interestingly, a
large number of them are
women. As recently report-
ed in the press, Sharmeen
Obaid-Chinoy, the Osar
winning director, will
become the first woman
and person of colour to
direct a film in the Star Wars
franchise. Ms Chinoy has
Volume 3 | Edition 10
also directed several epi-
sodes of Disney TV show and
many documentaries. She
keeps going unhinged by
what some conservatives
may think in the pursuit of
her work and passion.
Malala Yousafzai, the icon,
female education activist
was the first Pakistani
women to win the Noble
Peace Prize when she was 17.
She is the world’s youngest
Nobel Prize laureate and the
second Pakistani to receive
the honour. Her pursuit and
passion for promoting girl’s
education nearly cost her
life but she remains unde-
terred. Not only is she the
promoter of girl’s education
in Pakistan but is now equal-
ly a strong advocate for it in
the developing countries.
Then there are those women
who in their field of activity
have been powerful voices
and their contribution is no
less significant. They are in
parliament, bureaucracy,
judiciary, foreign service,
information technology and
the private sector. No less
valuable is the support of
women health workers who
risk their lives going to
far-fetched places in pursuit
of eliminating polio, or work
in hospitals or in the fields
picking cotton or thrashing
wheat. There are many
more, the list is long. They
may not be necessarily that
visible but their contribution
in their own fields is sub-
stantial.
50
CSS Chronicles
What is more significant is
that despite not being
afforded equal opportuni-
ties, and even discouraged
especially by certain seg-
ments of the society, these
women still stand out. This
indicates our leadership
needs to focus on providing
equal opportunities to girls
and women in the field of
education and ensure that
their talent is best served in
the interests of the family
and the society at large. This
is more applicable in the
context of our rural areas
than cities. True, in villages
our women work in fields,
run schools and perform as
doctors and health workers
but much more needs to be
done especially in changing
the mindset of the society. It
is a common saying when
you educate a girl you are
indirectly educating the
entire family. We have the
classic example of Bangla-
desh whose growth strategy
was based on women con-
tributing to the economy
equally. Another example in
the developed world is of
Sweden and other Nordic
countries which by giving
equal rights to woman have
strengthened their econo-
mies. The most encouraging
aspect is that Islam encour-
ages education of women
and this is borne by our
history.
The unfortunate aspect is
that the political leadership,
so engrossed in its petty
squabbling and infighting,
has no time to address
these critical issues. The
education of boys and
especially of girls is neglect-
ed and seldom any atten-
tion is given to it. According
to latest statistics, the
female literacy rate in Paki-
stan is 48% compared with
70% for men, and approxi-
mately 22.5 million children
do not attend school, the
majority of which are girls.
The low literacy rate of 48%
is a reflection of the criminal
neglect of girl’s education
that has serious long-term
consequences for the
nation. What is alarming is
that by grade nine only 13%
of girls are still enrolled in
school. Their dropout rate is
very high and what is most
distressing is that many a
time, no consideration is
given to even those girls
who have been high per-
formers in their school.
Moreover, in our society
expectations from women
are far more even by South
Asian standards, with the
exception of Afghanistan.
Although they do vary,
depending on the cultural
background of the family
and its economic condition.
Generally, they are expected
to take care of the children
and elder parents whereas
now especially in the West
and also in China and the
Far East it is considered as a
joint responsibility. When
career women try to assert
Volume 3 | Edition 10
themselves, it could well end
up in separation or worse
divorce. Despite the handi-
caps and limitations
imposed, many women
have excelled in their field of
activity and are carving their
own careers and pursuits.
The critical transformation
in Pakistan society will only
come about when there is a
realisation that women be
given equal opportunities to
contribute to the well-being
of their own families and the
society in general.
In Bangladesh Hasina Wajid
is considered a fairly suc-
cessful Prime Minister. Her
main contribution has been
improving the economy and
focusing on population con-
trol. She has however been
authoritative and sup-
pressed the opposition. In
Pakistan, circumstances did
not allow Mohtarma Benazir
Bhutto to actualise her full
potential but despite the
limitations her contribution
to projecting the image of
Pakistan and serving the
interests of the poor was
significant.
In Pakistan, women have
mostly taken to the medical
profession and teaching. But
lately, Pakistani women are
excelling in information
technologies and are recipi-
ents of global awards. It
would be in the national
interest if there is a fair rep-
resentation of women in
parliament, bureaucracy,
51
CSS Chronicles
judiciary and educational
institutions. Experience of
our country and abroad
confirms that inclusion of
women results in the overall
improvement in perfor-
mance of the institution and
the organisation. Greater
participation of women in
politics would help in putting
across the challenges they
face and how legislation
and administrative mea-
sures can help to ameliorate
their collective well-being.
We have some very able
and dedicated women leg-
islators but we need more of
them in accordance with
the basis of their population
especially from the smaller
provinces and less devel-
oped areas.
Pakistan: Getting pri-
orities straight
Published in The Nation
Take any argument. See it
from any technical, histori-
cal, legal, moral, or political
angle and you would appre-
ciate Pakistan’s principled
stand on the Jammu &
Kashmir dispute. From the
Partition Plan to the relevant
UN Security Council resolu-
tions to staying resolute on
the status of AJ&K, Paki-
stan’s case on Kashmir was
fought for decades by
astute politicians and bril-
liant diplomats. Somehow,
Islamabad was successful
in keeping the issue alive
against all odds. Any politi-
cian worth his salt would
affectionately and faithfully
plead the Kashmir case.
Pakistan’s constitution
speaks of Kashmir in Article
257. It is perhaps the only
subject on which an abso-
lute unanimity prevails in
Parliament. The South Asian
region became ‘volatile’
even ‘nuclear’ and has seen
wars ostensibly on the pre-
text of Kashmir. Pakistan
was dismembered in 1971
presumably due to Kashmir.
In fact, to many experts, all
military build-ups,
stand-offs, and tensions in
the region originate and end
in Kashmir. The military bud-
gets of both countries are
anchored in the Kashmir
dispute. The Foreign Office
would hold every expert on
Kashmir in great reverence.
Professionally sound diplo-
mats would be posted in
New York to plead the case
on Kashmir. Similarly, the
best of the best such as Am-
bassador Riaz Khokhar
would be posted to New
Delhi to hold the fort on
Kashmir. Projection of grave
human rights violations in
the Valley, favourable
reports issued by Amnesty
International and Asia
Watch along with transla-
tions in numerous languag-
es of relevant material on
Kashmir, particularly in the
wake of an ‘indigenous
movement’ in the Indian
held Kashmir in 1989, would
be the order of the day.
Volume 3 | Edition 10
Alistair Lamb would be the
most sought-after author as
and when it was important
to bringing out the genesis
of the dispute.
Islamabad’s unwavering
‘political, moral and diplo-
matic’ support for the ‘val-
iant’ people of Jammu &
Kashmir and their ‘just’
struggle of independence
and their ‘inalienable right to
self-determination’ would
find prominent place in
speeches of successive
leaders of Pakistan.
Depending on the kind of
leadership in Islamabad at
a given time, the content on
Kashmir in the speeches to
be delivered every Septem-
ber at the UN General
Assembly would be carefully
selected. From two-pages
to just one paragraph, Kash-
mir would be mentioned as
the paramount interest of
Pakistan’s foreign policy.
From bilateral trade to the
working of SAARC to peace-
ful coexistence as traditional
rival neighbours to cricket,
all matters hinge on Kash-
mir. So much so that Paki-
stan’s principled stand on
Palestine also draws parallel
with its standpoint on the
final disposition of the Kash-
mir dispute.
On the other hand, the
people of Pakistan hold
Kashmir dear to their hearts
and still believe their Quaid
who termed it as Pakistan’s
52
CSS Chronicles
jugular vein. With the slogan
‘Kashmir baney ga Pakistan’
reverberating in mind, one
was forced to believe in the
fairy tales of realpolitik.
Befitting functions would be
held at home and abroad to
commemorate Kashmir Sol-
idarity Day in February and
Kashmir Black Day in Octo-
ber. Every Think Tank in Paki-
stan has voluminous com-
pilations on Kashmir con-
taining solid arguments in
favour of its annexation with
Pakistan. The subject finds
prominence in almost every
debate in schools, colleges,
and universities. Old diplo-
matic hands in both coun-
tries boast about their con-
tributions in Track-II parleys
on Kashmir.
Lopsided development
mainly due to heavy
defence expenditure and
perpetual animosity must
be factored in when it
comes to ascertaining the
side effects of the Kashmir
dispute. The T-word keeps
hovering over the regional
landscape primarily due to
the trust deficit between the
two nuclear States …. again,
in the backdrop of Kashmir
and its peripheries. The
World sees Pakistan and
India as perennial enemies
terminally delved in perma-
nent animosity … again, due
to the Kashmir dispute. Little
do the leaderships of both
countries realize as to how
much diplomatic weightage
they lose and how much
unnecessary embarrass-
ment they invite by dwelling
on their respective stands
on Kashmir. Any diplomatic
encounter at any multilater-
al forum and the world
would know beforehand
what India or Pakistan would
state, making both the
countries extremely predict-
able. Even the most harm-
less platforms like the UNEP
at times become hostage to
Pak-India rivalry.
Political and diplomatic
pundits have initiated sever-
al policy papers offering
several possible solutions to
the Kashmir dispute. Sub-
stantive debates have been
conducted over the years to
conclude whether a political
or military solution would
suit the region. From auton-
omy to joint governance to
formal partition of Kashmir
to independence…. all possi-
ble solutions have met the
same fate. Nothing. Both
countries remain locked in
perpetual struggle of con-
trolling the disputed territory.
Nothing changed…!!! Then
came August 2019 and India
abrogated Article 370, prac-
tically annexing an interna-
tionally accepted disputed
territory and changing all
previously known realities
about the Kashmir dispute.
Pakistan had forewarned
the world of this totally
illegal action through a PR
issued by its Foreign Office a
few months earlier. To say
Volume 3 | Edition 10
that the dispute is still on the
agenda of the UN Security
Council is true. However, this
argument has hardly any
practical value.
Far from the madding
crowd, Pakistan is still strug-
gling to come up with a cor-
respondingly appropriate
reaction or policy stand-
point on Kashmir. Another
irony? The Kashmir experts
are still moving in circles
while trying to disregard the
presence of another cat in
the room. By the looks of it,
before India pounces on the
status of Azad Jammu &
Kashmir, certain appropri-
ate changes in the Indus
Waters Treaty seem to be
the immediate objective. Let
us review the Treaty to make
it amenable to New Delhi’s
plans. Remember, India is
going to the polls next year?
A question: Just like it
changed the status of
Jammu & Kashmir through
a decision taken internally,
what if India revokes the
ever-important Indus
Waters Treaty unilaterally
particularly if Pakistan
refused to blink? Would the
World Bank listen to the
involved ‘technicalities’ put
forward by Pakistan? Imag-
ine the scenario….!!
53
CSS Chronicles
The other crisis
Published in Dawn
INCIDENTS of terrorism in
Pakistan have been growing
steadily since last year. A
month ago, the Voice of
America reported on the
annual Global Terrorism
Index, released by the Aus-
tralia-based Institute for
Economics and Peace,
which said Pakistan record-
ed the second largest
increase in terrorism-relat-
ed deaths worldwide in
2022, after Burkina Faso.
According to the report, the
toll in Pakistan — at 643 —
was slightly higher than that
of Afghanistan, which had
held fast to this number two
position for the past few
years, before it was
displaced. And there seems
to be no reprieve in 2023.
A report about terrorist
attacks produced by a local
organisation claimed Janu-
ary this year was the deadli-
est month since July 2018 —
this was the month of the
heinous attack on the
mosque in Peshawar which
took close to 100 lives, injur-
ing even more people.
While the attacks are
focused mostly in Baloch-
istan and Khyber Pakh-
tunkhwa, in the former they
tend to be carried out by the
Baloch insurgents.
It is the TTP which is behind
many of the attacks in the
latter; the military as well as
the police have been
targeted. However, in recent
attacks the police are prov-
ing to be a soft target in
more than one way. The
Peshawar attack which was
followed by protests by the
police was a case in point.
But more than just a soft
target, the attacks now
follow a new strategy.
The larger economic situa-
tion is linked to the security
policy at work.
Ihsanullah Tipu, director
Khorasan Diary, a news web
portal, told me that recent
attacks have followed a
pattern especially in south
KP — police stations are
attacked, and then there is a
second attack on the rein-
forcements rushing in. This is
what happened in Lakki
Marwat in March, for
instance. A police station
was attacked in the early
hours of the morning; and
later a contingent headed
by a DSP which was headed
to the station was struck by
an IED, leading to the death
of the senior police officer as
well as three constables.
In addition, many of these
assaults are said to have
included the use of sophisti-
cated weaponry such as
night-vision goggles, which
have allowed attacks to be
launched in the dark. This
Volume 3 | Edition 10
weaponry has come the
way of the militants since
the departure of the Ameri-
can forces next door.
Meanwhile, there is little
clarity about what the state
is planning in response. So
far, it had seemed, especial-
ly till the recent National
Security Committee (NSC)
meeting, that there was no
plan to launch any
large-scale military opera-
tions as we saw in the
post-2007 period.
Just consider that an apex
committee meeting held in
January in Peshawar led to
a press release which spoke
of a national resolve; a uni-
form policy between the
centre and provinces; NAP;
and efforts to improve the
working of the Counter-Ter-
rorism Department in KP.
It was hard to tell if domestic
compulsions had shaped
the announcements, for the
press release did hint indi-
rectly at the tenuous rela-
tionship between the centre
and KP which had till recent-
ly been headed by PTI, a
political rival of the PDM
government in Islamabad.
This could be one interpre-
tation of the need for better
coordination, a uniform
policy and even announce-
ments about building a
forensic laboratory in the
province and improving the
capacity of the CTD.
54
CSS Chronicles
However, these remain
questions at best.
But the NSC meeting held a
few days ago was more
obviously driven by domes-
tic political compulsions, for
it did not follow any major
terror attack; though there
were significant political
developments with regard
to the elections. And it is
hard not to link this with the
shape the press release
took.
It spoke of launching an
all-out comprehensive
operation, adding that a
committee had been
formed to submit recom-
mendations within two
weeks for the implementa-
tion of this operation. The
news reports did not men-
tion any details of who is
part of this committee and
when it will begin to meet.
More importantly, the press
release ended with criticis-
ing the previous policy of
talks with the TTP, without
actually hinting or declaring
whose policy it was.
Maybe, one can stick one’s
neck out and say the
second statement, perhaps
more than the first, was as
driven by domestic politics
as by security. For it once
again blamed the PTI, which
had headed the govern-
ment when talks had begun
with the TTP, for shaping this
policy, even though the
matter had been put before
the larger political leader-
ship.
But this is simply domestic
politics playing out.
Be that as it may, the larger
economic situation is linked
to the security policy at
work. Many have pointed out
that even if a need is felt for
a larger operation, at the
moment the fiscal space is
just not available for military
operations of the kind we
witnessed from 2007
onwards.
Speaking of Pakistan’s “de-
teriorating economy”,
Asfandyar Mir, a Washing-
ton-based expert, in his
analysis for the United
States Institute of Peace
said: “That limits Pakistan’s
military options. Pakistan
can carry out raids and
undertake defensive actions
inside the country, but it
doesn’t have the resources
for a sustained high-intensi-
ty campaign.”
It is also noteworthy that the
people from the affected
areas are now more than
wary of the idea of military
operations which have
caused displacement and
devastating suffering for
them. And their wariness is
being expressed openly,
with political parties also
expressing the same views
— military operations are
not acceptable.
Volume 3 | Edition 10
What this means is that the
security forces will have to
continue with intelli-
gence-based operations
and such efforts for the
moment. Even talk of
cross-border raids, which
did the rounds some time
ago, has died down.
What complicates this
further is the relationship
with the Afghan Taliban,
whose takeover of Kabul has
led to the increasing attacks
by the TTP.
However, Pakistan continues
to engage with the Afghan
Taliban rather than push
them too hard on this issue.
In fact, many in Pakistan
continue to insist that the
Afghan Taliban are different
from the TTP.
But all this means that the
security situation in Pakistan
remains as tenuous as the
domestic political situation.
How long the current state
of affairs can be maintained
is anyone’s guess.
55
 CSS | CHRONICLES VOLUME 3 EDITION 10

ESSAY SPECIAL

56
 POLITICAL INSTABILITY LIES
IN POLITICAL CULTURE OF PAKISTAN
I. Introduction
The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not
so much dangerous to the public welfare as
the apathy of a citizen in a democracy. –
Montesquieu
The price good men pay for indifference to
public affairs is to be ruled by evil men. –
Plato
II. Elements of Pakistan’s political
culture
• Dynastic political parties
• Feudalism in politics
• Non-democratic nature of political parties
1. Ethnic and caste-based voting
• Existing regional political parties
• mixing of religion with politics
• politically illiterate masses
1. Low turn-out of voters in elections
• 52% voters turn out in 2018 elections
• Security centered political culture
• Lacked political foresightedness in
politicians
III. How does political culture result into
political instability in Pakistan?
• Promotes cultural anomalies
1. Haves and have nots; poor vs rich
• Entrenched economic disparities
1. Urban vs rural economic disparities
o Urban slums vs urban elites
• Ignites regionalism and promotes regional
policies
• Promotes intolerance among public
• Weakens state institutions
• Airs religious differences
• Weakens social fabric
• Supports segregated educational system
• Provides space to Non-state actors
IV. Political culture and instability in
Pakistan; a historical analysis
• Prolonged and intermittent martial laws
• Fall of eastern wing of Pakistan
• Regional insurgencies
1. Baloch insurgencies
• Inter provincial disputes
1. Water disputes (kala bagh dam)
V. Reforms in political culture leading to
political instability:
• Removing regional grievances
• Inducing intra party elections
• electing visionary leadership
• educating the masses politically
• inculcating structural and institutional
reforms
• separating religion and politics
• curbing non-state actors
• shifting from security centered approach
to economic oriented approach
• strengthening democratic institutions
• discouraging ethnicities and cast systems
VI. Conclusion
57
 FREE SPEECH
SHOULD HAVE LIMITATIONS
I. Introduction
Thesis: Though freedom of expression is
every human being is a Basic right; but an
unbridled speech of one may morph into a
hate speech which affects another being
adversely. Therefore, creating an atmo-
sphere of conflict and chaos instead of the
most cherished primary goal of peace and
cooperation. Thus, free speech must have
some limitations.
II. Extent of Issue
• Wanton freedom of speech is tantamount
to absolute power.
• Absolute power is savage.
• Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
• Sprouting of turmoil and agitation in the
society.
III. Impact of Unrestricted Free Speech
• An anathema to society's integration.
• Instigating social grudges and hostilities.
• Press and Media spew venom in the name
of free speech.
• Promotes racism.
• Xenophobia creeps into society.
• Western islamophobia- a case-in-point.
IV. Demarcating an Unhampered Free
Speech
A) Moral Demarcation
1. Honoring Religious Sentiments.
2. Venerating others' culture/civilization.
3. Respecting diverse political affiliations.
4. Showing restraint and cooperation.
5. Acknowledging fellow beings' rights.
6. Intentions must not be vitriolic.
B) Political Demarcation
1. Need for a proper domestic legislation.
2. Political awakening.
3. Importance of the role of International
Government organisations.
C) Social Demarcation
1. Duty of Civil society and activists
2. Positive proactivity by citizens/common
populace.
V. Conclusion
58
 CSS | CHRONICLES VOLUME 3 EDITION 10

MCQS COMPILATION

59
 Volume 3 | Edition 10

Islamic Studies
1. Cave Hira is in which Mountain? 6. The largest verse of Surah Al-Baqarah
(A) As-Safa is?
(B) Uhud (A) 288
(C) Sil (B) 286
(D) An-Noor (C) 282
(D) 281
2. Hazrat Ali (R.A) was martyred in which
Hijrah? 7. Namaz e Khasoof is offered at the time
(A) 36 of?
(B) 38 (A) Lunar Eclipse
(C) 40 (B) Solar Eclipse
(D) 42 (C) Earthquake
(D) Heavy Rain
3. Which country is called Land of
Prophets? 8. Which famous Ghazwah is mentioned
(A) Saudi Arabia in surah Al-Imran?
(B) Syria (A) Ghazwah Ohad
(C) Palestine (B) Ghazwah Badar
(D) Iraq (C) Ghazwah Khaibar
(D) Ghazwah Khandaq
4. What was the name of Imam Bukhari
(R.A)? 9. Prayers which were essential during
(A) Muhammad bin Ismaeel early period of Islam?
(B) Muhammad Ismaeel (A) Fajr and Zuhar
(C) Muhammad Ibaheem (B) Fajr and Isha
(D) Ismaeel bin Ibraheem (C) Fajr and Asar
(D) Fajr and Maghrib
5. Eid Prayer is?
(A) Wajib 10. When did Abu Sufyan embrace Islam?
(B) Sunnat (A) 7th Hijrah
(C) Farz (B) 8th Hijrah
(D) Mustahib (C) 9th Hijrah
(D) 10th Hijrah

60
 Volume 3 | Edition 10

Pakistan Affairs
1. Who is the current captain of Pakistan’s 6. Who was the Viceroy of India at the
women team? time of the Partition of Bengal?
(A) Javeria Khan (A) Lord Curzon
(B) Bisma Khatoon (B) Lord Wavell
(C) Nida Dar (C) Lord Minto
(D) Hina Ashraf (D) Lord Algan

2. The height of the Minars of Badshahi 7. The Pakistan Resolution was presented
Mosque is ? on 23 March 1940 by
(A) 170 feet (A) Quaid-e-Azam
(B) 177 feet (B) A.K. Fazlul Haque
(C) 180 feet (C) Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman
(D) 187 feet (D) Sir Aga Khan

3. Pakistan tested nuclear weapons on 8. “Quit India” Movement in 1942 was

(A) 24 May 1998 started by
(B) 26 May 1998 (A) Mahatma Gandhi
(C) 28 May 1998 (B) Quaid-e-Azam
(D) 30 May 1998 (C) Chaudhry Rehmat Ali
(D) Jawaharlal Nehru
4. In which of the following cities Congress
was found? 9. Who was the first principal of
(A) Delhi Anglo-Oriental College?
(B) Bombay (A) Sir Syed
(C) Kanpur (B) Lord Elgin
(D) Allahabad (C) Henry Siddons
(D) Theodore Beck
5. All India Muslim League was found in?
(A) Dhaka 10. The book “Khutbat e Ahmadia” was
(B) Delhi written by?
(C) Allahabad (A) Abdul Haleem Sharar
(D) Lahore (B) Sir Agha Ali Khan
(C) Syed Ameer Ali
(D) Sir Syed Ahmad Khan

61
 Volume 3 | Edition 10

Current Affairs
1. First European country to ban ChatGPT 6. When was International Day of ’Zero
is? waste’ observed?
(A) Italy (A) 30th March
(B) Germany (B) 07th April
(C) Spain (C) 18th Feb
(D) United Kingdom (D) 29th March

2. First Former US President to face 7. The benchmark oil price in the United
criminal charges is? States is
(A) Barack Obama (A) Opec Basket
(B) Donald Trump (B) Mars US
(C) Henry Clinton (C) Brent Crude
(D) Richard Dixon (D) WTI Crude

3. The T-Twenty 2022 World Cup 8. 50th Session of OIC Foreign Ministers
champion is: will be held in?
(A) Pakistan (A) Cameroon
(B) New Zealand (B) Ankara
(C) England (C) Islamabad
(D) None of these (D) Oman

4. Who has been announced Crown Prince 9. Which country will become 31st
of UAE? Member of NATO?
(A) Sheikh Salman (A) Australia
(B) Sheikh Khaled (B) Finland
(C) Sheikh Abu Al Hassan (C) Sweden
(D) None of these (D) Norway

5. Alliance among Brazil, Germany, India 10. Which country will host the 18th
and Japan to support each other’s bid for meeting of G-20 Summit in Sep’2023?
permanent seat on the United Nations (A) India
Security Council (UNSC) is called (B) USA
(A) Alliance 4 (C) Japan
(B) G 4 (D) China
(C) Big 4
(D) None of these

62
 Islamic Pakistan Current
MCQ
Studies Affairs Affairs

1 D C A
2 C B B
3 C C C
4 A B B
5 A A B
6 C A A
7 A B D
8 B A A
9 C D B
10 B D A

72