Date: Monday, February 29th, 2016.
Pak-Afghan cooperation
WITH the Quadrilateral Coordination Group on Afghanistan pressing for the resumption of talks between the Afghan government and the Afghan Taliban, it was always likely that Taliban groups either opposed to talks or seeking to gain an advantage at the negotiating table would ramp up attacks inside Afghanistan.
Adding to that possibility is the onset of the main fighting season as winter winds down in Afghanistan. Yet, attacks such as the one that took place in Kabul on Saturday, in which a suicide bomber struck near the defence ministry, carry a particular danger.
In the past, the Afghan government has reacted with great anger to attacks in the capital city and has accused Pakistan of not doing enough to stop the alleged planning and coordination of such attacks from its soil.
While the accusations may well have been exaggerated, it is likely that a fresh wave of attacks, especially in Kabul, could undermine efforts within the QCG to lessen the mistrust between Afghanistan and Pakistan and damage the talks process itself.
Intelligence cooperation and border management remain, as ever, the areas where Pakistan and Afghanistan need to do much more.
The high-level delegations that travel back and forth between Islamabad and Kabul and to border areas only appear able to achieve limited, short-term successes.
Neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan appear willing to have the frank discussions necessary at the political, military and intelligence levels to make the border less porous.
Nor do the outside powers in the QCG, China and the US, appear to have the inclination or tools to nudge Afghanistan and Pakistan closer to lasting solutions.
It is a strange, dangerous situation. With Zarb-i-Azb now in its last phase, a final ground offensive in North Waziristan will dislodge more militants and likely send a number of them scrambling across the border into Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the Afghans are bracing for what is likely to be the most ferocious fighting season ever — with eastern and southern Afghanistan remaining unstable. It makes sense, therefore, for Pakistan and Afghanistan to cooperate — and yet intelligence cooperation and border management remain piecemeal and ad hoc.
Perhaps, then, the best hope is for the soon-to-be-resumed Afghan peace talks to produce quick results.
Drawing the main or even some Taliban factions into peace negotiations will create some leverage over those groups to discourage the most destabilising attacks, like those in Kabul.
And, pursuant to a deal, a more stable Afghanistan would allow it address Pakistan’s security concerns regarding anti-Pakistan militant sanctuaries along the border.
Until then, the Pak-Afghan focus should be to cooperate when violence spikes rather than descend into a blame game.
Protection for women
AFTER seemingly glacial progress towards legislation dealing with violence against women, Punjab has surprised many by enacting, in some respects, perhaps the most comprehensive legislation passed on the issue thus far by the provinces — excluding Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which has yet to do so.
The Protection of Women Against Violence Bill 2015 defines violence to include domestic violence, sexual violence, psychological and emotional abuse, economic abuse, stalking and cyber crime, as well as abetment of such acts.
Although it has been criticised for not criminalising domestic violence, the legislation nevertheless has the capacity to facilitate victims from the initial reporting stage to resolution of the dispute.
Some of the stipulated measures include a dedicated toll-free number to lodge complaints, protection officers to inform defendants of complaints against them, protection centres, shelter homes and expedited court proceedings.
Moreover, the legislation makes provision for practical hurdles, such as sanctioning alleged perpetrators of violence if they offer resistance to protection officers. It also takes into account the cultural realities that make women dependent upon their spouses in various aspects.
For example, under this law an aggrieved woman cannot be forced out of the house.
It is thus with good reason the passage of this law has been generally welcomed by progressive segments of society, and excoriated by those on the right. Moreover, as the country’s most populous province where the vast majority of crimes against women occur, Punjab is well placed to spur the momentum for change.
Not only should KP expedite the enactment of its own women protection law, but Sindh and Balochistan must ensure that the mechanisms for implementation — still woefully lacking — are put in place without further delay in order to give teeth to the legislation they passed in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
However, and this brings us to the larger issue, this apathy is symptomatic of the deep-seated misogyny prevalent in Pakistan — which is often, and disingenuously, couched in the language of religion.
This social conditioning condones gender-based violence almost as a male prerogative, and for which women themselves are held responsible by virtue of their appearance or behaviour.
Changing mindsets is always a challenge but not an insurmountable one. The media — particularly the entertainment industry — can play an important role here. It is high time that the ideal of feminine virtue ceases to be a woman who stoically endures mistreatment at the hands of men, without a murmur of complaint.
Nanga Parbat ascent
IT is always uplifting to witness a historic feat of endurance, and all the more so when a Pakistani is part of the team.
Six months before mountaineering season opens, a small team of four climbers, including Ali Sadpara of Pakistan, made history when they made the first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat on Friday.
The feat comes after 29 teams had already made the attempt in previous years, many of them including members of the present team.
Over the decades, attempts to summit Nanga Parbat have produced some of the most brutal mountaineering legends, earning it the nickname ‘killer mountain’ because more people have died trying to summit it than any other mountain in the world.
Given its fierce reputation, the climbing team that just fulfilled its long-fought goal of being the first to ascend the peak in winter has rightfully taken its place in mountaineering history.
The team deserves all the congratulations that will inevitably be coming their way as they return to sea level.
Ali Sadpara was part of a team that attempted a winter ascent last year as well. This year he played a crucial role in the ascent, when he was part of an advance party that carried essential supplies to Camp 3 at 6,700 metres almost a month before the summit attempt began.
Mountaineering is one of the most challenging pursuits in the world, and very few have the heart and mind to be successful at it.
Pakistan can afford to take greater pride in the accomplishments of our mountaineers, and greater interest in what the mountainous north has to offer by way of opportunities for travel and challenges.
The northern areas have produced some of the finest mountaineers in the world, famous for their stoutness of will and refinement of manners.
Hearty kudos to the team that made this historic ascent, and for us the achievement is all the more special because Ali Sadpara was amongst them.