Civil-Military Relations in Pakistan Always on a Bumpy Road

The most basic precondition of a true democratic setup is a healthy civil-military relationship.
In all democratic countries, an elected civilian government enjoys full control over the military. However, in Pakistan, control over governance has oscillated between the two; a decade of civilian supremacy followed by a decade of military rule.

The reasons for this periodic shuffling are

Incompetent political leadership,
Weak political parties and institutions,
Rising power of civil-military bureaucracy,
Serious security threats to the country and
Frequent use of military in aid of civil power.

In the early days of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam clearly articulated the role of the military in the following words:
“Do not forget that the armed forces are the servants of the people. You do not make national policy; it is we, the civilians, who decide these issues and it is your duty to carry out these tasks with which you are entrusted.”


Leadership Vaccum

Soon after independence, in 1948, the Father of the Nation and the first Governor-General, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, passed away. Thus, a leadership void was created after just one year of the country's establishment.

The first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, who was Quaid's right hand lieutenant, was also assassinated in 1951. About the rest of the leadership lot, the Quaid had ruefully remarked that “he had false coins in his pocket.”

Delayed Finalisation of Constitution

Similarly, in 1954, there were nine members of the Prime Minister's cabinet,
who were not members of the Parliament, including Commander-in-Chief General Muhammad Ayub Khan.
Moreover, Pakistan took nine long years to finalise its first constitution that was enforced on 23 March 1956.
This inordinate delay allowed the Governor-General to continue with his authoritarian rule.
This all was happening at a time when the country direly needed healthy democratic traditions.

Delay in first general elections in the country

In addition, the first general elections in the country, which were due in 1951, were held after a lapse of almost quarter of a century, in 1970.
This further strengthened the non-democratic and authoritarian tendencies providing space
to civil and military bureaucracies to assume a dominant position in governance.

Weak Political Parties

For any healthy constitutional and political system to function smoothly, strong and well-entrenched political parties are essential. Unfortunately, political parties in Pakistan have failed to develop into strong vehicles of national political will.
The main reason is that most of our leaders belonged to feudal and capitalist classes and were thus, by their very nature, inimical to a democratic polity. Their incompetence and constant wrangling for power led to ceaseless infighting.
For instance, as early as 1953, a clash between the leadership of the Punjab and the central government
led to the imposition of Martial Law in Lahore, the provincial capital.

Weak Institutions

After independence, Pakistan had to start from scratch.
There was no
established parliament,
no civil secretariat,
no supreme court,
no central bank and
no organised armed forces.
There was a paucity of competent parliamentarians.
The proportion of the Indian Civil Service officers who opted for Pakistan was small.
The same was true of the higher judiciary.

Unlike other institutions, the proportion of Muslims in the Indian Army was comparatively substantial, i.e., 33 per cent.
This is also one of the reasons why the armed forces of Pakistan assumed greater importance right in the beginning and were better established than other institutions of the state.

Rising Power of Civil-Military Bureaucracy (Rural Society)

Due to lack of basic infrastructure, Pakistan had to make new beginning in all spheres.
But the low level of literacy made this task very difficult.
The country needed competent and a determined leadership to build and nurture democratic institutions.
But such a leadership was hard to come by in a rural society in which the political, social and economic life was dominated by the landed aristocracy.

The feudal leadership of political parties was not capable of dealing with the multifarious problems faced by the country. It depended heavily on the civil and military bureaucracy.
The result was the bureaucratic elite became disproportionately assertive, steadily increasing their power at the expense of the political elite. For instance, a civil bureaucrat Governor-General of Pakistan, Ghulam Muhammad (1951-55), dissolved the National Assembly in 1954 and
the Federal Court justified and validated his unconstitutional act on the basis of the “law of necessity.”

Wrangling for Power(Threats to authority of president)

The first President of Pakistan, Iskander Mirza, relied on the military to ensure state's integrity when the PML President,
Qayyum Khan, threatened direct action and the Khan of Kalat declared his secession from Pakistan.
In order to deal with the disturbed situation, Mirza took extreme step;
he abrogated the Constitution,
dissolved the legislative assemblies,
dismissed the central and provincial governments,
banned all political parties and postponed general elections indefinitely.
He also declared Martial Law and appointed General Ayub as the Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA),
who in turn removed Iskander Mirza on October 27, 1958 and himself became the President.
Thus began the era of military-dominated governance.

Military's Sway over Political Setup(7 pms in 10 years)
After seven years of instability (1951-58), in which as many as seven prime ministers rose and fell,
the military regime put the country on the path of economic and political stability.
Hamid Khan, a renowned lawyer, writes in “Constitutional and Political History of Pakistan”:

“Ayub's term of office [1958-69] was the golden era for the bureaucracy, which exercised its powers, unbridled by any political interference.”
Again, after the restoration of democratic governance during 1988-99,
four governments were dissolved by the President of Pakistan invoking Article 58 (2)(b).
On 12 October, 1999, the military once again ousted the elected government and Pakistan was again under their despotic rule.

Civil Dependence on Army

From the very beginning, the Army remained involved in civil administration.
In 1947, it was the Army that was asked to establish
civil secretariat in Karachi.
They vacated their barracks, renovated them to house the secretariat and the staff coming from Delhi.
It was the Army which largely contributed to safeguarding the movement of several
refugee convoys carrying millions of refugees from East Punjab
as well as establishing their camps at Lahore.
In short, the army was frequently called in aid of civil authorities in all
natural disasters,
emergencies and other
civil functions.

Present Situation
Presently, however, the situation is different.
Pakistan's political leadership is more mature and political parties are better established.
The country has developed
a middle class,
an active civil society,
a vibrant media and
an independent judiciary.
Whenever required, Parliament is getting briefing on security matters from the Services Chiefs and decisions are taken through consensus.
Although military enjoys autonomy in its internal affairs,
somewhat healthy civil-military relations exist.

The Army is more deeply involved now than a decade ago in support of activities for the civilian government:
law-and-order tasks; relief and rescue operations after natural disasters;
the use of its organisational and technological resources for public welfare projects;
greater induction of its personnel in civilian institutions; anti-terrorist activities; and containing narcotics trafficking.

The Way Forward
Presently, civil-military relations do not seem as healthy and cordial as they should be.
There are apprehensions on both sides.
The government's tacit support to Geo in ISI bashing case has increased the tensions between the two pillars of the state. Apparently, army and the government are poles apart on the issue of operation against Taliban.
It is imperative that in the larger interest of the country
both these institutions join hands to save Pakistan from the monster of terrorism and
steer the country out of multifaceted crises which are adversely affecting Pakistan and its citizens.
It is often said that Pakistan is in a state of war and no war can be won when there is disunity among the state institutions.

Source: http://www.jworldtimes.com/Article/7...ns_in_Pakistan

Freedom of Media in Pakistan Blessing or Bane?

Free media is a double-edged sword which has its benefits and vices;
however, its advantages overweigh the disadvantages.

a) Free media as a blessing:
i. educates and informs masses
ii. increases level of awareness
iii. develops public opinion
iv. supports democracy

b) Free media as a bane:
i. spreading misinformation: rumours and false news
ii. used for propaganda & sensationalism:
benefits antagonists groups
iii. exploitation of freedom: corruption and influence
iv. commercialisation: serves vested interests
5. Enrichment and invasion of culture; simultaneously
6. Media is a medium for socialisation and social isolation; concurrently
7. Media is a watchdog but lacking accountability within; contrarily.
8. Overall role in national development.
9. Conclusion

Media is said to be free when the media organisations enjoy freedom to disseminate information
without facing any barriers from the government or any other powerful actors of the society.

History

Earlier in Pakistan, media had to go through severe censorship and rigid regulations.
However, the laws were enacted in the last decade to lift curbs on its freedom.
In Pakistan, media has long faced the censorship.
However, an appreciable level of freedom has been achieved recently.
Pakistani media is hugely influenced by various state and non-state actors.
Military regimes in Pakistan had a special interest in controlling the media.

The first step in this direction was taken by a military ruler who promulgated the Press and Publication Ordinance (PPO) in 1960.

The law empowered the authorities to confiscate newspapers, clamp down on newspaper providers, and arrest journalists.

More draconian additions were made to the PPO during the reign of General Zia Haq in the 1980’s.
According to these new amendments, the publisher would be liable and prosecuted if a story was not to the liking of the admin-istration even if it was factual and of national interest. Censorship during the Zia years was direct, concrete and dictatorial.

Newspapers were scrutinised; critical or undesired sections of an article censored.

Even civil governments were no less eager to influence and control media.

It was not until 2002 that media faced a decisive development when new laws broke the state's monopoly on electronic media.

TV broadcasting and FM radio licenses were issued to private media outlets.
These new laws opened up a new arena for free media with less regulations and limited censorship.

MEDIA UNDER General Musharraf

From 2002, under General Musharraf, media faced a decisive development that would lead to a boom in Pakistani electronic media and paved the way to it gaining political clout.

New liberal media laws broke the state’s monop-oly on electronic media. TV broadcasting and FM radio licenses were issued to private media outlets.

The military’s motivation for liberalising media licensing was based on an assumption that Pakistani media could be used to strengthen national se-curity and counter the threat from India.

What prompted this shift was the military’s experience during two past confrontations with India.

One was the Kargil War and the other was the hijacking of the Indian Airliner by Pakistani-based militants.

In both these instances, the Pakistani military felt that it had lost the media war to India.

Better electronic media capacity was needed in the future and thus the market for electronic media was liberalised.

The military thought it could still control the media and harness it if it strayed from what the regime believed was in the national interest – and in the accordance with its own political agenda.

This assessment however proved to be wrong as the media and in particular the many new TV channels became a powerful force in civil society.

Media be-came an important actor in the process that led to the fall of Musharraf and his regime.

By providing extensive coverage of the 2007 Lawyers Movement’s struggle to get the chief justice reinstated, the media played a significant role in mobilising civil society.

This protest movement, with million of Pakistanis taking to the street in name of an independent judiciary and democratic rule, left Musharraf with little backing from civil society and the army.

Ultimately, he had to call for elections.


The emergence of powerful civil soci-ety actors is unprecedented in Pakistani history.
These could not have gained in strength without the media, which will need to continue to play a pivotal role if Pakistan has to develop a stronger democracy, greater stability and take on socio-political reforms.


Though Pakistani media enjoy relative freedom compared to some of its South Asian neighbours, the industry is subjected to many undemocratic and regressive laws and regulations.


Though the Pakistani me-dia had to work under military dictatorships and repressive regimes, which in-stituted many restrictive laws and regulations for media in order to ‘control’ it, the media was not largely affected.



“Freedom of conscience, of education, of speech, of assembly, is among the very fundamentals of democracy and all of them will be nullified if the freedom of press be successfully challenged.”
(US president, Roosevelt)

Media is regarded as the most powerful weapon of 21st century.

It is as lethal a weapon as a nuke. It has the capability to convert day into night and night into day, a hero into a villain and a villain into hero. Media has brought revolutions in the world and has transformed the globe into a global village. It has virtually erased the geographical boundaries, removed the barriers of social, political and cultural differences and as a result this diversified world has been reduced to remote control. Media's role in education, awareness, opinion formation and entertainment is so diversified in its horizon and domain that one thing is clear and decided that the tides of media cannot be reversed, however, they may be altered in nature and composition.

The status of freedom of press in Pakistan, ever since independence, has remained semi-independent, despite adequate safeguards and provisions promised by the constitution.

“There shall be freedom of press. It shall, however, be subjected to any reasonable restrictions imposed by the law, in the interest of glory of Islam, of the integrity, security and defense of Pakistan or any part of it, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency and morality or in relation to contempt of court or commission or incitement to an offence.”
(Article 19 of the constitution, 1973)

Freedom of press literally means the freedom of expression i.e. speech, writing and thinking. It also ensures the liberty to think and act without any restrictions and pressures.

A free press and electronic media is an essential attribute of democratic polity as both work hand in glove with each other. If democracy is the government of the people, media is the voice of the people. But it is a matter of grave misfortune for Pakistan that due to one factor or the other, ever since independence, media could not breathe independently and one of the factor that could be held responsible for this sorry state of affairs is the obstructed and failed democratic form of government.

The fundamental ingredient making democracy possible is the flow of information. Media is the only force that can ensure the flow of information. If restricted, hindered or obstructed in any way, masses remain ignorant, ignorant of their rights, their duties to the state, their needs and the role that they can play for the betterment of the society and the country they live in.

Media's role in imparting education to the masses cannot be stressed enough. Online lectures and speeches of the professors, scholars and intellectuals are playing a significant role in imparting formal and technical education to the masses.

Media's role in creating awareness among the masses regarding the political, social and economic scenario cannot be overemphasized. Owing to the mushroom growth of TV channels and newspapers, people today are more aware and educated about the surroundings and the steps taken by the government. This is promoting public participation in the decision-making of the state machinery. The skilled and bold personalities of the anchor persons raise people's voice, analyse government's actions and get the expert opinion.

Media has also played a significant role in bringing the world at our doorstep. It produces and introduces different lifestyles in the world, changes moods and behavior, braves the bold topics through dramas and talk shows. It also suggests the new household styles, guides the youth to new opportunities and creates civic sense.

Media also helps in providing religious knowledge by the competent scholars, answering the queries of public to solve their problems. It highlights religious events and promotes sectarian harmony.

In the historical perspective, one can safely say that unfortunately democracy could not flourish here in the true sense of the word. Consequently, Pakistan has not been able to evolve a full- fledged free news media. The media in Pakistan has not received the nourishment needed for its full flowering.

However, the electronic media took new form after promulgation of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) 2001, by the autocratic regime of president Musharraf. The authority has been made responsible for facilitating and regulating the establishment and operations of the broadcast media and distribution services in Pakistan. The mandate of the PEMRA is to ensure accountability and transparency by optimizing the free flow of information. This law is on the face to the article 19 of the constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech, expression and press.

Despite frequent martial laws, other factors that stand responsible for the poor growth of independent media could be indifferent attitude illiteracy, poverty, unawareness, attitude of indifference towards the political decisions, lack of interest in state affairs, political instability and political pressures and problems.

Illiteracy has proved to be one of the major obstacles in the improper growth of press and electronic media. Owing to lack of education, people have been rendered unaware of their rights, duties and of course responsibilities to the state. This dilemma of illiteracy gave birth to poverty and consequently, the poor masses that could not afford two meals in a day, could never realize the importance of newspapers and freedom of press. This sorry state of affairs has created an indifferent attitude on the part of the common masses. Consequently, the apathy shown by the government and the people gave birth to an orthodox and stereotyped thinking and nationalist approach.

There are certain ethics and do's and don'ts of media channels and press to shape the discipline of journalism so that they may seek truth, convey information, ideas and opinions with transparency and accuracy. These ethics advise the media personals to report and interpret honestly, striking for accuracy, fairness and disclosure of all essential facts and urge the necessary correction of errors.

21st century has turned out to be a century of media war, as it has turned out to be the most lethal weapon of the contemporary age. Drastic, cultural, political and social changes can now be seen as a result of revolutions brought about by media. Media is bursting forth like a meteor, breaking new frontiers. In this age of cosmic revolution and technology and means of communication, those archaic barriers blocking any people's access to independent source of information are being dismantled rapidly to the utter discomfort of the obscurantist still intent on keeping them intact. This is an era of satellite television, internet connectivity and mobile telephones. US constitution categorically forbids that:,
“Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or of press.”
Free media is a double-edged sword
Free media is a double-edged sword which has its benefits and vices; however, its advantages overweigh the disadvantages.
It ensures the right to freedom of speech.

This resulted in unprecedented freedom of expression and provision of information.
Free media comes with a package of advantages such as educating people, increasing the level of awareness, developing the public opinion and, most importantly, supporting the democratic system. However, it carries a bundle of disadvantages as well including disseminating disinformation, advocating a specific propaganda and prioritizing commercialism.
It helps enrich one's culture as well as risks invasion by others' cultures.

It facilitates socialisation by making the world a global village yet it isolates individuals from their families and friends as excessive time is being wasted on social media.

Interestingly, media is a watchdog over the governments, but lacks accountability within.
Nevertheless, the overall role of the free media in national development cannot be undermined.

Media is free when it can provide information without any kind of censorship.
However, complete freedom does require freedom of right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas.
Constitution of Pakistan and the universally-accepted principles guarantee everyone the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

The unprecedented freedom of media has, as well, harmed the society.

First of all; there are some instances where media outlets spread disinformation and created confusion among the masses.
The 'informing people' function of media is not complete until it guarantees true and unbiased information.
Absence of a consolidated accountability system has let certain elements in media to exploit feelings of the audiences just to get some 'rating'.
Nevertheless, this disinformation damages significant elements of society.
For example, some segments in Pakistani media often resorted to create false impression about the government, even they started predicting its departure.
These rumours forced the investors keep at bay which harmed the country's economy.

Second; freedom without responsibility leads to creation of sensationalism.
Media is a powerful opinion-maker and if not dealt carefully, it could be negatively used to form opinions which favour certain organizations or groups.
Pakistan is combating the monster of terrorism but the uncensored and live telecast of the scenes of bomb blasts and of the bleeding people has caused severe psychological impacts on the people of Pakistan.
Most areas of Pakistan are, undoubtedly, peaceful but these repeated telecasts create a negative perception of the country which causes decline in foreign investment and damages the tourism industry.
This has inadvertently helped the cause of the terrorists.

Third; the absolute freedom, like absolute power, leads to corruption.
Unbridled freedom of expression has led media organisations to interfere in state matters. In countries where legal system is weak but media is free, media often gets involved in corrupt practices. Lack of strict vigilance and regulation allows journalists to negatively use the media power to extort rather than inform.



Last but not least; huge profits in the media sector have given rise to commercialisation.
Media outlets nowadays work only for more and more profits.
Influence of wealthy entrepreneurs has made media drift away from its real objective of informing, educating and supporting public.
Regardless of what is good for masses, media covers content and issues which increases their ratings — a tool to grab huge profits.
Certain issues are self-censored only because they would damage the profits of media outlets.
Newspapers, for example, often censor or skip reports relating to wrongdoings of the government institutions as doing so may result in cuts on their public advertisements.


Nonetheless; despite all the negativity, the unparalleled contribution of free media in the progress of this nation cannot be denied.
Free media has improved the consciousness among the masses.
People never questioned actions of the government the way they do now.
This is just the result of timely, useful and mostly objective dissemination of information.
Pakistan's judiciary has achieved its freedom due to the evermore vibrant role of media.
Eventually, free media has given an opportunity to the people of Pakistan to contribute to the welfare of the state.

As nothing is perfect in this world; free media also carries some vices along with its benefits which, however, overshadow the vices.
Free media helps keep people informed and educated with regard to important issues of the country and world.
Though, it could fall short of its responsibilities and serve vested interests sometimes, its role in being watchful of important state actions is commendable.
Certain anomalies in media can be corrected by encouraging initiatives of creating a strong internal accountability and regulatory mechanism with governmental oversight.
What needs to be above the board is that freedom of media shall be ensured as free media always brings greater benefits for the progress and prosperity of nation than the inadvertent damages it causes. Hence, it is more of a blessing than a bane.



Destructive and exaggerated Role of Electronic Media in Pakistan.

Fourth pillar

“.Today, media is known as the fourth pillar of any state and in my opinion all pillars of a state should be strong and autonomous enough be it Executive, Legislature or Judiciary.
In fact, present age is of information so, in the globalized world media is supposed to play the role of an army for a state.

Army for a state
Every anchor person on a TV Channel is actually armed personnel because in the current era we have to defend our state through the media instead of military might.
Therefore, this army must be selected very carefully by keeping in view all the ground realities and the requirements of this age.
Now talking about today's media I would say that its focus is not to inform or educate the public but to make business and the promotion of rampant commercialism, only.
That is why our media especially the electronic media is not playing any satisfactory role as far as political stability is concerned.”


Mushroom growth of TV channels especially News Channels.
“I believe that mushroom growth of TV channels especially News Channels is the major cause of irresponsible behavior of electronic media.
In fact, we did not have so many heroes or icons so, the 'TV Anchors' emerged as heroes for the masses therefore; they have many expectations from them.
It all happened due to the hype created by these news channels.
In fact, most of the population of Pakistan is illiterate similarly they are unable to differentiate between the myth & reality.
Thus media should be neutral and it must highlight all the aspects of an issue.
Then media can be able to bring political stability in the country, she added.


Our Media is not following the ethics
Pakistan media is not only a source of information instead it has emerged as a profitable business
so,as a result they have to fabricate news for business, even if there is no news at all.
Hence, this quantity driven approach instead of quality misplaced the truth and objectivity from the news.
Furthermore, our media is not following the ethics as far as live coverage of bomb blasts or terrorist attacks are concerned.

Producing chaos, uncertainty as well as political instability in the country.
Thus, all these factors which are present in the media are producing chaos, uncertainty as well as political instability in the country.
Lastly, I would say our electronic media must remove its biased image for the political stability in Pakistan.

Our media is not promoting the positive image of Pakistan.
For example, if we see the incident of a girl flogged by the two militants in Sawat, how it had been played up in the media.
It showed that our media is either immature or it does such things deliberately.
Actually, it also projected a very negative image of Sawat which is paradise for tourists in Pakistan.
On the other hand, western media does not portray the negative image of their country but our media does why?
Then our media has developed a criteria that they will remain anti-government they will even not appreciate the good works of the government.


In fact, electronic media has important functions to perform i.e.
to inform with objectivity, educate, guide and entertain the masses.
But the media has constraints and limitations also,
like vested interests, corruption, political motives and monetary gains.

Absence of any proper code of conduct has made the media too much independent
we must accept the fact that at least media has provided awareness to the masses, it has never happened in the past.
However, absence of any proper code of conduct made the media too much independent.
Therefore, how can we achieve political stability through such sort of media which never knows its limits?

“I think our media is for the educated people, there are three tiers of media namely:
print media, broadcasting and social media similarly, radio and TV comes under broadcasting.
But, the 70% of the population living in small towns has not access to the Cable-TV networks and due to lack of education they are unable to read good newspapers like Dawn, The News etc. Mostly, they have radio as only source of information but the content used at radio is not enough to aware those masses it must be adequate and up to the mark.”


Journalists are on sale although a journalist cannot be a product for sale.
unfortunately in our country journalists are on sale although a journalist cannot be a product for sale.
The reason is that they toe the policies of the owners of news channels and are not independent enough to do what they want so;
in such a situation media can produce more conspiracy theories and less political stability.

“Our media is creating confusions among its viewers and readers.
Media must give adequate, authentic and complete information of a particular issue to the viewers which should cover all the dimensions.

No Counter check on this watch dog (Media)
“It is clear that media is a watch dog in a country but there should be a counter check on this watch dog (Media) too, what it is doing?
But sadly, in case of our electronic media there is not any concept or mechanism of counter checking”.

But sadly, in case of our electronic media there is not any concept or mechanism of counter check that is why our media presents non issues as important issues.

For instance the personal life of Meera; those who have not electricity or enough finances to meet the basic requirements of daily life. What they will do with the life of Meera.

Moreover, release of Indian movies becomes our news headline being a student of media studies I am unable to understand.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that media should maintain a data bank of eminent scholars, distinguish educationists,
prominent leaders and specialists in their relevant fields to discuss issues related to political stability.

The education and trainings for media people may be arranged at appropriate level
in order to equip them with adequate knowledge and skills to improve quality of reporting.
The electronic media may identify societal conditions that resist change required for the political stability in Pakistan.


CONCLUSION:
Media is being considered as a fourth pillar of the state.
it needs to play an imperative role for political stability in Pakistan which is indeed, a serious issue.
In fact, electronic media has important functions to perform i.e. to inform with objectivity, educate, guide and entertain the masses.
But the media has constraints and limitations also, like vested interests, corruption, political motives and monetary gains.
Therefore, it has both positive as well negative roles in generating public opinion on national issues.
On one hand it is influencing public opinion in a significant manner particularly focusing on political leaders and working of political parties
while on the other hand the information provided is biased and distorted.
The electronic media is an agent of change but the direction of change depends upon the reported information.
That is why the credibility of media is questioned most of the time.


CRITICISM ON MEDIA

Mass media has been having its influence on societies in a number of ways. Due to its colossal impact in shaping up the society it at the same time faces severe criticism from all around. People who resist change in lifestyle and social norms are not seeing the mass media as doing more service to society as it is proving destructive.

In previous chapters we have studied how the media has been beneficial in pushing up economic activities, boosting literacy and bringing about political awareness and democracy. Here below we will examine what areas of mass communication are target of general criticism.

Conceals more than it reveals
The foremost charge on the media, especially the news media, is that it only tells people half -truth. Better part of a story is falling victim to gate-keepers or those who filter facts before passing them on to common people. At crisis times like wars or political chaos media only tells facts which the interest groups want to appear before masses. Media hardly believe, or make an effort, to tell the whole truth about any matter of general interest. Leaving people guessing about the untold part of the story is tantamount to serious offense.

Exaggerates
It has become a habit of media to blow up out of proportion some issues of sensitive nature which creates so much panic among the people (authorities) who than instead finding a lasting solution of those issues just try to hush up the matters. Government departments and many other agencies which counter these situations frequently are finding no way out to stop media from doing so.

Sensationalize
Perhaps the most commonly leveled charge against media is its chronic approach to sensationalize matters of routine life. In a murder story the media would go to find some juicy thing out of nothing. A small tip from any person around may make a media person to build a spicy story which may attract common people. More than often, the facts on which media build story prove wrong by later investigations. Film world and leading sportspersons are always worried as media would quickly fabricate a story on finding a small bit of something like shaking hands with certain people by a film star; - think if a top police officer inviting a noted film personality over a cup of tea – a storm is likely to be made in the media.

Damages cultural and family traditions
The way certain things appear in the mass media is seen a direct attack on peoples’ lifestyle, belief and normal social life. Bold pictures of women in the name of esthetics, out of proportion images of sportspersons – again women especially, behaviour of characters in a radio or TV drama, dances in films and smoking and drinking actions – all have invited severe disapproval of common people who strongly argue that such an attitude of media is hurting the cultural norms and the family set up. As a result people do not allow certain TV channels be tuned, or some magazines to be dropped at their homes. Certain music is not liked to be played at family gatherings and there is always uproar when an offensive or bold billboard appears on a busy thoroughfare.

Biasness
Media bias at times is too clear to be ignored. Siding with political parties, or showing despise to certain government functionaries, at times persons like ministers – is a common sight. But it works both sides; the government controlled media in all the countries show a visible tilt towards the government while giving a bashing to the opposition and on the other hand private sector media – newspapers and TV channels, remain occupies to lash out at the government actions and allowing the opposition to drag matters in the public which should have been talked about in the parliament. The media bias some time is visible on regional, ethnic and linguistic grounds only damaging a society rather than bringing people closer.

Sold to interest groups
This is generally done covertly. Media is under fire all across the world for selling space to interest groups-political people in the developing countries and the economic interests in the advanced countries.

Commercialism-trend is to mislead people
Although it is little modern phenomenon, media is largely considering its commercial interest more than what common people expect from it on pure professional ground. With huge money given to media by way of, generally speaking, advertisements are one way of molding media in the favour of rich. Media can’t openly say against individuals and corporate sector even if a scam of billions of rupees (and dollars) takes place. Land grabbers, tax evaders and the ones misappropriating authority can easily gag media with currency wads.

Pictures of killings – unethical
True it may be but sometime revealing a fact in an ugly manners leave a bad taste in the mouth of many. Large part of media blatantly refutes to follow ethics which may cause intense pain to common people. At the time of breakfast when you are starting the day, if you find body of a slain person dipped in a pool of blood is enough to haunt you all day at your working place. Not only this, some headlines which describe a crime in most horrible way also leave a mark on your mind which remains occupied by the ugly side of the event which could have been easily avoided had media followed professional way of putting forward the matter.

Private life, obscenity
All people, including the ones living in hall-of-fame have a private life. Media for its personal interest keep peeping into the private life affairs of famous people and report matters to public which may ruin life of the stars. Female coming at the top of show biz are the most-hunted target. Media does not hesitate in playing up their images which look highly offensive if put on newspapers or magazines pages, no matter those poses were meant for a momentary demand for certain actions during a shoot of feature films or even a commercial camerawork.

Blackmails governments
Media is blamed for blackmailing even strongest of governments. At times autocratic governments find no way but get blackmailed by popular media. Little wonder if there is a general perception that media stand for arm-twisting of people who are at the helm of political or financial authority


Today the world community comprises more than 180 countries.
Pakistan appeared on the world map in August 1947.
But in fact since its creation, with every passing year, Pakistan is losing its identity.
It's not because of economic and political background, but due to the changing life patterns and thoughts of every Pakistani.
It's the individuality or national identity that makes a nation different from rest of the world. Pakistani society is undergoing a massive cultural change rapidly resulting in an identity crisis for Pakistanis.
The deep-rooted embedded cultural values in our society are becoming hollow and gradually fading away.

Various catalysts for change are responsible for this scenario including media as the key player.
The European and American culture is slowly engulfing our society.
The role of media is enormous here whereby the extensive promotion of western product brands are forcing consumers in our society
to simply reject the local brands and consider them inferior comparing with the foreign brands in the market.

The programmes telecast through satellite TV channels and on cable TV networks in Pakistan are predominantly western and Indian.
The promotion of American, European and Indian culture via dramas, movies, music programmes, skits etc., telecast on various satellite TV channels escalate change in local culture and values.
Pakistanis tend to be more appreciative of the foreign cultures being promoted than their local values and trends.
Therefore, they prefer adopting these foreign culture hence leading towards a change in our society.
Our new generation is so much involved with foreign culture that it's getting away from the local dresses.
They cannot differentiate between the two and ready to adopt whatever is shown to them by the media.
They hardly know its actual and indigenous values, culture and traditions. And those few who are followers of their own culture are thought to be out-dated or backward.



The undue westernisation is dominating the typical Pakistani culture.
For instance, the extended and joint family system, a hallmark of Pakistani culture, is slowly deteriorating.
The younger generation seldom cares for their parents and elders.
Fascination of English language is so much that many Pakistanis, who are fluent in English, are unable to understand Urdu.
Therefore, speaking English language is a status symbol and the people speaking Urdu are considered backward or illiterate.
They are creating inferiority complex among those who do not have good command on English but speak excellent Urdu.
Further Urdu language is getting unwanted additions due to invasion of foreign words (Hindi and English).
A new language which is a mix of Urdu, English and Hindi words is emerging.
Similarly, the meal preferences have changed from chapatti and rice to Subway, KFC and McDonalds.
Instead of traditional drinks, Pepsi and Coke have found its way into our homes.

Muslims being in majority in Pakistan are losing their Islamic values and ultra-modern educational institutions
as well as media are gradually inculcating western and Indian values in the younger generation.
It seems that Pakistanis, a nation of 170 million, are confused about their ideology, culture and sociology, values, religion, priorities and even enemies.
” Unfortunately our own media is playing a significant role in this regard.



As the people who control the media, control our minds and probably control the world.
And who control the powerful world media are not the national governments
of developing or developed nations but a very few people.
As the people who control the media, control our minds and probably control the world.
And who control the powerful world media are not the national governments of developing or developed nations but a very few people.
They have an effective weapon in the form of a worldwide television network.

Today, they broadcast slanted news, tomorrow they will broadcast raw pornography to corrupt our children and destroy our culture.
They are already doing that in Europe.
We can control the reception today but not in future.
He further says that Malaysia believes in press freedom but with responsibility.

The situation is indeed alarming for the national identity in Pakistan.
Therefore firm steps are needed to be taken on regular basis to preserve Pakistan's cultural values and identity.

Apart from government to take measures to control the cultural invasion, the responsibility lies on every Pakistani to own, respect and love this country.
We have to believe in our own native values in order to save and secure our identity.
Being Pakistani, we should not forget that our homeland made us stand out in the map of the world as an independent nation and provide us the freedom,
which many Muslim countries are still striving for today.

If we want to live with honour, dignity and secure our identity, we have to proudly own and love our country.
If we want our upcoming generation should breathe freely as an independent nation in the world, then, today we have to work in the best interest of Pakistan.
We have to rebuild our characters and minds to take the track which leads Pakistan to the destination our ancestors had dreamt of.

Pakistanis and Pakistani media are required to respect the native traditions and individuality,
abide by the rules and regulations of the federation, support the minors/minorities and provide education for all irrespective of their financial and social background,
we can bring the change, prosperity in our society and secure our homeland.
The intellectuals in media and the political circles have the responsibility to start the debate.
It is through repeated exposure that the citizens will start to identify themselves with democratic and liberal values.

To minimize and resist the effects of western and Indian channels,
it is suggested that local channels should be strengthened and programmes should have better content.
These channels should produce and broadcast quality programmes that could help in the promotion of Pakistani values and traditions and improve the image of Pakistan at international level.


Seeing is believing
The authenticity of news and other informative material has been more acceptable to people through available on TV.
People already informed about an event still like to see the news along with footage on TV.
For instance, the winning run scored by your favorite team in an exciting match is something people would like to see again and again etc

Increasing general know-how
Being a strong medium TV has remarkably worked to increase general know-how on various matters of daily life.
Though you are not concentrating hard on a program on health matters, the visuals shown are telling you how to clean you teeth or apply a medicine or take exercises.
Watching a documentary on wild-life, even casually, makes you much more informed about so many aspects of ecological system and the habitat.

Institutional transformation
TV has been chiefly responsible for the decline of cinema and stage.
In most cases it is an interesting TV drama, musical show or a cricket match which is not allowing family members or friends to go out for entertainment.
And how can it be if almost free of cost high quality and at times, a real time entertainment is available at home.
In many countries, and Pakistan is no exception, theaters have seen a steep decline in their business.
Many a theaters have been demolished only to be rebuild as commercial plazas and their have been chaotic voices from different corners of the entertainment industry for the government to undertake some steps to save the cinema life.



Changes in timings
Most people have tuned their daily timings in accordance with their popular programs.
Students tend to finish their homework before their favorite show.
Housewives would make their cooking schedule as not to miss the soap tonight.
Men would get ready for relaxing by watching programs of their interest.
Much noticeable change is in bed-timings.
Early to bed... dictum seems to have lost its meaning and watching TV till late night has become a norm at most households
until children get a gaze from parents they tend to fight sleep only to watch a play or a show and discuss it next day with class-mates.

Fashion
Working on the psyche of youth, especially young ladies, TV plays and shows have concentrated over the years in introducing new and trendy dresses,
particularly in the advertisements which are integral part of TV transmissions all across the world.
The new hair styles, dresses, make up and even body gestures very quickly gain currency and after any popular show or a drama serial its fashion effects are easily seen on the people.

Household entity and change in habits
TV has become one essential household entity.
You remove TV from the house and everybody starts feeling as something is missing.
It is this strong feeling of TV presence that is helping change habits pertaining to talking style, eating timings, and seeing relatives etc.

__________________

TERRORISM THE BIGGEST THREAT TO PAKISTAN


What Is Terrorism:

Though terrorism has no accepted definition,
yet it can be defined as the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aim.

the calculated use of violence or threat of violence against civilians
in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature,
this is done through intimidation or coercion or inciting fear.

According to FBI’s definition, Terrorism is the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property
to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objective.


Introduction

At present the gravest problem that Pakistan is faces is terrorism.
It has become a headache for federation and a nightmare for public.
Though, it is a global issue but Pakistan has to bear the brunt of it.
Pakistan’s involvement in the War on Terror has further fuelled the fire.
We are facing war like situation against the terrorists.
This daunting situation is caused due to several factors.
These factors include social injustice, economic disparity, political instability, religious intolerance and also external hands or international conspiracies.
A handful of people who have their vicious interests to fulfil have not only taken countless innocent lives but also distorted the real image of Islam before the world through their heinous acts. Terrorist acts like suicide bombings have become a norm of the day.
On account of these attacks Pakistan is suffering from ineffaceable loss ranging from civilian to economic.
People have become numerical figures, blown up in numbers every now and then.

Terrorists have not spared any place.
Bazars, mosques, educational institutes, offices, hotels, no place is safe anymore.


Terrorism is second to none amongst the threats faced by Pakistan.
The cost it has incurred, overweighs the losses bore in any other turmoil in history of the country.

The complexity of this multifaceted menace lies in the fact that it is caused by multitude of factors ranging from internal situation to external developments.

It has been damaging not only the economy, political stability, social sector and social fabric of the country but also national security and integrity.
The country's image abroad and its foreign relations are severely affected, as well.

Moreover, the risk of being termed as a failed state was born out of the implications of no other problem but terrorism.
Nevertheless, the increasing realization and resolve of the political, civil and military leadership to combat this threat with iron hands harbingers a strong action to eradicate terrorism.

However, this problem will not go away easily given the isolated responses from state institutions.
A comprehensive and integrated counter-extremism and counter-terrorism strategy is need of the hour.
The emerging clarity among institutions and political consensus among major stakeholders is a positive sign in this regard.


History of Terrorism in Pakistan: An Overview

The origin of terrorism in Pakistan can be traced back to two important events that brought obscurantism, intolerance and resultantly terrorism in Pakistan.

Before 1980s, religion has never been a controversial issue in Pakistan.
The sectarian militants emerged in Pakistan after the 1979 Iran Revolution which transformed the nature and magnitude of sectarian violence in Pakistan.

Besides, Soviet occupation of Afghanistan was the most critical event leading to the spread of militancy.

A fundamental change that altered the very character of society in Pakistan occurred after the outbreak of Soviet-Afghan war.

However, the real damage was exposed only after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, when there emerged weaponization and violence in Pakistan.

Lately, in the wake of US attack on Afghanistan, and Pakistan's entry into War on Terror as an ally, the extremism and terrorism soared.


FORMS OF TERRORISM

With its multifarious nature, the magnitude of terrorism has become greater.

Ethnic,
sectarian;
nationalist,
separatist; and
jihadi terrorism are some forms of it.

Ethnicity has been haunting Pakistan since its emergence as an independent state.
This was the ethnicity factor that led to dismemberment of the country in 1971.
Arson, bombings, assaults, vandalism and even murder have been some aspects of this nuisance.

Separatist terrorism is another threat to Pakistan.
The Balochistan province has been facing the intermittent guerilla wars.
The tribal militants, allegedly patronized by foreign powers especially India, carry out heinous acts of terrorism and even resort to target killings to advance their separatist agenda.

The so-called jihad is another form of terrorism that is most widespread nowadays.
This type of terrorism emerged with Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the late 1970s.

After the Soviet withdrawal, this armed struggle transformed into a sort of civil war,
and later Afghanistan became a breeding ground for terrorists.

Furthermore, after 9/11 attacks, when Pakistan entered in war against terrorism,
some of these sham Jihadi groups turned their guns against Pakistan.


causes

This violent phenomenon has become complex in nature due to multitude of the causes.
The situation in Pakistan is more complicated due to its underdevelopment, strategic location, diverse cultures and religious orientation of society.

The first and foremost cause is widespread illiteracy in Pakistan.
Pakistan ranks 113th among the 120 nations in the literacy rate index.
Since, people lack the knowledge of the true teachings of Islam;
they are easily carried away by the emotional and sentimental speeches of religious fanatics.

Secondly; injustice or lack of justice is also one of the core causes of terrorism.
People are suffering from many social injustices including, but not limited to, unequal resource distribution,
restricted access to quality education, the elite's hegemony in political system, lack of basic health facilities,
and non-availability of necessary commodities to major portion of the population.
There is plethora of examples in history when deprived and marginalized people rebelled and even resorted to violence to gain their rights.
In Pakistan, the underprivileged and depressed class is prone to be exploited by the terrorists.

Thirdly; poverty is also a major cause of terrorism.
According to a study conducted by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute,
every third Pakistani is living below the poverty line i.e. 58.7 million out of 180 million are living in abject poverty.
A survey conducted by Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) revealed that around 45.7% population of Pakistan is poor.
These people, caught in the vicious cycle of poverty, join terrorists for monetary benefits.

Fourthly; derailing of democracy by military dictators also contributed to the spread of terrorism in Pakistan.
History of the country manifests that these were the decisions of military rulers that put Pakistan in this quandary.
It was Zia's decision to involve Pakistan in war against Soviets in Afghanistan.
Again, it was Gen Pervez Musharraf's decision to become a frontline US-ally in war against terrorism.


Fifthly; the ever-growing religious intolerance in Pakistan also fosters terrorism.
In recent past, more than 100 Shiites were killed in Quetta in one attack.
In addition, many Sunni/Shia processions were attacked and churches were set ablaze.

Sixthly; Pakistan's participation in Afghan War has also plagued the country with terrorism.
Pakistan still ails from the disease it acquired during Soviet-Afghan war.
Now, those militias have become so unbridled that they even challenge the writ of the government in various parts of the country.

Seventhly; the crippling economy also gives rise to terrorism.
The faltering economy has increased inflation, poverty and unemployment.
Almost 50% of the Pakistani workforce is unemployed, reveals the survey released by the Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW).
Miseries compel people to find additional sources of income and the terrorists lure these marginalized people.
Thus, economic frailty makes recruitment for terrorists easier.

IMPACTS

Terrorism is the biggest threat to a viable state.
The first and foremost threat, it poses, is to democratic system of the country.
Pakistan has had only a wobbling democracy.
Proper democratic transition is taking place for the first time in the country's history.
However, the elections were marred by terrorist attacks on election campaigns.
If the environment of insecurity prevails, democracy would never flourish and people will lose trust in the democratic process.

Terrorism also threatens the sovereignty of Pakistan.
The presence of terrorists invites drone attacks which is a serious challenge to the country's sovereignty.

One of the major reasons behind the crippled economy of Pakistan is terrorism.
The terrorist activities in Pakistan have led to flight of capital and investors.
The investors are reluctant to invest here due to law and order situation.
The estimated losses are around $70bn.

Moreover, tourism industry of Pakistan is also in a dying state.
Furthermore, the threat of terrorism also compels the government to divert resources to security spending.

Terrorism also hampers the prospects of good governance.
The government finds itself hapless to improve the law and order situation in the country.

The schools are bombed and demolished which deprives people of the light of knowledge.
The proponents of education are attacked; the case of Malala Yousafzai is an example in this regard.

Terrorism thwarts the progress of the country as well.
Pakistan couldn't make any progress in the last decade rather all the economic and human development indices show a considerable fall.
Pakistan ranks 145th on the Human Development Index.

The country has spent more than $20 billion on war against terror and is compelled to increase its defence budget.
Resultantly, the spending on the social development has seen new lows.
Hence, terrorism causes underdevelopment which leads to increase in miseries of the masses.

Terrorism endangers the national security as well.
A fleeting look at the current situation reveals that the country is suffering from worst security crisis.
Terrorists carried out, successfully, attacks even on most secure and strategically important places.
The attacks on GHQ, Mehran Naval Base and Kamra Air Base are testimony to this fact.
The magnitude of losses can be gleaned from the fact that only one Saab-2000 aircraft fitted with an Airborne Early Warning & Control System (AWACS) destroyed at Kamra was worth $250 million.

Terrorism, lastly, is a great threat to national integrity.
It is threatening the very roots and fabric of the society.
Pakistanis are being divided into small sub-nations fighting to assert their existence and separate identity.


RECOMMENDATIONS

Despite the above-mentioned facts, Pakistan has all the capacity and potential to eradicate terrorism.

All it requires is a comprehensive and coordinated strategy.
First of all, religious leaders and scholars can play a vital role in this regard.
They should use speeches and writings to preach the message of peace.

Two; the civil society also needs to come forward and play its role in sorting out the problems face by the nation.
Moreover, a huge campaign is required to defeat the ideologies of terrorists.
This campaign or mass movement can be used very effectively with collaborative efforts.

Three; uniform system of education can play a viable role in eradicating terrorism.

The curriculum should be free of all the biases, religious bigotry and fanaticism.
It shall include religious and modern education in equal proportions.
The minds of younger generation need to be washed of all the rigidness; then only peace will prevail in society.

Four; media can be the most effective tool in eliminating terrorism.
Media can be used to educate people and bring them on board about challenges faced by the country.
Soft corner for militancy in the general public can only be eradicated by well-organized media effort.

Five; peace in Afghanistan is one of the prerequisites for curbing terrorism in Pakistan.
Presence of Nato and Allied Forces in Afghanistan is a major cause of instability in the region.

Sixth; an effective strategy to counter militant and extremist groups hinges in the capability to gain timely and accurate intelligence.
The local intelligence needs to be strengthened in terms of organization, equipment, training and coordination.
The intelligence agencies should be made completely free of political interference.

Seventh; a coherent strategy on using force as last resort should be evolved.
The foreigners cannot live among the locals unless they are sufficiently motivated to support these militants.
The local tribesmen should be taken into confidence and must be encouraged to stand up against the foreign elements.

Eighth; economic and social disparity leads to increase in recruitment of terrorists.
Economic recovery should be given the top priority, especially in the underdeveloped areas.

Comprehensive plans to ensure revival of industry to generate economic activity and jobs should be devised.

Lastly, there is, undoubtedly, a need for providing speedy and affordable justice to poor masses.
As 'Justice delayed is justice denied', the people feel themselves alienated from society.
The performance of lower judiciary has resulted in loss of trust of general public in courts and thus the Taliban-type speedy justice system attracts public support in certain areas. Therefore, justice system should be reviewed to ensure that people get speedy and affordable justice.
Moreover, the prosecution needs to be made effective in order to curtail the large acquittal ratio of terrorists.



CONCLUSION
There is no denying the fact that Pakistan is facing great threat of terrorism.
It's a country which is plagued with multifarious terrorism caused by several intricate problems.
It poses threat to essential ingredients of the state, from democracy to national security and integrity of the country.
However, combating terrorism is not an insurmountable task for this resilient nation.
The enormity of the challenge has led to the momentum that is underway with regard to building of consensus on the policy to combat terrorism.
This would lead to a conclusive strategy to eliminate this menace.
The policy accompanied with political resolve is bound to win this war and achieve the stability and prosperity in the country.

Pakistan China Relations

History of Bilateral Political Relations.

Pakistan is one of the first countries that have recognized China.
and the only Muslim nation, to recognise the People’s Republic of China and tried to build good relations with the newly independent country.
Pakistan also helped China become a member of the United Nations.

On May 21, 1951, the two countries officially established their diplomatic relations.

Since then, smooth development of friendly and neighborly relations as well as mutually beneficial cooperation.

1) at first Pakistan maintained cool relations with China, as it was an ally of the West.
Due to little interactions between the two countries, their relations only remained general.

2) The period between 1957 and 1969 saw a very important phase in the history of the SinoPakistani relations.

During this period, historical changes took place in the bilateral relations,
and the change of Pakistan from being hostile toward to friendly with China opened a new chapter in the Sino-Pakistani relations.

It has also played a leading role in bridging the communication gap between China and the West, through Henry Kissinger’s secret visit in 1971, which became the forerunner of President Nixon’s historic Beijing tour.

CRUX OF PAK-CHINA RELATIONS

Their relationship grew with the changing international and regional security dynamics and Pakistan and China developed an 'all weather friendship' from 1960s-1980s.

Present China status.

Today, China has come a long way from the turbulent times.
It is a factor of stability in the region; is the world’s most populous and industrious nation;
the world’s 2nd largest economy and trading nation;
a global innovator in science and technology;
building a world class university system.

It has an increasingly modern military and commands diplomatic respect.
In this period of global economic meltdown,
China not only has a stable economy, but it also holds roughly $1.5 trillion in US assets, and it is the second biggest foreign holder of US debt after Japan.



Chinese interests in Pakistan

For China, the geostrategic location of Pakistan
The regional security environment posed a number of challenges.
On the one hand, there are India and Russia as strategic competitors,
Japan and South Korea and ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) as economic competitors and

on the other hand the strategic and economic alliances between the US and India exerts constant pressure on China's foreign policy moves.
China has largely pursued a policy of easing out the US from the South Asian security arena since the end of the cold war.

To this end, Pakistan has been presented as a strategic pressure point against the US.


Pakistan Interests

Pakistan has a history of troubled relations with its two immediate neighbours-India and Afghanistan, this scenario poses to Pakistan's strategic and security system issues,

China has always been considered a security guarantor.

China supported Pakistan in its wars with India also helped the country
develop a strong defense mechanism. technological and material assistance to Pakistan military over the years.

China is Pakistan's largest defense supplier.

The two important nuclear reactors that Pakistan has at Chashma, were built with Chinese support and assistance.
Regular joint military exercises have also been a prominent feature of their strategic alliance.

border agreement between the two countries in 1963 and
the same year the two countries signed the first bilateral trade agreement.

Earlier, Pakistan had voted for China's legitimate rights in the United Nations in 1961.

Following the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the US as the sole super power, in the early 1990s,
China reportedly equipped Pakistan's military with more sophisticated weapons' technology, including missiles.

The foremost concern for establishing diplomatic ties was to seek strategic support.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s recent visit to Beijing

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s recent visit to Beijing aroused great interest and curiosity among the people, especially after governmental claims on the outcome of the visit. According to federal minister Ahsan Iqbal, at least 19 agreements were signed during this visit, involving a huge portfolio of Chinese investment worth $45.6 billion. There were all sorts of speculations on the nature of the Chinese financing — whether it consisted of loans or investment — and if loans, what sovereign guarantees were involved.
The Chinese, on their part, were indeed quick to dispel any speculations.
In a media briefing in Islamabad, a senior Chinese official confirmed the

signing of 19 agreements during the prime minister’s visit to Beijing earlier this month.
out of the 19 projects, 13 were energy related, which will be functional by 2018.

The unmatched special feature of this relationship is the mutual trust and confidence based on convergence of strategic interests
that the two countries have built over the decades as an asset of their friendship.

Both countries have been supporting each other in their just causes,
which for Pakistan include a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue and preservation of its independence and territorial integrity,
and for China, the issues of Taiwan, human rights in Tibet and Xinjiang.
There is a strong strategic mutuality in this approach, making economic and security cooperation the bedrock of this multi-dimensional relationship as a factor of peace and stability in this region. From the
Karakoram Highway to the
newly completed Gwadar Port,
a string of industrial plants, factories, electrical and mechanical complexes,
power-producing units,
including hydro and nuclear power plants,
stand testimony to China’s vital contribution to our country’s economic development.


Economic aspect

Moving on to the economic aspect, Pakistan-China economic relations have grown substantively in the last decade (2000-2010)
and can be termed as a development of the recent past as opposed to political and defence relations which have grown substantively since 1960s.

In the last ten years, the volume of bilateral trade has risen from $1 billion to about $7 billion,

however growth in percentage of Pakistani exports on a yearly basis has been declining and the balance of trade has been constantly in favour of China.

This is explicable because China is a much larger economy compared to Pakistan.

Pakistan exports mainly raw materials, including copper, cotton, chrome, etc. against the import of value added manufactured goods.

China's exports to Pakistan constitute more than 20% of its imports while Pakistan's exports to China constitute only 0.13% of Chinese imports.

In 2011, the central banks of the two countries signed the Pak Rupee-Renminbi Currency Swap Arrangement which should enable traders and investors to settle their transactions in their natural currencies.

It is ironic that exporters in Pakistan mainly look towards markets in the West as opposed to looking towards China.

In the context of Pakistan-China relations, the facet of economic relations is the most ill-developed.

For that to take place, the security situation in Pakistan needs a radical overhaul and improvement so that investments from China are brought in and effectively materialised.

Moreover, it is imperative that Pakistan does not merely concentrate on inviting investments from China (which would ultimately reap benefits to the Chinese state)

but that the Pakistani industrial sector increases its exports to China (from a more diversified manufacturing base) so that real financial benefits accrue to the state and peoples of Pakistan.


Pakistan-China Economic Corridor
Their new plans encompass a Pakistan-China Economic Corridor linking Pakistan’s coastal areas with northwest China.
whole range of connectivity, construction, and economic and technical cooperation,

This indeed is a huge agenda with mutual interests rooted in their common vision
for a better future for their own peoples and for peace and prosperity of the region itself.

For China, it is the ‘national rejuvenation’ through accelerated development of its backward western regions,
whereas for Pakistan, it is the imperative of converting its geopolitical location into an asset rather than a liability.
The real challenge for both now remains how vigorously and faithfully they can translate this common vision into reality.


Naval Base in Gwadar
China is the largest investor in the Gwadar Deep Sea Port, which is strategically located at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz. It is viewed warily by both America and India as a possible launchpad for Chinese naval operations in the Indian Ocean.
China has offered Pakistan military aid in order to fight against terrorism in Pakistan.

The most intriguing aspect of the assistance that Pakistan has received from China in all the years is the deep-sea port at Pakistan's naval base in Gwadar in the province of Balochistan. The port has been constructed at the apex of the Arabian Sea. The Gwadar Port translates China's long-term interests and makes it a major stakeholder in the region extending its influence to the Indian Ocean politics. The port will further enable China to gain access to the oil and gas that is regularly traded through the Indian Ocean from the Persian Gulf.

On their part, the Chinese have always delivered on their commitment.
Their help has always been selflessly unconditioned involving even sacrifices in terms of many Chinese lives.

Even today, thousands of Chinese engineers and workers are engaged under most difficult conditions in building roads, bridges, tunnels, dams, schools and hospitals for the people of Pakistan.
The problem is on our side. Economic activity’s basic ingredients comprise consistent policies, a stable law and order situation and supporting infrastructure, including requisite energy. These are missing in our country.
The history of two vital aspects of our cooperation with China — trade potential and the Gwadar Port — totally neglected by us for almost a decade,
should be an eye-opener as far as our capacity or ability to ensure time-barred and cost-effective completion of new projects is concerned.

The problem is that we do not even have a policy or priority framework
The problem is that we do not even have a policy or priority framework nor an integrated approach in handling development projects and funds, which often lapse due to non-utilisation.
A number of projects are lost or abandoned only because there is no coordination among the relevant agencies of our government.
The perilous security situation, the continuing energy crisis and our corrupt politico-bureaucratic machinery are the biggest bottlenecks and warrant immediate attention if we are serious about honouring our own commitment to realise the common goals envisioned as part of the new China-Pakistan plans.
Our industrial wheel is mostly non-operational constricting our export productivity. No wonder, our trade with China remains one-sided. It’s also a pity that a country of 200 million people and tremendous engineering skills and a talent reservoir today can’t even run its own ports, railways or airlines.
We are still waiting for the Chinese to come and start operating the Gwadar Port. A nation that leaves itself completely at the mercy of others and continues to look for disinterested favours from them is not worthy of independence.

We must not embarrass our Chinese friends by overstretching our demands that might one day amount to ransoming the country.
The situation needs a change in our mindset and a paradigm shift in our governance patterns, which require hard decisions.

Military Relations:-

The People's Republic of China enjoys strong defense ties with Pakistan.
This relationship between two adjoining Asian countries is important in the world's geo-strategic alliances.
The strong defense ties to counter regional Indian and American influence, and was also to repel Soviet influence in the area.
In recent years this relationship has strengthened through ongoing defence projects and agreements between Pakistan and China.

Since 1962, China has been a steady source of military equipment to the Pakistani Army,
helping establish
munition factories,
providing technological assistance and
modernizing existing facilities.

The countries are involved in the joint venture of several projects to enhance military and weaponry systems,

Weapons and aircrafts possessed by the Pakistan military which are transferred by China or developed through Chinese assistance include:

Short-range ballistic M-11 missiles
Shaheen-1 ballistic missile
JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft,
F-7 aircraft
K-8 Karakorum advance aircraft,

space technology,
AWACS systems,

Al-Khalid tanks.
T-85 tanks

Babur cruise missile.
F-22P frigates with helicopters
K-8 jet trainers

Heavy Rebuild Factory (HRF) at Taxila,
Pakistan Aeronautical Complex at Kamra


Chashma nuclear reactors .
Chashma Nuclear Power Complex and plutonium reprocessing facility,1990s.
Khushab reactor for production of plutonium

technical and material support in the completion of the enabling Pakistan to become a nuclear state with an estimated 100 warheads as of 2011.

The armies have a schedule for organising joint military exercises.

Pakistan has purchased military equipment from China in order to bolster their efforts against Islamic militants.

In the past, China has played a major role in the development of Pakistan's nuclear infrastructure,
when increasingly stringent export controls in Western countries made it difficult for Pakistan
to acquire materials and uranium enriching equipment from elsewhere.

Geo – Strategic Importance of Pakistan


Geo strategic means the importance and influence of a country or region as by virtue of its geographical location.

1- INTRODUCTION:

Pakistan is a junction of South Asia, West Asia and Central Asia,

A region which has great political, economic and strategic location.
The world is facing energy crisis and terrorism particularly after the events of 9/11.
Pakistan has a role for transportation, and a front line state against terrorism.


2- PAKISTAN GEOGRAPHICALLY LOCATION:

Location: Southern Asia lies between 24 and 36.75 northern latitude and between 61 and 7505 eastern longitude.
Area: 7, 96000 sq.km.
Towards north apart from the state of Kashmir is china. It shares 400 km long boarder with china.
Towards north Tajikistan though no boarder but a narrow strip as Wahkhan strip separate the two.
Towards east, Punjab-Rajasthan boarders which is 1650 km long
Towards west, Afghanistan border of 2250 km.
Towards south, Arabian sea / Indian Ocean. Coastal belt is about 700 km.
Pakistan significance is enhanced as it lies near the Persian Gulf where 65% of the world’s oil is produced.



Geographical Importance:

Pakistan’s geo-strategic importance can be best understood in the regional and global perspective.
In geographical terms, it is surrounded by four countries: Afghanistan, Iran, India and China, each of which is a major player in international politics.

In one way or the other, Pakistan is vital for these countries and this raises its international stature.
Iran and Afghanistan are energy abundant while India and China are lacking of.
Gawadar port with its deep waters attracts the trade ships of China, CARs and South East Asian Countries.
Gwadar port being towards north can easily provide services and facilities to CARs, Afghanistan and China.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan which is now the focus of world’s attention is generally regarded as the breeding ground of all the international terrorism, militancy and opium production
US realises the fact that no peace is possible in Afghanistan without the active support and cooperation of Pakistan.
US and NATO troops are heavily dependent on Pakistan for winning the war in Afghanistan. Pakistan provides the easiest route for the provision of NATO supplies to the forces in Afghanistan. Moreover, being a land locked country, Afghanistan has to rely heavily on Pakistan for its trade and economy.

Gateway to central Asia-oil and energy game
Pakistan offers to CARs the shortest route of 2600 km as compared to Iran (4500 km) or Turkey (5000 km) Central Asia is the center stage of new Great games.
Western quest for resources- oil and energy resources in the
central Asia. Pakistan is located very close to the oil rich Middle Eastern countries. Thus, Pakistan can influence shipment of oil.
Iran and Afghanistan:are energy abundant while India and china are lacking.

Iran
It can Transport its oil &gas to India China through Pakistan.

India
India with its huge market and its nuclear capability,
is also ambitious of becoming a global power with a permanent seat in the Security Council.
Pakistan can Reduce Indian hegemony in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean:


China
Pakistan is the only direct and shortest link between China and the Middle East.China finds way to Indian ocean and Arabian Sea through Korakaram. China with its fastest economic growth rate of 9%, China, which is the upcoming superpower both in economic and military terms. it is likely to be the only rival of the US economically as well as militarily.for its rapidly flourishing international trade,It is worth remembering that sea transport is 10 times cheaper than land transport.


Arabian Gulf Countries
Pakistan significance is enhanced as it lies near the Persian Gulf where 65% of the world’s oil is produced.
Gwadar Port located in proximity of Arabian Gulf and Central Asian Republics provide it unique opportunity to serve both.
Pakistan needs to capitalize on them through better diplomatic ties with Arab states and CARs.
The port will also help in promoting trade with Gulf States possessing 63% of world’s oil reserves and will prove beneficial for country.

d) Important link in the chain of Muslim countries:
Thus it can actively participate in the activities of Muslim world-economic development, transport of resources and above all combat terrorism.

e) Only Muslim country with nuclear capability:
which has great influence on the political, socio-economic activities
in the region and the maintenance of status quo in the region.
A historian has perhaps rightly said that in almost 80 years since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire,
if any worth mentioning incident took place in the whole Muslim world,
it was in May 1998, when Pakistan carried out its nuclear explosions.

a) Us Intrests in the region:
Security and business are two main US interests in the region while Pakistan is playing a front line role in the war against terrorism. Apart from this US interest in the region to contain the growing china, nuclear Iran, terrorist Afghanistan and to benefit from the market of India. The American think tank has repeatedly accepted that war against terrorism could never be won without the help of Pakistan.

Political importance:

Iran’s nuclear program, India’s geopolitical muscles (new strategic deal with US) to gain the hegemony and to counter the
“The Rise of China” which has earned all the qualities to change unipolar world into Bipolar world.
The American think tanks have repeatedly accepted that war against terror could never be worn without the help of Pakistan.
Pakistan’s strategic position & Nuclear capability

Economic significance:

SAARC, ECO. Iran is struggling to export its surplus gas and oil to eastern countries:
Pakistan would get 400 million dollar annually if IPT gets success.
Mountain Ranges: Himalayas, Hindu Kush in the North are plentiful in providing water and natural resources.


c) Significance as a Transit economy:

Pakistan has the potential to develop transit economy on account is its strategic location,
land locked Afghanistan now at the phase of reconstruction China with its fastest economy growth rate of 9% us developing Pakistan offers central Asian regions the shortest route of 2600
trade ships of china, CAR and south east Asian countries.

Economy of Pakistan

Pakistan is a country having vast natural resources but, unfortunately, it is unable to manage the scattered and divided network of national assets. All mismanagement and encroachment upon our internal affairs is due to intellectual vacuum and political dilemmas. Ironically, we are not independent enough to introduce some healthy economic reforms.

Features of Pakistan's Economy

The economy of Pakistan is the 26th largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), and 44th largest in terms of nominal GDP.

The economy of Pakistan is a semi-industrialised one, based heavily on textiles, agriculture and food production.

Agriculture accounts for more than one-fifth of output and two-fifths of employment.

Primary export commodities include textiles, leather goods, sports goods, chemicals and carpets and Rugs.

Pakistan's GDP per capita is $3,149 ranking 140th in the world.
Growth poles of Pakistan's economy are situated along the Indus River.

Pakistan is currently undergoing process economic liberalization with includes privatization of all government corporations,
aimed to attract foreign investment and decrease budget deficit.

The economy has suffered in the past from internal political disputes, a fast-growing population, mixed levels of foreign investment.

Pakistan is a developing country and is one of the Next Eleven, the eleven countries that, along with the BRICs, have a potential to become one of the world's large economies in the 21st century.

Economic growth rate for previous three years has been approximately 3% which is pathetic and heart-wrenching to say the least.




PRESENT POSITION OF ECONOMY

Our Share in the World Trade is Shrinking.

In 1990, Pakistan’s share was 0.2% of the world trade. After 20 years it has come down to 0.12% .
India in the same period had doubled its share from 0.7% to 1.4%.

We have not entered the markets for more dynamic products. All our exports are to a few markets – the USA, EU and the Middle East.

No noticeable addition to basic Industries
For the last thirteen years there has been no noticeable addition to basic industries and the economic infrastructure of the country.
Instead the number of sick industrial units increases each year.
The public sector is shrinking and suffering losses.
External debt are touching new heights and the irony is that new loans are obtained simply to pay back a portion of the earlier loans.
Citing the examples of India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as the grown up economies, Pakistan is the only country in the region
where growth rate is continuously falling.A change is must now to stop this situation.

The magnanimity of the agricultural problems in Pakistan has undoubtedly crippled the economy.
In 1947, agriculture's contribution of GDP was 53% that has shrunken down to 21% last year.

Where China is growing padi crops in Gobi desert, Pakistan is still relying on perennial canal system of irrigation.

Every year, salinity alone is turning about 100,000 acres of arable land into marshes and salt lands.

Water-logging is no less injurious. About 25% of the irrigated area of Pakistan is affected by water logging and salinity problems.

Pakistan is a huge population that is suffering already from energy and water shortage.
Moreover, food inflation has been touching double figures since last half a decade and has gone up to 26% in 2010.
Realizing these ground realities, Pakistan needs to look seriously into its agricultural problems.

The economy of Pakistan was not doomed for disaster. It has become the victim of eccentric policies of our past rulers. It has been mismanaged up to this extent that the country has virtually become bankrupt and made to dance on the tunes of donor agencies as Pakistan has bartered its freedom with them.

CAUSES

Terrorism, extremism
Terrorism, extremism, ethnic and communal riots have jeopardized our peace, worsened our economy and have periled the integrity of the nation.
All our trade links with neighbouring countries have been cut off and exports have reached new lows due to security situation.

We Face Energy and Water Shortages.
Another challenge we face today is energy and water shortages, and that is not because we are not generating enough electricity or we are not having enough water.

Government of Pakistan out of its own limited resources is paying 200 billion rupees every year as subsidies for electricity.

Poor Management of Resources:

We have water course losses of about 20-25%. Even after these losses, the water is inequitably distributed.

Our motherland has been gifted with fertile land, abounding natural resources along with enriched, genius minds to make best use of them.
But due to sheer incompetence and ineptness on part of those at the helm, these invaluable resources remain unutilized.
Resultantly, most of our youth, their minds and talents are not directed towards a path which may lead them to a brighter and enviable future.

Crisis of Governance and Implementation Weaknesses.


We prefer Aid to Trade
Our 'visionary' tilt, literally, is just for aid; not for trade and investment rather it is said euphemistically that Pakistanis want 'Tr-aid'.
What we direly need is to invest in technology for betterment of floundering and staggering economy.


We Consume More and Save Less.
Out of every hundred rupees of our national income, we consume 85 rupees and save only 15 rupees,
Because to grow by 6%, you need at least 24-25% investment rate
India’s saving rate was about the same, but last year they recorded 34% savinrates.
China’s saving rate is 50%,

We Import More and Export Less

Till 2007-2008, 80% of our imports were financed by our export earnings.This ratio has come down to only 50%,
Cost of Doing Business is High.

Pakistan is ranked among the bottom half of the rankings of the countries where cost of doing business is quite high.

Government Spends More than it Earns as Revenues.
Fiscal deficit is the difference between the revenues which are collected in a year and the total expenditure incurred by the Government.
Pakistan’s government takes away 20% of national income as its own.
20% in the hands of the government is spent on defence, debt servicing, development on education, health, general administration etc.
The revenue generated is only 15% of the GDP at best,
we are very heavily dependent on borrowing to meet the resource gap,
our major donor International Monetary Fund insists upon narrowing the revenue expenditure gap to under five percent of the gross domestic product.
Since other lenders follow the policies of International Monetary Fund, Pakistan has no choice but to enhance its taxes and revenues.
These foreign lenders and donors also demand that we reduce taxes on international trade which means the reduction in the custom duties which has always been the main source of our revenues. This puts further pressure on the other taxes to make up for the loss caused by the reduction in the custom receipts.


Increasing Crime a hurdle in the way of development
Presently, unemployment is the biggest hurdle in the way of development.
Due to unemployment, events of street crime and robbery have been gaining ground and surging too.
Many young graduates have been found guilty of robbery and involving in other social menaces.
It is all due to crumpled and sick economy.
Adding fuel to the fire are the increasing rates of electricity, which is going beyond the reach of the lower class.


We Badly Lag in Social Indicators.
that a country like Pakistan that should have had best indicators in literacy, infant mortality, fertility rates, in access to water supply, in primary enrolment ratios has social indicators which are more comparable to Africa rather than to the countries of similar per capita income.
Even Tajikistan, which is a very poor country, has better literacy rate and primary enrolment ratios than Pakistan. What does it means?
It means that if we had literacy rate of 100% instead of 55%, then in 2009-2010 our per capita income would have been 2000$ rather than 1000$.
Instead of 30 million middle class in Pakistan we would have 60-70 million middle class people; we would have poverty reduced to 15-20%.

Agriculture has always been neglected.
Feudalism is in vogue even today and about six thousand families posses forty percent of the total cultivable land. There is no retrieval policy in regard to the agricultural inputs. The cost of seed is four times higher than its cost of production. Irrigation system is also upset. Per acre productivity of East Punjab and Haryana is four times higher than that of West Punjab and Sindh. The level of land and human efforts are the same but the difference in policies, facilities and other factors account for the disparity. As

Irrigation issues
Quite unfortunately, network of water channels existing in Pakistan has become redundant.
Perennial canal system of irrigation, when formed, was a very efficient in 1960's.
But today, Pakistan is deprived of the modern ways of irrigation that is drip and sprinkle irrigation.
A huge amount of water is lost due to seepage and evaporation.
Moreover, due to problem of distribution of water in fields, farmers do not practice the standard water required in fields.

Uncertainty and Unpredictability due to Lack of Continuity.
Every government whether military or civilian starts with a clean slate, as if nothing happened before them and nothing will happen after them.
This is not the way the real world works. You take the projects and programmes which were initiated by the previous governments, evaluate them as to what the strengths and

Political Stability, Law and Order/Security.
for a robust economy we should have political stability, law and order and security.
The sooner the country is gotten rid of this image of political instability, poor law and order situation and insecurity, whereby investors from all over the world hesitate in coming to Pakistan and invest, we will not be able to make any progress in this country.

The socio cultural attitude of the people
is also an obstacle in the way of economic development of Pakistan.
More than 50 % people are illiterate. They are ignorant of what is happening in their own country and the world at large. The majority of the people are extravagant. Pakistan, in fact, has a consumption oriented society. The native culture and are generally not receptive to new foreign methods of production. The caste system functioning mostly in terms of occupations like tailoring, carpentry, jewelry etc. restrict occupational and geographical mobility.

Education is however not our priority and country spends only 1.24 per cent of the budget for education.
In contrast, countries like Malaysia spend 23 per cent of their budget for this purpose.
There is a need to improve our education system but that requires political will and coordinated efforts.
An innovative approach is needed for this purpose and for that people from all walks of life need to be consulted.
For a better future generation, a country has to grow both economically and socially having education a key role in the process.


Recommendations:
The economy of Pakistan has fallen up to this extent that it requires serious attention and endeavor to revive its state.

The revival of economy means to bring the economy on track whereby country becomes self sufficient and economy self sustained to meet its internal demands and fulfill foreign obligations. Sustained economy provides a balance in trade, potential of paying back foreign loans and gradual growth in gross domestic and national product. Rise in foreign exchange reserves, minimum inflation rate, strong local currency are a few indicators of a sustained economy whereas better social indicators reflect its civic effects.


The real issue of our economy is how to achieve higher productively, and to strengthen and develop the infrastructure.
For this purpose the foremost need is to restore the confidence of our businessmen, cultivators and industrials to engage them in product processes. In the past, various Government of Pakistan have made some efforts to build up infrastructure and productive potential of the economy, through the process of many plans which was the beginning to prepare for future advancement. It was started by launching a six year Development Program in in 1951. The plan was suspended two years before its completion due to the repercussions of the Korean war. Besides this plan, five other five years development plans were drawn up. These efforts did not prove successful due to economic, social cultural and administrative obstacles.

Mobilization of Human Resources
Besides, Allah Almighty has blessed Pakistan with natural resources like coal, copper, iron, and molybdenum, another precious metal.
Pakistan's leadership should be proactive and must introduce a coherent and organized mechanism of good governance. Investing in resources is need of the hour.
It is high time to enhance skill power of our young generation by providing them technical skills. India in our neighbourhood is a world leader in the field of technology but, contrarily, we are lagging far behind. So, we should take concrete steps for mobilization of resources, for determination of administration and for uplifting of economy.


For accelerating the rate of economic development, there should be political stability in the country. If there is a change in the government set up due to election, or of dictatorship, the planning projects initiated by the previous government should not be altered or given up altogether.

The planning machinery and all others involved in administration should be loyal to the country. They should be competent and honest in the performance of the duties assigned to them. In Pakistan, since its inception, there have been rapid changes of governments. Each government which came in power condemned the planning work done by the previous governments. They introduced their own plans, formulated their own strategies of development and left the chain without achieving the targets of their plans. A history of planning shows that with the exception of fifth five year plan, all other plans have failed to achieve their objects and have proved mere rigmaroles.

Now the time has come to adopt some practical means to set aside the barriers to economic development.
It is a big challenge to the planners. According to the above mentioned circumstances the following suggestions can be recommended in order to raise the economic development of Pakistan:

Export Promotion Bureau and Embassies/ High commissions abroad should explore markets for Pakistan’s products through trade shows, business delegations and international advertising. Moreover the export base should be broadened by exporting software handicrafts, fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, livestock and flowers etc. Suitable arrangements for processing or packaging of fish, fruits and vegetables should be made.


The difference of US Dollar and Pakistani rupee in official and open market rats should be kept minimum and confidence of the overseas Pakistanis may be restored.

Steps may be taken to attract investment from overseas Pakistanis and international investors.

New dams should be constructed to increase availability of water for irrigation purposes, as irrigation water has a vital importance for better agricultural production. The quantity and quality of irrigation water should be improved through desalting and other water conservation techniques.

The cost of electricity for agriculture purpose should be lowered

In the field of education a new policy broadly aiming at increasing literacy rate by universalizing basic education, enforcing compulsory primary education encouraging private investment and increase in total expenditure on education up to 4 per cent of gross national product is required to be implemented.

The construction of deep sea port at Gawadar and its connection to the rest of the country should be taken up at the earliest to facilitate exports from Balochistan to provide transit for trade of Central Asian States and to get suitable share in international trade, making use of ideal geographical location of Gawadar.

Another important recommendation is regarding information technology policy. This policy mainly emphasized on human resource development and providing infrastructure, should be announced and implemented at the earliest.

Pakistan – United States Relations

Pakistan came into existence just as the cold war was starting.
The world was split into two camps soviet and US. Infant Pakistan and India had to pick their camps.

The United States established diplomatic relations with Pakistan on October 20, 1947.

The relationship since then was based primarily on U.S. economic and military assistance to Pakistan.
Pakistan is a Major non-NATO ally of the United States.

The history of Pakistan–American relations has been defined as one of "Roller Coaster"

1950’s Era:-

When Pakistan was formed in 1947, she needed both economic (due to initial problems) and military (Indian threat) assistance for its survival.
He chooses sanity over inhumanity and visited US, thus strengthening PAK-US relations. India established relations with Soviets.

On 19th May, 1954, Pakistan signed the Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement with the U.S;
also Pakistan joined SEATO in 1954 to contain the expansion of communism in South East Asia.
This membership of SEATO committed Pakistan fully to the Western block.
In 1955 and alliance, the Baghdad Pact, was formed between Britain, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan (its name changed to CENTO).

1960’s Era:-

The U.S extended unlimited military support to India during Sino-Indian border clash in 1962.
Pakistan protested against it but U.S paid no heed to the protest of Pakistan although India was not the ally of U.S but was Pakistan.
When India attacked Pakistan in 1965, it frequently used American weapons against Pakistan.
Pak US relations suffer a set back when US places arms embargo on both nations,
knowing well that Pakistan was totally dependent on US arms and India did not use any US arms.
Soviets speeded up arms supplies to India. US stopped supplies forcing Pakistan to sue for peace offered under Soviets.
During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the U.S. chooses not to provide Pakistan with military support as pledged in the 1959 Agreement of Cooperation.
This generated a widespread feeling in Pakistan that the United States was no longer a reliable ally.

1970’s Era:-

President Richard Nixon used Pakistan's relationship with China to start secret contacts with China
which resulted with Henry Kissinger’s secret visit to China in July 1971 while visiting Pakistan.
during the wars of 1971 US gave no military assistance to Pakistan being a member of SEATO and CENTO.
President Nixon told Pakistan 7th Fleet is on its way.
Now after 25 years declassified documents revealed that US delibratly wanted to break Pakistan to appease India.
It was the time when Pakistan realized that US can support India against China but cannot support Pakistan against India
thus Pakistan withdrew from SEATO in 1972 and CENTO in 1979.

Pakistan-US relations became strained once again in 1976-77.
When pakistan desired to acquire nuclear technology.
America vigorously opposed Pakistan’s attempt to acquire nuclear technology for peaceful and domestic purposes.
In 1977 Carter administration in Sept.1977 cut off the military and economic assistance to Pakistan. Also, Carter visited India and Iran but not Pakistan.

Pakistan feeling betrayed by the US decided to move away from US block. venturing first into NAM(non aligned movement)
then in OIC and finally started making friends with soviets. Soviets started setting up steel mills in Pakistan and supplied some military aid (Mi-8 etc).
Pakistan moved on the road to socialism under Bhutto.
US believed that pakistan was slipping to the other side,US grew hostile to Pakistan.
Bhutto openly challenged US in his speeches....

1980’s Era:-

In 1979 when soviet forces entered in Afghanistan the tables were once again turned. That alarming situation reminded US that Pakistan is its frontline ally for securing peace in the world, so once again military and financial assistance was provided to Pakistan. Henceforth Pakistan resumed its role as America’s forefront partner in South Asia. Therefore Afghan war with the help of Pakistan led towards the end of cold war. But the end of the Cold War did not leave Pakistan in a state of peace and stability. Indeed Pakistan is still paying a huge price of its US assistance.

1990’s Era:-

After10 years of partnership in Afghan Jihad, US attitude towards Pakistan started changing dramatically.
Instead of strengthening relations and crafting new ways of cooperation Pak-US relations went all time low especially from 1990-1993.
The irony about US non-proliferation policy in South Asia was that India was also involved in the nuclear proliferation activities
but all the sanctions, embargos and penalties were just for Pakistan.
In May 1998 as a result of nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan a second set of sanctions were imposed
which prohibits military and economic assistance to any country that delivers or receives nuclear assistance.
When in October 1999 President Musharraf came more “Democracy Sanctions” were enacted on Pakistan.

9/11 And The U-Turn In US-Pakistan Relations:

It was the incident of 9/11 that changed the face of US-Pakistan relations completely and once again
brought the two states close to form an alliance but this time against Taliban.
Pakistan's leadership without learning from their past mistakes joined hands with US and
became a critical ally and is still bearing the brunt of its unremitting support to U.S.
Since 2001 till today Pakistan is fully supporting US in its war against terrorism. .
Yet it has failed to achieve the status that should be given as a recompense for its sacrifices.
Even after 14 years of agony, US does not show any regard to Pakistan’s significant role in curbing the militancy.
Instead it has kept on accusing Pakistan from time to time and demands to ‘do more’.
These kinds of US accusation harms Pakistan’s image in international community and are disliked at Pakistan’s end.
Osama raid has further tensed the already cold relations between the two partners and
has brought the future of US-Pakistan relations under intense consideration.


From Pakistan’s wars with India to Soviet entrance into Afghanistan, from grabbing of Kashmir to debacle of East Pakistan,
from disintegration of USSR to outbreak of 9/11, from Pakistan’s Nuclear Experiments to Nuclear Deal with India and in the post 9/11
India supportive scenario in the region and beyond against Pakistan, from Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline (the peace pipeline) to TAPI,
from Silk Route to Gawadar, from economic adversity to political quandary,
from peaceful Pakistan to plunged into protracted war of sectarianism, extremism and terrorism
(the war which only after 9/11 has injected Pakistan a monetary loss of $102.51 billion with more than fifty thousand causalities from 2001-2014),
from CSF to USAID, USA has always negatively exploited and browbeaten Pakistan.

American Interests in Pakistan

Walter Savage Landor an English writer says ‘we talk on principle, but we act on interest’.
The undeniable reality about relations among states is their vault on interests.
All the relations are purely based on interests.
History of the Pak-US relations reveals that the later has at all times used the former for its covetous interests and on fulfilling left it in the lurch.


US has a variety of interests in Pakistan, they are at all levels i.e. short, mid and long term.
Broadly speaking they can be confined into geo-strategic interests and American war against terror.

America reservations about Pakistan inclination toward Russia, China and SCO:
Among geo-strategic interests America has severe reservations about Pakistan inclination toward Russia, China and SCO.
USA does not like Pakistan’s mending ties with Russia.
Pakistan and China has established and time tested relations if it is unbearable for USA
but it intends these relations not to affect American aims or use against American whims and wishes.
America is aiming at to not Pakistan let go in the SCO block. It wants to keep Pakistan in its filth hands.

America forces Pakistan to shun IP and come to TAPI. Behind it, it on one side dreams to harm Iran and on the other side
plans to shift Central Asian gas to South Asia damaging Russian interests and building India against China.
It is also irrefutable that the route of TAPI is very perilous and passes from the anarchic and wobble areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Though after successful nuclear non-proliferation deal with Iran,
USA has no lawful reasons to keep its traditional animosity with it but Iran’s tilt toward freedom fighters and
rivalry in the Middle East still hinders American’s strategies.
USA demands from Pakistan safe and free access to Baluchistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia via Gawadar and other routes already in use.


America does not like Pak-China trade corridor:
America does not like Pak-China trade corridor through Silk Route along with other regional powers to become functional.
Gawadar Port, one of the world’s deepest sea ports being the hub of this trade is still in tatters,
despite the fact that fully functioning of this harbor can change the destiny of Pakistan.
The hegemonic war played by India and USA in this region and its countering
by Pakistan and China has resulted in stern repercussions shattering the regional balance and peace.
The emergence of China against the aspirations and designs of USA around the globe and especially in this region
has changed the state of affairs. America is proved nothing but disastrous and troublemaker in this region and beyond.

The ‘do more” mantra:
The ‘do more” mantra is not mere a mantra but a comprehensive pack of American interests and benefits.
Under “do more”, USA wants Pakistan to continue operations against the militants.
So far, many operations have been successfully carried out and a current operation is going on in long wanted North Waziristan Agency. Other stipulation under do more is continuation of drone attacks.
And then there comes the demand of full fledge and unconditional co-operation in the war against terror.
America has planned withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan at the end of this year and it is not possible without the support of Pakistan.
In current elections like that were held earlier, America wants to install a puppet and shadow government in Afghanistan that not only will suit to it but to India as well and can be used against Pakistan which is unacceptable for Pakistan.



America can’t now bear the transferring of nuclear technology from Pakistan to other countries:
America can’t now bear the transferring of nuclear technology from Pakistan to other countries thus is keeping a stretched eye on it.
America sees the tribal belt of Pakistan along with bordering areas of Afghanistan the pivotal center of extremism and anti-Americanism,
therefore, it pinches Pakistan time and again to take strong measures (operations) against the elements involved.
Poppy cultivation and its proliferation are also a biggest challenge.
At this juncture of time, America is helpless other than to support Pakistan because
it is fully entangled in the muddled quagmire of its own started war against terror and proposed withdrawal.


Pakistan has strong reservations against America on many fronts.

Pakistan has strong reservations against America on many fronts.
By now when Pakistan is facing acute water and energy crises,
America has made civil nuclear deal with India and on the other hand pressurizing to go for TAPI instead of IP knowing that IP gas pipeline is more feasible, safe, practicable and swiftly result oriented.
It is very disgusting and painstaking for Pakistan. America better knows that Pakistan and India are archrivals;issue of Kashmir is still the prey of Indian stubborn attitude and world powers hypocrisy but in spite of all that America’s one sided support to India is really questionable.

With the support of America, India has built up its strong footings in Afghanistan making Pakistan’s Western border also unsafe, this is another bolt for Pakistan.

American adversary against functioning of Gawadar port and Pak-China trade corridor is another issue of concern for Pakistan.


US Support to India

Some strategic thinkers and policy makers in South Asia and beyond still believe that Pakistan-India relations are a one-sided game
and it is Pakistan that should be more serious in improving its relations with India even on Indian terms.

This strategic misperception has been further strengthened in the post-cold war and post 9/11 scenarios
because some major powers like the US and EU countries have started terming India as a major world power quite prematurely.
Despite that India is yet far away from attaining this status.

Such a privileged position being accorded to India by the West is basically due to their desire of propping up this poverty-ridden country
as a counterweight to the rising China and also considering it a major trading and investment market due to its vast population and cheaper labour force.


It is time for America to do more for Pakistan
One thing is true that America does not want to see Pakistan destabilized.
It is not for the favor of Pakistan or that America wishes Pakistan’s wellbeing, progress and richness but
because with the fall of Pakistan in the hands of extremists and militants, the whole region will fall to militancy and
this is totally against the American imperial designs. War on terror which actually is war for terror has now unfortunately
become unavoidable and protracted war for Pakistan. It must have to come out of it.

Aiding is not rational and no compensation and recompense.
It is time for America to do more for Pakistan and the rest of the world.
World is direly in need of peace and prosperity.
Blood shedding around the globe ought to be stopped to make this earth a real paradise.
Time demands that international mutual interests should be achieved and secured
keeping at bay personal grudges and national conceited interests.
If the conduct of the world powers is not changed,
then they must remember that who digs for others falls himself as well.
America needs Pakistan more than Pakistan does.
Pakistan should with sensitivity realize its position and importance
without any fear and becoming marionette and satellite and behave accordingly.


CONCLUSION:

Today the people of Pakistan have given even more sacrifices then the NATO/US troops in Afghanistan.
Pakistani public already fed up by the mess created by Afghan war wants US to end this menace.
Amidst national, economic, social, religious crisis, unstable political regime, escalating drone attacks,
loss of civilian lives and news of Osama’s downfall has created trouble, which is spreading like a wild fire.

The demand of ‘Go America Go’ is being chanted all across Pakistan.
This shows a growing wedge between the two strategic partners.
A Pakistani private channel’s survey explored that 77% Pakistanis see US as their enemy.
A new survey conducted by Washington’s Pew Research Centre also shows
that only 11 per cent of Pakistanis view the US and President Obama favorably.

The US- Pak relations have not proved much fruitful for Pakistan, and the nation feels betrayed by the US administrations.
US wants Pakistan to become its vessal state, where all policies are made only to serve the interests of US.
The government should devise such policies that ensure to safeguard our own land and people not the US interests.
Therefore, it is now time for politico-military leadership of Pakistan to sit and review their policies before this
unconditional assistance to US costs the lives of the entire nation.
Albeit despite growing hatred towards American policies and
its presence in the region the war against terrorism has now become Pakistan’s own war and
therefore needs genuine concern of our government.

PAKISTAN_INDIA RELATIONS

The seven-decade rivalry between India and Pakistan is often portrayed as intractable — with good reason.
The countries were birthed out of a bloody partition that encouraged each to define itself in opposition to the other,
and they have fought four wars since then. Even during peacetime, tensions remain high.


Kashmir

How did India and Pakistan arrive at this point?
The answer starts, of course, in Kashmir, which has always been the primary bone of contention between the two nations.
Realistically speaking, the Kashmir question is unlikely to be answered soon because international community is least interested in resolving this longstanding issue despite the fact that numerous UN resolutions on this issue have been passed.

For India, its claim to Kashmir rests on three main arguments:

1. During partition of 1947 the ruler of Kashmir “chose” India over Pakistan (albeit in distress), giving India a legal claim to the territory.

2. Retaining control over Kashmir is essential to India's identity as a secular democracy which can accommodate different ethnic and religious groups across a wide geographic area.

3. If India loses control over Kashmir, it would encourage separatist movements across the country.

Pakistan counters that India's claim is illegitimate because:

1. As a country established for Muslims, Pakistan should control a region like Kashmir that is predominantly Muslim and that culturally shares more with Pakistan than it does with India.

2. India's first premier, Mr Jawaharlal Nehru, promised Kashmir a UN-administered plebiscite in 1956. This promise was not kept, — and is still unfulfilled — denying Kashmiris the right to self-determination.

At present, India has 700,000 soldiers in the region to ensure that Kashmiris do not gather for a movement.

The Pakistani defence establishment seems split between those who believe India merely seeks to undermine Pakistan and its security at every turn,
and those who believe India has nefarious designs to “reunify” the Indian Subcontinent.

The conflict in Kashmir serves as a salient symbol of this civilizational struggle;
India's hold of Kashmir plays a crucial role in the narrative that casts India as a threatening, unjust, and unreliable neighbour.

Both the countries continue to suffer from mutual mistrust and their bilateral disputes remain unresolved and their cooperation circumscribed by severe restrictions and limitations.


The long-standing Kashmir problem is at the heart of all the hostility and antagonism between insofar the two wars were fought mainly due to Kashmir.

The 10-million Muslims of the Kashmir Valley want independence from Indian rule. Pakistan has always supported the noble cause for which Mujahideen are still shedding their blood. After Mumbai attacks, there has been complete impasse and no development was seen on this issue. However, Indian foreign secretary Nirupama Rao recently said that the Indian government has confessed that its policy of not engaging with Pakistan – post 26/11 was wrong. The year 2011 has witnessed the resumption of talks and a number of meetings have been held at secretary and minister levels. Pakistan-India semi final of the 2011 cricket World Cup has also helped proactively to diffuse the tensions.

This is not only in the interest of both countries but is of utmost importance for the whole region as well.

Once the main bone of contention between India and Pakistan i.e. Kashmir is removed, then the two arch rivals and “enemies” can become friends and concentrate on socio-economic problems of their peoples within a peaceful atmosphere.

Water

After Kashmir, the most serious conflict is the water dispute.
The water dispute surfaced when the Indian Punjab cut off the flow of waters in April 1948.
However, through the efforts of World Bank President Mr. Eugene Black the dispute was resolved and Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960.
For smooth operation of the treaty a permanent India-Pakistan Indus Commission was established.

Pakistani concern heightened in the 1990s after India began constructing a hydroelectric power project on the Chenab River in the Doda district of Jammu & Kashmir.
Since the Chenab is the key tributary of the Indus, Pakistani policy-makers and political commentators feared that India could exert control over the waters.
Such control could be used to weaken the Pakistani economy and livestock,
or could be used to cause floods in Pakistan by the release of water during times of war.
The issue of Kishanganga project and Tulbul Barrage are also important ones.

The concern is escalating because Pakistan's agricultural sector would be greatly affected
by the building of dams and by the external control of the waters of several rivers that flow into Pakistan.

In February 2010, both countries started the dialogue process again and the foreign secretaries of the two countries met in New Delhi but the dialogue ended on a bitter note.
Pakistan was resolute to discuss the water issue while India was adamant on discussing terrorism.
The Indus Commissioners met in April to resolve this issue but nothing concrete came out.
India's obdurate behaviour is the biggest hurdle in the amicable settlement of this issue.

Sir Creek
The Sir Creek is a 96 km (60 miles) strip of water in the Rann of Kutch marshlands. The Rann lies on the border between the Indian state of Gujarat and the Pakistani province of Sindh. Pakistan claims rights, in accordance with the Bombay Government Resolution of 1914, to the entire waters surrounding and fed by the creek. India, for its part, insists that it owns half of the area on the basis of the Thalweg Doctrine pertaining to international law.

In recent years, interest in the delimitation of a maritime boundary in this area has been heightened by the prospect of oil and gas being discovered offshore. Pakistan is insisting on defining the extremity of its land frontier in the Sir Creek area in a manner which will give it control over a larger EEZ.

The Pakistani EEZ will be enlarged by around 250 square miles if India accepts the Green Line showing Sir Creek's eastern bank as the land boundary.

In May this year, Pakistan and India agreed to resolve the Sir Creek dispute, keeping in view the interests of both countries. During the final round of talks the focus was on developing a consensus on concluding a joint survey of Sir Creek that was decided during the Musharraf regime.
Pakistani concern heightened in the 1990s after India began constructing a hydroelectric power project on the Chenab River in the Doda district of Jammu & Kashmir.

The dispute over this estuary has hampered exploration for oil and gas and led to the detention of hundreds of fishermen from the two countries when they stray across the poorly demarcated border. Sir Creek needs to be resolved at the earliest, and it can be done if there is flexibility on the past of India.

Siachen

The Siachen conflict began in 1984 with India's Operation Meghdoot during which it wrested control of the Siachen Glacier from Pakistan and forced the Pakistanis to retreat west of the Saltoro Ridge. India established control over all of the 70 kilometres long Siachen Glacier and all of its tributary glaciers, as well as the three main passes of the Saltoro Ridge immediately west of the glacier—Sia La, Bilafond La, and Gyong La.

The Siachen Glacier is the highest battleground on earth where India and Pakistan have fought intermittently since April 13, 1984. Both countries maintain permanent military presence in the region at a height of over 6,000 metres (20,000 ft). Till now, more than 2000 people have died in this inhospitable terrain.

The conflict in Siachen stems from the incompletely demarcated territory on the map beyond the map coordinate known as NJ9842. The 1972 Simla Agreement did not clearly mention who controlled the glacier, merely stating that from the NJ9842 location the boundary would proceed "thence north to the glaciers."

India turned down a Pakistani proposal seeking the immediate demilitarisation of Siachen, at the recently held talks between the senior defence officials in New Delhi. However, the two sides again came close to striking an agreement on Siachen and Sir Creek during Pervez Musharraf's regime but political upheaval in Pakistan prevented the historic breakthrough.

Afghanistan
What makes the issue of Indian and Pakistanis actions in Afghanistan so complicated is that both parties have overriding national interests in the situation.
For India, there are the issues of interest to a rising regional and global power, including access to valuable resources.
Pakistan also has various strategic interests in Afghanistan which are crucial for its existence.
Pakistan has seen India's rapid insertion of material support into Afghanistan as a strategic loss.
Pakistan asserts that Delhi's consulates close to the Durand Line serve as hubs for aiding the Baluch insurgency.
Pakistan thinks that any Indian involvement in Afghanistan is absolutely pernicious for its interests.
India has spurned Pakistan's accusations and apprehensions about Indian presence
but Barnett Rubin sees Pakistan's concerns over India's involvement in Afghanistan as one of its “legitimate interests.”

External factors also militate against movement towards a cooperative equilibrium.

The NATO drawdown in Afghanistan is creating a space for increased competition between India and Pakistan, because both view Afghanistan as a strategically important country.

Analysts also fear that the drawdown in Afghanistan will result in an even more bitter rivalry between India and Pakistan — the tow nuclear neighbours.

Operation Zarb-e-Azb by the Pakistani military has routed a variety of terrorist organizations, while those who could survive fled to Afghanistan.

It is also a fact that Pakistan has long been a victim of terrorism from Afghan soil.
The fleeing of terrorists to Afghanistan , undoubtedly, worries India because it has been promoting these terrorist groups with huge amounts of money as well as ammunition.
With the cleansing of the area from the terrorists India feels that its interests in Afghanistan may get jeopardized.

Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent and the Islamic State has been making headways in Afghanistan. This may exacerbate the conflict between India and Pakistan because both terrorist outfits have been recruiting fresh blood in the region and they also have threatened to launch attacks in India. India would use this threat to malign Pakistan all over the world.

In this regard US role is of crucial importance especially after the drawdown announcement made by Obama.
If Obama intends to solve the problems of Afghanistan, he would best take a page from his first major foreign policy paper, penned in July 2007.
"I will encourage dialogue between Pakistan and India to work toward resolving their dispute over Kashmir,
" he wrote in Foreign Policy magazine, focusing on long-standing tensions over the contested territory that has led to two wars between the nuclear-armed nations.


Western Support to India

Some strategic thinkers and policy makers in South Asia and beyond still believe that Pakistan-India relations are a one-sided game
and it is Pakistan that should be more serious in improving its relations with India even on Indian terms.


This strategic misperception has been further strengthened in the post-cold war and post 9/11 scenarios because some major powers like the US and EU countries have started terming India as a major world power quite prematurely.
Despite that India is yet far away from attaining this status.

Such a privileged position being accorded to India by the West is basically due to their desire of propping up this poverty-ridden country
as a counterweight to the rising China and also considering it a major trading and investment market due to its vast population and cheaper labour force.

In the light of economic indicators of the advanced economies such as the US, Japan, Germany, France, Russia and China, it is difficult to consider India a major power when its economic growth has gone down to 4.7% of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013.
India ranks 142nd in the world according to the per capita income (nominal) and its 30% population—
according to the estimates by United Nations Development Programme—is living below poverty line.
Also, with ongoing guerrilla movements in seven north-eastern states, along with the naxalites movement,
its future cohesion, stability and integrity remain jeopardized.
Impressed by the politically-motivated rhetoric of the West that India is a rising world power,
where a fair number of Indian strategic thinkers and policy makers have been misled in considering India as a major power few decades in advance,
some Pakistani stakeholders and policy analysts also seem influenced by this unwarranted Western propaganda.

In the real sense, India is yet to prove itself as an uncontested regional power in South Asia.
This disputed regional status of India is mainly due to its ongoing disputes with almost all its neighbours;
with Pakistan over Kashmir dispute—both countries have fought three wars on this issue because India has remained intransigent as regards the implementation of UNSC resolutions calling for holding a plebiscite in Kashmir.
It remained engaged with Pakistan in a long arms race.
Consequently, India became a declared nuclear power by taking lead in conducting overt nuclear tests in May 1998 and in the process,
it also compelled Pakistan to become a declared nuclear power.


Power Equation
In the light of this established power equation in South Asia, and in view of India's 21st Century economic interests linked with Central Asian States (CARs), Russia and West Asia, Pakistan's future strategic value for India is immense.
Hence, it does not make sense for Indian policy makers to start declaring India as a major world power unless it builds peace in South Asia by resolving its major disputes with its neighbours including Pakistan, especially the Kashmir issue in a rational manner.

In this regard India should develop tension-free, friendly relations with Pakistan as a neighbouring nuclear power rather than undermining its nuclear status by distorting its non-proliferation credentials through propaganda.


If India resolves Kashmir dispute in a just manner, it will not be a costly bargain for it as compared with the substantial long-term gains coming due to opening up of its trade and energy pipelines to CARs and Iran through the shortest land route via Pakistan.

It is only by consolidating its politico-economic position in South Asia by resolving lingering disputes with other South Asian countries in a just manner and boosting its declining economic growth through expanded intra-regional trade and investments that the regional countries will treat India as a major friendly power.



PRESENT SCENARIO:
This year, though, encouraging overtures by the prime ministers of both countries have led some observers to cautiously hope that the two neighbours would step up cooperation on trade, energy, humanitarian and environmental issues.


Though both India and Pakistan have taken some steps to normalize their bilateral relations, yet some other actors —
most importantly extremist elements— can be held responsible for the derailment of the process.
Moreover, extremist elements and organizations as well as some political parties are even more dependent on the conflict in Kashmir to justify their existence.


With the coming of Modi and Sharif at the helm in both countries, it seemed that India-Pakistan relations might turn a new corner.
Nawaz Sharif expressed his “earnest hope” for a “brighter future” between India and Pakistan.
He also made normalizing relations with India a “central plank” of his platform, and attended Modi's inauguration.
When India cancelled talks between the foreign secretaries of both countries after Pakistani High Commissioner's meeting with Kashmiri leader Syed Shabbir Shah,
even then Mian Nawaz Sharif sent a box of the “choicest Pakistani mangoes” to Modi in a bid to “patch things up”.

Unfortunately, “mango diplomacy” could not block the success of rogue elements in both countries. The talks are in the doldrums even today.

Many analysts argue that Sharif's out-of-the-box overtures and moves towards better ties between India and Pakistan exhorted India to up the ante at the Line of Control (LoC) during the Eid days.

For its part, India is pursuing an aggressive strategy, in which it links talks with Pakistan without Kashmir and with focus only on trade.


But, still there are glimmers of hope.

India and Pakistan also inked a gas-sharing agreement, which encourages efforts to bind South and Central Asia together through the proposed TAPI pipeline, which would run through Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan.

The pipeline could help alleviate Pakistan's chronic gas shortages, which cost the country 6 per cent of its GDP a year.

These areas present opportunities for small clusters of Pakistani and Indian officials, businessmen, and think-tankers to cooperate on low-profile issues,
and discuss the benefits of, and terms for, deeper cooperation on more substantive issues.

Small wins in Track II diplomacy settings could spill over and push India and Pakistan towards a more cooperative equilibrium.

A landmark study by David Axelrod of the University of Michigan found that the introduction of small clusters of individuals committed to establishing cooperative equilibriums, with a sufficiently high expectation of cooperating again in the future, can push large groups from non-cooperative equilibriums to more cooperative ones.
Why? Over time, small cooperative clusters create broader institutional change, because those who employ them are ultimately more successful than those who employ uncooperative strategies.

An oversimplified “toy model” for this context would predict that cooperation between Indians and Pakistanis on non-securitized issues would heighten expectations that the two countries would cooperate on more issues, and more frequently in the future.

This would give players more of an incentive to choose cooperative strategies when interacting with their counterparts. The higher the likelihood of future cooperation, the higher would be the incentive to pursue cooperative strategies in the present. However, the parties involved must prevent nascent clusters of cooperation from becoming “securitized.”

Issues of national security are traditionally viewed as “zero-sum”:
One party gains from the other party's losses. Thus, if diplomats or technocrats allow the Indian or Pakistani defence establishments to securitize issues like water sharing or energy cooperation, compromises will become that much harder to reach.

Thus, discussions over these issues should be kept quiet and preferably held in Track II settings like think tank symposiums and achievements should be publicized little, if at all.

While this may not end the enduring rivalry between India and Pakistan, it's imperative for the prosperity and stability of the region that opportunities for cooperation be pursued further.
While traditional overtures between India and Pakistan may not help the relationship, discreet and adept diplomacy between NGOs and technocrats on

non-securitized issues like energy, humanitarian operations, climate change, and trade could establish patterns of cooperation that steer Pakistan and India towards a less antagonistic, more cooperative, strategic equilibrium.


PAKISTAN'S STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE FOR INDIA

Pakistan's strategic value for India, to meet its objective of becoming a major world power within no time, can be better understood if we can visualize India's future economic and strategic needs that are linked to Pakistan.
In this context, it will not be wrong to estimate that for India having a population of over one billion people, it will be extremely important to address its huge future energy shortages through imports from Central and West Asian regions.

Import of energy from these regions will be inevitable for India to meet its growing industrial needs to attain its aspired growth rates—
that range between 7 to 10 per cent—to address rampant poverty and to provide energy for domestic use.

As estimated by the US Department of Energy, India will face huge energy shortages by 2030 since by then its dependence on foreign oil will reach over 90%.
Since in eastern India, no major source of energy supply is available, it will have to import oil and gas from Turkmenistan and Iran.

For this purpose, the route for the pipelines through Afghanistan and Pakistan will be the shortest and cheapest as compared to the route through Afghanistan and Iran using Chahbahar seaport and then by pipelines to be constructed through deep sea avoiding exclusive economic zones of Pakistan.
Same is true for India for importing iron ore and other minerals from Afghanistan where it is investing heavily and also for large scale trading of goods with CARs and Iran.

Trade route through Afghanistan and Pakistan will also be beneficial to India for trading with Russia, western China and even with Turkey and EU countries in the long-term perspective.

India should develop tension-free, friendly relations with Pakistan as a neighbouring nuclear power rather than undermining its nuclear status by distorting its non-proliferation credentials through propaganda.
Therefore, to meet its higher military and economic objectives to become a major world power,

India will need to fully open up with Central Asia, Russia, West Asia and Middle East through land routes for which it will need to improve its relations with Pakistan in next 10 to 15 years.
India can surely do this by resolving all major disputes with Pakistan including Kashmir issue through dialogue.
Building better relations with Pakistan will also help India in further deepening its relations with the Gulf countries.



In this context, although Pakistan can also considerably benefit in economic terms from building better relations with India, it will still be able to wait for a long time to link development of good relations with India with the resolution of Kashmir dispute since it doesn't depend on India to import energy from Iran and CARs.

On the other hand, India will not be able to wait for long to meet its future energy needs by importing it from Iran and CARs through Pakistan on much lesser cost for which it will need to improve its relations with Pakistan.


It can be concluded that Pakistan's strategic value for India in the next few decades will be much more than the value India would have for Pakistan.

It is, therefore, important for Pakistani strategic thinkers and policy makers to understand India's real strategic position and its 21st century economic imperatives in the correct perspective;so that they don't get mislead by India's over exaggerated power status.

This is necessary so that while Pakistani stakeholders and policy makers formulate policy options for improving relations with India,
they do not underestimate Pakistan's relative power status and strategic significance for India and hold bilateral dialogue with India
from position of strength rather than choosing to unnecessarily appease India for building good relations with it—on its terms.

In this regard, Pakistani perceptions about India's power status should not be linked with its current weak economic position,
being a temporary one, which can be strengthened in a reasonable timeframe by formulating and implementing better economic policies by the current and future governments in Pakistan.


Conclusion:
Both Pakistan and India need to avoid short-sighted policies for points-scoring or securing short-term gains which resulted
into bede-villing their relations in the past and diverting their attention from gigantic tasks of eradicating poverty and raising the standard of living of their peoples.
The steady improvement between Pakistan and India requires some further changes in the way they deal with each other.

India, being the biggest country in the South Asian region must lead the way by discarding hegemonic designs in the region.

The extremists in Indian politics and media should also be admonished for their arrogant and aggressive statements
because as long as India continues to nurture such elements, its relations with Pakistan will remain marked by mutual mistrust, and non-cooperation.

So, it is in the best interest of the whole region that both nuclear powers take all possible steps to solve all the long-standing issues between them.

Pakistan And Afghanistan

Afghanistan's Brief Country Profile

Neighbours & Borders

• Pakistan – 2430 km
• Tajikistan – 1206 km
• Iran – 936 km
• Turkmenistan – 744 km
• Uzbekistan – 137 km
• China – 76 km

Analysis: Afghanistan shares its longest border with Pakistan .

Afghanistan is often termed as a 'Black hole' in international politics: Afghanistan 'sucks in'.

Afghanistan sucks in both countries and ideologies.
Countries in the sense that Afghanistan has shown rearranging map of the world by making superpowers vanish and smaller states emerge.

Ideology in the sense that Afghanistan has shown an ability to discourage one school of thought at the cost of another, for instance, in the recent history, Afghanistan discouraged Communism but spared Capitalism.

During the medieval ages, the invaders either passed through Afghanistan or originated from Afghanistan to conquer the Indian Subcontinent.

During the scientific enlightened age of 17th and 18th century, Afghanistan served as a buffer state in the Great Game played between the Communist and Capitalist blocs.

The war waged by the US in 2001, in the name of War on Terror (WoT), is still ravaging the already devastated Afghanistan and yet no conclusive end is discernible.

Recent Developments.

First, the US President Barack Obama, after getting elected, is intending a withdrawal of the American troops from Afghanistan
(in a manner that could be offering the US maximum face-saving and could yield monopoly to the US in the region).

Thirdly, the US has formally acknowledged that Pakistan may play a significant role in mitigating a near-disaster situation in Afghanistan.

That is how, Pakistan's political importance vis-à-vis other regional players including India is automatically enhanced manifolds.


Pakistan's interests

• Political interests:
Ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan
Supporting Pakistan-friendly gove-rnment in Kabul
Neutralizing the Indian influence
Settling the border issues
Reversing the tide of Afghan refugees

• Economic interests:
Securing its share in reconstruction of Afghanistan
Securing a transit trade access to the CARs
Securing an uninterrupted supply of Gas and Oil from the CARs and Iran

• Security interests:
Precluding Talibanisation in Afghanistan (and thereby Taliban-isation in Pakistan)
Preventing cross-border terrorism
Prompting departure of the US/ NATO forces from Afghanistan.

Significance of Afghanistan in Pakistan's foreign policy:

As a neighbour of Pakistan, Afghanistan occupies a central place in the issues affecting the foreign policy of Pakistan.
The significance of Afghanistan increases with the ongoing turmoil on its land (having potential of spilling over to the adjacent countries)
and the new Great Game being played in the region.

Pakistan finds itself intractably linked with the whole issue the effects of which may have far-reaching bearings on Pakistan.

Secondly, owing to its geographical contiguity and ethnic sharing with Afghanistan,
Pakistan considers itself a natural player in the whole scheme of affairs related to or going on in Afghanistan.

Thirdly, owing to hosting the major chunk of Afghan refugees, Pakistan is a major stakeholder in whatever situation emerges in Afghanistan.

Fourthly, the ongoing WoT is affecting Pakistan both politically and economically
thereby making Pakistan a major regional player in settling the terror situation both in Pakistan and across the western border.

Fifthly, Pakistan conscious of preservation of its democratic values.

Sixthly, Pakistan is keen to make its society free of drugs and arms which is not possible unless there is peace and order in Afghanistan.


Pakistan needs to carefully analyse the developments in Afghanistan
and weigh its options accordingly in view of new political realities.

Both Pakistan and Afghanistan has been involved in the blame game since years.
Pakistan's relations with Afghanistan had always been chequered, particularly since 2001.
Afghanistan blames Pakistan of providing safe havens to the Taliban and this mistrust may be telling for future Pak-Afghan ties.
While Pakistan has justifiably asked Afghanistan to take action against TTP activists holed up in Afghanistan;
from where they have been targeting Pakistani security forces and launching terrorist attacks across the country,
the outgoing President Karzai has equally been critical of Pakistan's links with the Haqqani network for its role in staging attacks in Afghanistan.
This blame game would only further aggravate the situation. Both countries should ensure that their respective soils aren't used for attacks.

Operation Zarb-i-Azb signals Pakistan's seriousness to eradicate militancy and terrorism.
The operation is said to be targeting terrorists indiscriminately, including Haqqanis.
It should suffice to satisfy Afghan apprehensions and pave the way for greater cooperation on this front.
Pakistan and Afghanistan should take steps to expand trade and economic cooperation, which is central to deepening their relationship.

Peace and stability on Pakistan's eastern as well as western borders will allow the government a space
to focus exclusively on country's internal problems such as terrorism, economy, and energy.
It will also have long-term benefit for peace of the region as well. Hence, a win-win situation for all!

Geo-strategic significance of Afghanistan

Direct
Afghanistan is located at the junction of three strategic regions of South Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia.

Sparse population, rugged terrain, and worrier tribes make Afghanistan a dumping ground of superpowers of their times.

Indirect
Afghanistan is also called a region at the crossroads of history. That is, in the 21st Century, Afghanistan is still keen to practise the medieval age customs and traditions.

A potential land-bridge for oil and gas pipelines and trade route to and from Central Asia and West Asia.

The landlocked nature of Central Asian offers Afghanistan significance of a transit-trade route – to have access to the sea ports of Indian and Arabian seas.

Interests of Foreign Powers in the Affairs of Afghanistan

US interests
• Energy resources of Central Asia
• Containing China and Iran
• Countering Russian influence in the region
• Checking the outflow of narcotics
• Checking the export of religi-ous extremism
• Closely monitoring the cooperative framework between China, Russia, Iran, CARs, India, and Pakistan
• Establish a broad-based, moderate and US-friendly government in Afghanistan

Russian interests
• Reasserting itself in its backyard and avenge its defeat (i.e. collapse of the former USSR)
• Countering the US control and regional designs
• Securing a control over gas and oil resources of CARs
• Preventing spread of Islamic extremism to Chechnya

Chinese interests
• Future energy requirements and possible supplies demand from Central Asia and West Asia including Iran
• Halting the unrest in adjoining Chinese territories (owing to the spill over effect)
• Neutralizing the presence of US/NATO forces in the region

Indian interests
• Creating friction between Pakistan and Afghanistan to keep the former under pressure
• Instigating a covert low-intensity conflict (LIC) against Pakistan to keep Pakistan busy with the conflicting coming from the western border
• Exploring the trade opportunities with the countries of Central and West Asia
• Watching its geo-strategic interests through empowerment of the Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Hazaras against the Pushtuns.

Iranian interests
• Neutralizing the effects of the presence of US/NATO forces
• Safeguarding the minority Shia population residing in Afghanistan
• Securing its share in the reconstruction of Afghanistan
• Reversing the tide of Afghan refugees


India is concerned about its future relations with Afghanistan more than any other state.
India is striving to maintain a strong equation with Afghanistan and is exploring options to establish working relationship with future Afghan government
while the US also intends to keep its thumping influence over Afghanistan.


However, it doesn't mean that the US presence should be extended rather there should be a transition of power to bring stability in the country.

China's role in Afghanistan is of paramount significance for many reasons.

China is most concerned and perplexed about ethnic and separatist forces gaining stronghold in Uyghur region through Afghanistan.

China has helped Afghanistan get observer status in Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and
would continue cooperation and collaboration in future to suppress or tackle any eventuality leading to a dent in China's internal security and strategic stability.
China's gain of a stronghold in Afghanistan must not be taken as beneficial for Pakistan.