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Muhammad Bilal Butt Sunday, September 13, 2015 09:45 PM

JWT Articles of September 2015
 
[CENTER][B][SIZE="4"]Educating Pakistan Through Women Education, Advocating Women’s Right to Education[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER]

The importance of education for women is hardly overstated: women raise children, and educated women raise nations with improved human capital, high economic growth and enhanced productivity. Dis-empowerment of women due to inadequate health, lack of education and insecure environments compromises the value of their life, and stifles their social and economic development. However, it should come as no surprise that Pakistan is listed as one of the countries that have large gender gaps in education, and therefore it requires hefty investments in girls’ education for a socio-economic uplift.

Education is the right of every human but unfortunately in Pakistan the women, who constitute more than half of the country’s population, are still mostly deprived of education. According to Pakistan Education for All (EFA) Review Report 2015, there is a large stock of 6.7 million out-of- school children in Pakistan; of which 55 percent are girls. This vividly exhibits that Pakistan has failed miserably in providing its women with good quality, equitable and sufficient education. We, as a nation, have failed to realize that educating women is instrumental to creating awareness, forming social relationships and achieving a good place in society. Education allows women to take part in politics, the legal system, human resource development and other important areas that can ensure their concerns are heard. Plus they can also play an important role in the economy of the country. A greater participation of educated women in the economy and political process would lead to a better world for our present as well as future generations.

A brief look at the facts reveals that both the state and the society are equally responsible for this fiasco. In addition an acute lack of political will and vision on the part of our rulers, poor infrastructure, social and cultural taboos attached with educated women, life threats to school-going girls and frequent attacks on the women’s educational institutions in tribal areas are some of the key factors responsible for the abysmal state of women’s education in Pakistan.

Lack of vision and commitment towards the implementation of educational policies has been a major factor behind the sorry state of women’s education in the country. None of the successive governments could realize the gravity of the situation and the disastrous consequences that not educating the women would accrue. Since independence, Pakistan has had nine national education policies, five five-year plans, one Free and Compulsory Education Act, a constitutional amendment (18th) and dozens of other schemes, seminars and conferences aimed at improving the prospects of women education in the country but, unfortunately, the results have been far from satisfactory.

Poor state of women education in Pakistan becomes graver by multiple faculty-related issues. Lack of well-educated, well-trained and motivated faculty is hampering the prospects of women education in the country. At present, one teacher is available for nearly ninety students. The situation is precarious especially when we see that teaching is not a much-sought-after career in Pakistan. Most of those who join this noble profession come to this field when they had exhausted all their options to join a profession of their choice. Teaching is like a last resort to them because they are not the teachers by choice but rather by a sheer stroke of ‘bad luck’. Resultantly, these unmotivated, disenchanted individuals fail to make a positive impact on the learning process of the young minds.

Adding fuel to the fire is the lack of infrastructure like buildings, libraries, playgrounds and furniture in girls’ schools in many parts of Pakistan. Lack of basic facilities in schools such as electricity, clean drinking water and toilets are additional deterrents which make the already bad situation worse. According to Pakistan Education Statistics Report 2012-13, out of 63,914 public schools for girls, 15.3% are without building, 7.1% are kacha schools, 61% lack electricity, 42.4% lack toilets, 44.3 % lack boundary walls, 3.8% are declared dangerous while another 16.1% are in need of major repairs. This situation indeed shows nothing but a criminal negligence by the state towards women’s education.

These were some instances of failure on the part of government. Now comes the role of society that, unfortunately, has also been negative and not up to the mark. Pakistani society has, one way or the other, contributed towards the appalling condition of women’s education in the country. Here are some facts which evidently point out some of the social factors which have deterred the growth of women’s education in the country.

The deep-rooted social and cultural taboos attached with an educated woman are a big reason behind the awful condition of women education in the country. In a patriarchal society like ours, an educated woman is seen as a threat to the social norms and cultural values. For, with education comes freedom to choose one’s own lifestyle — and also life partner. Education enlightens the minds and an enlightened mind questions the very legitimacy of brutal practices such as Vani, Swara, Karo Kari, honour killings and marriage with the Holy Quran which are prevalent in different parts of the country.

Also, girls are not sent to schools because parents see no sense in educating their daughters when their primary job is deemed to keep the house clean and rear children. This is partly because of illiteracy among the parents as they fail to understand the importance of education and partly because of the fear of losing the family honour. Parents think that their daughters might interact with opposite sex while going out to school and thus may cause a great harm to family honour. So, they choose not to send the girls to school in order to save the family honour.

If the current situation prevails, it will continue unleashing disastrous human, social, economic and political consequences on the state of Pakistan. However, determined efforts for improving education for women can certainly bring positive results for the country. Political will, vision and commitment, competent and sufficient faculty are required to enhance women’s education in the country. Women’s education serves as the most powerful tool that can greatly help Pakistan to achieve its national goals while utilising women’s power, skills, knowledge and competencies.

[SIZE="3"][B][I]Source: JWT[/I][/B][/SIZE]

Muhammad Bilal Butt Sunday, September 13, 2015 11:31 PM

JWT Article (Sep 2015)
 
[B][SIZE="4"][CENTER]The Story Of Pakistan[/CENTER][/SIZE][/B]
Pakistan’s emergence on the map of the world as an independent state on August 14, 1947 was, no doubt, the finest hour of our history. Our people saw in it the promise of long-cherished freedom, democracy and prosperity. It was with a sense of supreme satisfaction at the fulfillment of his mission that Quaid-e-Azam told the nation in his last message on August 14, 1948: “The foundations of your State have been laid and it is now for you to build and build as quickly and as well as you can.”

The Quaid did not live long to personally steer Pakistan to be what he thought and aspired will be “one of the greatest nations of the world.” Had he lived longer, he would have only been embarrassed to see how miserably we as a nation and our successive leaders, both civilian and non-civilian, have failed to live up to his vision of Pakistan, and to protect and preserve our national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity. On our part, we are not even ashamed of what we have done to his Quaid-e-Azam . On this independence anniversary, we surely need to look back and do some soul-searching.

Those of us who belong to the first generation that saw and experienced the formative phase of Pakistan and its creation as a dream of its founding fathers are indeed discomfited at the thought of what Quaid-e-Azam had envisioned this country to be and where we actually stand today as a nation and as a state. The story of Quaid’s Pakistan is the story of a society that has been going round and round in aimless circles for the last 68 years. Absence of genuine democracy, rule of law and good governance is its continuing hallmark. Within the first year of our independence, which woefully happened to be the last of his life, Quaid-e-Azam had presciently foreseen the coming events.

He was disillusioned with the scarcity of calibre and character in the country’s political hierarchy which was no more than a bunch of self-serving, feudalist and opportunistic elitist politicians who were to manage the newly independent Pakistan. Political ineptitude was writ large on the country’s horizon. Quaid’s worries were not unwarranted. In his address to Pakistan’s first Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947, the Quaid reminded the legislators of their “onerous responsibility” of framing the future constitution of Pakistan and functioning as a full and complete sovereign body. It took our politicians nine years and several governments to frame our first Constitution in 1956 which was abrogated in less than three years.

Since then, we have had two constitutions, one promulgated by a field marshal president in 1962, and the other adopted by an “elected” group of people who had no constitution-making mandate and were in fact responsible for creating a parliamentary gridlock leading to the breakup of the country in 1971. The flawed 1973 constitution they authored has since been amended umpteen times, leaving very little of the original text in its essence. It is a different constitution altogether. Instead of removing our systemic weaknesses and reinforcing the unifying elements of our nationhood, politicians have always succumbed to narrowly-based self-serving temptations. They rejected the popular will freely expressed in the December 1970 elections, and instead of exploring political remedies to the resultant crisis, went along with a military solution.

The real Pakistan disappeared with its tragic dismemberment. And yet, we learnt no lesson from our mistakes. Our problem is that the overbearing feudal, tribal and now industrialist elitist power structure in Pakistan has been too deeply entrenched to let any systemic change take place. It doesn’t suit the politicians. They make amendments in the Constitution for self-serving reasons only. The main casualties have been the state institutions and the process of national integration. The country has still not been able to evolve a political system that responds to the needs of an ethnically and linguistically diverse population.

[B][I][CENTER]Our problem is that the overbearing feudal, tribal and now industrialist elitist power structure in Pakistan has been too deeply entrenched to let any systemic change take place.[/CENTER][/I][/B]

Unsure of our future, we are still groping in the dark with one crisis after another and have yet to figure out a sense of common purpose for ourselves as a nation. Our leaders never inspired hope for a democratic state that could provide socio-economic justice and fair administration to all Pakistani citizens. They just could not cope with the challenges of freedom inherent in our geopolitical and structural fault lines. What an irony that a country which on its birth was considered a “20th century miracle” and which was created entirely through a democratic and constitutional struggle, should still be struggling for genuine democracy, social justice and equal rights for all.

The country still remains engaged in a precarious struggle to define a cohesive national identity and evolve a sound and stable political system for its ethnically and linguistically diverse population. Pakistan is known to have over twenty languages and nearly 300 distinct dialects. This diversity contributed to chronic regional tensions and provincial disharmony. There is a strong underlying resentment in the smaller provinces against what is seen as continued ‘Punjabi dominance’ and inequitable distribution of power and resources. Our Constitution does not provide solutions to the genuine concerns on the inequality of the size of provinces and lopsided sharing of political and economic power.

Looking at the systems of other developed and developing countries, we find ourselves a unique example of a federation with almost no parallel anywhere in the world. Our present provincial set-up has long been the cause of political instability. It has not only been fuelling misrule and corruption in the country, but also aggravating the sense of inequality and deprivation that exists among the federating units. In any unequal set-up, no method of governance will work. It is a system designed for paralysis, which we are already experiencing. The solution lies in separating governance from ethnic-linguistic considerations by creating as many new administratively-determined provinces as necessary, with some balance in their geographical and population size.

The need for drastic change in our present anachronistic set-up is urgent to get rid of the same old usurpers of the country’s politics, outmoded social and political structures and elitist-led status quo in our country. Also, given our pathetic performance in our political conduct and discipline since our independence, we, like most developing countries, are perhaps not yet fit for the parliamentary system. Britain struggled for centuries to reach its current parliamentary status. For us, it would be too long and too arduous a journey to be indefinitely chasing illusory goals. Temperamentally, we are a ‘presidential’ nation. It is time we abandoned the system that we have never been able to practice, and explored an adult franchise-based ‘presidential system’ suitably designed for and tailored to Pakistan’s needs.

What, in fact, we need is the remaking of Pakistan as envisioned by the Quaid-e-Azam, free of ethnic and linguistic labels and sectarian, communal and regional disharmony. We need domestic consolidation, politically, economically and socially to change world’s perception of our country, which surely has many reasons and assets other than terrorism and violence to be recognized as a responsible member of the international community.

[B][I][SIZE="3"]Source: JWT
Written by: Shamshad Ahmad (Former Foreign Secretary)[/SIZE][/I][/B]

Muhammad Bilal Butt Monday, September 14, 2015 12:19 AM

JWT Article (Sep 2015)
 
[B][CENTER][SIZE="4"]Rise Of Extremism[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

The menace of extremism has plagued Muslim societies especially in the recent decades. This is perhaps the most serious challenge the Muslim world is facing at present because most Muslim societies, with only a few exceptions notwithstanding, are marred by extremism. Passing through the stages of infecting thoughts and behaviours and plaguing speech and writing, to our misfortune, extremism has turned into practical manifestation in massacre, bloodshed and terrorism. In this write-up an attempt has been made to adumbrate the causes of the rise of this monster.

[B][SIZE="3"]What is Extremism?[/SIZE][/B]
Extremism literally, means driving something to the limit or to the extreme or adopting extreme or violent course of action. Nowadays, this term is being increasingly used in religious and political context with reference to Islam. The Muslims who adopt violent means for enforcing or propagating their own version of Islam are termed extremists by the West. The term is applied to curse those Muslims who are against undue US-led Western interference in internal affairs of economically feeble Muslim states on the pretext of War on Terror.

[B][SIZE="3"]Origin & Historical Background[/SIZE][/B]
The term ‘Extremism’ got prominence in international affairs especially after 9/11 attacks in the US. Muslims belonging to the militant group Al-Qaeda, which was led by Osama bin Laden, were accused of carrying out those attacks. Soon after that fateful incident, the then US president George W. Bush announced the War on Terror ‘to dismantle the terrorist groups accused of orchestrating 9/11 attacks.’ Then, the US in collaboration with some Western powers launched an all-out military campaign against Taliban government in Afghanistan for providing shelter and support to Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda affiliates. Eventually, Taliban government was toppled only to be replaced by US-backed government that was dominated by Northern Alliance. This whole exercise took only a few days. Thousands of Taliban were either killed or wounded and a large number of them were detained by the occupant forces. Although Taliban were removed from the government, yet their influence over the country could not be abolished. Even today, in order to bring durable peace and stability to the war-torn Afghanistan, the US, China and Pakistan are striving to initiate a meaningful dialogue process between pro-US Afghan government and the Taliban.

After removing Taliban government, the US alleged that some Taliban groups were having safe havens in Pakistan-Afghanistan bordering areas. So, the US started to carry out drone attacks in this belt. Although the US claimed success in eliminating high-value targets, there are widespread reports of losses of lives and material of innocent people in these attacks.
Since the launch of US-led military campaign in Afghanistan and the start of drone attacks in its tribal areas, Pakistan has been facing intermittent deadly terrorist attacks that have resulted in huge losses of life, property and infrastructure. These heinous acts of terror are claimed by certain extremist and terrorist groups on the pretext of taking revenge from US and its allies. Even innocent schoolchildren were not spared by the terrorists. After the inhumane massacre of APS Peshawar students on 16th December 2014, Pakistan Army launched Operation Zar-e-Azb in North Waziristan. On account of this successful military operation, the people of Pakistan have heaved a sigh of relief as this operation has broken the back of terrorist groups.

[B][SIZE="3"]Causes for Rise of Extremism in Islamic World[/SIZE][/B]
[B][SIZE="2"]1. Negative Role of the West[/SIZE][/B]
The first major cause for the rise of extremism and anti-West sentiments in the Islamic world is the dubious policies and double standards adopted by the Western powers, especially the US. In 1979, when the USSR invaded Afghanistan, the United States started a proxy war against the Russians through Afghan Mujahideen. Throughout the 1980s, Afghanistan was the battleground for a fight between pro-US Mujahideen and Russian troops. The US provided the Mujahideen with sophisticated weapons through Pakistan because at that time these fighters were being hailed as heroes by the US. Since Pakistan faced serious threats to its sovereignty from the USSR, it had no option but to become a US ally in this war.

The Afghan War had serious ramifications for Russian economy which forced the withdrawal of the Red Army from Afghanistan in 1989 ergo disintegration of USSR in 1991. So, it was the US that patronized extremist and militant elements in Afghanistan to achieve its vested interests. After collapse of the USSR, Afghanistan was left on the mercy of fate and of warring groups of Mujahideen as they took up arms against each other and ransacked their own country. Hence this civil war and turmoil created power vacuum in Afghanistan. In order to fill that vacuum, a new group Taliban emerged in 1994. The Taliban Mujahideen brought the entire Afghanistan under their sway within a few months. Though Taliban were hardliners and rigid in their policies, they brought peace and stability to the war-torn Afghanistan. Nevertheless, the same Taliban, who once were being hailed as Mujahideen, were declared terrorists and extremists after 9/11.

Middle East is another region that has witnessed surge in extremist and anti-US sentiments. Once again the dubious role and unjustified meddling of the US-dominated West in Arab states’ internal affairs is the fundamental cause for it. Since the establishment of Israel in the heart of Arabia in furtherance of the notorious Balfour Declaration of 1917, the West has protected this rogue state. Each aggression and violent act that Israel carries out against the neighbouring Arab States has a complete military and diplomatic backing of the West. This immoral patronage of Israel has generated genuine reservations among the Arabs.

After 9/11, the US intensified its meddling into the region’s affairs on the pretext of War against Terrorism. In Iraq, the West exterminated Saddam Hussein in a military action in tandem with some local groups to punish him for amassing weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) — which were never found there. After Saddam’s removal and his subsequent hanging, Iraq still has precarious law and order situation on account of sectarian differences.

More recently, Syria has also plunged into sectarian strife which has resulted in enormous bloodshed and destruction. The West has failed to play a positive and constructive role in controlling internal differences in Iraq and Syria. In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, central governments in certain Arab states have weakened and some countries like Yemen are confronted with bloody civil wars. These developments have led to the emergence of new violent and extremist groups in the region like Daesh or IS.

[B][SIZE="2"]2. Lust for Power and Internal Differences within Muslim States[/SIZE][/B]
The rulers of some Muslim states do also share responsibility for the rise of extremism in the Muslim World. Decades-long rules of dictators in some Muslim countries ignited dissident tendencies which weakened economies of these states that, in turn, provided opportunities to the economically and technologically strong West to meddle in their internal affairs and to overwhelm them. Instead of curbing extremist groups, the power-hungry dictators patronized them to prolong their rule.

[B][SIZE="2"]3. Negative Role of Muslim Clergy[/SIZE][/B]
The clergy of Muslims is also responsible for the rise of extremism in Muslim world. Instead of propagating the real Islamic tenets of peace, harmony, tolerance, peaceful co-existence and forbearance, they fan the flames of negative tendencies like sectarian differences.

[B][SIZE="3"]How to Counter this Menace?[/SIZE][/B]
The Muslims need to realize that they cannot neutralize Western influence in their internal affairs by resorting to extremism. On the contrary, this will further deteriorate the state of affairs as is already manifest in the destruction of states like Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, etc. The Muslim world can counter West’s imperialistic designs only through education and unity, and not through militancy and extremism.

The West and the US should also revisit their policies of consolidating their economies and military prowess at the cost of killing and weakening Muslims. Otherwise the growing unrest among the Muslims may fuel the already burning flames of extremism and terrorism.

[B][SIZE="3"]Islam Condemns Extremism[/SIZE][/B]
Peace and harmony are the very essence of Islam whereas extremism and intolerance are in sheer contrast to the Islamic teachings. The word Islam has been derived from Arabic word “Salam,” which means peace and Islam means entering into peace. Allah Almighty says in verse 256 of Surah Al-Baqara:

“There is no compulsion in religion.”

At a number of places in the Holy Quran, the Muslims have been directed in unequivocal terms to avoid creating mischief on earth. Furthermore, in verse 32 of Surah Al-Maidah, Allah Almighty declares slaying of one person as slaying of the whole humanity and saving the life of one person as saving the whole humanity.

The Holy Prophet (PBUH) propagated message of Islam through peace and never forced his opinion upon others. As a head of state, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) patronized principle of peaceful coexistence with other nations through steps like charter of Madina. On the occasion of the Conquest of Makkah, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) announced general amnesty for even those who had severely persecuted Muslims. He (PBUH) was even benign to prisoners of war and in all the battles fought during his lifetime, the Muslims were defenders, not the aggressors.

Once an Arab Bedouin came to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and requested for only one prefect advice. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said “Avoid anger” and repeated it again and again. He (PBUH) also said to the Muslims:

“Facilitate things to people and do not complicate things for them, give good tidings to the people and do not make them run away from Islam.”

Hence the need of the hour for Muslims is to shun tendencies of extremism, militancy and non-tolerance and to promote qualities like integrity, harmony, brotherhood, tolerance and peaceful coexistence with other communities.

[I][B][SIZE="3"]Source: JWT[/SIZE][/B][/I]

Muhammad Bilal Butt Monday, September 14, 2015 11:11 PM

JWT Article (Sep 2015)
 
[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Relevancy of Communitarianism in Present Era[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

Liberalism as a set of social and political attitudes not associated with any political cult originated in 19th century in Europe. It does not identify itself with any political party though some parties profess this as a movement in their manifestos. Liberalism focuses on emancipation from feudal and monarchical control, further emphasizing on economic theory such as laissez faire. Freedom to join any organization, freedom of speech and belief, and freedom of any action that does not hurt anyone are also supported by its followers. Modern liberal parties existing in most democratic states, though not necessarily under that title, tend to argue that conflict between capitalism and some form of socialism or Marxism is misplaced. They place focus on talents, capacities and needs of actual individuals.

Liberal democracy is a form of representative democracy. By this, a kind of indirect rule of majority through legitimately-chosen representatives amongst whom executive is selected to run the affairs of the state including lawmaking through assembly is professed. While the liberal aspect is related to safeguarding civil and natural rights, and the system is expected to enshrine them in values like due process of law, equality before law, freedom of speech/assembly, protection for minorities, equal opportunities, etc. are central to the political culture and are also enshrined in the constitution and are protected by courts. The fear emanates from the unhampered majoritarian democracy as unbound representatives in the assembly thwart the desires of the electorate by not acting upon their collective will. One such example is the issue of capital punishment in many countries where it is still in the doldrums despite a strong majority in its favour.

Emanating from such developments is the belief that all men have a certain set of rights which are indefeasible, cannot be given up and may not be taken away. This is called libertarianism holding extreme versions of liberal capitalist beliefs. Even modified versions of libertarianism have been set out by some political thinkers like Robert Nozick, John Rawls and von Hayek. According to Hayek, state intervention is opposed not because it involves reduction in rights, but because it threatens human autonomy which is taken as the basic value. The state intervention in life decreases happiness of human life rather than development of human ingenuity, as stated by J.S. Mill. The maximization of happiness, the old utilitarian aim is as much opposed by libertarians as is socialism.

The main assumption of one of the thinkers, John Rawls, was that the principal task of government is to secure and distribute fairly the liberties and economic resources individuals need to lead freely chosen lives. It seems that communitarians have sought to deflate the universal pretensions of liberal theory as highlighted above. It propounds that standard of justice must be found in forms of life and traditions of particular societies and hence they can vary from society to society and from context to context. Another feature of this theory is to work out the rules for consensus in political communities where people are willing to go for consensus. The liberal societies must demonstrate tolerance and for this they need not be democratic but non-aggressive towards other communities and must also have common good conception of justice that includes a reasonable consultation hierarchy to achieve the ultimate goal.

In justifying this viewpoint on communitarian, the liberal societies of the West have been ignored or undermined. Non-liberal societies that may be as good as the liberal societies of the West do not explain the ideal of the intimate reciprocating local community bound by shared ends. In such an environment, people assume and fulfil their socially adopted roles.

The conflict is between liberal democracies where on the one hand liberal democratic political arrangements are emphasized while on the other, the communitarian values are where the interests of the society take precedence over that of the individual. Hegel’s idea of freedom was based on the notion that an individual finds his true personality and freedom in the state. This represents a reaction against the notion of freedom born of natural rights. Man has no inalienable rights; his freedom is the gift of the state which not only enhances it but also secures it. An individual’s freedom is through civic institutions and environment created by the state. The present age is of continuous endeavours to ensure and safeguard the individual liberties. However, one cannot ignore the cultural and environmental realities of any given society while formulating any such scheme of ideas.

The discourse on different aspects as put forwarded by different proponents necessitates the need to have cross-cultural dialogue to reach at some kind of general consensus by admitting universal moral principles instead of thinking that only their own are universally true and beyond any mistake.

[B][I][SIZE="3"]Source: JWT[/SIZE][/I][/B]

Muhammad Bilal Butt Tuesday, September 15, 2015 08:44 PM

JWT Article (Sep 2015)
 
[B][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Regulating the NGOs[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]
[B][CENTER][SIZE="2"]Flushing out the anti-Pakistan elements[/SIZE][/CENTER][/B]

On July 02, Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, while hearing the NGOs case, observed that foreign funding was like oxygen to the NGOs operating in the country and if the government choked its supply, terrorism will come to an end for good. He also asked the government to inform the court as to what measures it had taken so far for halting the flow of foreign funding to NGOs.

Foreign-funded NGOs had been going on with their activities in Pakistan without any parliamentary or government check. Although in the second half of 2013, the government made it mandatory for all foreign-funded NGOs, local or foreign, to get registered with the Economic Affairs Division and declare their bank accounts as well as names of their contributors, yet the process remained in the doldrums for a long time. However, the situation took a dramatic turn when on June 11, the authorities sealed the head office of international relief organization, Save the Children (StC), in Islamabad and ordered the organization to shut down all its operations in the country, saying it was involved in ‘anti-Pakistan’ activities. On June 16, the government announced to give the NGOs three months to get registered once again under the new regime of regulations.

Pakistan has taken stiff measures against NGOs because they are involved in activities that are against the sovereignty of Pakistan. These measures include banning NGOs if found involved in political, sectarian or anti-state activities. Over 380 NGOs are on the Orange List of scrutiny committee including 7 International NGOs.

When “Save the Children” was shut down, the Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan warned that foreign organizations operating in Pakistan would not be allowed to engage in ‘anti-state’ activities, and that any attempt to impose an ‘external’ agenda would be dealt with swiftly and decisively. He also said that some international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Pakistan are being backed by the United States, Israel and India.

This stirring assertion of Pakistan’s sovereignty, as expected, was criticized by the European Union; nevertheless, message being delivered by the government is clear: Pakistan will not tolerate any attempts to undermine its sovereignty or question the decisions it takes as an independent nation.

There are many reputable NGOs in Pakistan which have been established or funded by official and semi-official agencies of different countries or by private donors and they are doing useful work in the promotion of laudable political, economic, social and humanitarian goals. But, it is also regrettably, true that many of them are involved in anti-state activities. Such NGOs with innocuous-sounding labels have been set up mainly by western countries to serve their foreign policy interests or promote their ethical and cultural values. Some NGOs also harbour foreign agents working against the interests of Pakistan with or without the knowledge or complicity of the parent organisation itself. NGOs provide an excellent cover for clandestine activity by hostile foreign agencies such as intelligence-gathering and subversion in the country in which they operate. Perhaps the most notorious recent example is that of the CIA setting up a fake vaccination programme of the “Save the Children Fund” to plant Dr Shakil Afridi to hunt Osama bin Laden and to eliminate him. Afridi was certainly not the only CIA agent in Pakistan using an NGO cover for clandestine activities.

It is also to be noted that the NGOs are often viewed with suspicion by many countries. Most governments, therefore, seek to regulate and monitor their activities in order to curb those activities which they consider inimical to their national interests. The US itself led the way by passing the Foreign Agents Registration Act (Fara) in 1938. It requires all those individuals or legal persons which receive money from a foreign entity to register themselves as ‘foreign agents’. Fara was passed by the US Congress in response to the activities of German propaganda agents in the US before the Second World War. This law was used in 2012 to convict Ghulam Nabi Fai, executive director of the Washington-based Kashmiri American Council (KAC), to two years’ imprisonment.

Many other countries have also adopted legislation similar to Fara. Somewhat incongruously, the US is now their main critic. But when it comes to Pakistan, the case is surprising because although the country hosts a vast number of NGOs — including those having a dubious reputation — yet no law to regulate their activities is in place. Government has given the NGOs a 3-month period to get them registered, but under what law? The Economic Affairs Division, which has been entrusted with the job of regulating and monitoring the activities of the international NGOs, has certainly not risen up to the challenge. In the absence of clear-cut rules, its oversight of NGOs has been patchy, haphazard, opaque and arbitrary. Besides, there is insufficient coordination with other concerned ministries such as interior and foreign affairs.

Lethargy and laxity on the part of the federal government comes to light with the remarks of Justice Jawwad Khawaja who also observed that tall claims had been made but the Ministry of Interior was so far not been able to provide the basic information in this regard [registration of NGOs].

It is opportune to conclude that it is undeniable that many foreign and local NGOs, barring a few, have been engaged in serving their own mandated — or more rightly hidden — nefarious agendas more than the interests of Pakistan. What is, therefore, important for the Government of Pakistan is to enact such laws which curb these NGOs’ anti-Pakistan activities and to ensure that the rules and regulations that are in place to regulate the NGOs are implemented in letter and spirit. It should, under no circumstances, succumb to any pressure that is bound to come from vested groups in this regard.

[B][I][SIZE="2"]Source: JWT[/SIZE][/I][/B]

Muhammad Bilal Butt Wednesday, September 16, 2015 07:29 PM

JWT Article (Sep 2015)
 
[CENTER][B][SIZE="3"]War On Terrorism Is Contributing Towards Growing Abuse Of Human Rights[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER]

What have been the costs of war on terrorism in human and economic terms? How has the war changed the social and political landscape of the countries where it has been waged? What is likely to be the long-term economic effect of the war? What have been the public health consequences of the war? Were and are there any less costly and more effective alternative ways to prevent further terror attacks? How has, and to what extent, the war contributed to the abuse of human rights? These are some frequently asked questions that the war in the course of its continuity has raised in minds of every sane person.

The war that began in 2001 proved tremendously painful for millions of people across the world, especially in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, and the United States. Each additional month and year of war adds to that toll. Moreover, the human costs of this war will reverberate for years to come in each of the affected country. The war on terror, in fact, proved a great misfortune on the lives of its victims. Civilians have been killed unjustly and tortured without any reason. Evidently, behind the facade of war on terrorism, International Law is widely being disregarded; oppositions are being repressed, not to talk of humiliation the values and rights have suffered at the hands of imperial regimes. It is safe to assume that the commencing of the war on terrorism virtually resulted in the end of the sanctity attached to human rights.

The war on terrorism is not like any other kind of war. The enemy, terrorism, is not a territorial state, nation or government. There is no opposite number to negotiate with. There is no one on the other side to call a truce or declare a ceasefire, no one among the enemy authorized to surrender. The “War on Terror” officially began on October 7, 2001 and was spurred by the attack on the World Trade Center of the United States on September 11, 2001.

The “War on Terror” has led, in its wake, to grave human rights violations and, in response, to a growing volume of human rights litigations. Certain quarters allege that the “War on Terror” has been exploited by Western governments to reduce civil liberties and take away basic human rights.

The war on terrorism came up with extensive violations of civil and political rights that still continue to occur in the world, with such incidents as demonstrations, shootings, torture, hostage-takings, killings and so on. Political participation and decision-making in the affected countries especially Iraq and Afghanistan remain seriously impaired by sectarian and insurgent violence, widespread corruption, and the influence of foreign powers.

The cost of war in terms of human lives has been increasingly painful. A research conducted by Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies indicates that over 350,000 people have died due to direct war violence, and many more indirectly.

One of the most notorious issues and certainly the one giving rise to the most voluminous litigation is the arbitrary detention. Since its start, the war on terrorism has been directly responsible for a broad array of serious human rights violations, including torture, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and unfair trials. In many instances, one country or another carried out abuses in collaboration with other governments. Many reports have emerged of “black jails” in Afghanistan, where detainees were secretly held without the International Red Cross oversight as required by the Geneva Conventions.

Perhaps the most insidious is the move from illegality to extra-legality (extraordinary rendition), the practice of removing individuals from the protection of law altogether, epitomized by disappearances and renditions that have been the subject of various litigation initiatives. To the contempt of prisoners’ rights, the United States secretly stole away suspects to other CIA-run hidden “black site” prisons or passed them to foreign countries with more lax human rights standards to be interrogated via the seizure process known as “extraordinary rendition.”

The prisoners of war on terrorism have largely been denied the right to petition and fair trial. Significant numbers of detainees in Afghanistan and Iraq, later, have been found innocent. However, their unjust detention and maltreatment has fomented desperation towards the universal acknowledgement of human rights.

Some governments adopted abusive practices in response to direct US pressure. Most notably, the US encouraged a number of countries to pass draconian counterterrorism laws, often those which expand police powers, reduce due process guarantees, and set out vague and overbroad definitions of terrorism.

Repressive governments, always seeking rhetorical cover for their violations, were quick to adopt the language of counterterrorism to help shield their abuses from critical scrutiny. In Egypt, for example, the Hosni Mubarak regime specifically cited the “War on Terrorism” and new security laws passed in the United States and elsewhere to justify the 2003 renewal of longstanding emergency powers.

The enjoyment of the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly has long been partial, and often perilous, for war critics across the world. The war on terrorism has accelerated markedly the squeeze on the exercise of these rights. Independent NGOs, critical media outlets and public protests across the globe have all borne the brunt of an assault on fundamental freedoms that has been fuelled and “justified” by an increasingly aggressive propaganda drive to depict curtailing of the rights as necessary steps to end terrorism.

Consequent upon war on terrorism is the emergence of unprincipled discrimination between nationals and non-nationals, among people of different races, ethnicities and gender. This disparate treatment raises complex issues concerning the human right to non-discrimination.

After the massive terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, many Muslims and Arab-Americans have been persecuted. Muslim men have been characterized as dangerous, violent and highly suspect within the popular imaginary, and much of the Western media, which has led to sanctioning of civil human rights violations, largely through detainment, deportation and surveillance.

One of the most condemnable violations, ironically, justified by the war on terrorism, is the massive invasion of privacy by the intelligence agencies. The US categorically defends this violation as a necessary step to access personal details in order to build profiles of terror suspects by data mining. Governments across the world are already collecting and sharing much of the information related to personal domain of an individual through bilateral and multilateral agreements covering passenger name records, visa applications and border surveillance systems, to name some.

Of all the mysteries, sexual assault on women and men forms the darkest secrets related to the war on terrorism. Despite not being a traditional armed conflict, sexual violence has been rampant in the global war on terrorism. Whether in Guantanamo Bay’s detention centre or in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, sexual violence has often been used as a tool of torture during interrogation. There have been reports pointing out the cases when women and girls were raped by soldiers or were forced into prostitution. The international community has failed to address the problem of sexual violence during armed conflicts.

The war on terrorism also harmed the educational systems of the war-affected regions in different ways resulting in the complete degradation of the Iraqi and Syrian education system on the one hand and in substantial damages to the educational institutes in Pakistan on the other. In Afghanistan, there was no established educational infrastructure in the pre-war years; however, war on terrorism also failed to facilitate the learning process.

Demolition of infrastructure like schools, hospitals, electricity supply system, etc., is also a major factor. Due to war on terror, the victim countries’ social infrastructures have been destroyed and the civilians are deprived of opportunities to enjoy government services.

Pakistan has been the frontline ally of the US in war on terrorism. With the decision of Pakistan to eliminate terrorism of all forms and hues, a dramatic escalation in the conflict between insurgents and Pakistan’s armed forces was witnessed.

At least 52,000 Pakistanis (combatant and non-combatant) have been killed since 2004 and more than 50,000 have been injured since then by the various parties to the conflict. This does not include the likely deaths of tens of thousands of more combatants — both insurgents and Pakistani forces.

While acknowledging all the grave consequences of war on terrorism, question emerges, ‘Is there then an alternate to war on terrorism?’ In fact, the war — both as a response and as a strategy to eliminate terrorism — is by no means immune to flaws. While confronting an enemy that transcends borders and does not recognize any defined grounds, war is not an option, at all. Wars often ensue in additional violent conflicts over the new resources and new political alignments created by an initial invasion or occupation. The civil wars and criminal violence that erupted in both Iraq and Afghanistan are examples of this phenomenon.

Civil societies and media must work for the rights of victims of terrorism and other violence by armed groups, supporting them in their struggle for truth, justice and reparation. They should expose and oppose unlawful detentions carried out in the name of national security or countering terrorism.

All states must respect human rights in any action they take in the name of national security or countering terrorism. By closing all arbitrary detention centres, shutting down agencies run-prisons, and condemning rather than justifying torture, the governments can make enormous strides.

Since US declaration to start the war on terrorism, it has substantially been contributing towards the loss of civil liberties. From the rugged mountains of Afghanistan to the fluvial plains of Syria, and from the settled areas of Pakistan to the volatile regions of Iraq, the war in its wake has left countless humans dead. Without mitigating acts of terror and strengthening security, war on terrorism, in fact, is espousing fear and creating a sense of repression among certain quarters of the world. Evidently, it is nothing short of flaws. It has wreaked so great a havoc that its effects may not diminish quickly. There is a need to protect and promote human rights and every one’s right related to social, civic and political spectrum must be protected.

[B][I][SIZE="2"]Source: JWT[/SIZE][/I][/B]

shanimba1 Wednesday, September 16, 2015 09:56 PM

Thanks brother for sharing
Allah will reward you
Keeps it sharing


06:44 PM (GMT +5)

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