Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Afghanistan Looking For Change
Afghanistan looking for change
Whilst the world joined celebrations of the great electoral triumph by U.S. congressman Senator Barak Obama -the new President elect of the U.S, for the change they aspired for, air strikes in northern Kandahar killed dozens attending the wedding party. A sharp contrast of celebrations between northern and southern hemisphere one might declare. There arose a bleak request- a cry in the wilderness by Hamid Karazi to end civilian causalities. But for how long this rampage and rein of terror continues, would remain a problem to be countered by newly elected leadership in White House. The next president's single most foreign policy challenge would remain the conflict in Afghanistan, the war that has pushed the world's strongest military to break point without dealing a decisive blow to Al-Qaida. Afghans are hopeful that a loud and clear mandate for change will extend to U.S. policy towards Afghanistan so as to transform their grim lives. Increasing insecurity, rising costs and growing lawlessness have left many Afghans sceptical of the US-dominated Western intervention, which began eight years ago. Truly the president elect is inheriting a venomously complex situation that has left an estimated 4,000 dead this year alone. Eight years after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, the country has changed little. Indeed, the Taleban seems to be in a stronger position now then at any time since it was removed from power in 2001, helped in large part by chronic instability in Pakistan.
Afghanistan and more precisely Afghanistan/Pakistan conflict is posing as the toughest strategic point and as a front-line against terror in-tray for Obama. Comparison would be drawn in the longer period of time when world would see Obama’s strategy to combat terror in the land of unruly. Newly president elect calls Afghanistan the "central front" in the war on terrorism, but its lawless border with Pakistan also demands his attention. Before Obama's victory, Pakistani premier Yousaf Raza Gillani had warned the next U.S. president to halt missile attacks near his border or risk turning his nation against America. Mr Obama also received a harsh reminder from angered Afghan president, Hamid Karzai. Of course, that will prove difficult given Obama's repeated vow to strike at militants in Pakistan even without help from the country's leaders and on “actionable intelligence”.
Obama also plans to immediately cut the 130,000-strong U.S. force in Iraq while prioritising Afghanistan, which hosts only about one-fifth as many American troops. In Afghanistan, Obama has said he would add about 7,000 troops to the U.S. force of 31,000. Pentagon officials are poised to more than double that increase - saying they need 15,000 to 20,000 more troops in Afghanistan. His popularity in Europe may help Obama persuade NATO into committing more to Afghanistan. Still, no one knows how the Democratic president-elect will get on with David Petraeus, the top U.S. general in the Middle East, who was given a free hand by George Bush to pour resources into Iraq.
Critics of Obama's Afghanistan strategy have pointed out that increasing troop in the country would not be appropriate and remain ineffective or even counter-productive without a stronger government in Kabul to fight for. While crossing the border and attacking the militant hideouts would fatally weaken the country’s already fragile democracy, bolster extremism and anti American sentiments. Obama’s Afghanistan policy would be a strategy of "surge first, and then negotiate" - that is, building up security in cities with additional US troops before beginning talks with Taliban "reconcilables" about how to settle the conflict. That approach would fit well with Obama's view on Afghanistan, one key adviser said. His most likely move on from the current U.S. strategy will be similar to that latterly tried successfully by the Bush administration in Iraq – paying local forces to fight the Taleban. Formation of anti-extremist “Lushkers’ by the local tribal leaders to support military in fight against the insurgents in the tribal region is one of the continuation of the strategic moves that has been in focus by the Republicans and now Democrats in the House.
For bigger show in Afghanistan, Mr Obama must be looking for his western allies to support. The political climate in Europe has changed beyond recognition since invasion of Iraq. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown claims to enjoy a good working relationship with US as demonstrated by them in recent economic chaos. Some see the new president as having more “European” approach towards the politics thus allies will have an easier time dealing with Obama. It would also depend on the larger troop’s contribution that has recently been marred with political erosion but the gloss will soon wear thin if they do not give him the practical support he wants. Western forces currently deployed in Afghanistan – including some 8,000 British soldiers – can hold their own against the insurgents, but they are involved in a war of political attrition. Already Canada, whose armed forces have borne much of the hard fighting in the country, has set an end date of 2011 for withdrawal. Other countries may follow – and the Taleban knows this. It doesn't have to win, it just must not lose. Afghanistan might be the right war, but its resolution will require much of the young president-elect's attention.
The perception that western troops do not take enough care to avoid killing civilians has added to resentments felt by many Afghans at foreign forces' presence, ongoing insecurity and the lack of improvements in living standards. For the Afghan population, the situation remains in the balance and while the Kabul government is remote for many, the Taleban operates among them– whether those communities like it or not. One of Mr. Obama's senior aides, Frances Fragus Townsend, a former Homeland Security adviser, outlined some of the incoming administration's concerns, especially about the potential for conflict to create "spin-off" operations linked to global terrorism. He said: "The most immediate counter-terrorism issue is the Pakistan tribal region; it represents the greatest threat to American security interests." It is also question in point here that Bush administration used much of the tanks and less of the steamrollers to reconstruct the roads and buildings for Afghans. If Obama is focusing of shifting the war theater to Afghanistan, he would have to keep in focus that the shifting the war theater would not held sway but increase demand for the positive change that Afghan nation deserve and require.
The question would remain that would next president elect be able to deliver the change that he has promised for the world and Afghanistan at large? It to be seen in the context of Obama’s commitment per se. Obama sharply criticised Mr Karzai during the election campaign for his failure to curb rampant corruption or the drugs trade. Now we have to wait and see how Obama takes on with Karazai as the later is looking forward for the elections in the coutnry in next fall. A political change in Afghanistan would require to broader understanding and sheer commitment to deliver form the allied forcese and new US adminstration.
The writer works for Islamabad Policy Research Institute.(IPRI)
Whilst the world joined celebrations of the great electoral triumph by U.S. congressman Senator Barak Obama -the new President elect of the U.S, for the change they aspired for, air strikes in northern Kandahar killed dozens attending the wedding party. A sharp contrast of celebrations between northern and southern hemisphere one might declare. There arose a bleak request- a cry in the wilderness by Hamid Karazi to end civilian causalities. But for how long this rampage and rein of terror continues, would remain a problem to be countered by newly elected leadership in White House. The next president's single most foreign policy challenge would remain the conflict in Afghanistan, the war that has pushed the world's strongest military to break point without dealing a decisive blow to Al-Qaida. Afghans are hopeful that a loud and clear mandate for change will extend to U.S. policy towards Afghanistan so as to transform their grim lives. Increasing insecurity, rising costs and growing lawlessness have left many Afghans sceptical of the US-dominated Western intervention, which began eight years ago. Truly the president elect is inheriting a venomously complex situation that has left an estimated 4,000 dead this year alone. Eight years after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, the country has changed little. Indeed, the Taleban seems to be in a stronger position now then at any time since it was removed from power in 2001, helped in large part by chronic instability in Pakistan.
Afghanistan and more precisely Afghanistan/Pakistan conflict is posing as the toughest strategic point and as a front-line against terror in-tray for Obama. Comparison would be drawn in the longer period of time when world would see Obama’s strategy to combat terror in the land of unruly. Newly president elect calls Afghanistan the "central front" in the war on terrorism, but its lawless border with Pakistan also demands his attention. Before Obama's victory, Pakistani premier Yousaf Raza Gillani had warned the next U.S. president to halt missile attacks near his border or risk turning his nation against America. Mr Obama also received a harsh reminder from angered Afghan president, Hamid Karzai. Of course, that will prove difficult given Obama's repeated vow to strike at militants in Pakistan even without help from the country's leaders and on “actionable intelligence”.
Obama also plans to immediately cut the 130,000-strong U.S. force in Iraq while prioritising Afghanistan, which hosts only about one-fifth as many American troops. In Afghanistan, Obama has said he would add about 7,000 troops to the U.S. force of 31,000. Pentagon officials are poised to more than double that increase - saying they need 15,000 to 20,000 more troops in Afghanistan. His popularity in Europe may help Obama persuade NATO into committing more to Afghanistan. Still, no one knows how the Democratic president-elect will get on with David Petraeus, the top U.S. general in the Middle East, who was given a free hand by George Bush to pour resources into Iraq.
Critics of Obama's Afghanistan strategy have pointed out that increasing troop in the country would not be appropriate and remain ineffective or even counter-productive without a stronger government in Kabul to fight for. While crossing the border and attacking the militant hideouts would fatally weaken the country’s already fragile democracy, bolster extremism and anti American sentiments. Obama’s Afghanistan policy would be a strategy of "surge first, and then negotiate" - that is, building up security in cities with additional US troops before beginning talks with Taliban "reconcilables" about how to settle the conflict. That approach would fit well with Obama's view on Afghanistan, one key adviser said. His most likely move on from the current U.S. strategy will be similar to that latterly tried successfully by the Bush administration in Iraq – paying local forces to fight the Taleban. Formation of anti-extremist “Lushkers’ by the local tribal leaders to support military in fight against the insurgents in the tribal region is one of the continuation of the strategic moves that has been in focus by the Republicans and now Democrats in the House.
For bigger show in Afghanistan, Mr Obama must be looking for his western allies to support. The political climate in Europe has changed beyond recognition since invasion of Iraq. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown claims to enjoy a good working relationship with US as demonstrated by them in recent economic chaos. Some see the new president as having more “European” approach towards the politics thus allies will have an easier time dealing with Obama. It would also depend on the larger troop’s contribution that has recently been marred with political erosion but the gloss will soon wear thin if they do not give him the practical support he wants. Western forces currently deployed in Afghanistan – including some 8,000 British soldiers – can hold their own against the insurgents, but they are involved in a war of political attrition. Already Canada, whose armed forces have borne much of the hard fighting in the country, has set an end date of 2011 for withdrawal. Other countries may follow – and the Taleban knows this. It doesn't have to win, it just must not lose. Afghanistan might be the right war, but its resolution will require much of the young president-elect's attention.
The perception that western troops do not take enough care to avoid killing civilians has added to resentments felt by many Afghans at foreign forces' presence, ongoing insecurity and the lack of improvements in living standards. For the Afghan population, the situation remains in the balance and while the Kabul government is remote for many, the Taleban operates among them– whether those communities like it or not. One of Mr. Obama's senior aides, Frances Fragus Townsend, a former Homeland Security adviser, outlined some of the incoming administration's concerns, especially about the potential for conflict to create "spin-off" operations linked to global terrorism. He said: "The most immediate counter-terrorism issue is the Pakistan tribal region; it represents the greatest threat to American security interests." It is also question in point here that Bush administration used much of the tanks and less of the steamrollers to reconstruct the roads and buildings for Afghans. If Obama is focusing of shifting the war theater to Afghanistan, he would have to keep in focus that the shifting the war theater would not held sway but increase demand for the positive change that Afghan nation deserve and require.
The question would remain that would next president elect be able to deliver the change that he has promised for the world and Afghanistan at large? It to be seen in the context of Obama’s commitment per se. Obama sharply criticised Mr Karzai during the election campaign for his failure to curb rampant corruption or the drugs trade. Now we have to wait and see how Obama takes on with Karazai as the later is looking forward for the elections in the coutnry in next fall. A political change in Afghanistan would require to broader understanding and sheer commitment to deliver form the allied forcese and new US adminstration.
The writer works for Islamabad Policy Research Institute.(IPRI)
Monday, August 4, 2008
Afghan refugees and Pakistan
Farhat Akram
Principal global agency, UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), solicited Pakistan to extend the stay of Afghan refugees for at least four more years putting Pakistan in a quandary. According to a senior government official, the UNHCR has cited various reasons, ranging from the worsening security situation and poor governance structures to the lack of shelter in the war-ravaged Afghanistan, for seeking the extension. UNHCR's stance is that Pakistan should understand the ground realities and look beyond 2009 as it is not possible to repatriate 1.8 million refugees in one year, and after granting the extension, the government should renew the Proof of Registration (PoR) cards which would expire by the end of 2009. Pakistan has blatantly argued that refugee camps on this side of the border have turned into safe havens for elements that are from Afghanistan. Militants found sanctuary in these camps, thus causing catastrophe for Pakistan. The wretched condition of the refugees also reflects the inaptness of American-backed government to assert control over large swaths of the country.
Twenty years of intense war, after the 1979 Soviet invasion in support to the communist regime in Afghanistan, and 19 tumultuous years after the withdrawal of the last Soviet soldier in 1989, Afghanistan is still in flux today. It has become a failed state and a liability to regional and global peace. The continuous invasions of Afghanistan have caused millions of Afghan natives to flee from their country to neighbouring states. The perilous security conditions in the country have induced to produce the world's largest ever single refugee caseload, at times as high as 6.2 million persons out of 13.9 million populations. It has been rightly said that war always produces miseries and refugees and not resolutions.
Pakistan is the country hosting probably the largest number of these refugees since the eruption of war. Today there are three million of them that have fled and took shelter in 80 designated camps (71 in NWFP and 12 in Balochistan) in Pakistan, mingled themselves with the local population and are not willing to go back to Afghanistan. Pakistan is faced with a massive internal migration from this 'war nomad'ism', destroying its law and order and its social fabric. Already the biggest social change in Pakistan's history has come from a 20-year 'offensive and defensive' strategic preoccupation with Afghanistan.
Pakistan's policy for the refugees pouring in from Afghanistan after the eruption of civil war in the 1980s and the deteriorating conditions during the decades of 1990 remained very compassionate. The government established refugee camps with all the basic facilities ranging from education to basic health care, and refugees were allowed to settle any where in the country. Although few political parties oppose lenient approach of the government, the attitude of the people towards them remained friendly. The government gave virtual free hand to international aid giving agencies for establishing offices in Pakistan and carrying out relief activities for refugees. Some of refugees established business, owned property, brought their live stock and vehicles, and used Pakistan as a transit route for International travel.
The influx of the refugees created socio-economic problems for Pakistan. The hospitability has lead to the marked shift in the societal structure. These refugees caused deep rooted troubles on various fronts like shortage of resources, competition in labour market, environmental degradation, drugs, ethnic imbalances, etc. Some of these also got involved in criminal activities, smuggling, narco-traffic, and social problems but now they have turned into trouble spots for global peace.
Painstakingly there exists a need to evaluate the working and progress of the mission of UNHCR in Pakistan which began in 1980s with objectives to facilitate the repartition of Afghan refugees to assist the vast number of Afghans who have voluntarily decided to return home, to provide protection and assistance to Afghan refugees in their camps and settlements in the areas of health, education, water and sanitation, to identify solutions for non-Afghan refugees in Pakistan, to resettle in a third country a limited number of Afghan refugees for whom neither staying in Pakistan nor returning to their homeland is a safe option, such as women at risk or security cases. The number of refugees UNHCR resettles from Pakistan remains among the highest of any country, despite the obstacles created by much more stringent security checks since 9/11.
In the year 1988 a set of agreements signed under the name of Geneva Accords, between Pakistan and regime in Kabul, one of that was related to voluntary return of all the Afghan refugees to their homeland and was entitled 'Bilateral agreement between republic of Afghanistan and Islamic republic of Pakistan on voluntary return of refugees'. Nevertheless these accords, after passing of two decades still seem on papers. One of the analyst called the accord on the refugees as something that could lead to "Ethiopian sort of tragedy" while writing for foreign affairs in 1988. The return of Afghan refugees to native soil still is one of the serious issues that has been under debate between Pakistan and UNHCR and remains a controversial issue. More than five million Afghans have returned to their homeland since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001. But growing insecurity threatens the gains the country has made since then.
While the refugees who have returned with high hopes found harsh realities awaiting them; they lack land to settle on and fear fighting between Taliban militants and Nato and Afghan government forces. Pakistan has remained under relentless criticism from the West for not doing enough to restore the restoration of peace in the region while playing its key role in the war on terror. With its ambiguous nature and objectives has put Pakistan on crossroads of history to carry out substantial policy decision either to continue or give a lukewarm response to this mess. As the case of refugees in Pakistan, it is desired that Pakistan must not carry the burden alone and with the situation mounting in the country it simply cannot afford to. And policy must shift from compassionate response to straight forward decisions responding the issue with firmness. This issue must be discussed not only on the forum of UN but must go beyond the said stage.
With using various podiums like Saarc, this issue must be peacefully resolved and Pakistan must make its voice heard to the nations of the world so that related concerns should be addressed. "Just saying that since 2.4 million people cannot return so Pakistan can keep them as long as situation in Afghanistan does not improve - that is something we cannot accept," as one government official representing Pakistan in UNHCR said. According to official figures, 83 percent of the Afghans living in Pakistan are Pushtun The NWFP has been flooded with them and adding woes to the government in charge with addition to the worsening law and order conditions in the province.
The biggest concern in our times of high emotion is Pakistan's economy which is facing its worst condition since the current government took control. The socio-economic crises of high voltage wrenching the state power structure have resulted in inability of the government to steer the ship of the nation away from the fire. Pakistan cannot bear much of the burden of this magnitude. As the internal crisis situation holds sway, UNHCR and the government of Pakistan must work together to develop modalities whereby the solution to the safe return of refugees is made possible.
The writer works for the Islamabad Policy Research Institute
http://thepost.com.pk/OpinionNews.aspx?dtlid=176067&catid=11
Farhat Akram
Principal global agency, UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), solicited Pakistan to extend the stay of Afghan refugees for at least four more years putting Pakistan in a quandary. According to a senior government official, the UNHCR has cited various reasons, ranging from the worsening security situation and poor governance structures to the lack of shelter in the war-ravaged Afghanistan, for seeking the extension. UNHCR's stance is that Pakistan should understand the ground realities and look beyond 2009 as it is not possible to repatriate 1.8 million refugees in one year, and after granting the extension, the government should renew the Proof of Registration (PoR) cards which would expire by the end of 2009. Pakistan has blatantly argued that refugee camps on this side of the border have turned into safe havens for elements that are from Afghanistan. Militants found sanctuary in these camps, thus causing catastrophe for Pakistan. The wretched condition of the refugees also reflects the inaptness of American-backed government to assert control over large swaths of the country.
Twenty years of intense war, after the 1979 Soviet invasion in support to the communist regime in Afghanistan, and 19 tumultuous years after the withdrawal of the last Soviet soldier in 1989, Afghanistan is still in flux today. It has become a failed state and a liability to regional and global peace. The continuous invasions of Afghanistan have caused millions of Afghan natives to flee from their country to neighbouring states. The perilous security conditions in the country have induced to produce the world's largest ever single refugee caseload, at times as high as 6.2 million persons out of 13.9 million populations. It has been rightly said that war always produces miseries and refugees and not resolutions.
Pakistan is the country hosting probably the largest number of these refugees since the eruption of war. Today there are three million of them that have fled and took shelter in 80 designated camps (71 in NWFP and 12 in Balochistan) in Pakistan, mingled themselves with the local population and are not willing to go back to Afghanistan. Pakistan is faced with a massive internal migration from this 'war nomad'ism', destroying its law and order and its social fabric. Already the biggest social change in Pakistan's history has come from a 20-year 'offensive and defensive' strategic preoccupation with Afghanistan.
Pakistan's policy for the refugees pouring in from Afghanistan after the eruption of civil war in the 1980s and the deteriorating conditions during the decades of 1990 remained very compassionate. The government established refugee camps with all the basic facilities ranging from education to basic health care, and refugees were allowed to settle any where in the country. Although few political parties oppose lenient approach of the government, the attitude of the people towards them remained friendly. The government gave virtual free hand to international aid giving agencies for establishing offices in Pakistan and carrying out relief activities for refugees. Some of refugees established business, owned property, brought their live stock and vehicles, and used Pakistan as a transit route for International travel.
The influx of the refugees created socio-economic problems for Pakistan. The hospitability has lead to the marked shift in the societal structure. These refugees caused deep rooted troubles on various fronts like shortage of resources, competition in labour market, environmental degradation, drugs, ethnic imbalances, etc. Some of these also got involved in criminal activities, smuggling, narco-traffic, and social problems but now they have turned into trouble spots for global peace.
Painstakingly there exists a need to evaluate the working and progress of the mission of UNHCR in Pakistan which began in 1980s with objectives to facilitate the repartition of Afghan refugees to assist the vast number of Afghans who have voluntarily decided to return home, to provide protection and assistance to Afghan refugees in their camps and settlements in the areas of health, education, water and sanitation, to identify solutions for non-Afghan refugees in Pakistan, to resettle in a third country a limited number of Afghan refugees for whom neither staying in Pakistan nor returning to their homeland is a safe option, such as women at risk or security cases. The number of refugees UNHCR resettles from Pakistan remains among the highest of any country, despite the obstacles created by much more stringent security checks since 9/11.
In the year 1988 a set of agreements signed under the name of Geneva Accords, between Pakistan and regime in Kabul, one of that was related to voluntary return of all the Afghan refugees to their homeland and was entitled 'Bilateral agreement between republic of Afghanistan and Islamic republic of Pakistan on voluntary return of refugees'. Nevertheless these accords, after passing of two decades still seem on papers. One of the analyst called the accord on the refugees as something that could lead to "Ethiopian sort of tragedy" while writing for foreign affairs in 1988. The return of Afghan refugees to native soil still is one of the serious issues that has been under debate between Pakistan and UNHCR and remains a controversial issue. More than five million Afghans have returned to their homeland since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001. But growing insecurity threatens the gains the country has made since then.
While the refugees who have returned with high hopes found harsh realities awaiting them; they lack land to settle on and fear fighting between Taliban militants and Nato and Afghan government forces. Pakistan has remained under relentless criticism from the West for not doing enough to restore the restoration of peace in the region while playing its key role in the war on terror. With its ambiguous nature and objectives has put Pakistan on crossroads of history to carry out substantial policy decision either to continue or give a lukewarm response to this mess. As the case of refugees in Pakistan, it is desired that Pakistan must not carry the burden alone and with the situation mounting in the country it simply cannot afford to. And policy must shift from compassionate response to straight forward decisions responding the issue with firmness. This issue must be discussed not only on the forum of UN but must go beyond the said stage.
With using various podiums like Saarc, this issue must be peacefully resolved and Pakistan must make its voice heard to the nations of the world so that related concerns should be addressed. "Just saying that since 2.4 million people cannot return so Pakistan can keep them as long as situation in Afghanistan does not improve - that is something we cannot accept," as one government official representing Pakistan in UNHCR said. According to official figures, 83 percent of the Afghans living in Pakistan are Pushtun The NWFP has been flooded with them and adding woes to the government in charge with addition to the worsening law and order conditions in the province.
The biggest concern in our times of high emotion is Pakistan's economy which is facing its worst condition since the current government took control. The socio-economic crises of high voltage wrenching the state power structure have resulted in inability of the government to steer the ship of the nation away from the fire. Pakistan cannot bear much of the burden of this magnitude. As the internal crisis situation holds sway, UNHCR and the government of Pakistan must work together to develop modalities whereby the solution to the safe return of refugees is made possible.
The writer works for the Islamabad Policy Research Institute
http://thepost.com.pk/OpinionNews.aspx?dtlid=176067&catid=11
Monday, July 21, 2008
Entangled in the energy web
Farhat Akram
Commendable developments have materialised lately on various avenues of the energy sector in Asia with countries fostering forward their collaborations for fulfilling their energy requirements. The dream of making Asian gas grid could transform the quest for energy by Asian economies into a cooperative, not conflictive enterprise. Regional actors entangled subjectively in the web of interdependence, could generate far-reaching effect on the security, stability and development of the region, hence, locking their positions by working together in a manner of complex correlation.
The outcome of this interconnectedness would determine the future course of economics, politics, inter-state relationships, economic cooperation and security status of the region as a whole. With growing oil prices skyrocketing, the Asian country’s thrust for cheaper imported gas has acquired a greater urgency than ever before. In order to fulfil energy requirements, countries like Pakistan, India, Iran and China have leaned their thrust even to develop civilian nuclear technology to meet the needs of ever-expanding economies. Nowadays, we are totally dependent on an abundant and uninterrupted supply of energy for living and working. It is a key ingredient in all sectors of modern economies. It is high time that we must secure our future in the growing state of depleting energy resources.
As the new energy world order dawned with momentum in Asia, several key benchmarks have been achieved on aspired projects of the India-Pakistan-Iran (IPI) and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipelines. These pipelines can be more appropriately called as the life lines of the economies of the subcontinent and beyond. Countries involved in both IPI and TAPI had serious reservations, which had caused them to remain reluctant in pursuing these projects. We are still in the state of wilderness as the projects actually set foot in the early 1990s and later failed to materialise as yet. Both projects got badly snagged in international and regional politics.
But the latest signing of the ‘Government Framework Agreement’ in Islamabad to initiate the TAPI project, readmission of India in the IPI, workable agreement between Pakistan and India on transit fee, recent agreement on the IPI to draft the final phase of the project and finally signing an accord, depicts active assertion of the stakeholders to remove the impediments in the way.
Both the projects will provide gas to the Asian developing countries, including Pakistan, India, China and beyond the region. These states have limited oil/liquid reserves to meet their demands. Rocketing prices and limited supply of oil, signifies the option of gas that is cheaper, cleaner and plentiful. In an increasingly environmentally conscious world, the developed countries see this as an attractive alternative to oil and mineral fuels. Hence, oil-producing states of the Persian Gulf are striving to develop their gas supplies to supplement their dwindling oil reserves. The landlocked El Dorados of Central Asia offers the energy hungry burgeoning economies to invest and evolve effective methods to transfer the resources.
These states have abundance of proven and unproven gas and oil reserves to be explored. It is quite mandatory for the states to develop the national strategies for robust exploration of not only indigenous resources but requires enhancing by trans-national energy options to meet the constraints. TAPI gas pipeline project begins from the Daulatabad gas field (Turkmenistan) and runs through Herat, Kandahar (Afghanistan), Quetta, Multan (Pakistan). The final destination of the pipeline will be the Indian town of Fazilka near the border between India and Pakistan.
The total length of the pipeline will be 1,680 kilometre to be built and operated by a consortium of national oil companies from the four countries. Furthermore, the cost of the project was just over $ 3 billion in 2003. Today, it is $ 7.6 billion. The pipeline is to begin its operations in 2015 if all the issues are resolved. The pipeline will transport 33 billion standard cubic metre (scm) gas from the Daulatabad gas field. There will be six compressor stations along the entire length of the pipeline and it will have to be guarded by the states they pass through, apart from the pipeline. The largest stretch will be between Quetta and Multan and the Indian border. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided the financial assistance of $ 1.0 million for the feasibility study of the project.
Several major risks were proving as impediments in materialising the TAPI project. Security of the pipeline is the most important in this regard, as it passes through the tumultuous region of Afghanistan where the security situation is far from satisfactory. Turkmenistan requested the UN to adopt a new convention guaranteeing pipeline security. The proposal represents the abandonment of fiercely nationalist policy adopted by Niyazove.
Turkmenistan’s claims of having reserves of more than 25 trillion cubic feet need to certify through an independent auditor. Issues like that of consortium formation, legal and regulatory framework, and issues of gas sales and purchase agreements need to be resolved. Political discords among the regional and international powers related to the US support to TAPI project due to contentious relations with Iran, Pakistan and India’s conflicts and disagreements on various issues and Pakistan’s constrained relations with Afghanistan are proving as hindrances in the way.
The rival IPI pipeline, conceptualised in 1989, has the potential to link the Persian Gulf with the roaring economies of the Far East. The proposed pipeline would deliver gas from Assalouyeh in southern Iran through Balochistan and Sindh provinces of Pakistan and then to India. This pipeline was hampered by conflicts, ranging from security to pricing and finalising the framework. The pipeline runs 1,700 miles with 3.2 billion cubic feet per day of Iranian gas to Pakistan and 2.1 billion cubic per day to India by 2011. Moreover, the cost of the project is nearly $ 7-8billion. To settle the major issues apropos pricing, Iran demands that the clause to revise the gas price every three years to be incorporated into the agreement, which both India and Pakistan disagreed.
If substantiated effectively, IPI pipeline will also assert and depict independent foreign policies adopted by Pakistan and India on issues of high priority related to energy certainly wanting to break from the pressure to abort the plan. With the warning to India against joining the project by the US because of Iran, it demonstrated a sign of thrust to move forward for the project. The US lured India to have the much aspired civilian nuclear deal to meet its growing energy demands. However, early this year, when India showed reluctance in the IPI project, Pakistan declared that China would become part of the project and convert it into IPC. This proclamation shocked India. While depending on the feasibility of the project, China illustrated keen interest in making this a reality having necessary expertise and resources. With a growing demand in the domestic markets soaring, involvement of China led India to participate with revised sense of urgency.
For India and Pakistan, it is difficult to show the same level of consent on the IPI because of the divergent foreign policies and priorities involved. Pakistan has deep-rooted and closer relations with Iran and supports it on various issues, either nuclear or forming a regional energy grid. Pakistan clearly realised that Iran sees the IPI as both a source of valuable foreign exchange as well as warding off the mounting US and other Western powers to isolate Iran on its nuclear enrichment foreign policy. For both states, it would be appropriate to understand the emerging reality that in the near future the solution to the Afghan problem is far from being a reality and TAPI project is less likely to be practically implemented. The option was propounded that instead of TAPI, a revised Turkmenistan-Iran-Pakistan-India (TIPI) may be implemented. This is actually a more feasible and viable solution with less troubles for the project.
On the one hand, the IPI project carries greater political price for both Pakistan and India than on the other hand TAPI has been put on hold because of security and sensitive areas in the way. But the fact remains that nearly all roads that provide energy security in Asia lead from Tehran. Iran’s ability to act as an energy corridor for the Subcontinent is indisputable. In the rapidly intensifying international energy competition, Iran holds the master key to the most staggering political and economic roadblock that impedes the economic growth. The problems will not be solved while isolating Iran but close and competitive environment leads to prosperity.
The fact remains that TAPI and IPI will be operational in the domains of disorder, lying between the economically poor regions. Afghanistan has reluctantly been controlled but still has the seeds of insurgency expected to be blossoming this summer as illustrated by the attack on President Hamid Karzai with a loud and clear message. On the other hand, Pakistan presents a shaky coalition government that has been involved in settling the domestic political instability by paying more attention to resolve the economic issues. Therefore, it can be concluded that TAPI and IPI could not become good devices of leverage unless and until Pakistan is to set its house in order and become a democratic and stable state.
The writer works as Assistant Research Officer, Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI)
Farhat Akram
Commendable developments have materialised lately on various avenues of the energy sector in Asia with countries fostering forward their collaborations for fulfilling their energy requirements. The dream of making Asian gas grid could transform the quest for energy by Asian economies into a cooperative, not conflictive enterprise. Regional actors entangled subjectively in the web of interdependence, could generate far-reaching effect on the security, stability and development of the region, hence, locking their positions by working together in a manner of complex correlation.
The outcome of this interconnectedness would determine the future course of economics, politics, inter-state relationships, economic cooperation and security status of the region as a whole. With growing oil prices skyrocketing, the Asian country’s thrust for cheaper imported gas has acquired a greater urgency than ever before. In order to fulfil energy requirements, countries like Pakistan, India, Iran and China have leaned their thrust even to develop civilian nuclear technology to meet the needs of ever-expanding economies. Nowadays, we are totally dependent on an abundant and uninterrupted supply of energy for living and working. It is a key ingredient in all sectors of modern economies. It is high time that we must secure our future in the growing state of depleting energy resources.
As the new energy world order dawned with momentum in Asia, several key benchmarks have been achieved on aspired projects of the India-Pakistan-Iran (IPI) and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipelines. These pipelines can be more appropriately called as the life lines of the economies of the subcontinent and beyond. Countries involved in both IPI and TAPI had serious reservations, which had caused them to remain reluctant in pursuing these projects. We are still in the state of wilderness as the projects actually set foot in the early 1990s and later failed to materialise as yet. Both projects got badly snagged in international and regional politics.
But the latest signing of the ‘Government Framework Agreement’ in Islamabad to initiate the TAPI project, readmission of India in the IPI, workable agreement between Pakistan and India on transit fee, recent agreement on the IPI to draft the final phase of the project and finally signing an accord, depicts active assertion of the stakeholders to remove the impediments in the way.
Both the projects will provide gas to the Asian developing countries, including Pakistan, India, China and beyond the region. These states have limited oil/liquid reserves to meet their demands. Rocketing prices and limited supply of oil, signifies the option of gas that is cheaper, cleaner and plentiful. In an increasingly environmentally conscious world, the developed countries see this as an attractive alternative to oil and mineral fuels. Hence, oil-producing states of the Persian Gulf are striving to develop their gas supplies to supplement their dwindling oil reserves. The landlocked El Dorados of Central Asia offers the energy hungry burgeoning economies to invest and evolve effective methods to transfer the resources.
These states have abundance of proven and unproven gas and oil reserves to be explored. It is quite mandatory for the states to develop the national strategies for robust exploration of not only indigenous resources but requires enhancing by trans-national energy options to meet the constraints. TAPI gas pipeline project begins from the Daulatabad gas field (Turkmenistan) and runs through Herat, Kandahar (Afghanistan), Quetta, Multan (Pakistan). The final destination of the pipeline will be the Indian town of Fazilka near the border between India and Pakistan.
The total length of the pipeline will be 1,680 kilometre to be built and operated by a consortium of national oil companies from the four countries. Furthermore, the cost of the project was just over $ 3 billion in 2003. Today, it is $ 7.6 billion. The pipeline is to begin its operations in 2015 if all the issues are resolved. The pipeline will transport 33 billion standard cubic metre (scm) gas from the Daulatabad gas field. There will be six compressor stations along the entire length of the pipeline and it will have to be guarded by the states they pass through, apart from the pipeline. The largest stretch will be between Quetta and Multan and the Indian border. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided the financial assistance of $ 1.0 million for the feasibility study of the project.
Several major risks were proving as impediments in materialising the TAPI project. Security of the pipeline is the most important in this regard, as it passes through the tumultuous region of Afghanistan where the security situation is far from satisfactory. Turkmenistan requested the UN to adopt a new convention guaranteeing pipeline security. The proposal represents the abandonment of fiercely nationalist policy adopted by Niyazove.
Turkmenistan’s claims of having reserves of more than 25 trillion cubic feet need to certify through an independent auditor. Issues like that of consortium formation, legal and regulatory framework, and issues of gas sales and purchase agreements need to be resolved. Political discords among the regional and international powers related to the US support to TAPI project due to contentious relations with Iran, Pakistan and India’s conflicts and disagreements on various issues and Pakistan’s constrained relations with Afghanistan are proving as hindrances in the way.
The rival IPI pipeline, conceptualised in 1989, has the potential to link the Persian Gulf with the roaring economies of the Far East. The proposed pipeline would deliver gas from Assalouyeh in southern Iran through Balochistan and Sindh provinces of Pakistan and then to India. This pipeline was hampered by conflicts, ranging from security to pricing and finalising the framework. The pipeline runs 1,700 miles with 3.2 billion cubic feet per day of Iranian gas to Pakistan and 2.1 billion cubic per day to India by 2011. Moreover, the cost of the project is nearly $ 7-8billion. To settle the major issues apropos pricing, Iran demands that the clause to revise the gas price every three years to be incorporated into the agreement, which both India and Pakistan disagreed.
If substantiated effectively, IPI pipeline will also assert and depict independent foreign policies adopted by Pakistan and India on issues of high priority related to energy certainly wanting to break from the pressure to abort the plan. With the warning to India against joining the project by the US because of Iran, it demonstrated a sign of thrust to move forward for the project. The US lured India to have the much aspired civilian nuclear deal to meet its growing energy demands. However, early this year, when India showed reluctance in the IPI project, Pakistan declared that China would become part of the project and convert it into IPC. This proclamation shocked India. While depending on the feasibility of the project, China illustrated keen interest in making this a reality having necessary expertise and resources. With a growing demand in the domestic markets soaring, involvement of China led India to participate with revised sense of urgency.
For India and Pakistan, it is difficult to show the same level of consent on the IPI because of the divergent foreign policies and priorities involved. Pakistan has deep-rooted and closer relations with Iran and supports it on various issues, either nuclear or forming a regional energy grid. Pakistan clearly realised that Iran sees the IPI as both a source of valuable foreign exchange as well as warding off the mounting US and other Western powers to isolate Iran on its nuclear enrichment foreign policy. For both states, it would be appropriate to understand the emerging reality that in the near future the solution to the Afghan problem is far from being a reality and TAPI project is less likely to be practically implemented. The option was propounded that instead of TAPI, a revised Turkmenistan-Iran-Pakistan-India (TIPI) may be implemented. This is actually a more feasible and viable solution with less troubles for the project.
On the one hand, the IPI project carries greater political price for both Pakistan and India than on the other hand TAPI has been put on hold because of security and sensitive areas in the way. But the fact remains that nearly all roads that provide energy security in Asia lead from Tehran. Iran’s ability to act as an energy corridor for the Subcontinent is indisputable. In the rapidly intensifying international energy competition, Iran holds the master key to the most staggering political and economic roadblock that impedes the economic growth. The problems will not be solved while isolating Iran but close and competitive environment leads to prosperity.
The fact remains that TAPI and IPI will be operational in the domains of disorder, lying between the economically poor regions. Afghanistan has reluctantly been controlled but still has the seeds of insurgency expected to be blossoming this summer as illustrated by the attack on President Hamid Karzai with a loud and clear message. On the other hand, Pakistan presents a shaky coalition government that has been involved in settling the domestic political instability by paying more attention to resolve the economic issues. Therefore, it can be concluded that TAPI and IPI could not become good devices of leverage unless and until Pakistan is to set its house in order and become a democratic and stable state.
The writer works as Assistant Research Officer, Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI)
Opium Flowers
Opium flowers
Farhat Akram
Whilst the world was celebrating World Anti-Narcotics Day on June 27 by organising seminars and conferences with loud woes of resolve to end the menace, in the south of Helmand province of Afghanistan Gul Bibi (18) was being sold to the local land owner as a ‘opium bride’ by her father for just a few thousand dollars. Her father was indebted to a land owner with a promise to repay at the harvest time. With the opium eradication drive by the government and allied forces, his field was also destroyed, leaving him nothing to pay back the loan. Opium flowers would continue to grow and multiply, till the spring of poverty, violation of human rights and deterioration of socio-economic situation of the natives would complete its interval in Afghanistan.
Despite the fact that there is forecast for a ‘shockingly high’ harvest for 2008 according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), anguish of the natives is magnifying without light at the end of the tunnel. Weak governance structures and corruption has led these menaces to stand larger than life in this ‘land of unruly’. Instead of providing relief to the people, the state has started slipping back to a point zero and moving towards a point of no return as the contemporary trends reflects. Much blame lies with Karzai’s ‘democratic’ government, which has done little to put an end to such practices and provide alternatives to the natives and try to win hearts and minds of people.
Afghanistan is in a flux today with ranking the world’s poorest of all countries – it ranks near the bottom of the UN’s human development index (174th out of 178 countries). It is also ranked the lowest on the human poverty index, is the largest exporter of the illicit drugs, reaching an estimated street value of $ 60 billion. According to the latest UNODC survey some of 3.3 million Afghans (14.3 percent of the population) are involved in opium cultivation. This does not include over 500,000 labourers and an unknown number of traffickers, warlords and officials. Poppies are grown just over four percent of Afghanistan’s arable land, the value of illicit drug income is huge, equalling over 52 percent of the country’s legal GDP in 2002 (compared with 24.4 percent for Burma/Myanmar and three percent for Colombia).
A careful analysis of the available data shows that the government’s GDP ratio is lowest to the illicit opium income production. What is much worst and disturbing is that opium production trend is not only upward but outward. Hence this has not only regional but global implications as well. As one observer once notes, “It is cheaper to engage in illegal activity in Afghanistan than almost anywhere in the world. However, Iraq is catching up. Having first followed Afghanistan’s lead in becoming a trans-national terrorism, Iraq is now starting to produce poppies.” An estimated of 500,000 Afghan families support themselves by raising poppies, according to UNODC. Last year, those growers received an estimated $ 1 billion for their crops – about $ 2,000 per household. With at least six members in the average family, opium growers’ per capita income is rough $ 300. The real profits go to the traffickers; their Taliban allies and the crooked officials’ who facilitate these ‘merchants of death’ to operate with liberty.
It is also very significant to understand the effects of narcotics trade and convergence of Afghanistan into a failed state as both are interlinked with weak governance, corruption, shaky state building efforts, fragile development, unstable security and counter insurgency efforts by the allied forces. One expert refers that if there would not be narcotics there would not be any of the Taliban. However, narcotics and its trade is not the only one reason for the state of chaos in Afghanistan today. It is a combination of multiple causes and major among all is that weak state structure and Karzai government’s failure to expand its control beyond certain regions. Karzai must realise that spitting venom for the state hosting millions of Afghan refugees for years would not serve the purpose, but he must put his own house in order.
In order to remove the menace from the very root, it is also very significant for Afghanistan to create the alternative livelihoods for farmers and people who are earlier generating their income from the narco-trade and money. This has been part of the national counter narcotics strategy which includes incentive scheme known as the ‘Good performance fund’ set up to reward villages for moving away from opium. Creating better infrastructure facilities like better irrigation system, transport infrastructures to those farmers, who grow other crops would do some good. Measurement of these sorts are necessary because other crops often face pitfalls such as the absence of distributors, inadequate domestic demands are few of the impediments that were causing the weak implementation of the counter narcotics strategy in the state.
Despite billions of dollars in foreign investment – the international community pledged an additional $ 20 billion at a donor conference in June – the coalition forces in Afghanistan and its government have failed to win over the people they are trying to protect. This means Afghanistan’s gains since the fall of the Taliban are fragile and are threatened by the insurgency, which continues to rage in the south. The government is weak, and there is little rule of law – local police is seen as scarcely more than ‘uniformed thieves’. Opium traffickers have a firm grip on the agricultural production of the province, providing credit, seeds and fertiliser to farmers, who have no other recourse than to grow the raw material for heroin – which in turn finances the insurgency.
Afghanistan’s rise as the major factor in contribution to the world’s illicit drug production is largely seen as a failure of the US policies for the country. After the removal of the Taliban regime in 2001, the drug eradication drive has largely been failed. A major obstacle in getting rid of opium production is the lack of coordination among law enforcement agencies operated upon by the US and its allies and the local warlords, whose major source of power lies with holding opium cultivatable land. Without much of the incentives for the farmers and workers has added of woes of the locals, thus created a larger factor resulting in the rise of the militancy and insurgency in the country.
Helmand is the biggest opium-producing region in the world and it is home to a Pashtun population that has historically resisted centralised rule. It is, says Chris Alexander, the UN’s deputy special representative in Afghanistan, “the place where the challenges that used to be nationwide have been swept like dead leaves into a pile.” There is a need for much broader and comprehensive counter narcotics approach that could eradicate the menace and provide the relief to the ordinary Afghan, who expects removal of crimes and dawn of the substantial security and development to the land. This requires much of the efforts from within society and the government while multifaceted policy of the international actors requires much of the effort. If we all fail to deliver, then it would tell little about Afghanistan but much about the world.
The writer works as Assistant Research Officer, Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI)
http://thepost.com.pk/OpinionNews.aspx?dtlid=170799&catid=11
Farhat Akram
Whilst the world was celebrating World Anti-Narcotics Day on June 27 by organising seminars and conferences with loud woes of resolve to end the menace, in the south of Helmand province of Afghanistan Gul Bibi (18) was being sold to the local land owner as a ‘opium bride’ by her father for just a few thousand dollars. Her father was indebted to a land owner with a promise to repay at the harvest time. With the opium eradication drive by the government and allied forces, his field was also destroyed, leaving him nothing to pay back the loan. Opium flowers would continue to grow and multiply, till the spring of poverty, violation of human rights and deterioration of socio-economic situation of the natives would complete its interval in Afghanistan.
Despite the fact that there is forecast for a ‘shockingly high’ harvest for 2008 according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), anguish of the natives is magnifying without light at the end of the tunnel. Weak governance structures and corruption has led these menaces to stand larger than life in this ‘land of unruly’. Instead of providing relief to the people, the state has started slipping back to a point zero and moving towards a point of no return as the contemporary trends reflects. Much blame lies with Karzai’s ‘democratic’ government, which has done little to put an end to such practices and provide alternatives to the natives and try to win hearts and minds of people.
Afghanistan is in a flux today with ranking the world’s poorest of all countries – it ranks near the bottom of the UN’s human development index (174th out of 178 countries). It is also ranked the lowest on the human poverty index, is the largest exporter of the illicit drugs, reaching an estimated street value of $ 60 billion. According to the latest UNODC survey some of 3.3 million Afghans (14.3 percent of the population) are involved in opium cultivation. This does not include over 500,000 labourers and an unknown number of traffickers, warlords and officials. Poppies are grown just over four percent of Afghanistan’s arable land, the value of illicit drug income is huge, equalling over 52 percent of the country’s legal GDP in 2002 (compared with 24.4 percent for Burma/Myanmar and three percent for Colombia).
A careful analysis of the available data shows that the government’s GDP ratio is lowest to the illicit opium income production. What is much worst and disturbing is that opium production trend is not only upward but outward. Hence this has not only regional but global implications as well. As one observer once notes, “It is cheaper to engage in illegal activity in Afghanistan than almost anywhere in the world. However, Iraq is catching up. Having first followed Afghanistan’s lead in becoming a trans-national terrorism, Iraq is now starting to produce poppies.” An estimated of 500,000 Afghan families support themselves by raising poppies, according to UNODC. Last year, those growers received an estimated $ 1 billion for their crops – about $ 2,000 per household. With at least six members in the average family, opium growers’ per capita income is rough $ 300. The real profits go to the traffickers; their Taliban allies and the crooked officials’ who facilitate these ‘merchants of death’ to operate with liberty.
It is also very significant to understand the effects of narcotics trade and convergence of Afghanistan into a failed state as both are interlinked with weak governance, corruption, shaky state building efforts, fragile development, unstable security and counter insurgency efforts by the allied forces. One expert refers that if there would not be narcotics there would not be any of the Taliban. However, narcotics and its trade is not the only one reason for the state of chaos in Afghanistan today. It is a combination of multiple causes and major among all is that weak state structure and Karzai government’s failure to expand its control beyond certain regions. Karzai must realise that spitting venom for the state hosting millions of Afghan refugees for years would not serve the purpose, but he must put his own house in order.
In order to remove the menace from the very root, it is also very significant for Afghanistan to create the alternative livelihoods for farmers and people who are earlier generating their income from the narco-trade and money. This has been part of the national counter narcotics strategy which includes incentive scheme known as the ‘Good performance fund’ set up to reward villages for moving away from opium. Creating better infrastructure facilities like better irrigation system, transport infrastructures to those farmers, who grow other crops would do some good. Measurement of these sorts are necessary because other crops often face pitfalls such as the absence of distributors, inadequate domestic demands are few of the impediments that were causing the weak implementation of the counter narcotics strategy in the state.
Despite billions of dollars in foreign investment – the international community pledged an additional $ 20 billion at a donor conference in June – the coalition forces in Afghanistan and its government have failed to win over the people they are trying to protect. This means Afghanistan’s gains since the fall of the Taliban are fragile and are threatened by the insurgency, which continues to rage in the south. The government is weak, and there is little rule of law – local police is seen as scarcely more than ‘uniformed thieves’. Opium traffickers have a firm grip on the agricultural production of the province, providing credit, seeds and fertiliser to farmers, who have no other recourse than to grow the raw material for heroin – which in turn finances the insurgency.
Afghanistan’s rise as the major factor in contribution to the world’s illicit drug production is largely seen as a failure of the US policies for the country. After the removal of the Taliban regime in 2001, the drug eradication drive has largely been failed. A major obstacle in getting rid of opium production is the lack of coordination among law enforcement agencies operated upon by the US and its allies and the local warlords, whose major source of power lies with holding opium cultivatable land. Without much of the incentives for the farmers and workers has added of woes of the locals, thus created a larger factor resulting in the rise of the militancy and insurgency in the country.
Helmand is the biggest opium-producing region in the world and it is home to a Pashtun population that has historically resisted centralised rule. It is, says Chris Alexander, the UN’s deputy special representative in Afghanistan, “the place where the challenges that used to be nationwide have been swept like dead leaves into a pile.” There is a need for much broader and comprehensive counter narcotics approach that could eradicate the menace and provide the relief to the ordinary Afghan, who expects removal of crimes and dawn of the substantial security and development to the land. This requires much of the efforts from within society and the government while multifaceted policy of the international actors requires much of the effort. If we all fail to deliver, then it would tell little about Afghanistan but much about the world.
The writer works as Assistant Research Officer, Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI)
http://thepost.com.pk/OpinionNews.aspx?dtlid=170799&catid=11
I have a dream...
I have a dream…
Farhat Akram
The triumphant members of Pakistan’s maiden legislative assembly dazzled the corridors of the Parliament House after much of heated electioneering marked by spilt blood followed by intrigues, so as to materialise the dream of a modern republic state aspired by our forefathers. They took oath to follow the Constitution formulated by the architects of our national sovereign characteristic. People chose their representatives with the hope to foster a future that could mark the beginning of a new era of belief, enthusiasm and prosperity. Since the independence we all have been witnessing continuous abating of our belief in strong self-determination, hence allowing state institutions to mature. Our history of over six decades is marked by political discontinuity, breakdown of power, rise of bureaucratic-military elite, direct and indirect military rules and absence of much enchanted federal structure based on power sharing and mutual respect along with an increase in economic disparities. This momentous era began with great hope that our nation would breathe again after the hollowed era of military dictatorship and despotism. While beholding sparkling faces of MNAs beaming with triumph, as a citizen of Pakistan I have a dream to aspire for.
My dream is based on the genuine inspiration I drove from the dream of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), expressed by him during the climax of a march from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln memorial in Washington DC. It has touched many hearts as it had came out of the heart from the person striving supreme to dig out the African-Americans out of desperation. The speech delivered by King in August 1963 inspired a nation to move towards the path of glory with hand in hand and struggling together for the future based on egalitarian principles.
My dream is acutely related to the momentous triumph of democratic forces that have set the stage to foster ahead under the guidance of the magnificent words of the Constitution and promissory to provide justice, independence. Now is the time that components of civil society belonging to all caste and creed march with their heads held high denouncing irritants that have rattled democratic forces for years. The new parliamentarians have pledged their desire to make egalitarian forces to rise and enlighten the path of justice and democracy with passion and dedication. The opposition too has pledged to play an effective role.
My dream is deeply rooted in the common citizen’s aspiration based on the vision of our magnificent forefathers nearly seven decades ago. I have a dream that my nation would one day be able to take pride of itself as Pakistanis, from the mountains of Hindukush to the shore of Karachi and Gwadar, with the firm resolve to continue believing in the sovereignty of this nation till the end. I have a dream that politics in my country would never be littered with self-interest ever again.
I have a dream that every citizen of this nation has access to basic necessities of life without having to stand in long queues and be free from the slavery of economic disparities and entanglement that the citizens of our land had been facing since independence. The responsibility lies on those standing at the threshold of power to implement and render all economic dividends and trickle them down to the lowest level. Freedom from all these social evils is inextricably bound to the responsibilities of the elected candidates in the legislative assembly.
I have a dream that the people of this Land of Pure would live in a state free from terrorism and fundamentalism, where they can drink the water from the stream of emancipation. Today, terrorism stands between Pakistan and its socio-economic development. With winds of change blowing in our political arena, with the strengthening of the democratic forces, the dream of living peacefully is bound to see the dawn of reality. We have witnessed that in our political history that the parties that are in opposition most of the time resort to violence. Democracy must play its part to filter out ills of the political culture that we have been witnessing since the beginning and let the current government work for the prosperity of the state.
I have a dream that every child of this land lives with dignity and has all those rights that have not only been placed in the splendid words of our Constitution, but also taught by our religion. Educational standards and law and order would be enforced without differences between provinces. This has long been a dream of the people of this land of ours from the valleys of Swat to Waziristan and from the beaches of Sindh and Balochistan to the oasis and lush rich lands of Punjab. Hence, every single citizen now celebrates the dawn of an era where there would be genuine democracy, justice and tolerance.
As a Pakistani this dream is our faith that can surely hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. This inspiration is of everyone from the very nook and corner of Pakistan. It is the burden of faith and trust that we lay down on politicians who have been elected. I hope this faith will be able to transform jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith and hope we will all work together, to pray together and sing with new meaning and aspiration the lovely song written by Hafeez Jalendhary years ago:
“Blessed be the sacred land,
Happy be bounteous realm,
Symbol of high resolve,
Land of Pakistan
Blessed be thou citadel of faith.
The order of this scared land
Is the might of the brotherhood of the people
May the nation, the country, and the state
Shine in glory everlasting
Blessed be the goal of our ambition
This flag of the crescent and the star
Leads the way to progress and perfection,
Interpreter of our past,
Glory of our present,
Inspiration of our future,
Symbol of Almighty’s protection.”
This dream struck in resonance with the dream that had been visualised by Allama Mohammad Iqbal. Both Iqbal and Quaid-e-Azam were two great spiritual catalysts for the Muslim ummah in the subcontinent. They shared aspirations that had their roots in the soul of the nation. As we all have started off our walk to the summit to prove our worth with a new legitimised political democratic government headed by Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani, let us not forget what we have achieved and what we have lost. Like the Swedish statesman and diplomat Dag Hammarskjöld once said that never let success hide its emptiness from you, achievement its nothingness, toil its desolation. And so keep alive the incentive to push on further that pain in the soul, which drives us beyond ourselves. Do not look back. And do not dream about the future, either. It will neither give you back the past, nor satisfy your other daydreams. Your duty, your reward, your destiny are here and now.
If we fancy making our dreams a reality, we have to struggle tremendously hard with continuous toiling upward. It should be kept in mind that this walk towards our great summit of prosperity must not be solitary, but with all those who are scrawny and feeble as a result of the burden of inequalities. We must also allow the freedom, inspiration for future and realms of tranquillity bow their head over the sparkling forehead of my motherland. If this comes true, then one can have strong belief that there would never be any impediment to our triumph to rise as the glorious of all nations. Let us just pray that all these wishful inspiration could come true and let our objective be our country, our whole country, and nothing but our country.
The writer is Assistant Research Officer at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute
http://thepost.com.pk/OpinionNews.aspx?dtlid=151990&catid=11
Farhat Akram
The triumphant members of Pakistan’s maiden legislative assembly dazzled the corridors of the Parliament House after much of heated electioneering marked by spilt blood followed by intrigues, so as to materialise the dream of a modern republic state aspired by our forefathers. They took oath to follow the Constitution formulated by the architects of our national sovereign characteristic. People chose their representatives with the hope to foster a future that could mark the beginning of a new era of belief, enthusiasm and prosperity. Since the independence we all have been witnessing continuous abating of our belief in strong self-determination, hence allowing state institutions to mature. Our history of over six decades is marked by political discontinuity, breakdown of power, rise of bureaucratic-military elite, direct and indirect military rules and absence of much enchanted federal structure based on power sharing and mutual respect along with an increase in economic disparities. This momentous era began with great hope that our nation would breathe again after the hollowed era of military dictatorship and despotism. While beholding sparkling faces of MNAs beaming with triumph, as a citizen of Pakistan I have a dream to aspire for.
My dream is based on the genuine inspiration I drove from the dream of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), expressed by him during the climax of a march from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln memorial in Washington DC. It has touched many hearts as it had came out of the heart from the person striving supreme to dig out the African-Americans out of desperation. The speech delivered by King in August 1963 inspired a nation to move towards the path of glory with hand in hand and struggling together for the future based on egalitarian principles.
My dream is acutely related to the momentous triumph of democratic forces that have set the stage to foster ahead under the guidance of the magnificent words of the Constitution and promissory to provide justice, independence. Now is the time that components of civil society belonging to all caste and creed march with their heads held high denouncing irritants that have rattled democratic forces for years. The new parliamentarians have pledged their desire to make egalitarian forces to rise and enlighten the path of justice and democracy with passion and dedication. The opposition too has pledged to play an effective role.
My dream is deeply rooted in the common citizen’s aspiration based on the vision of our magnificent forefathers nearly seven decades ago. I have a dream that my nation would one day be able to take pride of itself as Pakistanis, from the mountains of Hindukush to the shore of Karachi and Gwadar, with the firm resolve to continue believing in the sovereignty of this nation till the end. I have a dream that politics in my country would never be littered with self-interest ever again.
I have a dream that every citizen of this nation has access to basic necessities of life without having to stand in long queues and be free from the slavery of economic disparities and entanglement that the citizens of our land had been facing since independence. The responsibility lies on those standing at the threshold of power to implement and render all economic dividends and trickle them down to the lowest level. Freedom from all these social evils is inextricably bound to the responsibilities of the elected candidates in the legislative assembly.
I have a dream that the people of this Land of Pure would live in a state free from terrorism and fundamentalism, where they can drink the water from the stream of emancipation. Today, terrorism stands between Pakistan and its socio-economic development. With winds of change blowing in our political arena, with the strengthening of the democratic forces, the dream of living peacefully is bound to see the dawn of reality. We have witnessed that in our political history that the parties that are in opposition most of the time resort to violence. Democracy must play its part to filter out ills of the political culture that we have been witnessing since the beginning and let the current government work for the prosperity of the state.
I have a dream that every child of this land lives with dignity and has all those rights that have not only been placed in the splendid words of our Constitution, but also taught by our religion. Educational standards and law and order would be enforced without differences between provinces. This has long been a dream of the people of this land of ours from the valleys of Swat to Waziristan and from the beaches of Sindh and Balochistan to the oasis and lush rich lands of Punjab. Hence, every single citizen now celebrates the dawn of an era where there would be genuine democracy, justice and tolerance.
As a Pakistani this dream is our faith that can surely hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. This inspiration is of everyone from the very nook and corner of Pakistan. It is the burden of faith and trust that we lay down on politicians who have been elected. I hope this faith will be able to transform jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith and hope we will all work together, to pray together and sing with new meaning and aspiration the lovely song written by Hafeez Jalendhary years ago:
“Blessed be the sacred land,
Happy be bounteous realm,
Symbol of high resolve,
Land of Pakistan
Blessed be thou citadel of faith.
The order of this scared land
Is the might of the brotherhood of the people
May the nation, the country, and the state
Shine in glory everlasting
Blessed be the goal of our ambition
This flag of the crescent and the star
Leads the way to progress and perfection,
Interpreter of our past,
Glory of our present,
Inspiration of our future,
Symbol of Almighty’s protection.”
This dream struck in resonance with the dream that had been visualised by Allama Mohammad Iqbal. Both Iqbal and Quaid-e-Azam were two great spiritual catalysts for the Muslim ummah in the subcontinent. They shared aspirations that had their roots in the soul of the nation. As we all have started off our walk to the summit to prove our worth with a new legitimised political democratic government headed by Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani, let us not forget what we have achieved and what we have lost. Like the Swedish statesman and diplomat Dag Hammarskjöld once said that never let success hide its emptiness from you, achievement its nothingness, toil its desolation. And so keep alive the incentive to push on further that pain in the soul, which drives us beyond ourselves. Do not look back. And do not dream about the future, either. It will neither give you back the past, nor satisfy your other daydreams. Your duty, your reward, your destiny are here and now.
If we fancy making our dreams a reality, we have to struggle tremendously hard with continuous toiling upward. It should be kept in mind that this walk towards our great summit of prosperity must not be solitary, but with all those who are scrawny and feeble as a result of the burden of inequalities. We must also allow the freedom, inspiration for future and realms of tranquillity bow their head over the sparkling forehead of my motherland. If this comes true, then one can have strong belief that there would never be any impediment to our triumph to rise as the glorious of all nations. Let us just pray that all these wishful inspiration could come true and let our objective be our country, our whole country, and nothing but our country.
The writer is Assistant Research Officer at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute
http://thepost.com.pk/OpinionNews.aspx?dtlid=151990&catid=11
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
One man scorned and covered with scars still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable stars; and the world was better for this.
Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616)
Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616)
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