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Afghanistan Afg. 50Australia A$ 6Bangladesh Taka 65Bhutan NU 45Brazil BRL 20Canada C$ 6China RMB 30France Fr 30Hong Kong HK$ 30

India Rs. 65Japan ¥ 500Korea Won 3000Malaysia RM 6Maldives Rf 45Myanmar MMK10Nepal NcRs. 75New Zealand NZ$ 7Pakistan Rs. 150

Philippines P 75Saudi Arabia SR 15Singapore S$ 8Sri Lanka Rs. 100Thailand B 100Turkey Lira. 2UAE AED 10UK £ 3USA $ 5

INSIDEINDIAGame Changer

AFGHANISTANRoad to Nowhere

SRI LANKANot Their Cup of Tea

NEPALLost Children

Both the army and the political government in Pakistan claim to be on the same page. The real story is

different, however.

SamePage!SamePage!

The Female TouchNEIGHBOR

4 SOUTHASIA • MAY 2016

12

22India

Game ChangerThe Adhaar Projrct could

bring a value change.

28Sri LankaNew LivesThe plight of returning refugees deserves a relook.

26Afghanistan

Road to NowhereThe Taliban make another comeback.

Contents

32The Maldives

Media Under SiegeThere is growing suppression of free expression.

30Nepal

Look NorthNepal is looking towards other friends.

The government in Pakistan and the security establishment are not on the same page.

Face Off

SOUTHASIA • MAY 2016 5

REGULAR FEATURES

Editor’s Mail 8On Record 9Briefs 10OPINION

The Maritime Opportunity 24COVER STORY

Face Off 12Questions of Governance 14 Poles Apart 16 Who calls the shots? 18REGION

PakistanThe Way of the General 20IndiaGame Changer 22Positive Portents 24AfghanistanRoad to Nowhere 26Sri LankaNew Lives 28NepalLook North 30The MaldivesMedia under Siege 32BhutanEmpowering Women 34 REPORT Similar Battlegrounds 36ANALYSISLifting the Veil 37OPINIONReflections 40INTERNATIONALRoad to Democracy 42NEIGHBORThe Female Touch 44FEATURES

PakistanForgotten and Forlorn 46IndiaWay of the Witch 48AfghanistanSuppressed Voices 50BangladeshDrive to Death 52Sri LankaNot Their Cup of Tea 54 NepalLost Children 56BhutanPotential for Prosperity 58The MaldivesDivorce Paradise 60SOUTHASIA 15 Years Ago 62

SPECIAL FEATURE INSIDE: NORWAY

52Bangladesh

Drive to Death

48India

Way of the WitchWitchcraft is still a common

practice in some parts.

44Neighbor

The Female TouchThe people of South Korea

experience the softness of a female president.

46PakistanForgotten and ForlornThe people of Thar face perpetual neglect.

InternationalInternational42

Teenage drivers of public transport are

a source of constant trouble.

Road to DemocracyMyanmar faces new challenges.

COMMENT

Syed Jawaid IqbalSyed Jawaid Iqbal

The Impact of Climate Change

Climate change is a serious issue that is impacting the world in a very grave manner. Unfortunately, South Asia is one of those parts on the globe that has to bear the worst of this weather phenomenon. What worsens the problem is

the fact that South Asia is also one of the poorest regions in the world and none of the eight South Asian economies is fit enough to face the vagaries of climate change every year. Climate change is a large-scale, long-term shift in the planet's weather patterns or average temperatures. Scientific research shows that the climate - that is, the average temperature of the planet's surface – rose by 0.89 °C from 1901 to 2012. To help conditions remain constant, the earth is wrapped in a layer of greenhouse gases. When fossil fuels - coal, oil and natural gas - are burnt they release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and this penetrates the greenhouse blanket. As such, the biggest climate polluter in the global context is the power sector.

In South Asia, the effects of climate change are taking a toll on the collective economy, with the region at risk of losing up to 8.8 percent of its GDP by 2100. One of the most vulnerable regions to climate change is South Asia is Bangladesh. It has been forecast that six countries - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka – could suffer from an average economic loss of around 1.8 percent of their annual gross domestic product by 2050, owing to climate change. Pakistan also makes a tiny contribution to the world’s global greenhouse gas emissions and is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. The country has a very low technical and financial capacity to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change, which is brought about by the melting of glaciers in the Himalayas which increases flow rate of many of the country’s major rivers. The resulting floods impact millions of lives. The weather changes are becoming increasingly volatile, with the trend worsening every year.

Climate change contributes to major survival concerns for Pakistan, particularly in relation to the country’s water, food and energy security. The city of Karachi, Pakistan’s largest population centre, was hit by a heat wave of enormous proportions in 2015 and suffered hundred of casualties. It has been estimated that the rise in temperature in Pakistan is higher than the average global temperature increase. Given this fact, it is expected that extreme heat waves will become more common worldwide accompanied by other volatile changes. In the South Asian context, the consequences of such environmental changes would include increased deaths caused by volatile rise in temperatures, decreased water availability and low water quality in many arid and semi-arid regions, an increased risk of floods and droughts, reduction in water regulation in mountain habitats, decreases in reliability of hydropower and biomass production, increased incidence of waterborne diseases such as malaria, dengue and cholera, increased damages and deaths caused by extreme weather events, decreased agricultural productivity, adverse impact on fisheries and adverse effects on many ecological systems. These changes could, in turn, hamper the achievement of many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including those of poverty eradication, child mortality, malaria, polio and other diseases and environmental sustainability. Much of this damage would come in the form of severe economic shocks, increase in existing social and environmental problems and migration within and across national borders.

From melting Himalayan glaciers in India, Nepal and Bhutan that pose the risk of flash floods to the rise in sea levels that threatens the coastlines of Bangladesh and Maldives and abnormal monsoon rains and heat spikes in parts of India and Pakistan, South Asia is highly vulnerable to natural disasters. While climate change is a global problem, the solutions for addressing climate change in South Asia are local. One solution is for the region to move on a low-carbon growth path through investment and advisory support in renewable energy, energy efficiency and resource efficiency and by promoting climate resilient development. This would encompass human health, water supply and sanitation, energy, transport, industry, mining and construction, trade and tourism, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, environmental protection and disaster management. It needs to be realized that climate change is just not an environmental issue but one with severe socioeconomic implications.

MAY 2016 Vol.20 ISSue 05

PRESIDENT & EDITOR IN CHIEFSyed Jawaid Iqbal

MANAGING EDITORZeba Jawaid

EDITORJaved Ansari

ASSISTANT EDITORS Mahrukh Farooq

Samina Wahid – Faizan usmani

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS. G. Jilanee

CONTRIBUTORSSaira owais Adil - Dr. Moonis Ahmar - Huzaima Bukhari

Muhammad Ali ehsan - Yasmin elahi - Mahrukh Farooq

S. M. Hali - Dr. Ikramul Haq - Zahra Huseini

Almas Jawaid - S.G. Jilanee - Dr. Raza Khan

Taj M Khattak - Srimati lal - lubna Jerar Naqvi

Mubashir Noor - Noor us Sabah Tauqeer

Faizan usmani - Hussain H Zaidi

GRAPHICS & LAYOUT Kamran Ghulam Nabi

Haroon Rasheed

MARKETING & ADVERTISING Syed ovais Akhtar

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EDITOR’S MAIL

Demise of Pakistan Cricket

This is with reference to the Southasia’s last month’s cover story on the collapse of Pakistan cricket. The article was well-timed and spot on. The issue is being raised everywhere in the media and has become a central topic in public discourse. However, we need to do much more than criticise the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), as the Board is a proven failure owing to its internal politics and bureaucratic structure, which has nothing to do with improving the domestic cricket structure. It is high time that all former cricket players and experts came forward and formed a think-tank to address the real issue. In such a gloomy scenario when Pakistan cricket has already reached the lowest point in its history as per poor performance in the recent past, it requires some viable solutions and creative ideas to take it out of the woods.

Syed Shahid Ali, Karachi, Pakistan.

Rising women of Afghanistan

This is with reference to the article on ‘Mirman Baheer,’ a women’s literary society in Afghanistan. It was an interesting read and highlighted the positive side of a war-torn country, which is now making an effort towards promoting literacy and education among women. Currently, there are many non-government and community-based organisations in Afghanistan that are actively working to increase the participation of women in mainstream economic, social and political activities. Particularly for girls and women, many vocational and skill development interventions are being implemented to diversify livelihood sources in the country. Creating awareness about women’s rights and gender equality,

the Government is also making a serious effort to organise rural and urban communities to address their socio-economic needs by maximum utilisation of resources that are readily available. In short, the Afghan woman is now more resourceful and empowered, compared to the recent past.

Sakina Habib,Kabul, Afghanistan.

Mass poisoning in Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, more than twenty million people drink water that is heavily contaminated with arsenic, cadmium and heavy metals, according to a recent report by the Human Rights Watch (HRW). Every year, some 43,000 people in the country die owing to contaminated water, which causes such serious ailments as heart disease, cancer of the kidney, skin, liver and bladder, according to HRW. However, the Government of Bangladesh is not taking the issue seriously and is still relying on drilling shallow tube wells in a soil, which is heavily laced with arsenic and other poisons. As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), in Bangladesh the nonstop supply of water with high-arsenic concentration has emerged as "the largest mass poisoning of a population in history.” Considering the fact that most of the victims live in poor rural areas with no access to health care, Bangladesh is heading towards a human disaster.

Anjum Firdous,

Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Panama Leaks and South

Asia Panama Leaks, the biggest

trove of leaked documents in history, have become a talk of the town internationally. While issues like accounting frauds, tax evasion and money laundering are a global concern, these illegal activities have mostly affected African and Asian

economies. With reference to South Asia, the recent leak is even more crucial, as it brings out some root causes behind economic instability and rising poverty levels in the region. As revealed by Panama Leaks, many people from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh have used global tax havens to hide their wealth earned through illegitimate means. The sad part of the story is that the ruling class of South Asia has been using such tax free zones to camouflage and multiply its wealth by avoiding taxes and through

money laundering. This is nothing, but a blatant form of corruption, which has brought the South Asian region to the lowest point.

Abdul Rasheed Mogul,

Agra, India.

From Nepal to nowhere

Currently, hundreds of thousands of people from southern Nepal are seeking asylum in different countries of the world. Seeking refuge on political grounds, they are mainly Madhesi people, an ethnic Indian minority that finds itself at the mercy of a

SLUGON RECORD

“Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have an identical position on health care, which is they want to put the government in charge of you and your doctor.”Ted Cruz, U.S. presidential candidate

“You need to have the will if you want to have a country.”Ashraf Ghani,President of Afghanistan


“It is very impor-tant to remember that my wife’s company has never been a tax haven. And it isn’t really an offshore company since it has always been taxed in Iceland.”Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson,Former Prime Minister of Iceland

“Money did come from Pakistan to meet our living expenses during the time of exile, but nothing came from Pakistan to

establish businesses abroad.”Hussain Nawaz,Son of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif

“Brand Bhutan is a magnet for inward investment and talent and a potent competitive advantage to

exporters.”Lyonchoen Tshering Tobgay,Prime Minister of Bhutan

“When terrorism and extremism have become the most destruc-tive forces of our times, the mes-sage of Sufism has a global relevance.” Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India

“We cannot always tax only the poor. We need to tax the rich as well.” Ranil Wickremesinghe,

Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

“In the Maldives, we cannot accept its political leaders being removed from the system.”Abdulla Yameen, President of the Maldives

“Begum Khaleda Zia would not be spared by people of Bangladesh for having committed similar crimes like war criminals.”Sheikh Hasina Wajid, Prime Minister of Bangladesh

Behind the U.S. Agenda In his recent interview, US Defence Secretary

Ash Carter said the United States has much more to do with India than it has to do with Pakistan. According to Carter, India is a vital part of the U.S. global agenda that covers all kinds of issues. The statement looks to be good news for India, but the track record of American foreign policy in the region suggests quite the opposite. There is no doubt about the significance of India being one of the largest economies of the world, but things are not what they seem. Both Afghanistan and Pakistan were the closest allies of the United States a few years ago, but both countries lost more than what they gained in terms of economic downfall, worst law and order situation and future uncertainty. The U.S. can be better termed as a mere opportunist, who knows how to use its so-called global allies to serve its vested interests, even at the cost of imposing a humanitarian disaster in particular regions.

Kamal Nath,Varanasi, India.

dominant political rule, which is entirely controlled and is enjoyed by Maoists. A very small number of Madhesis end up getting asylum in other countries. According to the U.S. Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), Nepal has been among the top 10 countries in the decade whose people have applied for asylum in the United States. The situation worsened in 2013 when Nepal was among the top 5 countries of nationality of persons, who were granted asylum in the U.S. Similar to the Lhotshampas of Bhutan, the fate of the Madhesi community is in limbo.

Swornima F. Rajan,Gokarneshwar, Nepal.

“I have been born to serve the country. I don’t want to spend even a single day

outside my motherland after my recovery.” Pervez Musharraf, former President of Pakistan

“China and Nepal have been all-weather friends, friends at times of distress, as well as at the time of comfort.”

KP Sharma Oli, Prime Minister of Nepal

“This is a strange logic that if our children earn their legitimate money inside the country there is criticism, and if they work

hard overseas and establish and run businesses, even then they are targeted by allegations..” Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan


BRIEFS

INDIA

Tiger, Tiger!In Madhya Pradesh, India, the world's first white tiger sanctuary

has been recently opened. Located at Mukundpur, 20 kilometres from Rewa city, the 25-hectare sanctuary is a big cat rescue facility which will provide quality care to the rescued white tigers in a natural environment. Currently, the sanctuary is home to only one white tiger, Vindhya, while more tigers will be soon added to the sanctuary. In Rewa, the white tiger is a part of the city's legacy. Lying on the verge of extinction, the total population of tigers has been reduced to 3,200 in the wild.

Korean CooperationThe Korean government is going to provide some $500 million

to Pakistan through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund in agriculture, mine and mineral development, hydropower, alternative energy and road infrastructure development. Currently, Korea is the 15th largest trading partner of Pakistan; the two-way trade volume was $1.6 billion in 2014-2015. Operating under the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) is already working on a number of grant projects in Pakistan. In 2014, both countries signed an MOU on trade and investment cooperation.

PAKIST AN

Easy Payment Pakistan’s first domestic payment scheme, ‘PayPak’ has

been introduced to provide people with easy access to financial services and to facilitate ecommerce activities in the country. With the launch, Pakistan has become the 28th country in the world to have its own domestic payment scheme, according to the State Bank of Pakistan. Introduced by 1Link, the initiative will help reduce the outflow of foreign

exchange to international payment schemes. ‘PayPak’ will also provide an affordable alternative to existing banked and unbanked populations across the country, offering them low-cost payment services.

PAKIST AN

Happiness Assured The provincial government of Madhya Pradesh has established a ‘Ministry of

Happiness’ to measure the state's progress in terms of the welfare of its people and will address those factors that directly and indirectly impact the people’s well-being. In coordination with federal and provincial ministeries, the Happiness ministry will work with the private sector to attain sustainable happiness. Making the state responsible for the happiness of its people, the Ministry of Happiness will also involve psychologists and healthcare experts to counsel the general public on how to lead a happier life through compassion, cooperation and by adopting a healthy lifestyle.

INDIA


Close Encounters The first safari park in Sri Lanka was inaugurated at Ridiyagama in Hambantota

in the southern part of the country. Built by the National Zoological Department, the park consists of six zones, two for herbivorous and four for carnivorous animals. Built at a cost of Rs.1.6 billion, the park has animal hospitals, reserved parking areas and a vast road network. Covering about 500 acres, the park contains a public entertainment zone of about 69 acres. The park has a special bus service for visitors to move around.

Female Peacekeepers The national army of Nepal has decided to include more

women in its UN peacekeeping missions. Currently the number of Nepalese female officers and soldiers is UN peace missions is less than 100. This number will now be increased manifold. At present, some 4,410 peacekeepers from the Nepal Army are deployed in different UN missions in different conflict-hit zones. Integrating trained female peacekeepers from Nepal will improve the country’s overall approach to UN peacekeeping operations, as children and women always constitute the majority of victims in war-hit zones.

Teaching AidThe Government of Bangladesh has launched a software programme

‘Screen Readers’ in primary and secondary schools to help blind or visually-impaired teachers to read text displayed on the computer screen. The initiative will enable more than 20,500 secondary and 5,400 primary school teachers to use multimedia and computing skills to make PowerPoint presentations in the classroom. The new teaching method will benefit more than 4 million students across the country. In Bangladesh, there are more than 100 blind and visually-impaired teachers serving at pre-primary, primary and secondary levels.

BANGLADESH

SRI LANKA

NEPAL

BHUTAN

Tree TributeBhutan welcomed its newborn prince by planting some

108,000 trees across the country. All 82,000 households in the country planted a tree when King Jigme Khesar and Queen Jetsun Pema announced the birth of their first child. The remaining 26,000 were planted by over 100,000 volunteers in 14 districts. In Buddhism, ‘108’ is a sacred number, which refers to the cleansing of 108 defilements of human beings. In 2015, Bhutan set a Guinness World Record by planting 49,672 trees in one hour.


The political history of Pakistan may well be written in terms of the tug-of-war between the civilian and

security institutions (the establishment), a conflict in which success has more often than not kissed the feet of the latter. While a civilian government may endlessly claim of having the establishment on its side — the claim itself bringing out fragility of political institutions — in reality it is seldom that the two are on the same page. The same holds true for

the current civil-military relations.The 16th century England was

the theatre of a nerve-wracking power struggle between the king and parliament. Each side came up with cogent arguments in support of its position. In the course of the discourse, the royalists commissioned the services of the philosopher Thomas Hobbes.

The result was ‘The Leviathan’ — one of the most influential books on political philosophy. Understandably, Hobbes

defended with full force the reigning absolute monarchy against the claims of the constitutionalists. But, curiously enough, at the same time, he held that the king was entitled to govern only as long as he remained on the throne. The moment the monarch was booted out, his legitimacy would come to an end. In other words, a government does not deserve the office if it can't retain it.

One may not see eye-to-eye with Hobbes' view that a government forced

Face OffPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raheel Sharif

look at national issues differently.

By Hussain H Zaidi

COVER STORY


to vacate office, or a political system toppled, loses all claims to legitimacy. An authority’s claim to be lawful is based not on force but on some commonly agreed principle — popular will, for instance. That said, legitimacy is essentially a legal, and at best a moral, term. It is hard to dispute that a government which helplessly sees its writ erode will find it enormously difficult to survive — if not at all, at least as an independent entity. By the same token, a political system which fails to overcome its inherent contradictions will find it exceedingly difficult to hold its own in the face of hostile attacks.

The most notable aspect of Pakistan’s political system is its fragility, which is both a cause and an effect of extra-political interventions. Every ten years, the applecart of democracy is upset, which does not allow political dispensation to take root. A weak political system, in turn, provides fertile ground for such interventions.

Even when a civilian government is in office, it is permitted to work within a narrow sphere. Matters relating to national security — a wide policy area indeed — remain a forbidden fruit for civilian rulers. Of course, they can lay their hands on it but only at their own peril.

Late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto despite being a seasoned politician did not learn that lesson; therefore, on each occasion, she was shown the door prematurely. Her spouse Asif Zardari was shrewd enough to keep from playing on the establishment’s jealously guarded turf; so he successfully completed his tenure. Nawaz Sharif twice took the establishment head-on and twice he got the sack. During his third and present term, he has faced the familiar dilemma. If he allows the key matters of the state to slip from his hands, his authority will wither away. But if he puts his foot down and takes the bull by the horns, he will make himself open to hostile attacks.

Soon after he was sworn in after the 2013 polls, Nawaz Sharif set out to shore up relations with India including normalization of trade. Ties with India is a policy area where the establishment has had an unequivocal stance: No headway can be made unless New Delhi shows earnestness to resolve the ‘core’ Kashmir issue, which, if the past is any guide, is not going to come through at least in the foreseeable future.

Armed with a heavy mandate, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) government would have felt strong enough to go ahead in mending relations with India. But then came the prolonged dharnas (sit-ins) on the capital’s most sensitive avenue by the Imran Khan-Tahirul Qadri duo, which came close to pulling the government down. Though in

the end the dharnas fizzled out, they did emaciate PM Sharif vis-a-vis. the security establishment. One obvious outcome was that brakes were put on improving relations with India and the MFN status for the eastern neighbour was no more a policy option for the government. Of late, the government has come in for criticism for not condemning India with full force in the case of a self-confessed RAW agent, who was caught by the security forces in Balochistan. It was the army chief and not the prime minister who took up the matter of Iranian soil being used by India against Pakistan with the visiting president of Iran.

The civilian government and the armed forces were also not on the same page in the war on terror. The PML-N, like the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and other right-wing parties, was a strong exponent of holding out an olive branch to the militants. Therefore, after coming into power, it put into motion the so-called peace process with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). That approach did not cause any friction with the establishment as long as General Kiyani was at the helm. But with the assumption of the army command by his successor General Raheel Sharif, whose views on how the war on terror was to be won were cut and dried, things began taking a turn.

Matters came to a head when the militants attacked Pakistan’s busiest airport in Karachi and was further crystallized after the APS attack. This led to the launch of the military operation (Zarb-e-Azb) in the stronghold of the TTP in North Waziristan. Let there be no doubt that the decision to take the militants head-on was exclusively the army’s and that the ruling party, as well as the opposition, only acquiesced in the move as fait accompli.

The December 2014 Army Public School (APS) tragedy put at rest any doubts that the extremists should be shown leniency. In the wake of the gory incident, military courts were authorized to try any person allegedly involved in terrorism in light of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution. As a matter of principle, extension in the scope of military courts is a bitter pill to swallow for a government, as it adds to khaki power at the expense of civilian authority.

Although the north-western part of Pakistan was the epicentre of terrorism, it

did not mean that other parts of the country were immune from the malaise. Sooner or later, the campaign against religious militancy had to be taken to other parts of Pakistan. The Sharif government had no problem with that as long as the Punjab, the PML-N’s power base, was spared. The security establishment did keep its hands off the country’s largest province, but, again, it was only a matter of time when the operation would be extended to the Punjab. The March 2016 explosion in a Lahore park, which claimed scores of lives, including those of women and children, made further dithering on going all out against the militants in the province unwarranted. Again the decision was the army’s and was announced through a tweet by the ISPR. Again, the government had to accept it as fait accompli.

There were two other issues which had the potential to drive a wedge between the government and the men in uniform: the trial of former President General Pervez Musharraf for high treason and the situation in the Middle East.

Ever since the PML-N government decided in 2013 to bring to book the ex-army chief for pulling down the constitutional structure, there was little doubt that the high treason proceedings against him would pit the civilian rulers and the armed forces against each other. Again, the establishment triumphed when the erstwhile strongman was allowed to fly to Dubai, on the face of it, for medical reasons.

The escalation of tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran over the situation in Syria and Yemen and the rise of the Islamic State (IS) put Pakistan in an awkward situation.

The Sharif family has been on excellent terms with the House of Saud. But taking sides in the Riyadh-Tehran antagonism would be ill advised for Islamabad. Evidently, committing the troops to fighting in Yemen or Syria on Saudi Arabia’s side needed a nod from the army high command irrespective of the government’s position. The army chief accompanied the prime minister during his visits to Iran and Saudi Arabia and Pakistan was able to maintain a neutral position.

The author is a graduate from a Western European University.

The most notable aspect of Pakistan’s political system is its fragility, which is both a cause and an effect of extra-political interventions.

Questions are being asked if the government and the Pakistan Armed Forces, euphemistically

called the security establishment, are on the same page?

To respond to the question, evidence must be sought from recent instances. When the current political dispensation took charge of the corridors of power in Islamabad, it had its own agenda regarding terrorism and dealing with arch rival India. The government opted for negotiating with the miscreants,

the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a motley crowd of criminals, extremists and terror-mongers, who were committed to challenging the writ of the state and bringing the government down. The Army, which had achieved success in Swat as well as South Waziristan through the use of brute force, although it had given negotiations a chance before being forced to take up arms, was averse to repeating the same mistake. The Army advised the government that the TTP wanted to only

buy time for regrouping and recouping and would strike hard with impunity. Since the government was adamant about giving peace talks a chance, the Army took a back seat.

Unfortunately, the security establishment was proven correct; while the negotiations were still in progress, the TTP violated the ceasefire and launched a heinous attack at the Karachi International Airport, which took a huge toll of lives and equipment. The Army avoided saying “I told you

COVER STORY


Questions of Governance

Are the government and the Pakistan security establishment on the same page?

By S. M. Hali

so!” But with a sense of déjà vu the government reluctantly gave the Army the go ahead for the military operation dubbed “Zarb-e-Azb” to strike against the TTP in North Waziristan. The rest is history as the operation was a success although the TTP launched a riposte by targeting the Army Public School in Peshawar, the Bacha Khan University in Charsadda and the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Lahore. The APS incident galvanized the government and the masses to action and the National Action Plan (NAP) was evolved. Unfortunately, over the period since the APS massacre, only those sections of the Plan have been executed in which the primary action was to be taken by the security establishment while the government has been found ineffective in carrying out the plan. This seems like callousness or insensitivity on the part of the government. The Army, for its part, has stepped on the toes of the political dispensation, especially in targeting the sources of financial facilitation of terrorists, because a number of politicians were found to be involved in economic terrorism.

The Army has been keen to root out urban terrorism in Punjab but the government was dragging its feet, insisting that there were no miscreants in the province. The bombing at the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park Lahore once again provided the Army the impetus to track down terror-mongers in the Punjab. The government resisted and a tussle between the security establishment and the civilian government followed but the latter caved in. Droves of terrorists have been apprehended. The worst case so far has been the showdown between the Chotu Gang in Rajanpur and the Punjab Police, where the gangsters got the better of the Police and the Army had to be called in aid of civil power. The leader of the Chotu Gang has been apprehended after he laid down arms but is now singing like a canary, naming his sponsors amongst the political leaders.

Another bone of contention has been relations with India. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was keen to restore good relations with India and he got his opportunity when Narendra Modi was anointed as India’s Prime Minister. He invited all SAARC leaders to attend his oath taking ceremony. The Army was not too keen on the Pakistani Prime Minister joining the event especially after Modi’s caveat stipulating Nawaz Sharif to refrain from meeting Kashmiri leaders during his New Delhi yatra. Nawaz Sharif had his way, proceeding to witness Modi’s investiture event and instead of meeting the Kashmiri leaders, he called upon the steel magnates of

India, the Tatas, the Birlas and Sajjan Jindal and gleefully discussed business deals with them.

Soon Pakistan had to pay its pound of flesh for Nawaz Sharif’s indiscretion. Using the instance as precedence, India cancelled Foreign Secretary level talks when Pakistan’s High Commissioner to New Delhi invited Kashmiri leaders for a briefing at the Pakistani Chancery in the Indian capital on the eve of the talks. Nawaz Sharif has failed to detect the guile in Modi’s overtures as well as his Chanakyan moves and has been duped again and again by the master of Kautilyan stratagem.

Modi got elected on a manifesto spewing venom against Pakistan. He appointed the notorious spymaster Ajit Doval as his National Security Adviser (NSA), the wily Rajinder Khanna as the Research and Analysis (RAW) Chief, Dineshwar Sharma as head of the Indian Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Sanjeev Tripathi, former RAW Chief, as his special adviser to track terrorists. The extremist quartet started targeting Pakistan with the aim of settling scores. Incessant and unprovoked firing across the Line of Control (LOC), false flag operations in Udhampur, Gurdaspur and Pathankot and blaming Pakistan for the assaults and sponsoring and abetting TTP and insurgents in FATA and Balochistan became the order of the day. The Pakistan Army was fully cognizant of the conventional and non-conventional warfare launched by India but Nawaz Sharif failed to see through the Indian subterfuge. He was blinded by the machinations of his new found “friend” and business partner Sajjan Jindal, who orchestrated Modi’s “surprise” visit to Raiwind to wish Nawaz Sharif on his birthday and his granddaughter’s wedding.

No wonder, when the intelligence agencies nabbed Indian naval Commander Kulbhushan Yadav, a senior RAW operative, in Balochistan and obtained his confession of targeting the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Balochistan, Nawaz Sharif remained tongue-tied. It was a golden opportunity to provide evidence to the world of Indian interference in Pakistan and attempting to destabilize it. The RAW terrorist is the smoking gun Pakistan has been looking for. The Indian staged drama at its airbase at Pathankot had Nawaz Sharif bending backwards to appease India. He filed an FIR, arrested suspected Pakistanis who India pointed out and sent a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to India, which predictably, was hoodwinked by the hosts.

More was to follow. When Nawaz Sharif’s special benefactor Saudi

Arabia, which had also provided him political asylum after he made a deal with General Musharraf, demanded that Pakistan send its troops to fight its proxy war in Yemen and also provided 1.5 billion dollars as compensation, General Raheel took exception to the transgression and got the decision reversed through the parliament.

When Nawaz Sharif decided to visit Saudi Arabia and Iran, the Army Chief tagged along to make sure the PM did not make any undue commitments involving the Pakistani military. Reportedly, General Raheel was offered the command of the 34-nation military alliance being raised by Saudi Arabia once he retires but the general refused to take the bait.

The security establishment also put its foot down when Nawaz Sharif’s vindictiveness, incarceration and prosecution of former COAS and President Musharraf started crossing limits and he had to facilitate his exit from Pakistan.

The political dispensation again shot itself in the foot when members of Nawaz Sharif’s family were named in the Panama Leaks. Instead of taking immediate action to hold a transparent inquiry, the PM first dithered and then departed for London under the façade of seeking medical attention. The Army Chief was constrained to call for across the board accountability to root out terrorism. To set precedence, General Raheel Sharif sacked a Lieutenant General, a Major General, five Brigadiers, three Lieutenant Colonels and a Major on charges of corruption. This forced the hand of Nawaz Sharif and he rather belatedly sent a note to the Chief Justice of Pakistan requesting the formation of a commission to investigate the charges. If Nawaz Sharif was prudent and his hands were clean as he claimed, he should have invited a neutral international tribunal to look into the alleged financial bungling. As usual, he was lethargic and missed the boat. He must now be hoping for November 13, 2016 to see the back of General Raheel Sharif. He forgets that six months is ample time for across the board accountability and there is no guarantee that Raheel Sharif’s successor will be more tolerant of the transgressions of politicians. The salvation of the political dispensation lies in maintaining a balance in civil-military relations to shed corruption, sleaze and dishonesty.

The writer is a practising journalist. He contributes to the print media, conducts a TV show and produces documentaries.


Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and General Raheel Sharif, the Army Chief of Staff, seem to be pursuing divergent agendas.

By Dr. Raza Khan

As Pakistan is faced with a profound political and security crisis, the state's political government and

the security establishment do not seem to be on common ground on key policies pertaining to a number of political and security related issues.

Dichotomies on political and security issues particularly in the realm of foreign and defence policies in Pakistan is nothing new in the history of the country. However, the nature of differences between the political government and the security establishment today is somewhat unlike the past.

The main bone of contention between the government of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the country's security establishment led by Chief of Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif, is the difference of approach to respond to grave political and security issues. In this regard, the most key element of divergence between the two pillars of the state is the nature of relations with Pakistan's arch-rival India.

Since voted to power, PM Sharif has been trying to have cordial relations with India. In his first interview with a foreign newspaper, after assuming charge as the country's chief executive for the third time, Prime Minister Sharif maintained that his party's poll victory on May 11, 2013 was a mandate from the people to normalize relations with India. The interview was given to the UK’s Daily Telegraph, which stunned many. However, it is quite debatable whether the motivation behind this intention to normalize and improve relations with Delhi is personal or political driven by

national interest. In this age of economic globalization

and economic interdependence of states having good relations with every state, specifically economically important states like India, which also happens to be a neighbouring country, is indeed important. However, the costs of improving relations with India must be examined. This is exactly the position of the country's arguably most powerful institution – the military.

India has been hesitant to normalize relations with Pakistan for the last many years by shunning direct talks with Islamabad on all issues simultaneously. Instead Delhi has been insisting that first and foremost any dialogue with Pakistan must be limited to a single issue – terrorism – alleging Pakistan-based militant groups of staging large-scale terrorist attacks inside India with the support of the country's security establishment. However, India, despite levelling repeated charges against Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism in India, has largely failed to substantiate and concretize these claims. On the other hand, the Pakistani security establishment has been consistently accusing India of orchestrating terrorism in Pakistan, particularly in Balochistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) by using its consulates and safe houses in Afghanistan. Balochistan and FATA are contiguous with Afghanistan. In this regard, Pakistan has had substantial evidence (now undeniable in the shape of Kulbushan Yadav) regarding Indian sponsorship of anti-state and separatist elements and groups, including armed and terrorist outfits, among the

Pakhtoons and the Baloch. Yadav, a serving Indian Naval officer was arrested in March this year in Balochistan by the Pakistani security agencies. He has confessed to having been involved in facilitating separatist militant-terrorist Baloch groups on directions of Indian government. While the Pakistani security establishment has greatly celebrated the nabbing of Yadav as irrefutable evidence of Indian involvement in terrorist and militancy inside Pakistan, PM Sharif and his government has not vociferously condemned Indian involvement in terrorist activities in Pakistan and has shied from diplomatic protest or raising a hue and cry on the arrest of Yadav. The reason is that the Nawaz Sharif government’s modus operandi regarding Islamabad's relations with India is to appease New Delhi.

Against this backdrop, the PM’s strategy seems to be motivated by personal and group interests as the business tycoons class, which the PML-N and his party mainly represents, has a vested interest in having good relations with India so that the personal businesses of the members of the group flourish by capitalizing on the huge Indian market.

Internal security is also a source of acrimony between the PML-N govern-ment and the military establishment of Pakistan. The Army launched a sweeping anti-terror offensive under Operation Zarb-e-Azb, which was belatedly owned by the PML-N, in June 2014, in the largest militant-terrorist redoubt in North Waziristan. The offensive was extended all over Pakistan after the December 2014 loathsome terrorist attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar with


Poles Apart


General Raheel Sharif vowing it to be the decisive offensive against terrorism in the country.

While the PML-N government has had no issues with the offensive in the FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa it has reservations over it in Karachi. The city is the capital of Sindh province, where the former president Asif Ali Zardari-led Pakistan People's Party (PPP) is in the saddle with which PM Sharif has a personal understanding to collectively defy the military establishment. The PML-N and the PPP lost two governments each at the hands of the military in the 1990s on charges of large-scale corruption and both PM Sharif and the late Benazir Bhutto went into forced and self exile, respectively, following the General Musharraf coup in 1999. In exile, both leaders, along with other political groups, first signed a document known as the Charter of Democracy (CoD) to defy the military establishment and then the PPP entered a so-called National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) with General Musharraf for amnesty in corruption and other cases to pave Benazir’s return to Pakistan.

After the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December 2007, the PML-N, a staunch rival of the PPP in the 1990s, joined the PPP government in 2008 as a coalition partner. Differences over political issues remained between the two parties, forcing the PML-N to leave the PPP government. They also issued strong statements against one another. Nevertheless, both have a profound understanding to help each other in defying the military establishment. Thus, when the military launched the operation in Karachi, the PML-N only tacitly supported it since it feared losing support of the PPP.

An additional factor in Karachi has been the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which has been involved in most of the violence in the city. Pakistan security agencies have discovered very strong evidence of linkages of the MQM with the India intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), which has been given credence by the utterances of a former party leader and mayor of Karachi, Mustafa Kamal. As the MQM has had a strong and domineering control over Karachi, for political reasons the PML-N did not want to push the MQM to the wall through the military offensive in Karachi. The bracketing of the MQM with the Indian intelligence agency would also tantamount to annoying Delhi, which is against the strategy of the Nawaz Sharif government.

However, more than Karachi, the PML-N has been against any military offensive in its long-held bastion, the Punjab, against extremist, terrorist

and militant gangs. The PML-N has traditionally aligned its lower cadres with extremist militant sectarian organizations to prop its power base in the Punjab. It has been ruling the Punjab for long and has always desisted from launching offensives against the sectarian militant groups for fear of annoying them and making them a threat to the party's power base in the Punjab. However, this strategy has been strengthening militant-terrorist groups who have assumed the nomenclature of the Punjabi Taliban, establishing links with the Pakhtun Taliban from the FATA and the KPK province as well as global terrorist groups like the Islamic State and the Al Qaeda.

The reported links between Lashkar-e-Jhanghvi and the IS are cases in point. The entrenching of sectarian-militant groups in the Punjab has posed a huge security threat to the country and there have been strong voices from political groups from the rest of the provinces of also launching military operation in the Punjab and also international pressure for doing so. This, coupled with Gen. Sharif vowing to root out terrorism from the country by the end of 2016, has driven the military to launch the offensive in the Punjab also. However, the PML-N has been hesitant to do so but the Easter eve bombing in a Lahore park this year claiming at least 70 lives compelled the military to go for a decisive operation.

Consequently, an operation named Zarb-e-Ahan was launched in Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts of the Punjab, which along with other districts of the South Punjab, have been strongholds of extremist militant and criminal gangs. Noticeably, the police action against a strong criminal gang known as Chotu Group in the area failed as the police was found wanting in fighting the group heralding a total lack of capacity within the Punjab police to deal with major threats. This lack of capacity has been described to be the result of violation of merit in police recruitment in the Punjab as the PML-N has been stuffing the department with its loyalists instead of competent officers. This situation compelled the Army to take charge of the action against Chotu Gang. As the operation in the Punjab may soon also target militant-terrorist groups, the PML-N would be under severe pressure.

The personal friendship and ties of Nawaz Sharif and his family with the Saudi royal family is an open secret. In the wake of the rise and surge of the IS in the Middle East and the reviving strength of Riyadh's main rival Iran in the region due to the US-Iranian nuclear deal and lifting of economic sanctions against Tehran, Saudi Arabia has been wanting to gain strength and defy the threats by proposing a military alliance of Muslim states including Pakistan but excluding

Iran. As Pakistan is militarily the strongest state among the Muslim countries and has traditionally always stood by Saudi Arabia, Riyadh wants Pakistan to lead the military alliance. The Saudi royal family is also reportedly capitalizing on its personal relations with Nawaz Sharif. However, for the military establishment entering into a military alliance of this type is not a plausible option due to its multifaceted consequences. At the same time, Gen. Sharif has also publicly assured the Saudi leadership of Pakistan's unswerving support to Riyadh in case there is a security threat to the Saudi state. Noticeably, a few months back, Gen. Sharif accompanied the PM to Saudi Arabia and Iran. The military seemingly wanted to keep a close eye on any concrete commitment that Nawaz Sharif would make with the Saudi royal family and may unnecessarily involve the Pakistan military. Moreover, keeping in view the professional track record of Gen. Sharif, Saudi Arabia also wanted the general to lead the military alliance of Muslim states once he retires but this scenario may not be liked at all by Nawaz Sharif as it would be at the cost of his relationship with the royal family.

In order to mend fences with the military, the PML-N government let former ruler General Musharraf, who was facing treason charges, to go out of Pakistan. The military had not been easy with the situation in which a former head of the army was being made a mockery of in public, roiling the military. But it seems that the decision to let Gen. Musharraf did not succeed much in reconciling the political government with the military establishment.

Profound differences over foreign, defence and internal security policies between the political government and the security establishment continue to prove costly for the country while the Panama Leaks issue unearthing the involvement of Nawaz Sharif and his family in financial misappropriation and owning of off-shore companies has added to the acrimony between the ruling family and the security establishment.

Gen. Sharif unequivocally sent a very strong message to Nawaz Sharif by stating that it was time for across the board and ruthless accountability of all institutions and leaders and also setting an example by removing several top ranking serving military officers, including a lieutenant general, for financial corruption. At the same time, Nawaz Sharif was shying from conducting an international forensic investigation into the Panama Leaks issue. This is likely to further drive a wedge between the two sides.

The writer is a political, economy and security analyst who holds a doctoral degree in International Relations.

COVER STORY

COVER STORY

Who calls the shots?

It appears the civil government and the army in Pakistan do not see eye to eye on many issues.

By S.G. Jilanee


By S.G. Jilanee

SOUTHASIA • MAY 2016

Every so often the question whether the civil and military in Pakistan follow a similar line of thinking

does the rounds. Such question may puzzle outsiders but in Pakistan it is normal because more often than not the civil and military establishments do not see eye to eye on a number of issues.

A glaring example is the attitude of the civil government and the army towards the Taliban. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif continued to favour the idea of engaging in negotiations with them as they went on playing havoc with human lives. They struck at the Karachi airport on June 8, 2014. The APS attack in December 2014 was another stunning demonstration of their brutality. It was then that the army chief decided that enough was enough and launched the no holds barred Operation Zarb-e-Azb to rid the country of the TTP menace once and for all.

General Raheel Sharif distinguishes people as either law-abiding or otherwise. For him things are either black or white. He has no grey areas that would allow vacillation or compromise. Moreover, he does not suffer from the innate weakness of elected leaders to be always looking over his shoulders to ward off attempts to unseat him. He has no constraints, which is why he takes bold decisions, launches operations with professional zeal and delivers.

The civil government perhaps would have still been holding talks with the intransigent TTP while the latter merrily went about inflicting mayhem all over the place. General Raheel departed from the strategy he had shared with the prime minister and went after the TTP. The result, both of the prime minister’s earlier inaction and the army chief’s action, is before everyone to see. The backbone of the terrorist outfit is broken. On the other hand, the much-vaunted National Action Plan (NAP), which is the civilian government’s baby, limps on, without any significant success.

Recently the COAS accompanied Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Iran and Saudi Arabia. With Saudi Arabia being Iran’s sworn enemy, it was like walking on a tight rope. The situation needed deft handling for Pakistan to sustain friendly relations with both countries.

The importance of the army chief’s presence in talks with the Saudi government was underscored also by the Saudi Kingdom’s launch of a 34-nation Islamic Military Alliance to fight Terrorism (IMAFT), in which it included Pakistan without it consent and to its utter surprise. Without Iran, Iraq and Algeria this was virtually a Sunni alliance. The Pakistan army’s reservations

about committing its troops for such a coalition force were genuine, while Nawaz Sharif was personally beholden to the Saudi government for arranging a deal with President Musharraf to let him off the hook and give him asylum. Without General Raheel Sharif, the prime minister might, in all likelihood, have agreed to join the alliance.

The Saudis are also reported to have offered the command of the 34-nation military alliance to Gen. Raheel after he retires from service in Pakistan but the general has refused to accept the offer. He does not seem to be a person to be swayed from his convictions by lollipops of office.

Another question being asked is whether the army had any role in the ex-army chief, Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s exit from Pakistan. It is well-known that Nawaz Sharif was hell bent to have him punished for high treason to avenge what Musharraf had done to him and that the army had not taken kindly to his vendetta from day one. But it had watched the situation as the law took its course.

Musharraf was implicated in a plethora of criminal cases including Benazir Bhutto’s murder, Nawab Akbar Bugti’s killing and the raid on Lal Masjid, etc. The Nawaz government also did not allow him to go to see his ailing mother in Dubai. However, it was the Sindh High Court that ordered his name to be taken out of the exit control list, so he could go abroad for medical treatment. The government issued the appropriate notification and he flew out of the country. The course of events did not point to any army interference even though it must have welcomed the Sindh High Court’s order.

In the recent case of the arrest of the RAW agent Kulbhushan Jhadav, as well, Nawaz Sharif maintained a calculated silence, whereas the army openly condemned the activities of the Indian spy outfit to de-stabilize Pakistan. It may have been a clever political ploy for the prime minister to reserve the last word in order to be free to maneuver, because Indo-Pakistan talks were imminent. However, this again showed that the civil and military establishment in Pakistan viewed things differently.

The Sharif bothers had always wanted to showcase Punjab as a paradigm of

good governance and an oasis of peace and tranquility. Elsewhere there may be disturbances of law and order requiring intervention by paramilitary or regular troops. But they did not touch Punjab. However, the chilling human tragedy in the blast at the Gulshan e Iqbal Park in Lahore belied all such fantasies they were at a loss grappling with the issue. Both Nawaz and Shahbaz would rather leave it to the provincial police to deal with the situation and without intervention from the army. But Gen. Raheel Sharif had a different take on the issue. Besides his professionalism that demanded a surgical operation, he was aware that if he pulled any punches it would lead to a negative impression among the people that army was soft on Punjab.

He decided to act and rangers were deployed to go after the terrorists, lock stock and barrel. As Cyril Almeida remarked in the Dawn, “Nawaz may be able to affect a blocking man oeuvre here or there, but the inevitable is set to happen — Punjab will be cleansed by the boys on their terms, at their pleasure, on their schedule and with their priorities.”

The operation against the Chotu gang was another example of how the civil government and the army deal with serious breaches of peace. Chotu was a menace in Rajanpur district of southern Punjab. He took at least 24 policemen hostage when they attempted to bring the gang under control. It was only when the army was given the charge that a full scale operation was launched against the outlaw that resulted in the release of the hostages, Chou’s surrender before the army led to a return of peace in the area.

These are clear indicators of the civil government’s incompetence and its failure in discharging its foremost responsibility of maintaining law and order. Elsewhere in the world, troops are deployed in aid of the civil administration in sudden eruptions of lawlessness and violence. But in Pakistan, the army often has to take the initiative suo moto because the civil administration fails to take appropriate decisions.

The writer is a senior political analystand former editor of Southasia.


General Raheel Sharif is the first army chief of staff who is every inch a professional soldier.


Perhaps General Pervez Musharraf never thought that he would become the President of Pakistan

one day and have the opportunity to rule the country for some eight years. He seemed to be doing okay with his life in the army, having become a full general, the chief of staff and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. He had held many field command positions before that, the last one being that of Corps Commander, Mangla and also earlier as the DGMO. He had seen two full-scale wars – 1965 and 1971 – and was the brains behind the Kargil conflict in early

1999. He had served as a commando in the army and knew from very close quarters what life was like for the common soldier. But as fate would have it, he was thrust into power on a fateful day in October 1999 and he tried to make good use of the opportunity in the decade that ensued.

In Gen. Musharraf, Pakistan did not have a leader who fulfilled the classic description of a democrat. It was the general’s mistake if he tried to be one in the latter part of his rule but he was never cut out for the role. However, the advantage of the President of

Pakistan being a hands-on soldier was that while he was bereft of the finesse that a politician exudes, he could at least talk straight and bulldoze through many barriers that would have otherwise dogged the path of a leader who means business. But the general also had a democratic streak in him that was difficult to comprehend in a man of arms. The general was and still is described as a ‘military dictator’ by his critics but there are also those who lament that the man was never seen to exercise his ‘dictatorship’ in the way that he should have. He is known to

REGION PAKISTAN

History will look at General Pervez Musharraf’s tenure as President of Pakistan with relative kindness.

By Javed Ansari

The Way of the General


have been ‘soft’ with his associates and his subordinates, whether in the army or otherwise. While he was in power, he could have taken many decisions for the benefit of the country but was held back. He could have, for example, decided to build the Kalabagh Dam despite the opposition from the KPK and Sindh provinces, and done a great service to the nation’s future.

It must be said, however, that while in power, Musharraf did attempt to bring in reform and change in many key areas of national life. It is unfortunate that his successors, all dyed-in-the-wool democrats, undid what the general had set out to do and sent the clock working backwards. Even his detractors have accepted that the general introduced a local bodies system in the country that actually empowered the citizen at the basic level and he was no longer dependent on the provincial administration for funds and powers. This was a project of one of Gen. Musharraf’s close associates, Lt. Gen. Tanveer Naqvi, and both generals deserve full marks for conceiving and implementing the system. That it was brought to zero once the Musharraf rule ended is a pity because if it was a loss to anyone, it was the common man who suffered. The so-called democratic governments of both Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif failed to introduce even a modicum of a local bodies structure.

It was Gen. Musharraf who brought about greater representation of women in the legislatures. From hindsight, it is also now clear how sound his decision was that all elected members of the national and provincial assemblies and the senate be at least graduates. That he lowered the voting age to 18 also goes to demonstrate that he wanted a larger population, especially the youth, to be included in the democratic process.

The empowerment of women was a subject always close to Musharraf. He made sincere efforts in this direction but there were many challenges in his path, particularly the resistance from Islamist groups. Legal empowerment of women in Pakistan did see some progress in Pakistan in Musharraf’s days but far more needed to be done to give women viable choices and the general could have done more. That he succeeded in inducting more women into the armed forces during his time certainly goes to his credit.

Musharraf was the man who truly liberated the media in Pakistan and gave it the voice that it so belligerently flaunts today. When he came to power, Pakistan was a single, state-owned, state-controlled TV channel country. FM radio had arrived but only to the

extent of music entertainment. The print medium existed in an atmosphere of suffocation and no journalist dared cross the Rubicon. Musharraf came and changed all that. A military man out and out, he simply let the media free in a manner that no civilian ruler had dared to before. He told his information minister, who happened to be Shaikh

Rasheed in those days, that TV licences be given out generously. He allowed TV licences to be issued to owners of print media as well. In fact, such was the extent of freedom given to the press that many journalists could not believe that they could now write and publish with the kind of freedom that was unthinkable before and that too in a country like Pakistan.

It is quite an irony, therefore, that the very media that General Musharraf liberated turned against him when things started to go bad for the general in the latter part of his regime and they stood in unison to berate him for his policies. The general had probably been under the impression that since he was a saviour of the media and had created a platform of freedom for them, they would support him in his difficult days but they did not and joined the litany of criticism, with very few exceptions.

Pakistan achieved high GDP growth during most of the general’s rule though this is attributed to the flow of dollars into Pakistan in the aftermath of 9/11 when the country became a frontline state in the U.S. war against terrorism, its territory was used by the American forces to attack Afghanistan and American military hardware was routed through Pakistan. But the fact is that the common man thinks today that Musharraf’s time was much better than what he is experiencing now. The governments of both Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif have bitterly failed to live up to their promises, corruption has spread and life has become difficult in all areas.

General Musharraf returned to Pakistan with the genuine purpose of facing the courts and exonerating himself from the charges against him but he did not get a fair deal. For example, it is surprising that out of thousands of candidates in the last general elections

(2013), Pervez Musharraf was the only person whose nomination papers were rejected in all the four constituencies where he applied on the plea that there were cases against him. How will history answer this since he had not been convicted in any of the cases.

The general did commit some major mistakes when he was in charge. For

one, he relied too much on those forces which he could have done without. His reliance on the Chaudhry brothers especially contributed to his undoing, particularly in the way he promoted the PML-Q and made no bones about his support for them. He should have maintained a neutral stance since he was the President of Pakistan and did not owe allegiance to any party and was not an ‘elected’ entity. His promulgation of the NRO was also a bad decision. It may have cleared his future path in some ways but it also led to the restoration of hundreds of criminals – a development that did not leave a good taste in the mouth.

On this front, history had given him a chance to correct his mistake. Benazir Bhutto had agreed with the general that she would not return to Pakistan before the elections which were to be held at the end of 2007. However, when she did not stick to her side of the agreement and came back before the elections, Musharraf had a very good opportunity to cancel his side of the NRO on principle but he did not.

It needs to be remembered that Musharraf entered the NRO agreement on the behest of certain people, most importantly General Kiyani, who had earlier been military secretary to Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

History will view Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s tenure with kindness because he created respect for the country and Pakistan was in a position to lunge forward with great confidence on many fronts. Ever since Musharraf left, the country has fallen into a state of stagnation. Deterioration and decay is rife across the board – and there is not much hope in sight.

The writer is Editor of this magazine and a regular contributor on political subjects.

Musharraf was the man who truly liberated the media in Pakistan and gave it the voice that it so belligerently flaunts today.

REGION INDIA

Vikas (development, progress) is Indian prime minister Narendra D. Modi’s mantra. His pet

slogans are, “sub ka sath; sub ka vikas” (all together; progress for all). And he seems to be pursuing his ambitious goal relentlessly.

First, there was the National Food Security Act (NFSA) which aimed to provide subsidized food grains to approximately “two-thirds of India’s 1.2 billion” or 800 million people, through a Public Distribution System at the rate of 5 kilograms per person per month. Rice was to be supplied at Rs 3 per kg, wheat at Rs 2 per kg

and coarse grain (millet) at rupee 1 per kg, Despite, some problems in its implementation, especially in Jammu-Kashmir, which were duly addressed, it proved quite successful.

This time it is the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act 2016, better known as the Aadhaar Bill. It was introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 3. On 11 March, 2016 it was passed and became the Aadhaar Act.

It did not have to be passed by both houses, because, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley took care to introduce it as a money bill. The step was taken to

pre-empt any attempt by the opposition to create obstacles in its passage in the Rajya Sabha where the ruling NDA does not enjoy a majority.

As a money bill, the Rajya Sabha would have no power to block its passage. All it could do would be to send it back to the Lok Sabha with some observations. But the final word would rest with the latter. As a money bill, therefore, the Aadhaar Bill had a smooth sailing, and, ultimately, became the Aadhaar Act.

According to its aims and objects defined in a summary of the Bill, it will provide for “good governance,

Game ChangerThe Aadhaar Act in India could bring in a revolution if its basic aims such as good

governance and efficient delivery of benefits are adhered to.

By S.G. Jilanee



efficient, transparent and targeted delivery of subsidies, benefits and services, the expenditure for which is incurred from the Consolidated Fund of India, to individuals residing in India, through assigning of unique identity numbers (UIN) to such individuals.”

It was also argued that giving statutory backing to Aadhaar will enable the use of this identification number for better targeting of subsidies. According to Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, this would save Rs 20,000 crore by avoiding subsidies being taken by undeserving people.

Government sources claim that with the billionth Aadhaar number being issued, the Aadhaar project is well on its way to becoming the centrepiece for governance in India, irrespective of which government is in power.

But much of this engagement generates the suspicion that the Aadhaar Act puts an official stamp of approval of a mass surveillance tool violating fundamental rights. Some civil liberty groups like the Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties and the Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF) have opposed the project on privacy concerns. The apprehension is that the biometric details of citizens compiled under Aadhaar might be shared with other agencies to compromise their privacy.

However, the relevant privacy question is how far the act goes in ensuring the protection of information that the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) possesses in order to ensure effective service delivery. The UIDAI is a central government agency. Its objective is to collect the biometric and demographic data of residents, store them in a centralized database, and issue a 12-digit unique identity number called Aadhaar, to each resident.

To counter such objections, government sources claim that the new law provides for a framework to ensure that the biometric details of citizens it collects are kept discreet and used only to generate Aadhaar numbers or authenticate them. They further point out that the data is limited by the act to basic demographic and biometric information. The Aadhaar database is no “panopticon” with the capacity to profile individuals by storing information like passport details and so forth. This is an intentional design choice. Further, among the types of data the UIDAI possesses, the act is categorical in its assertion that core biometric information shall not be

shared for any purpose, including national security.

For demographic data that is shareable, it has strong safeguards. It can only be used for the purposes that the individual consents to and only with such persons as is indicated beforehand; the individual has the right to access his information and to update and correct it. All of this will require new regulations, revised enrolment forms and fresh authentication protocols.

However, the fact remains that “in November 2014, the Department of Telecom asked all telecom operators to collect Aadhaar from all new applicants of SIM cards” and “in May 2015, it was announced that the Ministry of External Affairs was testing the linking of passports to the Aadhaar database.”

Critics of the Act also argue that the Aadhaar threatens to “legitimize the illegals living in the country” and “local bureaucrats and politicians frequently give away documents like ration cards to illegal immigrants for political or personal gains.”

Yet government sources claim that Aadhaar is the last chance for an effective welfare state to take root in India. According to the latest figures, 99.9 crore (999 million) Aadhaar

numbers have been issued in the project, as of March 31, 2016,

However, looking at the aims and objects of the Act, there is no question that it is a most ambitious public welfare project of Himalayan proportions that almost promises the moon. It would therefore require sincerity and devotion to implement it so that it can deliver.

Beyond doubt, it is such spectacular development projects that have boosted India’s image in the international community and catapulted it as the leader of South Asia. Narendra Modi is held in high regard by world leaders. for his leadership. He dines with President Obama, lunches with Queen Elizabeth II at the Buckingham Palace and receives the highest civil award from the King of Saudi Arabia, even though he did not raise a finger as chief minister of Gujarat when Muslims were being wantonly massacred.

With the Aadhaar Act, India has set an example in the realm of public welfare. The trail it has blazed is now for other nations in South Asia to follow and reap the benefits of mass welfare and good governance.

The writer is a senior political analystand former editor of Southasia.

The Aadhaar project is well on its way to becoming the centrepiece for governance in India, irrespective of which government is in power.

REGION INDIAREGION INDIA

Kashmir has never been part of India and if students in India talk more and more about ‘Indian

state control’ over a territory the people

of which have been struggling for self-determination for a long time now – is it an act of treason? Considering that India is a democratic republic,

shouldn’t students in universities be allowed to indulge in open discussions - even encouraged to show dissent – ‘loyal dissent’? Shouldn’t the students

Positive PortentsPositive Portents

The JNU incident in New Delhi could give new life to the Jammu and Kashmir struggle.

By Muhammad Ali Ehsan



of India have a right to free speech? Or is India so weak that free speech can result in its breakup?

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is counted amongst India’s finest universities. On February 9, an event was organized there to mark the third anniversary of the hanging of Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri who was convicted and hanged in Delhi’s Tihar jail in 2013 for his alleged role in the 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament. The event took an ugly turn when some students started raising anti Indian slogans. Video tapes showed later that there were only 5 students who were raising slogans and their faces were also covered. Authorities registered a sedition case and arrested Kanhaiya Kumar, the president of the JNU students’ union.

The students went on strike to protest his arrest and warned the authorities that they would not allow classes to be held in the campus unless the union president was released. The JNU student union categorically denied its involvement with this controversial event but even then the union president was picked up by police on Feb 12 for demonstrating ‘anti national behaviour.’

Another controversy that emerged was that the arrest decision by the Delhi police and the Home Minister was based on a video which was later found to have been doctored. It turned out that three news channels ran the doctored videos of the JNU incident. A magistrate’s report submitted to the Delhi government on March 2, 2016 claimed that ‘no direct link has been found between JNU student’s Union president and the anti-India slogans on the 9 Feb campus event.’ In these doctored versions, the video has been edited and voices have been added. Following the revelations Kanhaiya Kumar the JNU student’s union president was eventually granted interim bail for six months by the Delhi High Court.

Investigation has proved that none of the organizers were involved in slogan-raising. Even the group of 5 students seemed to have come from outside and did not belong to the university. None of the students participating in the event could recognize them. These ‘outsiders’ had just one agenda – ‘to openly bring to light the grievances of the citizens of Kashmir.’ The concern of the BJP-led government is that why ‘anti national slogans’ were allowed to be raised in the university hall. The extent of the concern can be measured from the fact that the issue has now been debated in

the Indian Parliament. In both houses of the Indian parliament, the opposition and treasury benches traded charges against each other. Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi was accused of ‘playing partisan politics and siding with those opposed to India.’

The role of the faculty members of the university must be appreciated. They rallied behind the protesting students and challenged the decision of the authorities to allow a police crackdown against the students in the campus. They also reached out to the people and requested the general public to desist from branding the students as well as the university as ‘anti-national.’ The academic question and a relevant one being asked by a cross-section of teachers in India is – ‘Can the state resort to violence just to silence dissent?’

The role of JNU professor Niveditia Menon who teaches at the Centre for Comparative Politics and Political Theory at the International Studies School at JNU merits special mention for her bold stance during the controversy. While addressing a group of students at the university, she made some bold statements like, ‘India is an imperialist country and pro-azadi slogans on Kashmir are justified as India has forcefully occupied 30-40 percent of the territory.’ Condemning the incident, she said that ‘if such incidents continue to occur then democracy is no longer strong in the country and only guns and tanks can be used to keep democracy intact and strong.’ She further said that ‘After independence, the accession of Kashmir was done following the India-Pakistan war on the pretext that plebiscite will be conducted when the situation gets back to normal and since then this has not happened. We all know that the world today believes that India is illegally occupying Kashmir.’ The stance taken by the professor highlights the plight of the people of Kashmir and is an indicator of how the biggest democracy in the world has been forcefully occupying a territory in the most undemocratic way.

Kanhaiya Kumar, the JNU student union president, a day prior to his arrest also made a speech in which he said that ‘the forces of Hindu India now most vociferous in laying claim to true patriotism were not only absent in the freedom struggle but were often collaborating with the British.’ He claims that Indian Forces rape women in Jammu and Kashmir and that he will raise his voice against the Armed Forces Special powers Act (AFSPA) as well. Following his bold statements,

the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leaders Kuldeep Varshney and Sharma announced Rs 5 lakh as reward for cutting Kanhaiya’s tongue and a Rs 11 lakh award for killing him. While the BJP government wants to use the incident and the controversy that it generated to redefine nationalism, the students and teachers of JNU in a face-off with the government have been reiterating the importance of ‘intellectual freedom.’ The worldwide condemnation of the police crackdown on the university students was also something that gave moral strength to the teachers and students of the university.

From day one, it has been absolutely clear that the students who raised anti-India slogans were Kashmiris. The New Delhi government has deliberately avoided arresting these students as that would cause a severe backlash inside Kashmir and negatively affect the continuity of the PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir. It must be remembered that when Afzal Guru was hanged in 2013, the PDP had called it a ‘travesty of justice.’ The PDP further claimed that ‘constitutional requirements and processes were not followed in hanging him out of turn.’ Considering that the PDP has issued no statement on the JNU incident, the agreed quid pro quo seems to be that ‘we issue no statements while you make no arrests of Kashmiri students.’ The BJP government also knows that large-scale protests may begin in Kashmir if it made any arrests of Kashmiri students in Delhi. It may not want to ignite and add a new life to the freedom struggle there. Sections of Indian media has been claiming that PM Modi must rein in his ministers and his party and diffuse the situation and drop the charge of sedition against the JNU student union leader Kanhaiya Kumar.

Intolerance in India under the BJP government is growing by the day. Considering that Narendra Modi has not been able to deliver on the economic front, one can only suggest to him to avoid finding ways to further polarize the society and to engage constructively in dialogue with Pakistan on all outstanding issues including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. From Pakistan’s perspective, the very fact that voices from inside India are now being raised on the illegal Indian occupation of the State of Jammu and Kashmir is a good sign.

The writer is a retired lieutenant colonel of the Pakistan Army. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D in civil-military relations.

REGION AFGHANISTAN

Military strategists believe the most formidable foe is one that evolves on the battlefield.

While pundits have pronounced the Taliban dead many times since the 2001 US invasion, the latter continue to defy logic by ratcheting up anti-state attacks every year. Indeed, for a movement supposedly on their last legs and beset with factional infighting, the Taliban display remarkable vitality and purpose.

Early April also upended the traditional Taliban stereotype of illiterate ideologues selling a medieval spin on Islam when, borrowing from the Islamic State (IS) playbook, the militants rolled out a social media application under the moniker “Alemarah” (Voice of Jihad). This Pashto-language piece of code allows partisans to keep abreast of the latest Taliban news and propaganda editorials like “war crimes of foreign invaders and their internal stooge forces.” Though Alemarah lasted only a few hours on the Google Play store before being taken down, it soon resurfaced on e-tailing giant Amazon.

More bad news awaited Kabul on April 6 as the major rift in Taliban ranks seemed to close. The insurgency had sunk into a succession crisis last July after Afghan intelligence belatedly

leaked news of Mullah Omar’s death. Pitted against de facto chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour were Omar’s eldest son Mullah Muhammad Yaqub and his brother Mullah Abdul Mannan. Both have now joined Mansour’s camp and have received important, if symbolic, positions as reward, a Taliban statement claimed.

This reconciliation came on the heels of another heavyweight, the hitherto “neutral” Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zaker, pledging allegiance to Mansour after his “reservations” were addressed. The new emir himself has been busy rallying the troops, calling for a “final push" and predicting "good victories in the coming months." With lone newsworthy dissident Mullah Rasool in Pakistani custody, few obstacles remain in Mansour’s path towards consolidating power.

These are uncertain times for Kabul. While a fragmented Taliban were easier to pick off, they also hamstrung substantive peace talks because no single rib could pretend to represent the entire militant umbrella. Now, with Mansour firmly in charge, will he roll back time to last July when the group was willing to play ball? The outlook so far is not encouraging. As Michael Kugelman of the Woodrow Wilson

Institute rationalizes: "The Taliban have little incentive to step off the battlefield now, given recent gains and those likely to come in the next few months. Why quit while you're ahead?"

So, what do the Taliban want? Well, they have a fairly consistent set of demands that their delegates restated at the Pugwash Conference in Qatar early this year. First, the militants want their senior members removed from the UN Security Council blacklist. They also want Taliban prisoners freed from Guantanamo Bay and the establishment of a formal Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan office in Doha. Furthermore, they insist Kabul cease its “poisonous” smear campaign against the movement. There are also signs that the Taliban are breaking away from their handlers in Islamabad.

On March 1, while speaking at a Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) event in the US, Pakistan’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz officially admitted that senior Afghan Taliban leaders were living in Pakistan with the state’s blessings. Aziz assured CFR that Islamabad would “use those levers to pressurize them to come to the table." He also displayed confidence that two-way talks between Kabul and the Taliban could restart in a matter of weeks. The

A fresh look at the long-drawn Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.

By Mubashir Noor

A fresh look at the long-drawn Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.

Road to Nowhere



militants, however, outrightly rejected the notion, countering that Mansour “has not authorized anyone to participate in this meeting" unless the Americans took their preconditions seriously.

Meanwhile, the human and material costs of the Afghan war keep inflating. More than 26,000 Afghan civilians have died from fifteen years of conflict alongside 2300 US soldiers. Congress also pumped approximately $1 trillion dollars in American taxpayer money into Afghanistan without commensurate returns and this figure continues to grow by $4 million every hour. It is not surprising then that unending warfare has sparked a mass exodus towards Europe where Afghans in the thousands are trying to sneak in by mixing with the similarly beleaguered Syrians.

The Afghan National Army (ANA) is also flagging in the face of a relentless enemy. Skirmishes countrywide felled some 5500 soldiers last year with another 14,000 wounded. On-field commanders are now abandoning their “total war” strategy in view of the Taliban‘s resurgence and moving towards a paradigm of picking battles they can win. On April 4, ANA troops withdrew from sparsely populated districts of Helmand province to reinforce positions around the provincial capital Lashkar Gah. Fighting all year round has also hobbled US attempts to build up the ANA as a self-sufficient force before all coalition troops leave.

Moreover, the Afghan government is

neck-deep in graft. Afghanistan ranked 166 in Transparency International’s corruption index for 2015, besting only Somalia and North Korea. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko calls corruption in government an “existential” threat to the country. Sopko specifically targets the “baksheesh” system, claiming Kabul collects a 35 percent bribe for every licence issued. Integrity Watch Afghanistan also reports that public officials pocketed bribes worth almost $2 billion in just the last three years for favours ranging from falsified tax inspections to construction permits.

The Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG), a diplomatic club comprising envoys from the US, Afghanistan, Pakistan and China, is probably the international community’s last best hope to deliver a negotiated settlement of the Afghan crisis. Hatched on the margins of last December’s Heart of Asia Conference, QCG exists to roadmap the “peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan” and brings all insurgents to the dialogue table with Kabul in earnest. Its success theoretically hinges on Islamabad’s ability to corral client militants that are partial to a power sharing deal and hopefully invoke a domino effect. Since early January, though, the club has met four times without making any headway and no clear game plan on how to persuade the Taliban to lay down arms.

Gulbadin Hekmatyar may be the QCG’s lone silver lining to date. The Hizb-e-Islami chief and famed warlord from the anti-Soviet jihad has agreed to participate in peace talks without preconditions. Though his partisans make up a fraction of the insurgency, the hope is Hekmatyar’s willingness will encourage fence-straddling Taliban to splinter from their warmongering core and cut a deal. Critics, however, dismiss Hekmatyar as an opportunist with ever shifting loyalties aimed at amassing influence; an untrustworthy man. Faced with the deepening Al Qaeda-Taliban nexus, however, the QCG may need to resort to Ellwood’s plan.

In 2011, a British Member of Parliament named Tobias Ellwood foresaw Afghanistan’s "bleak future” after international presence faded and devised “Plan C” to divide the country into eight zones. Each zone would work under a local council overseen by some foreign power. The Taliban may be open to such decentralized autonomy if they can choose their overseer. Consequently, Qatar or Saudi Arabia with their long ties to the militants could be acceptable. The reality is that all-out war has not worked in Afghanistan, nor so far have overtures towards lasting peace. The only remaining option is to compartmentalize the insurgency and put a big fence around it.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Islamabad.

militants, however, outrightly rejected the notion, countering that Mansour “has

Road to Nowhere


REGION SRI LANKA

Being homeless is bad enough but living as a refugee without a country to return to is worse.

With increasing conflicts and natural disasters around the world, thousands of people are uprooted and forced to live as refugees in camps - in their own country or in other countries. They

pine for the day they can return home and restart their lives as they knew it; however, for many people this remains a dream like many Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

Children of refugees who are born in refugee camps or host countries have an identity crisis from the time of

their birth. They are born in a foreign country which is their home because they have never known any other, but their parents speak of home in another country which is alien to them.

Sometimes due to their refugee status, these children are not treated as proper citizens of the country. They

New LivesSri Lanka’s shining new future could have a place for the refugees too.

By Lubna Jerar Naqvi


grow up on stories of conflict, hatred and horror that they hear from their parents and other adults in their community but can't relate these to themselves. Some of them end up confused and bitter.

When refugees return to their own country, they find it difficult to resettle because conflict areas transform over time - usually for the worse - and people find it difficult to begin their lives all over again.

Asia has seen a lot of refugee situations over the last six decades, with several thousands having been forced to move away from their homes and some never able to go back.

Sri Lanka has also seen a massive exodus in the past six decades. The country has seen conflict since its independence in 1948 because of the insurgency of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who demanded an independent state - Tamil Eelam.

The government took them on and

the two had many severe engagements over the decades but in the early 1980s things got worse and people in the northern part of Sri Lanka had either to move out or die. Over the next 30 years, this part of the country bled in light of the LTTE offensive.

More than 100,000 were reported dead and many more displaced when the civil war ended in 2009. Thousands of people were forced to leave their homes rather than be killed; some moved to India, Australia and the US.

According to the website of the Ministry of Prisons, Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs, some 102,000 refugees of Sri Lankan origin still live in refugee camps or with relatives in India. Some of them have returned but this number is small.

The small number of people returning to Sri Lanka many years after the end of the civil war reveals that there is something wrong. People usually want to come back home, even if it means to be buried in their ancestral graveyards.

MoUs have recently been signed by the Indo-Lanka Joint Commission in which the repatriation of refugees was also discussed and facilitation of those who are returning. According to new data the government has pledged to build more than 65,000 permanent houses for conflict-affected families in the Northern and Eastern provinces. Some 137,000 houses are needed for this purpose and the government is taking immediate steps to resolve the issue. The policy is to provide houses to the families and close down the welfare centres. This is a great plan which could resolve the basic and most important problem that refugees usually face when they return to their homelands.

However, there are other issues that are also quite important and must be dealt with once the refugees return. A large number of the people who have returned are finding it difficult to sustain their families since they have little to base the foundation of their new lives on. Living in refugee camps for more than three decades has left them with very little and many may not be able to support their families

themselves. The government's promise to build homes for them is a good move and relieves them of a big burden but the government should also have other things in place so that there is no delay in the rebuilding process

Most people will need to make, renew or even remake important documents. This process must also include those who were born outside Sri Lanka in refugee camps. Without documents they can face many problems.

The younger generation of refugees needs to be integrated in Sri Lankan society and into the mainstream so that they don't lag behind others of their age. The government would set up centres to make them feel comfortable in their new homes. Beyond that, they also need to be given hope and offered new career prospects so that they can look towards the future with some confidence.

A large number of unemployed and dissatisfied young people can cause issues for the existing population. For one thing, the crime rate can spike and civil unrest return with the new Sri Lankans trying to fit in and the old ones seeing them as a threat. The government needs to incorporate both these groups to work in harmony so that the problem is resolved instead of worsening.

Vocational training and later job opportunities have to be created for this new labour force, which may be skilled in different things that may prove to be useful to the country or have skills that are completely useless. The government also needs to establish an easy loan system should the new Sri Lankans intend to launch business venture.

India could greatly help Sri Lanka expedite the return of refugees with dignity and both countries would benefit. India could extend assistance by enabling those Sri Lankans born in India to be able to move and work freely in both countries for some 20 to thirty years so that they can build a footing in Sri Lanka and still earn a living with dignity.

Is there a Shining Sri Lanka somewhere?

The writer is a senior journalist basedin Karachi.

...some 102,000 refugees of Sri Lankan origin still live in refugee camps or with relatives in India.


REGION NEPAL

Earlier this year, Nepal Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, commonly known as K. P. Oli,

made trips to India and China. During the China visit in March 2016, Nepal signed a transit and transportation treaty with the neigbour, along with some other MOUs on areas of cooperation in different sectors.

According to the transit treaty, a proposed railway line will connect Nepal through Tibet, a province-level autonomous region of China, and will serve Nepal as an alternative to the Port of Kolkata, which is perceived as a gateway to India for such landlocked Himalayan nations as Bhutan and Nepal.

The completion of the project will end Nepal’s dependence on India, as the Himalayan country will then be able to use the Tianjin Port of China for its third-country trade. Tianjin is located some 3,000 kilometres from Nepal, compared to Kolkata which is just 1,000 kilometres away.

A few months ago, Nepal faced a severe energy crisis due to a five-month trade blockade imposed by India over the new federal constitution of Nepal. The constitution was perceived by India to be discriminatory towards the Madhesi community, which is an ethnic Indian minority that lives in the southern regions of Nepal near the Indian border. Hit by the trade blockade, the then Nepalese government had to declare an emergency in the country as it suffered from a huge shortage of medicines and oil and fuel supplies such as LPG (liquid petroleum gas), kerosene and aviation fuel.

Says journalist Shannon Tiezzi, editor of The Diplomat: “Nepal’s relations with China have always lagged behind ties with India for cultural, political and geographical reasons. However, Kathmandu-New Delhi relations took a major hit when trade with India was effectively halted last year, in the wake of

protests over Nepal’s new constitution. Nepal accused India of orchestrating a blockade, while India said protests near the border were preventing normal trade relations.”

Referred to as ‘an act of aggression’ by the Nepalese government, the unofficial trade blockade clearly violated the United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, which says a landlocked country must be given an unrestricted right of access to and from the sea of the nearby costal state.

During the crisis, according to Tiezzi, “China – Nepal’s only other neighbour – appeared as an attractive alternative trading partner. Last fall, for the first time ever, Nepal sought to import gasoline from China, which was the first concrete sign that Kathmandu would look towards Beijing to decrease reliance on Indian trade.”

A transit country, according to the UN Convention, should provide an infrastructure support to the landlocked country to help it access the sea route.

Look NorthNepal has started looking for other alternatives besides

India to avoid economic crises in future.

By Faizan Usmani


A timely lesson for Nepal, it started thinking beyond India to avoid any economic disasters in the future, despite its landlocked location. Expectedly, Nepal turned to its immediate neighbour to the north to expand its relations and to have an alternative to meet its current and future needs.

“As relations with India soured, Nepal’s northern neighbour China came to the rescue with a deal to supply a third of the country’s required petroleum. The deal signalled to Kathmandu the importance of diversifying its trade away from India,” says Rishi Iyengar, an India-based American journalist.

Besides finalising the transit treaty, Prime Minister K.P. Oli signed another agreement with China for construction of a regional airport in Pokhara, the second largest city of Nepal that is located some 200 kilometres from Kathmandu. As per the agreement, China will provide a $216 million loan to Nepal for the project.

To connect Nepal with Tibet, China is going to construct a steel bridge in Hilsa, a town on the north-western corner of Nepal bordering Tibet, which has been a traditional trade route in the Himalaya region for many centuries. China will also provide economic support and technical assistance to Nepal in order to explore oil and gas reserves in the country.

To boost bilateral trade and economic exchange, both the countries signed a Free Trade Agreement,

according to which a China-based commercial bank will soon start its operations in Nepal. Nepalese banks will be able to open their branches in China as well. China will install a solar power system, together with solar panel kits in more than 31,500 households in Nepal. During Oli’s visit, both the countries also signed some science and technology agreements while Nepal will soon establish a Consular General’s Office in Chengdu, the capital of China’s south-western Sichuan province..

According to some experts, Tianjin Port of China cannot be accessed straight away as it is located at a higher altitude and the basic road infrastructure in Nepal is missing. Biswas Baral, a Kathmandu-based journalist, says, “Third-country trade through the rocky terrain of Tibet will cost Nepali importers two to 3 times what it would cost them to import goods via Indian ports.”

The border crossing between Nepal and China was damaged during the earthquake last year, while the transportation infrastructure linking the two countries needs a major overhaul, owing to the rough terrain of the Himalayan mountain range. “Despite the new transit treaty, the bulk of Nepal’s third-country trade will continue to take place through India. But Nepalese people feel that with the new transit treaty, India in the future won’t be able to ‘blockade’ the country again,” says Baral.

For Nepal, it is more than a strategic

shift to use the Chinese port as an alternate trade route, as almost 99 per cent of its oil supply and trade passes through India. “By all accounts, Oli’s visit to China has been a huge success, as the main objective was to get support and goodwill from Beijing,’ says Shastri Ramachandaran, a senior Indian journalist.

“China is offering its new “all-weather friend” energy and infrastructure deals, rail links, a free trade agreement and a trade and transit treaty — all with an eye on freeing Nepal from its dependence on India,” according to Ramachandaran.

“The Indian establishment has to be more comfortable with the idea of Nepal’s greater engagement with the rest of the world. India must accept that the old Nehruvian idea of an exclusive ‘sphere of influence’ is outdated. It must realise that the only way India can improve its relations with its smaller neighbours is through greater economic cooperation – by allowing the free movement of goods and people across the region, and not blocking their natural flow,” says Biswas Baral.

The signing of a transit treaty between Nepal and China is a historical move, which clearly marks the exit of Nepal’s ‘only India policy,’ which had been in place for ages and had reduced a landlocked Nepal into an India-locked country.

The writer is a member of the staff.

REGION THE MALDIVES

The basic infrastructure of any democratic state is always built on its three constitutional pillars

- the legislature (parliament), the executive (administrative department)

and the judiciary. Referred to as the pillars of the

state, no government can perform when these bodies are not functioning. The three institutions, as per their given

role, comprise the fundamentals of the formation and implementation of the rule of law and are also responsible for the interpretation of law.

In such a democratic setup, the

The proposed ‘Defamation and Freedom of Expression Act’ will weaken the media in the Maldives.

Media under Siege


media is considered as the fourth pillar of the state. The ‘Fourth Estate,’ according to the dictionary, comprises newspapers, magazines, television, radio and the internet, as well as the people who work for the media organisations.

As a rule, it happens to be an information bridge between governing bodies and the general public and due to its power and political influence, some governments try to bring it under their control as a ‘fourth branch of government.’

In today’s Maldives, ruled by President Abdullah Yameen, media is in the throes of becoming a state-controlled body with restricted rights in terms of freedom of expression.

Earlier this year, the Democratic Party exposed the Maldives’ biggest corruption scandal, alleging that Abdullah Yameen was involved in the embezzlement of around US$80 million to US$230 million.

Mohamed Saif Fathih is a senior journalist attached with The Maldives Independent. He says, “The move to criminalise defamation comes after President Abdulla Yameen said in February 2016 that the civil remedy of a maximum MVR5,000 ($325.309) in damages was not enough to hold individuals accountable for bringing state institutions such as the central bank, namely the Maldives Monetary Authority, into disrepute.”

“President Yameen, cabinet ministers, and MPs from both the ruling and opposition parties were among the beneficiaries of an unprecedented corruption scandal involving the theft of millions of dollars from the state-owned tourism promotion company,” says Shafaa Hameed, a local journalist.

Then in March, the leader of the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives Parliamentary Group, tabled the ‘Defamation and Freedom of Expression Act’ at the People’s Majlis (the Maldives’ legislative body). As per the initial draft of the proposed law, constricting the constitutional right to freedom of speech was recommended. The words were: “If an expression contradicts a tenet of Islam, threatens national security, defames or causes damage to an individual, or violates societal norms.”

Prescribing hefty fines of between US$3,200 and US$324,000 as penalties for violation, the draft law goes to the extent of putting the offenders behind bars if they are unable to pay the imposed fine. The law also suggests revoking the licence of such newspapers, TV channels and websites that publish, broadcast or disseminate

defamatory content. On the other hand, according to

Article 28 of the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives, “Everyone has the right to freedom of the press, and other

means of communication, including the right to espouse, disseminate and publish news, information, views and ideas. No person shall be compelled to disclose the source of any information that is espoused, disseminated or published by that person.”

In reaction to the proposed Act, a group of journalists, broadcasters and media persons in the Maldives released a joint statement on March 27, 2016 which said,, “If the bill is passed into law, it allows the police to conduct criminal inquiries against those who criticise, or express such criticism via the news, in the guise of protecting reputation.”

The Act “obstructs the constitutional right to engage in debate regarding the effectiveness of policies and integrity of officials on the state payroll and it will prevent journalists and citizens from speaking out over serious accusations of corruption and the integrity of state officials.”

Some 183 journalists belonging to The Maldives Independent, Sangu TV, Raajje TV, CNM, DHI TV, Dhuvas, Villa TV, Vaguthu, TV News, Vaanuvaa, Haveeru Online (www.haveeru.com.mv), Sun Online (http://english.sun.mv/), and Avas Online (http://www.avas.mv/) signed the petition against the bill. The petition has been submitted to the President’s Office, the People’s Majlis and the Supreme Court of the Maldives.

In March, Raajje TV broadcast a recorded conversation which it said carried the voices of senior government officials who confessed they had bribed judges and planned a series of bomb plots in the Maldives at the directives of President Yameen. After a week, Fiyaz Moosa, the CEO of Raajje TV, was arrested over assault charges. If convicted, he could be sentenced to a four-year jail term. Visam and Leevan, two other journalists of Raajje TV, have been also charged with similar allegations by the President’s Office.

In the meantime, Ahmed Rilwan, a senior journalist at The Maldives

Independent, was abducted by the law enforcement authorities for no apparent reason. In April 2016, some 24 journalists were arrested in the wake of the protests against the defamation

and freedom of expression act. “Restrictions on press freedom

threaten the people’s right to be informed. After years of attacks, including murder attempts and disappearances, Maldivian journalists are now facing a different kind of threat; action by courts and regulatory bodies and a defamation bill that if passed will be the death knell for press freedom in the Maldives,” says Zaheena Rasheed, the editor of The Maldives Independent.

According to Xiena Saeed, a Maldivian journalist, it is not the right idea to target a group of journalists.

Saeed says that in a place like the present-day Maldives, people are detained for their views or the posts they hold and are referred to as ‘prisoners of conscience.’ She adds that it is perhaps not the best idea to arrest seventeen committed journalists, committed enough to risk arrest for press freedom, to make them realise the unjustness of what it feels like to be deprived of their absolute right to liberty.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the world's largest organisation of journalists, criticises the proposed bill and terms it as “an attack on press freedom and the media, which is aimed at silencing critics and weakening the country’s already fragile media.”

A threat to the freedom of expression and free press, according to the IFJ, criminalising defamation is also against international journalism ethics and standards. It further says, “The IFJ calls on the government to immediately withdraw the bill and hold open consultations with all stakeholders regarding defamation and freedom of expression.”

In 2009, under the presidency of Mohammad Nasheed, the People’s Majlis of the Maldives had decriminalised defamation. However, in 2016, the freedom of the press and other media in the archipelago is again under attack.

-F.U.

In today’s Maldives, media is in the throes of becoming a state-controlled body with restricted rights in terms of freedom of expression.


Unanimously gender inclusion will ultimately be instrumental in building the foundations in

the pursuit of gross national happiness, good governance being a notable example amongst other pursuits. Bhutan has enhanced its capacity in the new democratic setup for a well-functioning legal and policy environment to address gender inequality. Governance

in most societies is inspired with a predominantly patriarchal character. It is attributed to discrimination against women in public and political life and exclusion of their interests in governance and development.

Gender gaps are evident in areas such as education, employment and representation in decision-making and gender-based violence

is a problem in both rural and urban areas. However, men and women have contrasting views about the existence of discrimination and the female perspective for leadership. Although many believe that Bhutan has no significant gender equality issues, but more than evidence, it is the result of gender-related stereotypes and social norms that influence the behaviour of

Empowering Women

Women have traditionally been followers in Bhutan rather than leaders. The time has come to change the equation.

By Almas Jawaid


REGION BHUTAN


both men and women. Alternatively, it also account for why so few women are in political positions in the country. It is because men tend to attribute the under-representation of women to their lack of leadership qualities in decision-making. And drive – something that implicitly men have in greater measure. To illustrate this, the first-ever local government elections in Bhutan resulted in disappointingly a few women running for office and succeeding as candidates for lack of functional literacy skills, which is the educational requirement for local office. For many Bhutanese women, this also provided an opportunity to visibly participate as voters and prospective candidates.

Namgay Peldon has outshone many of her male counterparts. Ten years after working as a non-formal education instructor in her village, she was elected the first female Gup (known as Dzongda) in Bhutan’s Dagana district. Put simply, Peldon became the first woman head of local administrative units. Tashi Chhozom is the country’s first woman judge of the Supreme Court, while Mingbo Dukpa heads the education ministry in Samdrup Jongkhar. Amongst other notable examples of this kind, women have risen up by dint of perseverance and diligence.

From traditional gender roles to potential leadership roles in society, women are slowly closing the gap with men. Whereas the endemic challenges aspiring women face are represented in ponderous workloads, tolerance of domestic violence and slower movement of women than men out of agriculture. A majority of 58 percent women are interested to join politics and administrative affairs of the State, but are held back by their responsibilities. Being a parent also prevents 64 percent of women from joining politics.

Following the second general elections, female politicians and social workers demanded a quota of 30 percent female representation in parliament. However most male politicians did not perceive this demand as being viable and, consequently, the proposal to amend the Election Act was opposed by the National Assembly.

The trends are, however, reshaping the modern political landscape. In the past decade, there were no female leaders, but Bhutan now has six female representatives including a minister serving amongst the 74 parliamentarians in the two houses. Even then, women representation in national and local government remains

very low, albeit disenfranchised in local politics with no repeat for a second term.

But still, women continue to outnumber men in voter registration and participation which has raised the question of whether women would benefit from quotas in public service? Whether it would pay to bring about proportionate representation of women in the government? There is no denying that the quota rule can help increase women’s representation in the parliament. But Bhutan’s first female minister alternatively views “promotional activities” for female empowerment and capacity-building to encourage women participation in politics.

Women’s role in politics and governance has been much talked about and for the right reasons. Bhutanese women are faced with a plethora of uncontrollable problems in comparison to men, including a lack of gender sensitive laws and practices, prevailing gender norms and stereotypes combined with low levels of education. All this disproportionately affects women. The issue of women participating in local governance inveterately limits engagement of women in public life and politics. Evidently, education and training affect functional literacy skills, decision-making, self-esteem and self-image. Lack of all this has an adverse effect on women taking part in the local government elections. Perhaps a small change in the political parties’ polices and structure would really increase the number of women in politics.

Regardless, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB) are doing a creditable work as a greater turnout for women is expected in the second phase of local government elections. Key civil society organizations for example RENEW, an NGO is working towards enhancing women’s rights and promoting women’s education and empowerment to advance gender equality. Their Women's Empowerment Program seeks to build political networks for women in local government; ensure women’s personal security and create new political and economic opportunities for women.

Advocacy, capacity building and continuous awareness programmes on the importance of women participation in politics and positions of responsibility programmes are nuanced for local communities and are effective in reducing the gender gap. More mechanisms could include gender policy-making such as specific

policies that strengthen the grounds for economic and political empowerment of women and measures adopted by the ECB to encourage women to participate in local elections.

Political empowerment for women in Bhutan is inevitable in the long run. The state policy is targeted for more sustainable progress toward a gender friendly environment for women. The UN in Bhutan continues to make efforts to address some of the impeding factors that limit women’s participation in governance and decision-making such as illiteracy, restricting cultural and social norms and gender-based violence. The UN in Bhutan provides support to strengthen normative frameworks and legal mechanisms that protect women’s rights. Until recently, the status of women in local governance in Bhutan was hardly known.

UN Women, in association with the Royal Government of Bhutan, is playing a pivotal role to strengthen local governance by increasing the capacity of elected women and men. It is focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Currently, the participation of women in public spaces is in a transitional phase. Their participation in decision-making at both the national and local level would improve with the building of leadership capacity by providing coaching and nurturing support and arming them with knowledge and finances to exercise leadership. A number of women in leadership positions have attributed their success to the support received from women’s organizations and groups. The socio-cultural context should be the focus as a way forward for women to fully participate in governance and decision-making.

The Constitution of Bhutan highlights the importance of equal rights for all citizens and lays out a vision for Peace, Prosperity and Happiness by 2020. This vision of development is based on the GNH concept but it cannot be attained without ensuring that women have equal access to self-realization and participation in decision making. While there are no ready solutions to fix the off-balance gender grid in Bhutanese society, vigourous gender advocacy at the policy level can definitely make an impact. The promotion of such equality will eventually result in strengthening governance.

The writer is an HR professional anda freelance contributor. She writes onsocial and cultural issues.

REPORT

South Asian youth meet in Islamabad to discuss common problems and find common solutions.

By Noorus Sabah Tauqeer

South Asia is often mistaken for regions that it is not. The average person tends to divide Asia into East

Asia and the Middle East and quite often one is confronted with geographic claims (such as the common misconception that Pakistan lies in the Middle East) that are hilarious and depressing. Faced with such obliviousness, South Asian youth are under twice the pressure they should be as residents of a third world developing region. A critical geographical location, usually ignored by the rest of its global counterparts, South Asia stands at a crossroads wherein it has to stand united if it must avoid failing. While from Bhutan to Nepal, India to Pakistan and Sri lanka to Bangladesh, it might be a very diverse collection of people, it always comes as a surprise - and a pleasant one at that - to know how similar these people actually are. All countries that fall under the umbrella of South Asia have similar mindsets, shortcomings and problems and, therefore, solutions.

On April 8, 2016, some 200 delegates - all young students - gathered in Islamabad for a three-day International Youth Activism Conference. Delegates from all over South Asia flew into the Pakistan capital to discuss and debate common concerns. The Conference was organized by PUAN - Pak-U.S. Alumni Network - that aims to build on the shared intellectual, social, cultural and democratic values of the people of Pakistan and the United States to promote trust and understanding and to contribute to peace and prosperity of the two countries through youth exchange. PUAN has brought together delegates from all over South Asia to Islamabad to further the cause.

The young people connected quickly as friends and as youth activists

fighting on similar battlegrounds. Over three days and twelve interactive sessions with two panel discussions and six outreach projects, the 200 young South Asians bonded on similar grounds, learning to deal with similar issues. The sessions covered education, human rights, climate change, extremism, interfaith harmony, political engagements, social media, social entrepreneurship, leadership development, communication and campaign design, fund raising and digital storytelling and visual diplomacy. Community service projects included tree plantation, empowering women and meeting with acid attack survivors, celebrating cultural heritage and sessions with children having disabilities.

The topics were relevant, given the region is replete with issues like religious intolerance, human rights violation, extremism, etc.

Social media is a tool that all South Asians actively use to voice their opinions; social entrepreneurship is another area that has taken hold of South Asian youth. Do the issues of gendered violence, abuse and racial

discrimination hit the same nerve in all South Asians? Delegates came to the conclusion that it wasn't just in Bangladesh that bloggers were being hacked to death for expressing their opinion or it wasn't just in Pakistan that prominent people were gunned down for standing up for the minorities, or it wasn't just in Afghanistan that women were stoned to death in public, based on mere allegations.

United against common enemies, the South Asian leadership of the future engaged in networking, made new acquaintances and learned things ranging from language and culture to how to come to terms with the social and cultural challenges they are facing. Evan Ryan, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Education and Cultural Affairs attended the inauguration ceremony, along with Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy and Erin Molnar Mains, the U.S. Embassy's Assistant Cultural Attache.

South Asia has always fought back and stood its ground. The diverse region shares more than borders: it shares problems and it must share solutions.

The writer is a freelance journalist.

Similar Battlegrounds


Published by

SOUTHASIA

NorwayToday

SPECIAL FEATURE

SOUTHASIA • MAY 2016 III

In terms of promoting business and culture between the two regions, Norway has taken several steps to

help educate its population as well as members of its government on the various aspects of South Asia’s cultural and trade climate. The Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages at the University of Oslo has, for this purpose, established the Nordic Forum for South Asia (NoFSA) which aims to provide resources on South Asia within research, culture, business, public administration, NGOs and communications in order to help people across sectors draw on each other’s experiences and expertise.

In addition, Innovation Norway, an organisation dedicated to promoting

and profiling the Norwegian industry as well as the development of the country’s rural areas through special innovation-oriented projects, has expanded its horizons to include South and Southeast Asia in an effort to showcase Norwegian companies as well as develop a bridge between both business communities for the exchange of ideas and processes.

A country that is not only geared towards development and progress in its own country but that in other countries around the world as well, Norway has solidified its role as a significant member of the international community.

According to a 2015 report of the United Nations Development

Programme, which features a detailed index on human development practices around the world, Norway is ranked first out of nearly 188 countries, thus beating Australia, Switzerland, Denmark and even the Netherlands. Though a major feat in itself, a glance at Norway’s history and its gradual rise against various social, economic and political challenges over the years, the information does not come as much of a surprise.

From the tumultuous reign of the Vikings, an indestructible force to be reckoned with, to the pivotal period of tremendous developments, specifically in the country’s oil and gas sectors during the 1960s, Norway has managed to carve its own niche in the

A look at Norway’s growth as well as its contribution to economies around the world, including South Asia

Discoveringnorway

IV SOUTHASIA • MAY 2016

international community via an image of progressive growth and continuous expansion.

Owing to the Norwegian government’s ambition to provide a sustainable environment for both its citizens as well as foreign investors wishing to set up business in the country, Norway has been at the receiving end of immense positive attention from international governmental organisations and institutions. So far, it has been ranked as the 11th most globally competitive country in the world by the World Economic Forum in its Global Competitiveness Report for 2015-2016. It holds the 14th position in the 2014 rankings of Most Innovative Countries in the World by Bloomberg , along with the 9th position out of 183 countries for Ease of Doing Business as per a 2015 report of the World Bank.

With regard to facilitating the advancement and progress of its own citizens as well as ensuring that their rights and preferences are fulfilled, Norway is amongst the noble few who are leading the pack. Apart from nailing the number one spot, beating nearly 150 other countries, in the United Nations Development Programme’s 2015 Index for Inequality-adjusted Human Development, Norway is also the proud winner of the third position in The Economist’s 2015 Index for ‘Where to be Born’ as well as the fifth position in the 2015 World Happiness Report developed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

With such notable successes, it is no wonder then how Norway is regarded as one of the world’s most prosperous countries. According to The Heritage Foundation, the country’s most important commodities include fisheries, metal and oil. Norway is able to save a large portion of its petroleum-sector revenues, which mainly include profits from its partially state-owned company, Statoil, along with taxes from other oil and gas companies operating in Norway, in its Government Pension Fund-Global, which is currently valued at $900 billion.

Another reason why Norway seems to enjoy a greater level of economic freedom as compared to other countries in Europe and around the world is its rule of law. Labeled as one of the world’s least corrupt countries – ranked fifth out of 175 countries in Transparency International’s 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index – Norway has established anti-corruption measures in order to emphasize the significance of upholding government integrity. In addition, it maintains an independent

judiciary and allows its court system to operate fairly at both the local and national level. According to data gathered by The Heritage Foundation, rights of property in Norway stand at a solid 90%, freedom from corruption is at 86%, business freedom is at 89.6%, investment freedom is at 75% and overall financial freedom is at 60%.

Although the Norwegian government is highly driven towards the sustainability of the country’s economy via an open business climate and a transparent entrepreneurial framework, it insists on maintaining a hold on certain sectors and enterprises as a way of ensuring lucidity in various industries. The agricultural sector is heavily subsidised and, hence, protected from international competition. Though the financial market of Norway is largely driven by market forces, its largest financial institution is controlled by the state.

As a country with a population barely over 5 million and a median age of 39.1 years, according to July 2015 estimates made by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in its World Factbook, Norway can be considered as a fairly ‘young’ country. A number of people in Norway live in the vast countryside and other rural parts of the country. The Norwegian government helps support such communities by providing them with all the basic amenities such as schools, hospitals, businesses and even museums and galleries.

According to the CIA World Factbook, Norway’s total health expenditures as a percentage of its GDP stand at 9.6% while its education expenditures are at 6.6% of the total GDP.

Norway is also home to some of the world renowned artists, musicians and writers, including famous writer Ibsen and artist Edvard Munch who painted the familiar ‘Scream’. Norway’s musical scene ranges from classical music to pop and even electronic.

Its role on the international stage is one that is admired by numerous experts and foreign policy analysts. On the whole, Norway’s cotribuition in foreign policy has been that of a peacemaker; its model in foreign relations known as the ‘Norwegian Model’ is based on the country’s aim to maintain peace and stability in its surrounding region as well as the international community. The dimensions along which this policy has been formulated includes strategic alliances, international cooperation and international mediation.

This model is what drives Norway’s relations with countries in the South Asian region as well. The former Prime Minister of Norway, Mr. Kjell Mange Bondevik, who heads the Oslo Peace Centre, has reiterated his desire time and time again to see peace in the region, particularly with regard to the current state of India-Pakistan relations as well as human rights violations taking place in Kashmir.

SOUTHASIA • MAY 2016 V

The Norwegian monarch is the monarchical head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingdoms which were united to form Norway.

The present Sovereign, King Harald V, has reigned since 17 January 1991. Th Constitution of Norway grants important executive powers to the King. He appoints the government according to his own judgement. The powers vested in the Monarch are significant, but are treated only as reserve powers and as an important security part of the role of the Monarchy.

Born in February 1937, Harald lived a part of his adolescence in exile following the invasion of Norway by

Germany in 1943 in the Second World War. Once Norway was liberated in 1945, Harald returned with his family and began attending state primary school. After graduating from secondary school in 1955, he enrolled at Norway’s military academy from which he passed out in 1959.

After his grandfather died in 1957, Harald received the title of Crown Prince. He stirred up quite a bit of controversy when he made public his desire to marry a commoner, the Oslo University-educated Sonja Haraldsen. The couple’s engagement was announced in March 1968 following consultations between King Olav and his government. He went to

study political science, history and economics at the Balliol College, Oxford. Upon the death of his father, King Olav V, in 1991, he was sworn in as King Harald V.

A member of the Conservative Party, Børge Brende served as Minister of the Environment from 2001 to 2004 and as Minister of Trade and Industry from 2004-2005. He has also served as Chairman of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development 2003-2004. In 2005, he took up the appointment of international vice chairman of the China Council for the International Cooperation on Environment and Development (advisory board to the State Council).

In January 2008, Brende joined the World Economic Forum as managing director, particularly in charge of relations

with governments and civil society. In 2009, he joined the Norwegian Red Cross as Secretary General. He re-joined the World Economic Forum in 2011 as Managing Director with responsibility for policy initiatives and engagement of the Forum's non-business constituents.

Børge Brende is said to be aware of Norwegian, Russian business cooperation well from his time as Minister of Trade and Industry. Business cooperation is one of the main pillars in Norway’s bi-lateral relations with Russia, including in Murmansk where the Consulate General recently initiated their business strategy “Team Norway.”

The ruler of NorwayKing Harald v (17 January 1991 – Present)

Norway’s Minister of Foreign affairsBørge Brende (16 october 2013 – Present)

Erna Solberg, the 28th Prime Minister of Norway and the second woman in Norway to hold the office of Prime Minister after Gro Harlem Brundtland. She has an illustrious political career. She served as a member of the Storting since 1989 as well as Minister of Local Government and Regional Development in Bondevik’s Second Cabinet from 2001 to 2005. She also happens to be Norway’s first Conservative Prime Minister since Jan Syse in 1990.

During her term as minister, Erna oversaw a tightening of immigration policy along with a preparation of proposed reform of the administrative divisions of Norway; a move that probably contributed towards her being labeled ‘Iron Erna’.

On becoming Norway’s Prime Minister in 2013, Erna,

took on a much softer image that involved a more caring approach towards voters’ jobs, health and schools.

Born in Bergen in 1961, Erna was a below average student who always got low grades. While in her teens, she was diagnosed with dyslexia after which the former Girl Scout leader went on to study political science at university, enter politics and get elected to parliament, all at the tender age of just 28.

Solberg's Cabinet, often referred to informally as the "Blue-Blue Cabinet," is a two-party minority government consisting of the Conservative Party and Progress Party. The cabinet has established formalized co-

operation with the non-socialist Liberal Party and Christian Democratic Party in the Storting.

The Prime Minister of Norway erna solberg (16 october 2013 – Present)

VI SOUTHASIA • MAY 2016

Norway-PakisTaN relaTioNs

Both Norway and Pakistan enjoy warm relations on the technology, development ass-

istance and cultural fronts. Norway has been providing assistance to Pakistan in developing bilateral trade and has also helped in such key areas as cellular technology, medicine and cultural promotion.

Diplomatic relations between Norway and Pakistan were established in 1947. A Norwegian Embassy has existed in Islamabad since the 1970s.

It is interesting to know that many Pakistanis migrated to Norway in the early 1970s. The population of Pakistanis in Norway has now crossed approximately 30,000 and they are giving their valuable expertise and knowhow to the country of their adoption.

Some Pakistanis also participate in Norwegian politics. Among them, some 9000 citizens have Pakistan Origin Card. While in the beginning, Pakistanis settled in Norway for better prospects, now the traffic mainly consists of those going to Norway for family unification.

Norway trade potential in Pakistan

The Ambassador of Norway, Tore Nedrebo has said that there is a great potential for Pakistan-Norway trade and many Norwegian companies are looking forward to invest in Pakistan. They plan to establish a solar power plant in Sindh for which ground work is being done based on an initial investment. It is hoped that this investment will grow in time. Norway is also looking to establish a hydropower project in Pakistan to assist country in meeting its energy needs.

Technology Transfer

An important initiative by a

Norwegian company in Pakistan is in the shape of Telenor which commenced operations in 2005 and today is the country’s second largest cell services provider in the private sector with an advanced network spread all across the nation.

Telenor has added value to Pakistan’s cellular landscape in many ways. It has brought state-of-the-art technology to Pakistan and continues to share it with the local market. At the same time, it has contributed in a big way in the exchange and grooming of relevant human resources. Telenor has also been making valuable investments in the sector.

Norway-Pakistan Exchange

In November 2015, researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim participated in a scientific seminar "Nanotheranostics: New concepts in Imaging and Drug Deliver"

in Islamabad. The seminar was conducted by

Professor Catharina de Lange Davies who heads a research project at the Institute of Physics at NTNU.

The Norwegian Mela Festival came to Pakistan to celebrate its 15th anniversary, with concerts and workshops in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad under the slogan “Creating Horizons.” The famous Norwegian jazz musician, composer and producer Bugge Wesseltoft was the main feature at the mela.

This Mela Festival has been in Oslo city every year in August since 2001. It is a strong Norwegian-Pakistani cultural event which promotes mutual understanding between ethnic Norwegians and about 40.000 Norwegians of Pakistani origin.

Opening statements at the Festival held in Pakistan were given by the Norwegian ambassador as well as the vice president of Telenor Pakistan.

Norway–Pakistan relations are warm. Norway provides development assistance to Pakistan, particularly in the areas of cellular technology, trade and medicine.

Commemorating friendly ties between Norway and Pakistan.

A new investigation published on April 3, 2016 by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

(ICIJ), The Panama Papers: how the world’s rich and famous hide their money offshore and more than 100 news organizations around the globe, the offshore links of some of the most prominent people in politics and business. The leak exposed offshore holdings of 12 current and former world leaders. Many Pakistanis who are a part of this undesirable club were unveiled through a year-long investigation project by a group of journalists, including Umar Cheema.

“Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people; and not for profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men.”— John Adams

“The leak of 11 million documents from a Panama-based law firm offers a glimpse into the shadowy world where the rich and powerful hide their money, raising sharp questions about the use of shell companies that obscure the identities of their true owners, even if they aren’t illegal

by themselves”— How G20 Battle Against Shell Companies Failed, Buenos Aires Herald.com.

As the peoples of the world draw closer together in a rapidly globalizing world, the concepts of secrecy in financial dealings are also giving way to renewed emphasis on transparency. Besides, increased incidents of terrorism in simply any country have accentuated the need to trace and nab their sources of funding. This can only be possible in the event that all money transactions (both domestic and cross border) can be identified with certainty. More so, the economic meltdown in different countries is forcing governments to revisit their policies with respect to repatriation of money from within. It is generally believed that shell companies are means to launder money earned through illicit trade, made from corrupt trade practices and the most notorious of all crimes, tax evasion. Thus, anyone who has amassed wealth for which no plausible explanation can be offered or who wants to siphon off untaxed income, makes use of these companies and for this purpose law firms specializing in providing

The concepts of secrecy in financial dealings are also giving way to renewed emphasis on transparency.

By Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq

ANALYSIS

Lift

ing

the V

eil



ANALYSIS

this cover, render their services. Having said this, it is important

to clarify that not all companies established offshore (outside the main land) are set up with criminal intent. Business exigency may also be an important consideration. However, over time, this has been overshadowed by the notoriety these havens are famous for, making it difficult for genuine investors to justify their presence.

Ironically, egged on by G20, the United States of America and the United Kingdom, which initially laid the foundations of off-shore companies, are at the forefront of the movement against these very companies. According to Buenos Aires Tribune, dated April 9, 2016:

“Leaders of the Group of 20 — representing about 80 percent of the global economy — have vowed to crack down on the practice, which is blamed for helping conceal money laundering, corruption and tax evasion, while some countries have tightened rules on using them — but not enough to satisfy anti-corruption activists.” (ht tp://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/211984/how-g20-battle-against-shell-companies-failed)

Undoubtedly, no concession can be given to those involved in making money at the expense of poor people deprived of even the basic necessities of life or from dubious business dealings or from playing truant to obligations in the capacity of citizens of their respective countries or engaged in merciless killings of innocent people around the world to serve their nefarious purposes. Such culprits should not only be unearthed but also subjected to exemplary punishment with special emphasis on those leaders belonging to the Third World toward whom the hapless populations of their countries look upon with great hope and aspirations but who turn out to be cheats, corrupt and immoral, deserving the highest penalty that can be imposed on them in their respective jurisdictions.

As mentioned earlier, there are some very logical reasons for lifting the veil of secrecy from the face of offshore or shell companies, but are those the only ones? Could there be something more than just what meets the eye? This sudden acceleration in revealing ‘terabytes of secret data’ by insiders could be indicative of more lurking storms behind the revelations. After all, what could actually be happening in the world that is giving many, sleepless nights? It has been observed that much of the pressure

Top regions for growth in next 5 years

Famous Asians in the Panama Leaks

Several prominent Asian leaders appear among elite figures named in the Panama papers. In India, the Indian Express, one of the ICIJ’s reporting partners in the leaks, notes that more than 500 Indians were named in the leaks. Prominent Bollywood stars, including Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai and businessmen like K.P. Singh appear in the leaks list. Under the Reserve Bank of India regulations, no Indian was permitted to operate an overseas entity before 2003; in 2004, India began allowing remittances of $25,000 abroad, gradually increasing the allowed amount and it is up to $250,000 today. As with last year’s so-called Swiss leaks, which revealed that more than 1,100 wealthy Indians had assets stored abroad, the Panama Papers have reignited a debate in India on “black money”— a term used to describe massive elite wealth that is thought to have been sequestered abroad, away from the government and taxation.

Other Asian elite appear in the leaked papers as well. Nawaz Sharif's sons appeared in the papers, according to ICIJ. Sharif’s family reportedly used four offshore companies to manage real estate holdings in the United Kingdom. Former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo’s son appears among 190 South Korean individuals implicated in the leaks. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s son also appears in the list. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s grandson Nurali Aliyev shows up as well.

In China, the most notable is Chinese President Xi Jinping’s brother-in-law, Deng Jiagui. Additionally, family members of Politburo Standing Committee members Zhang Gaoli and Liu Yunshan are also named. Given Xi Jinping’s highly publicized anti-corruption campaign, which has sought to crack down on financial malfeasance among “tigers and flies” alike (top officials and low-level party cadres), the revelations are particularly awkward. In response to the leaks, China’s powerful state censors have cracked down on discussion of the Panama papers online, but not before the leaks began trending on Weibo, China’s most popular microblogging site. (Source: http://thediplomat.com/2016/04/asia-pacific-elites-widely-linked-to-leaked-panama-papers-what-next/).


on offshore financial centres is being exerted by the European markets that are grappling with their own dwindling economies.

With China becoming more expensive, South East Asia is proving an attractive abode for manufacturers who are now heading to countries like Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and even Myanmar where investments are flowing in, which in turn is bringing a lot of progress in these countries as evident from their growing middle class populations. It is predicted that Indonesia which is the tenth largest economy in the world may reach the seventh position by 2030. These stories of rising economic trends along with close proximity to Singapore and Hong Kong providing wealth management services, cannot be ignored by anyone.

Over the last couple of decades, the economic balance of the globe has shown a remarkable tilt in favour of the East. According to experts, illegal outflows from developing countries to offshore companies are monstrous — almost one trillion dollars which shows that tax opportunity costs of these outflows is between 300 to 500 billion dollars. Whereas the West has reached an economic stalemate, there

is much optimism in the East that it has tremendous potential for growth that could pose a formidable threat to the West. This may not come as a surprise but in recent years, due to influx of wealth, many rank Hong Kong and Singapore as important jurisdictions taking priority over British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Cayman Islands. The fact that Asia is rapidly vying for the top position in the slot of the world’s economic giants can be deciphered from the following:

Could this be a warning sign

for leaders of the First World that the future political decisions would be dominated by those who have historically been subjugated by them in a variety of ways? Is there a fear of emerging leadership of the world due to a shift in the economic balance and overall re-awakening consciousness of the Asian people?

The writers, lawyers and partners in law firm, Huzaima, Ikram & Ijaz, are Adjunct Faculty at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).


OPINION

As an artist, poet and writer, I find myself shocked by the corrosion of basic human values in the

world today. There is distress, poverty, mental

ailment, growing criminality and crisis in every part of the world. More people need help, compassion, support and understanding than ever. The world needs social work and psychological healing, not showing-off and superficiality. The abandoned and wandering children should be looked after. They should not become more spoilt and corrupt biological brats produced desperately to prove social points and exploit 'family assets' while actually caring little for humankind.

We are increasingly surrounded by greed, envy, crime, corruption, egotism, dishonesty and appalling inhuman behaviour. 'Educated' people waste their energies in egotistic gang-fighting over 'property,' are steeped in crime, human rights violations and all the seven deadly sins; they are full of spite and deceit, derangement and violence.

The vices of the urban are social-climbing and greed -- the utter superficiality of striving for glitzy 'lifestyles' while the soul remains shallow and empty; these false values are doing tremendous harm to the world.

When simplicity and the soul's sweetness is lost, all is lost. I have survived as a creative person by steering clear of vices and inhumanity. But in today's world there often are situations when one must confront evil and combat it with the powers of Beauty and Truth. I use meditation and introspection daily as a powerful force to ward off evil.

As an artist, I have worked all over the world and have seen different disturbing forms of human crisis everywhere. I have maintained studios from New York to London and Italy to Scandinavia, as well as in New Delhi,

for decades. And I have seen the pathological mania beneath the glitz of the high-life.

Nero and Savonarola would have blended well into today's millennial mayhem of 'society.' While a section of Manhattan may appear glittering and larger than life, its peripheries conceal deep psychological disturbance, a lack of mooring and roots, frustration, desperation, deception and poverty. The same applies to all the other apparently 'glamorous' enclaves of our world... all the strange facades templated and constructed by the west's corporations.

Being down-to-earth is the greatest virtue -- not adding further to the mad manic mayhem of false facades and greed. I was making a note the other day of all the countries I have seen and there was not a single place that did

not need psychological healing and intensive social work. I have travelled to America, England, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, the Far East and its varied territories, New York, all over the states of the USA, London, Manchester, Winchester, Worcester, Oxford, Paris, Switzerland, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Rome, Florence, the Vatican, Helsinki, Estonia, Moscow, Jordan, Oman, Karachi and Singapore. I have passed through the Suez Canal, zipped beneath the sea from France's Port of Calais to Britain's Dover Port via the Channel Ferry and then boarded flights to JFK International to work in my New York studio, many a time ... and everywhere, in every inch of the jet-set map, I have seen the delusion, plight, mania and panic beneath the glitz.

True Sadhana, Meditative Discipline,

… of an internationally acclaimed artist, curator and poet who feels passionately about the world around her and about how the soul of human society can be salvaged.

By Srimati Lal

Reflections

Srimati Lal with her paintings.Photo by Jit Kumar


is not easy; it requires enlightenment and an evolved soul that has traversed many aeons of introspection ... but it is the only path to happiness – the only way to see through all the delusions of materialistic Maya.

I am happiest living and working in India, my birthplace, as I know the depth and power of its genius and artistry. I was born and work in Calcutta, one of the world's most creatively evolved cities. I find a mystic energy in Bengal that powerfully fuels my painting and writing. I have found this unparalleled force in different forms all over India, which is the heart of the world, both geographically and metaphorically speaking.

I was honoured to be the youngest artist to be given a Retrospective of my work at London's Nehru Centre in 2006 where Adoor Gopalakrishnan, K. S. Radhakrishnan and Sir Derek Malcolm were among the invitees. Sir Andrew Lloyd-Weber, the Jazz-Rock Band Jamiroquai, and Saatchi & Saatchi were invitees to my first solo show at Julian Hartnoll's Gallery in London in 1997. Since then, my art has been exhibited all over India and the world, my poetry and prose read widely.

My art is deeply inspired by Indian Folk Art and Design. My writing takes inspiration from Rabindranath Tagore and Shakespeare as well as Gibran and the ancient Greek writers. I have published three volumes of poetry and hundreds of analyses of contemporary art as an art critic. I study and assess art daily as an international art-authenticator.

As an artist, one must be an architect as well as a poet; these disciplines are also required as a curator. I have written on India's Contemporary Art Movement for the volume 'Culture, Society and Development in India' (Orient Blackswan, 2010); in so doing, I re-discovered the genius of India's aesthetic language. My father P. Lal, a brilliant poet and publisher, and F.N. Souza, the founder of the Urban Modern Art Movement in India, who has been my mentor in art, taught me to utilize the unique genius inherent within India's creative expression.

I support the crafts, persons and the art of India in every way. I only wear Indian textiles and use products made in India. I am deeply uncomfortable with the western brand-machine. Having 'been there and done that', having seen through the 'sweet dreams' of the 'advanced world' as it likes to describe itself, I know that my own country is more advanced, humble, beautiful, subtle -- and wise -- than any other place. There will be wrongdoers everywhere, but the innate philosophy and wisdom of India is much more advanced than any other part of the world.

May India's amazingly beautiful art and crafts thrive forever and may the world experience greater peace and justice in 2016.

Note from Srimati Lal:My art, having evolved from academic realism, is deeply inspired by Eastern Folk Art and Design. I intensively studied Classical Realism and Life-Drawing in the European mode at Western Maryland, USA, where my Ukranian-American art teacher Prof. Wasyl Palijczuk was a student of the legendary Henry Moore. Wasyl observed my advanced drawing skills with amazement and he bestowed me with a High First in these disciplines, ranking me on top of the class in America when I was 21 years old. I have studied the western Old Masters at all the world’s museums with great care; I am skilled at realistic portraiture and have excelled in technical academic work. My western inspirations include Da Vinci, Botticelli, Matisse, Van Gogh, Gauguin, the Impressionists and the Expressionists. Subsequently, however, it is interesting to note that my aesthetic vision has taken a radical shift eastwards after my return to my own country, India. Now my greatest inspirations are Jamini Roy, the Patachitra painters of India and our most intricate, advanced and ancient Eastern Folk Art and Design heritage.I believe that the South Asian colour palette is the most exquisite, bold, contemporary and evolved in the world. There is no art more advanced than that of the land where I was born – hence, my art is now entirely inspired by my own intrinsic heritage.

About the author:Srimati Lal is an artist, poet, author, curator and art-authenticator. Her works have been widely exhibited in over 20 solo shows in the USA, UK, Europe and India. She has authored and illustrated several books of poetry, prose and art criticism, including The Window and Other Poems (Calcutta, 1986), Six Poems (London, 1997), The Warriors (London and Rome, 2006), Culture, Society And Development In India (Orient Blackswan, 2009), Flowers For My Father (Delhi and Kolkata, 2011), and several other volumes illustrated with her own works. She was the muse, model and curator of the eminent painter F. N. Souza, who included her portraits in hundreds of his works from 1993 to 2002.A doctoral thesis on Srimati Lal’s art and life, researched and written by Dr. Edward Russell, was awarded a first by Durham University in the UK in 2007. Her life has been adapted creatively in several novels and films and she is viewed as a creative role-model by the younger generation. Srimati is also actively involved in crafts, design, Indian couture, calligraphy, social work, environmentalism and philosophy. After decades of living in New York, London and Europe, Srimati is now settled in her birthplace Kolkata with her husband, who is a photographic artist.Among the galleries at which Srimati Lal has exhibited her art are the ICCR: Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Gallerie 88, Academy of Fine Arts, Genesis Gallery, Kolkata; Studio 55, Epicentre, Art Pilgrim, Galaxy, Dhoomimal Gallery, Delhi and Gurgaon; Taj Land’s End, Mumbai; Julian Hartnoll’s Gallery, The Nehru Centre, London; Art Rageous Gallery, New York; and various other international mainstream venues. Her website is www.SrimatiLal.com

Following parliamentary elections in November in 2015 and presidential elections in March 2016, the

transition of Myanmar (Burma) from military to civilian rule is almost complete with the formation of a new government in April. The landslide victory of Aung San Sun Kyi’s National

League for Democracy (NLD) ultimately paved the way for electing Myanmar’s first civilian president Htin Kyaw after 54 years of military rule.

Myanmar’s rocky road to democracy still has major pitfalls and obstacles ranging from the military’s tight grip on internal security and other vital

matters. Yet, the formation of a civilian government after more than five decades of military rule cannot be undermined because such a development must be termed as a milestone in the history of a country like Myanmar.

Two visible and noticeable challenges which Myanmar will face in

INTERNATIONAL

An incisive look into how Myanmar will handle the post-election era.

By Dr. Moonis Ahmar

Road to Democracy


its progression to democracy relate to the country’s deep-rooted authoritarian culture; rampant corruption and discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities. First, Aung Sun Kyi was made ineligible to contest for Myanmar’s highest post i.e. the presidency, through a constitutional clause by the then military junta. It said that the candidate with a foreign spouse or foreign-born children will not be eligible to contest the post of President. San Sun Kyi has made it clear that she will govern the state from behind. Since she has children with foreign citizenship, it seems the disqualification was intentionally made in order to prevent her from seeking the country’s highest office. According to the reports, she will wield power through her trusted party leader Htin Kyaw who is now the president of Myanmar.

What is alarming is Aung San Sun Kyi’s authoritarian approach in which, instead of taking the stakeholders into confidence on various policy issues, she relies on her close trusted circle called the ‘kitchen cabinet.’ As examined in the March 18,2016 issue of The Guardian Weekly, “Aung Sung Sun Kyi, who is barred from the presidency under army drafted constitution, has made clear she will be above the president and Htin Kyaw is expected to act as a proxy.” If Aung Sung Sun Kyi tries to wield power it will be unacceptable to the military which, as a result of more than half a century of its monopoly over power as described in the report of The Guardian Weekly, controls several key ministries, regional institution, and the economy. The weekly says she will have to earn a new kind of legitimacy by meeting the expectations of the people for improvement in their lives. She has been a hero and a martyr, now she must become a builder. How Myanmar’s new kingmaker will deal with her political predicament depends on her political acumen and prudence as impatience on her part will derail the process of her country’s nascent democratic process.

Second, Aung San Suu Kyi, despite her charismatic personality and a long struggle for democracy in Myanmar, is accused of following double standards when it comes to the issue of the persecuted Rohingya Muslim community in Myanmar. She did not take a stand when one million Rohingya Muslims were disenfranchised and prevented from participating in the last national elections. The bias against Rohingya Muslims held by Aung San Suu Kyi is also well-known. She not only condoned the victimization of Rohingya Muslims by the state of Myanmar but also remained indifferent to their persecution by the

Buddhist majority. She has committed to have lasting peace with the ethnic minorities of Myanmar excluding the Rohingyas, which is a vivid example of her subjective and discriminatory approach to ethnically, politically and economically suppressing a particular community.

Jennifer Rigby of the Daily Telegraph in her report from Rangoon on November 15, 2016, said, “One of Aung San Suu Kyi’s key officials has said that helping the persecuted Rohingya minority is not a priority. U Win Htein, a spokesman and leading figure of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy said the Rohingya Muslims’ plight was not the top of the agenda of his party as we have other priorities. Peace, the peaceful transition of power, economic development and constitutional reform.” How could the new government claim to have pursued a fair and just approach with the ethnic and religious minorities of Myanmar when one million Rohingya Muslims remained under state suppression and discrimination?

The darker side of Aung San Suu Kyi, who is also a Nobel Peace Prize winner, is a stark reality and cannot be hidden by the so-called custodians of democracy in Myanmar. Considering Rohingyas as Bangladeshis is a denial of the fact that they are a minority community living in Myanmar for long and cannot be called foreigners. Unfortunately, Aung San Suu Kyi is contradicting her age-old struggle for democracy and human rights in Myanmar and is following the line of the former military junta and rendering tacit support to continue with the persecution and discrimination of the Rohingyas in the form of their electoral exclusion, arrests, restriction on their freedom of movement, detentions and putting hundreds of thousands of them in camps as internally displaced person.

The difference between the old and new Myanmar during the LND rule may not be visible if the regime fails to meet the aspirations of the people, particularly those related to eradicating social and economic under-development, corruption, nepotism and discrimination against the non-Buddhist communities. Although, a member of the Association for South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Myanmar remained a closed society for several decades. Its mineral and natural resources were not used for the welfare and development of the people but for serving the interests of the ruling elite. As rightly analyzed in The Economist of March 19, 2016, under the title, “A new president in Myanmar changes lanes”, “Equally unclear is whether Miss Sun Kyi will be able to abandon the habits that served her in opposition, such as

centralizing her authority, restricting information, replying on a small group of advisers and demanding absolute loyalty. The NDL and its leaders spent decades bravely fighting for political power. Now they must learn how to wield it.” Apart from the president who is from NDL, two vice-presidents have also been elected. One vice-president Henry Van Thio is an old loyalist of San Suu and is from a minority community called the Chin from Myanmar’s northwest; whereas the other vice-president Myint Swe, according to The Economist “is a hardliner who remains on an American sanctions blacklist and is chief minister of Yangon.” He is also considered as a staunch supporter of the military and will certainly create problems for the civilian regime if it tries to cross the red line by encroaching on matters which the military for the last several decades has considered to be its exclusive domain.

There are parallels between Myanmar and Pakistan in terms of civil-military relations. Like Pakistan, the military in Myanmar has huge corporate interests and has used the so-called Buhddhist nationalism for its own survival. In Pakistan, the military regime of General Zia ul Haq used Islam for the perpetuation of his rule. Like Sun Kyi of Myanmar, the icon of resistance against the military rule in Pakistan was Benazir Bhutto who fought against the military dictatorship of General Zia ul Haq for more than a decade. Since December 1988, when the transition from military to civilian rule took place, the military never accepted civilian rule and tried to create obstacles leading to the dismissal of Benazir’s government in August 1990. Her second government was also dismissed after getting tacit support from the military in November 1996.

In Myanmar, it is yet to be seen when the new government will be formed and how the military would react if it tries to reclaim its authority which was seized in a military coup in 1962. But the difference between Myanmar and Pakistan is that the former remained a suppressed and repressed society because the military remained in power there for more than five decades. As stated in the March 18 issue of The Guardian Weekly, “Myanmar has not had a proper government for half a century. Almost everything that characterizes a modern state, a professional civil service, an independent judiciary and civilian control of the military and police, has been lacking.”

The writer is Meritorious Professor of International Relations and Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Karachi.


NEIGHBOR


Park Geun-hye, the current and eleventh President of South Korea, has an enviably long list

of ‘firsts’ to her credit – she is the first woman to be elected as President of South Korea, the first female head of state in the history of Korea, the first female President of a northeastern Asian nation and the first South Korean president to be born as a South Korean citizen.

Ms. Geun-hye is the daughter of former South Korean president, Park Chung-hee, who seized power in 1961 in a military coup and remained in office for seventeen years from 1962 until his assassination in 1979 by his own spy chief. Earlier, she lost her mother in 1974 in an unsuccessful assassination attempt on her father and acted as the first lady to her father for five years of his presidency.

Prior to her election as President, Park was Chairwoman of the Conservative Grand National Party (GNP) from 2004 to 2006 and from 2011 to 2012 when the GNP changed its name to ‘Saenuri Party.’ She has long

parliamentary experience as she served four complete consecutive terms as representative of her constituency between 1998 and 2012. She made history in December 2012 when she defeated her 59 years old liberal opponent and former human rights lawyer Moon Jae-in for the South Korean presidency. She displayed grace by not criticizing her predecessor Lee Myung-bak’s diplomatic policies at the start of her presidential term – something which had been a general practice in the past.

The last three years, however, have been tumultuous for her by all accounts. Her policies have been seen as inconsistent and her reforms blocked by an apprehensive parliament. The ruling Saenuri party has suffered a major setback in recent elections. It had 152 seats in a house of 300 members and was expected to hold that strength but the numbers have dropped to 122. The Minjoo party of South Korea, with 123 seats, is now the largest party in the National Assembly.

The South Korean President has had a rocky ride to power. Is there a place for a woman at the top in her country?

By Taj M Khattak

parliamentary experience as she served four complete consecutive terms as representative of her constituency between 1998 and 2012. She made history in December 2012 when she defeated her 59 years old liberal opponent and former human rights lawyer Moon Jae-in for the South Korean presidency. She displayed grace by not criticizing her predecessor Lee Myung-bak’s diplomatic policies at the start of her presidential term – something which had been a general practice in the past.

The last three years, however, have been tumultuous for her by all accounts. Her policies have been seen as inconsistent and her reforms blocked by an apprehensive parliament. The ruling Saenuri party has suffered a major setback in recent elections. It had 152 seats in a house of 300 members and was expected to hold that strength but the numbers have dropped to 122. The Minjoo party of South Korea, with 123 seats, is now the largest party in the

The South Korean President has had a rocky ride to power. Is there a place for a woman at the top in her country?

The Female Touch


The overshadowing of the ruling party by the Minjoo party was a serious enough matter for the president but her political difficulties have been further exacerbated by the rise of the People’s Party, a group formed and headed by Ahn Cheol-soo after he left the Minjoo party last year. The People’s Party is now the third largest force in the parliament with a showing of 38 seats. With 6 more seats won by the Justice Party, the liberal and centrist opposition parties now command a majority in the Assembly.

It is the first time in the history of modern South Korea in the last 16 years that the party of the incumbent president is not the largest in parliament and the conservatives are outnumbered by liberal lawmakers. This development has been seen as damaging for President Park Geun-hye and is taken as a reflection of her tenure in office so far. It has raised anxiety about her ability to govern effectively for the remaining little less than two years of the presidential term.

Although, it is the Saenuri party which has suffered reverses, but much of the blame has been heaped on Park. She is widely seen as aloof, isolated, inconsistent and not inspiring enough at a personal level. Some segments of her government are perceived to be quick to manipulate public opinion for electoral results – such as reports made public before recent polls about high profile North Korean defections which were clearly aimed at encouraging the South Koreans to support the ruling party.

In the immediate future, President Park’s economic program can be expected to run into stronger resistance than before. The economy is slowing down and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast a growth rate of 2.7 percent during 2016 which is half a percent less than the global average and well below the growth rate to which South Koreans have been accustomed during the boom years of industrialization. As the South Korean economy matures, it is also increasingly becoming more vulnerable to global

downward trends. Rising unemployment in the domestic job market is making the situation only worse.

When Park Geun-hye ascended to the presidency in 2014, she pledged to transform the

country’s economy into a more robust framework so as to be responsive to the dictates of the 21st century. This has proved to be a rather tall order in absence of a readily available and easy

to follow model. In addition, South Korea is experiencing a concentration of wealth problems which is a hindrance in transition to an economy on a more secure footing. According to the IMF, the top 10 percent of the workforce claims almost 50% of the country’s total income, which is the highest in Asia.

The Minjoo party, with a centre-left orientation, has been quick to take advantage of the heightening anxiety of a growing income inequality and has been pushing for mechanisms in favour of stronger social security for workers. This opposition to Park’s agenda, embracing more conventional neoliberal measures such as labour market reforms, is likely to stiffen in the months ahead.

Under President Park Geun-hye, South Korea’s defence and security outlook towards North Korea, however, is unlikely to undergo any significant change. Most South Koreans now are of the opinion, that in the face of continued provocations from North Korea such as the recently failed missile test, promise of more nuclear tests and other belligerent moves, any softer overtures towards their northern neighbour are unlikely to impact its policies and are, as such, almost unanimously supportive of Park’s increasingly hard-line.

The changed calculus in the parliament could, however, threaten the recently signed South Korea-Japan agreement (December 2015) which appeared to bring to a closure the long-outstanding emotional issue between two the sides, dating back to the WW-II era, regarding what has widely been known as the issue of ‘comfort women.’ The popular public anger amongst the South Korean people at the agreement has not subsided, so it remains to be seen how this plays out in the future.

The shifting of the political ‘centre of gravity’ away from the president’s

party will almost certainly have consequences when the time comes for choosing her successor next year. In the 2012 elections, Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, came in

third in the presidential race but recent elections showed that his political career is far from over in the country’s politics. The role of Ban Ki-moon is also going to be an important one. He is a former foreign minister of South Korea and has served under the progressive President Roh Moo-Hyu of the New Millennium Democratic Party. He has also enjoyed support from Park Geun-hye and conservatives.

Ban Ki-moon’s second term at the UN as Secretary General expires in December 2016 and he is not eligible for a third term. The showing of the Saenuri party in recent elections would suggest that there is no clear and obvious frontrunner from within the party for a presidential nomination. It would therefore be interesting to see for which party Mr. Ban throws in his hat when the elections get nearer.

For the present, the South Koreans are watching how Park Geun-hye reacts to reversal in recent elections. If she passes the ‘failure buck’ to the party in an effort to avoid any negative aspersions on her presidency, this will deprive her of the much-needed legislative support for her reforms agenda. On the other hand, if she accepts the responsibility of the poor showing, she will have to do much more to recover the lost space in winning public support and trust to overcome the opposition which, in any parliamentary voting on reforms, will almost certainly take the path indicated by recent elections.

The larger South Korean dilemma is that President Park Geun-hye’s own performance, in spite of her many ‘firsts’ as a woman in politics, has been lackluster. The danger looming large on the political horizon, therefore, is that the country may be heading for a political gridlock - with Park as a lame duck president.

The writer is a retired Vice Admiral of the Pakistan Navy.

The overshadowing of the ruling party by the Minjoo party was a serious enough matter for the president but her political difficulties have been further exacerbated by the rise of the People’s Party, a group formed and headed by Ahn Cheol-soo after he left the Minjoo party last year. The People’s Party is now the third largest force in the parliament with a showing of 38 seats. With 6 more seats won by the Justice Party, the liberal and centrist opposition parties now command a majority in the Assembly.

It is the first time in the history of modern South Korea in the last 16 years that the party of the incumbent president is not the largest in parliament and the conservatives are outnumbered by liberal lawmakers. This development has been seen as damaging for President Park Geun-hye and is taken as a reflection of her tenure in office so far. It has raised anxiety about her ability to govern effectively for the remaining little less than two years of the presidential term.

Although, it is the Saenuri party which has suffered reverses, but much of the blame has been heaped on Park. She is widely seen as aloof, isolated, inconsistent and not inspiring enough at a personal level. Some segments of her government are perceived to be quick to manipulate public opinion for electoral results – such as reports made public before recent polls about high profile North Korean defections which were clearly aimed at encouraging the South Koreans to support the ruling party.

In the immediate future, President Park’s economic program can be expected to run into stronger resistance than before. The economy is slowing down and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast a growth rate of 2.7 percent during 2016 which is half a percent less than the global average and well below the growth rate to which South Koreans have been accustomed during the boom years of industrialization. As the South Korean economy matures, it is also increasingly becoming more vulnerable to global

downward trends. Rising unemployment in the domestic job market is making the situation only worse.

hye ascended to the presidency in 2014, she pledged to transform the

It is the first time in the history of modern South Korea in the last 16 years that the party of the incumbent president is not the largest in parliament and the conservatives are outnumbered by liberal lawmakers.

Amid endless promises for aid by the Sindh government, there seems to be little hope for the drought-stricken people of Thar.

By Mahrukh Farooq

Forgotten and Forlorn

FEATURE PAKISTAN

By Mahrukh Farooq


Scenes of disease and despair fill the pediatric ward at the District Mithi Hospital, Tharparkar in

Sindh. A baby, several months old, its tiny frame at the point of emaciation, lies in an incubator with tubes springing out from every limb, barely moving, its eyes closed out of sheer exhaustion. Across the room, a Thari woman tends to her toddler, also malnourished, rocking him back and forth as his cries for hunger and thirst echo throughout the ward.

Such sights have, sadly, become a norm in recent months amid severe drought-like conditions along with famine in the region where families lack access to clean water and other sanitation facilities. With yet another child, a baby girl, succumbing to the dangers of malnutrition, raising the total death toll to 234 in just the first few months of the current year, it seems as if the health crisis in Thar has finally boiled over. According to an investigative report from the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), nearly 76% of the entire population of Tharparkar is suffering from malnutrition and related issues. This includes proper access to basic facilities such as clean water, sanitation and medical aid. These issues, combined with zero awareness about the need to eat healthy and engage in appropriate family planning practices, has resulted in catastrophic conditions.

In order to fully understand the reasons for the situation in Thar worsening so drastically, the causes of famine as well as the lack of a strategy to tackle it must be determined. According to a paper released by the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University (ANU) College of Asia and the Pacific, titled ‘The Thar Desert Famine Tragedy,’ economists refer to two main theories.

One is the Food Availability Decline (FAD), which purports that in the case of a natural disaster, “either a widespread food availability decline and/or a disruption in the transport mechanism which prevents food from being transported into the famine-hit areas” can be termed as a cause for famine. However, one is very much privy to the fact that, other than the Thar Desert, no other area in Pakistan suffers from a shortage of food. In addition, there has been no disruption caused to the country’s transport infrastructure, making the process of transporting necessary food items and medical supplies entirely possible.

The second theory, and the most likely one, is Amarta Sen’s Entitlement Approach which highlights wealth

distribution and not food availability, as the main issue. According to this theory, “starvation happens because people are too poor to buy food.” One look at the prevailing conditions in Thar is enough for anyone to immediately subscribe to that theory; with virtually no economic growth and complete absence of a proper healthcare infrastructure, the people of Thar are a classic case of pure neglect.

Moniza Inam, a journalist for a local

newspaper, conducted a study based on interviews with doctors, paramedical staff, Lady Health Workers (LHWs), the district health officer and NGOs and toured the District Hospital in Mithi to find out the critical conditions faced by people in the region.

According to her findings, a number of women who suffered from chronic malnourishment lived in areas that were too far away from hospitals and clinics. With few transport facilities, many of them found it almost impossible to get access to quality healthcare. Another problem is the sheer lack of medical dispensaries; on paper, it is said that there are nearly 250 dispensaries in the district, out of which only 160 are fully functional. “In addition, since a majority of Tharis reside in remote villages, accessing basic medical services is difficult,” explains Moniza in her report. “The solution — to have these services closer to where Tharis live — is proving elusive due to a shortage of medical staff, partly because of the government’s inability to hire doctors at low salaries.”

Another reason behind the dwindling workforce of doctors has been the government’s chaotic hiring practices. According to Kathau Jani, a journalist in the area, who spoke with Moniza during her study, “As appointment through the Sindh Public Service Commission was taking time, there were some ad hoc appointments, and 70 doctors were appointed on contract. After their contracts ended they were not renewed and these doctors are very upset about it.”

Further compounding the issue are the local women’s diet and family planning practices, both of which are

largely influenced by their religious beliefs and customary practices. As stated in Moniza’s report, Dr. Arjun Kumar, District Health Officer in Mithi, says, “Most women follow a diet rich in vegetables but poor in proteins and are therefore not able to get the calories they need.”

Through Moniza’s study, it was determined that while health-related problems in Thar are numerous, they are also largely preventable. According

to the report, if the area were provided with basic health facilities as well as initiatives geared to making the local population aware of the dangers of malnutrition, the situation could greatly improve.

Of course, this can only be done if both the federal and provincial governments take up the responsibility of effectively countering the crisis. So far, there has been an absence of any action in this regard, apart from a statement made by the Chief Minister of Sindh, Qaim Ali Shah, some months ago, that he was ‘disturbed’ by the way the media had reported the deaths of infants in Thar and that his government had been providing wheat to the 1.6 million Tharis for the last five years as a result of which their populat-ion had increased. Interestingly, in the same breath, he admitted that malnourishment was indeed a cause for a number of deaths that have so far taken place in villages in and around Thar.

With conditions in Thar expected to worsen in the coming summer months, according to the Tharparkar Deputy Commissioner, Dr. Shahzad Ahmed Thaheem, such an approach could have disastrous effects. What the government needs to do is work towards improving access to healthier food, better family planning services, quality healthcare as well as awareness drives geared towards teaching mothers on the best way to provide for their newborn babies. Only then can the people of Thar hope to lead better, more fulfilling lives, free from the threat of disease and famine.



With virtually no economic growth and complete absence of a proper healthcare infrastructure, the people of Thar are a classic case of pure neglect.

FEATURE INDIA


In India, a daayan refers to a witch, a demon or a vengeful female spirit that eats nothing but human

flesh. An imaginary figure in folklore tales and bedtime stories in modern literature, in today’s India, the world’s largest democracy with a fast-growing

economy, the dayaan is still alive and kicking.

Headquartered in New Delhi, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) is a federal agency responsible for the collection, compilation and analysis of crime data in the country. According to

recent statistics released by the NCRB, more than 125 people between 2012 and 2014 were murdered through witchcraft in Jharkhand, a state in eastern India.

As per the NCRB, 26, 54 and 47 murders were reportedly committed

With a legacy of violence against women, witch-hunting is common in more than twelve Indian states.

By Faizan Usmani

With a legacy of violence against women, witch-hunting is common in more than twelve Indian states.

By Faizan Usmani

Way of the WitchWay of the Witch


on account of witchcraft in the tribal-dominated Jharkhand state in 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively. In 2014, a total of 156 murders were reported in the state, accounting for more than 30% of murders that were committed through black art in the country.

In Odisha, an eastern state located on the Bay of Bengal, more than 30 such murders were reported in 2014. Madhya Pradesh, a central India state, reported as many as 24 murders, while Chhattisgarh recorded a total of 16 murders in 2014, which were all attributed to witches.

Dr Dinesh Mishra, a renowned Indian ophthalmologist, believes nearly 1800 women were killed in India between 2001 and 2010 by witchcraft. In the name of black magic and witchcraft, there is a set of unfounded superstitious beliefs and rituals behind the frequent incidents taking place in many parts of the country, according to Mishra.

In rural India, a curse in the family often leads to a poor harvest, severe illness and a sudden death of a family member and is responsible for heavy financial losses too. As it happens, there are some helpless women called ‘witches’ who bring such curses in different forms. Mostly in the tribal-dominated areas in India, according to Mishra, thousands of women are assaulted and killed during the witch-hunt. Among the tribal populations in India, witchcraft accusations are particularly common. However, the accusers are rarely prosecuted for the baseless allegations.

“In India, a person accused of being a daayan or witch can be tortured, raped, hacked to death, or burned alive. Victims are often single older women, usually widows, but they can also be males or children,” says Ryan Shaffer, a New York-based historian who is associated with the Institute for Global Studies at Stony Brook University.

A legacy of violence against women, witch-hunting is common in more than twelve states, including Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Orissa, Assam, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. Facing witchcraft allegations, Shanti Devi, a 65-year old woman in Udaipur, Rajasthan, had to drink goat’s blood. In August 2013, two middle-aged ‘witches’ were killed in Balrampur district in North Chhattisgarh.

“Allegations of witchcraft that result in communal murder have long been a part of rural India’s history. Accused of being witches, a number of women were tortured and killed during the British rule in India. This practice has

continued, though with irregularity, into the present,” says Shaffer.

Chutney Mohato is one of the survivors of witch hunts. She was accused of witchcraft in 1997 in her village in the eastern Jharkhand state. She was stripped naked by villagers who dragged her through the streets and nearly beat her to death. After the incident, she had to leave her home empty-handed. Mohato later formed an NGO to help other women deal with witchcraft accusations and how they could eradicate such superstitions from society.

There are many reasons behind witch hunts. According to Soma Chaudhuri, an assistant professor at Michigan State University, “Some of the more popular explanations are property disputes, epidemics and local politics that erupt into conflicts against local tribal women.”

“For example, in Malda, West Bengal, widows are persecuted as 'daini' by their husband’s kin. The accused women are mostly childless widows whose land will pass on to their nearest male relative after their death. By accusing them of practicing witchcraft, those relatives can inherit the land immediately,” says Chaudhuri.

The Bihar state passed anti witch-hunt laws in 1999. In 2001, the Jharkhand government passed the ‘Prevention of Witch Practices Act,’ known as the ‘Dayan Pratha Act,’ to protect women from the false allegations of witchcraft and to provide a legal recourse to victims. Targeting witch hunts, the state of Chhattisgarh passed laws in 2005 but other than the four states, there are no such laws passed at a federal level to eradicate with-hunting from the country.

“The subsequent lack of governmental interference has resulted in a marked lack of anti-witch hunt laws and no central law on the matter,” says Soma Chaudhuri.

A few years earlier, the Rajasthan government passed the ‘Rajasthan Women Bill,’ making it an illegal act to accuse a woman of witchcraft or black

magic. In case of violation, a person was sentenced to a three-year jail term. If an accused woman committed suicide, the accuser was awarded a ten-year imprisonment and a heavy fine.

Wicca is a religious cult which believes in witchcraft. Based in India, Ipsita Roy Chakraverti is a Wiccan priestess, who for the first time in Indian history, declared herself as a ‘witch’ in the mid 1990s. She started performing Wiccan healing rituals to treat patients suffering from various diseases. During her mission as a Wiccan healer, she travelled to far-flung rural areas of the country to teach female populations about the cult. Later, most of her followers were accused of practicing witchcraft and were murdered.

Roy Chakraverti took part in the national election held in 1998. In 2003, she published her autobiography titled ‘Beloved Witch.’ After three years, her second book ‘Sacred Evil: Encounters with the Unknown’ was published, chronicling her lifelong experience as a Wiccan practitioner. To confront the socio-cultural issues posed to her followers, she formed the ‘Wiccan Brigade’ in November 2006. The Brigade is a small group of selected students who are taught Wiccan ways and traditions and how to apply them in everyday life.

Dared to publicly call herself a ‘daayan,’ she supported those women who were battered as daayans in Indian society. She challenged the overall social attitudes towards a ‘wicked witch,’ which is nothing more than a creation of the insecure male. “India is very patriarchal, even today. When they saw me, standing up for those they were trying to brand and destroy and saw that I was helping these women by calling myself a ‘witch,’ the lobbies erupted with fury. These were vested interests which could not tolerate me because I was saying that a woman who was an individual had her own rights,” says Ipsita.



FEATURE AFGHANISTAN

Often viewed as the incubation unit of terrorists, Afghanistan’s complex and diversified social

structure has given rise to despotic regimes and lack of an institutional and structural mechanism which has resulted in human rights violations. Prolonged wars and religious fanatic-ism has reduced the once culturally rich nation to a mere wasteland where death and destruction has become the norm of life.

As part of an imperative nation-building initiative, in early 2002, independent news media institutions emerged pledging to practice ethical journalism and refraining from propagating any personal or political agendas. The national Jirga committee recommended the development of media law and regulatory authorities which would safeguard the media organisations from violence and injustice. But that was not to be the case.

Afghan media took on its role as the fourth estate and became instrumental in exposing the corrupt practices of government and public officials by reporting stories of public interest and along the way became a target for influential groups. According to a senior Human Rights Watch (HRW) researcher on Afghanistan, Patricia Gossman, many Afghan officials do not embrace the idea that they are accountable to the general public. “They believe they can quash such criticism through violence and

Suppressed Voices

The turbulent environment in Afghanistan is a hindrance in the way of media freedom.

By Zahra Huseini


intimidation,” she said while speaking to a leading daily newspaper.

While there are nearly 68 private TV stations in Afghanistan, operating alongside national state TV and 22 state-owned provincial channels, their ownerships range from the government, provincial political-military powers and private owners to foreign and NGO sponsors. Media regulatory authorities ensure that strict Islamic rules are applied and material that is deemed to be against Islamic practices is not put out for fear of religious conservatives. To that end, TV outlets exercise self-censorship and often partially pixelate images of women.

The country’s turbulent sociopolitical climate has left cracks in the system which allows the authoritarian regime to escape justice and elude accountability. When media watchdogs take on their role to establish social justice, they are harassed, intimidated and assaulted. The fragile nature of press freedom in the orthodox Afghan society has led to countless attacks on journalists since 2002. In his interview to The Guardian, HRW’s deputy Asia director Phelim Kine stated: “Afghan officials, warlords and insurgents have threatened, assaulted and killed dozens of journalists since 2002 without any fear of prosecution.” Similarly, speaking to the New York Times, Abdul Mujeeb Khelwatgar, executive director of Nai, a local non-governmental organisation with its mission to promote free speech, was quoted as saying that "Since 2001, more than 40 journalists have been killed in Afghanistan and none of the cases have been followed up by the judicial system."

Violence against reporters rose to an unprecedented level in 2014, with attacks up by 64 percent from 2013. According to a media rights organisation, there were 125 reported incidents of violence, with eight Afghan correspondents killed in attacks carried out by the insurgents. In its 2015 media watch annual report, Nai termed 2015 as the “worst for journalists and media organisations

in Afghanistan”. The report stated that violence against journalists soared as 95 cases were registered throughout the year out of which four were assassinated.

HRW claims that journalists working outside Afghanistan's main cities are especially vulnerable to reprisals from militant and political groups as they lack the protection provided by larger Afghan media conglomerates and the international associations. Female journalists face greater challenges given the social and cultural restrictions, limiting their mobility in urban as well as rural areas. Within the first few days of this year, the Taliban declared local leading private broadcast stations as “military targets” for false news coverage about the conduct of Taliban fighters during their brief siege of Kunduz. On January 20, a suicide bomber targeted Tolo Television’s minivan, killing seven staff members and injuring several others. Following the attack, many journalists began to fear for their lives and for the safety of their loved ones.

Abdullah Azada Khenjani, editor-in-chief and Head of News and Current Affairs at 1TV, speaking to International Media Support (IMS), explained, “Not only are journalists living in fear. Their families are affected as well. My mother is not sleeping and I need to report to my wife every hour for her peace of mind.” He further said that many staff members have opted to resign out of fear of another attack despite the management group’s efforts at 1TV to take the threats against the station very seriously and ensure the protection of over 100 staff members, which is not only logistically difficult, but also very costly.

The Taliban and now its recent counterpart Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), aims to obliterate the relatively new democratic system in Afghanistan where they view media houses as hostile entities. International human rights consortiums, media organisations and civil societies condemned the attacks on journalists and the suppression of freedom of

expression. The Afghan government’s recent initiative to recognise the rights of the journalists led to the establishment of an Oversight Commission on Access to Information that will monitor the government’s implementation of the Access to Information Act. The IMS-affiliated Afghan Journalist Safety Committee (AJSC), remains the only countrywide safety and protection mechanism for Afghan journalists that operates in 32 out of 34 provinces. Since its inception in 2009, it has assisted over 600 journalists under imminent threat and provided them basic services like safety training for both male and female journalists, legal advice, a hotline, safe houses and safety funds coupled with efforts to influence media law reform through advocacy efforts.

AJSC has played a significant role in forming collaboration between the local law enforcement authorities and media outlets which has resulted in agreements over the implementation of provincial safety procedures to ensure a safer working environment for the journalists. But Afghanistan’s media fraternity seeks greater measures and international pressure owing to the rising security risks posed by the insurgence of religiously extremist military wings. They believe that there is need for the government to address the security threats from all sides before the journalists can feel confident of going to work without risking their lives in the line of duty.

Today, media plays an influential role in public life and has been considered the driving force behind social and political reforms. The media is the only watchdog apparatus that is monitoring the performance of the government and powerful organisations, therefore safeguarding an unbiased, professional and objective media sector and its staff should be considered a long-term investment in Afghanistan’s democratic and peaceful development. Freedom of expression once muffled is like silence before a looming storm.

The writer is a freelance journalist.

The fragile nature of press freedom in the orthodox Afghan society has led to countless attacks on journalists since 2002.

In Dhaka - the world’s densest and fastest-growing city - according to a study on urban planning by

Demographia, scenes of total gridlock on some of its major arteries are the norm. On a regular basis, the citizens of Dhaka are treated to a cacophony of beeps and honks, not to mention, the occasional verbal onslaught brought upon by old-fashioned road rage. All this, combined with the collective fumes coming from the exhausts of surrounding vehicles makes for a nerve-wracking, albeit unique, experience.

Considering Bangladesh is still a developing country, it only makes sense for people residing in the capital and other areas to encounter such challenges on the roads. In a report published in 2010 by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the entire road network in Dhaka comprises just a fraction of the city’s infrastructure; barely seven percent. Indeed a byproduct of ineffective and careless planning, Dhaka has fewer

arteries or connecting roads that could help divert traffic and lead cars to highways. In addition, the city has a total of only 60 traffic lights (many of which do not work) for up to 650 major intersections. Its footpaths comprise over 400 km, out of which nearly 40% are occupied by street vendors, garbage bins or construction materials.

To add to such deplorable conditions is the complete lack or absence of a framework by which proper laws related to traffic and vehicles can be implemented. This, combined with an inadequate number of police officers required to enforce driving and parking rules, has contributed to a number of public transport vehicles to be manned and driven by individuals who are barely out of their teens and who, hence, do not possess the required training and foresight needed to drive on the road. The results are catastrophic road accidents leading to numerous deaths of innocent people. According

to a report released by the Bangladesh Passengers’ Welfare Association, the total number of people killed in road accidents in 2015 numbered to a staggering 8,642. Of that number, 60% were pedestrians.

In a statement given to the press in March the General Secretary of the Dhaka Metropolitan Leguna Taxicab and Human Hauler Road Transport Workers’ Union, Nurunnabi, shed some light on the ways in which teenagers were inducted. He said that a great number of underage drivers for 14-seater utility vehicles such as trucks and public buses are first recruited as drivers’ assistants or conductors, before they are allowed to sit in the driving seat. Since many of them are below the age of 20, which is the age eligibility for drivers in Bangladesh for application of professional driving licences, according to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, they lack the training and knowledge of driving and

Drive to Death

The dangerous trend of heavy vehicles being driven by teenagers has resulted in numerous incidents of loss of life in Bangladesh.

By Mahrukh Farooq

FEATURE BANGLADESH


traffic laws. The outcome is fatalities and injuries from accidents caused by either the driver’s or the conductor’s inability to navigate through the stream of constant traffic.

It doesn’t take an expert to conclude that a teenager behind the wheel of a heavy vehicle spells danger. In fact, Carmudi, a popular automobile website designed to facilitate the buying and selling of cars online, went to the extent of gathering relevant data related to accidents that have occurred along with the neuroscience behind teen brain development in order to determine whether teens should in fact be allowed to drive in a place like Dhaka.

According to the study, teenage drivers are often involved in fatal crashes, with the rate of such crashes caused by 16-year-olds doubling as compared to those caused by 18-year-olds and 19-year-olds and three times higher than the rate of fatal crashes caused by 20-year olds. While quoting the National Institute of Health (NIH), Carmudi said, “The part of the human brain that weighs risks and controls impulsive behaviour isn’t fully developed until about age 25. The nucleus accumbens, which registers pleasure, grows from childhood, reaching the maximum extent in the teenage brain, and then

begins to shrink. This, combined with a surge of dopamine receptors, which are responsible for signalling enjoyment, makes teenagers rewards seem much greater. To the teenage brain, the reward is greater than the risk.”

The inability to effectively calculate risk notwithstanding, many underage drivers enter the field simply due to “immense poverty and zero access to adequate opportunities,” as stated by Nurunnabi. “Many of these boys should be in school, yet they are forced to undertake such responsibilities in order to provide for their families,” added the General Secretary.

This statement, invariably, points the finger at the education ministry for not creating a system in which such boys could hope to receive quality education. Yet, it also casts a shadow of doubt on the duties being performed by the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority and the Dhaka Metropolitan Police; this, in fact, indicates their failure to strictly enforce rules for driving, especially when it comes to underage drivers, most escape prosecution by paying police officers a certain sum of money.

Still, many experts are quick to point out that while underage drivers should be trained, if not completely dissuaded from driving altogether, a lot of the accidents that take place on the road are not entirely their doing. Jaywalking, poor infrastructure and an absence of safety features on vehicles also contribute towards the number of deaths caused by road accidents.

Whatever the case may be, the situation has become dire enough for members of the federal government to sit up and pay attention. In a move that is expected to somewhat facilitate the campaign against traffic accidents caused by drivers who not only lack training but who do not even possess a

license, the Bangladesh government has included a provision in the Bangladesh Road Transport Act 2016 that would aim to provide proper licences to bus conductors and drivers.

The act has already attracted a lot of opposition and criticism, mainly from members of the public transport community, as it indicates that many bus conductors, who are in their mid-teens, would automatically become ineligible for such licences. The draft for the bill also states that anyone found working in public transport without a legal conductor’s licence will be jailed for a maximum term of one month or fined a maximum amount of TK5, 000 or both. The draft also stipulates that any individual or organisation found appointing anyone as conductor without a legal licence will be jailed for a maximum of three months or fined for a maximum amount of TK3, 000 or both.

In a statement to the press, Ilias Kanchan, Chairman Nirapad Sarak Chai (We demand Safe Roads), said, “The provision was in the act earlier but was not implemented. But this provision should be implemented properly as in Bangladesh helpers and conductors play a vital role in public transport though it is rarely seen around the world.”

Though controversial, this can be viewed as one step in the right direction as it aims to set a safety and security precedent for those looking to enter the public transport industry. At the same time, however, it would bode well for members of the general public if the government took the initiative to improve infrastructure that would facilitate the flow of traffic, causing less accidents and overall less convenience to the citizens.



Drive to Death

With the mention of Sri Lanka, apart from the aroma rising from a steaming cup of tea,

there comes to mind a woman dressed in traditional Sri Lankan dress, a basket of tea leaves slung on her back sporting a colourful headband and smiling in the backdrop of lush tea bushes growing abundantly on the hilly steps of tea estates. This is the face of Sri Lanka that is usually depicted, but sadly, the real state of affairs is different.

Tea is one of the biggest cash crops in Sri Lanka. It is also one of the country’s main sources of foreign exchange. The export of tea contributed US$ 1,527 million to the Sri Lankan economy in 2013 and accounted for 2% of the GDP. Sri Lanka’s economic success is partially because of the finest quality tea it exports. Being the world’s 4th largest producer of tea, it employs more than 1 million people (directly or indirectly) in the tea sector. But due to greed and exploitation, the advantage of this huge earning is not passed on to the workers who are among the nation’s poorest in terms of cash earnings as well as nutrition.

UNDP’s 2012 Sri Lanka Human Development Report described the

people working in the tea estates as being among the ones facing extreme poverty and harsh living conditions. This reality totally belies the IMF’s 2010 reclassification of Sri Lanka as a middle-income country.

Most workers in the tea estates are descendants of the Tamils who were brought over by the British in the 19th century. They came to Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), from the poverty-stricken lower castes in Southern India to work as cheap labour in the tea plantations.

Although, Sri Lanka has long been independent from British rule, the extremely inhuman living conditions of the tea estate workers continue. “Essential services and infrastructure at the estates — schools, roads, healthcare and transport are limited and unemployment is rampant,” say Sri Lankan journalists Panini Wijesiriwardane and Sujeewa Amaranath. From childhood, the workers in the tea estates lead a life of extreme poverty. There are no playgrounds, libraries, or social activities available to them.

The Indian Tamils also called upcountry Tamils, who make up 5% of Sri Lanka’s population, still live in

subhuman conditions in their one-room houses called Lines built by the British.

There are many respiratory diseases among residents of the Lines. From 6 to eleven persons often share a room, with offers no privacy. A cloth sheet is hung from the ceiling to separate married couples. Women have no privacy which often leads to higher risk of sexual harassment. Many cases of suicide by newly married girls have also been reported.

The Tamils working at the tea estates have no right of ownership of even their dilapidated houses. The owners of the plantations also own the Lines. This keep the workers tied to the harsh working conditions and cruel exploitation as they have no other means of livelihood or place to live. In 2003, the Sri Lankan government granted citizenship to all stateless persons of Indian origin but the plight of the Tamils remains in the doldrums..

The estate workers, nearly 60% of whom are women, start their back-breaking work in the early morning. Men usually do odd jobs to earn extra money. Women collect a minimum of 16/18 kg tea leaves per day, which they carry on their backs down the

The tea estate workers in Sri Lanka are a down-trodden lot who deserve a better deal from the government.

By Yasmin Elahi

Not Their Cup of Tea

FEATURE SRI LANKA


Not Their Cup of Tea


rugged terrain to be weighed so that they get their daily wages which is approximately 687 rupees (just over $5). If the leaves collected are below the target weight, the daily wage is cut down to half. Workers are paid at the end of each month and the sum is used to pay the local shops.

Girls start helping their mothers in picking the tea leaves at the tender age of twelve. Early marriages and teenage pregnancies are common. Malnourished mothers give birth to unhealthy babies creating a vicious cycle. Priyanka Jawaradena, research officer for the Colombo-based Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS), says that deep-rooted socio-economic factors are the cause behind the lower than national average health indicators in the tea estates.

The national rate of malnutrition for reproductive-age mothers is 16%, while for the tea plantations it climbs to 33%. The birth weight, which is as low as 16% for newborn babies nationwide, more than doubles for children born to women working in the tea estates. As they are daily wage earners, their extreme poverty makes maternity leaves beyond their means. General healthcare is also unsatisfactory. The dispensaries are ill-equipped and lack trained personnel and proper facilities. Hospitals are few and access to them is not easy.

“Illiteracy in women and the taxing

nature of their work makes it impossible for them to care for their health or the health of their children,” says a field worker at the Centre for Social Concern (CSC).

The literacy rate among the Tamils working in the tea estates also lags behind the national level. A World Bank assessment in 2007 stated that the country’s official literacy rate was 92.5%, but it was only 81.3 % in the plantation sector. Among women, Sri Lanka’s literacy rate was 90.6%, but it was 74.7% among tea estate workers. Schools are inadequate and under equipped with a higher student/teacher ratio than the rest of the country.

NGOs and labour unions are struggling for the betterment of this marginalized section of Sri Lankan society. Awareness in the Indian Tamils is on the rise and they refuse their offspring to lead a life like theirs. Most of them say that they toil endlessly so that their children can break the shackles of perpetual poverty.

Taking into account such cruel exploitation, it is only natural that the young generation of Tamils is moving towards urban areas looking for better opportunities. Even working as a household help seems better to them than back-breaking work at the tea estates. Girls are now seeking employment in the garment sector, which provides relatively better working conditions. Since women working as

housemaids are in great demand in the Middle East, many are taking the option.

Sri Lankan Labour Minister W.D.J. Seneviratne says he was in talks with tea plantation owners for raise of daily wages to 770 rupees (US$ 4.40). This still falls far short of the unions’ demand of 1000 rupees. The government seems to be in confusion as it cannot afford to displease the tea plantations owners since they are major contributors to the country’s foreign exchange. In the context of the rising cost of living and the abject poverty of the Tamils in the tea estates, Seneviratne’s cautious support for a minimum wage raise also leads to fears that outright denial to the workers’ demands may trigger a struggle for rights.

The government and the tea estate owners need to realize that they are standing at a cross roads. The Tamils have finally come to realize their right to a respectable life, free of exploitation. Unless their genuine demands are met, the Sri Lankan tea industry will suffer a huge setback if there is a shortage of workers in the plantations. After all, no machine can match the loving labour of the tea picker’s nimble-fingers who carefully chooses the greenest leaves from a tea bush which is then converted into the world’s best quality tea.

The writer is a freelancer with special interest in women's issues.

To the world, Nepal is known as somewhat of an adventurers’ paradise; from pristine

mountaintops to lush green wild forests and sprawling countrysides, the country does indeed have a lot to offer for thrill-seekers looking for their next fix of adrenaline. Similarly, for people more inclined to experiencing diverse cultures, the medieval city squares of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur along with its stupas and monasteries present an alluring image of the country’s centuries-old affiliation with religion and spirituality.

Yet, unknown to many, Nepal has held on to a dark secret for many years and the horrors of which have

only recently started to come to light. According to a special report published in The Sun newspaper of London, children as young as 10 years of age from both Nepal and India are being sold for a price of INR 500,000 ($7,525) each to work as domestic slaves for families in the UK. An investigation launched by the publication has found that several gangs operating in the north Indian state of Punjab are responsible for the trend. These findings have resulted in government officials from both countries expressing extreme alarm and shock as well as releasing calls for a probe into the matter.

The aftermath of one of the world’s worst natural disasters, in which two

earthquakes hit the Himalayan country back to back in 2015, killing over 8,000 people, also saw a disturbing rise in the number of children trafficked across the border and beyond by groups taking advantage of the desperate conditions faced by some of the affected families. “Loss of livelihoods and worsening living conditions may allow traffickers to easily convince parents to give their children up for what they are made to believe will be a better life,” Tomoo Hozumi, UNICEF Nepal representative, said in a statement. “The traffickers promise education, meals and a better future. But the reality is that many of those children could end up being horrendously exploited and abused.”

Lost Children

Circus Kathmandu offers hope to the victims of human trafficking.

FEATURE NEPAL


A report drafted by the United Nations on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) titled ‘A Global Report on Trafficking in Persons’ stated that the most common form of trafficking is sexual exploitation; a whopping 79%, the victims of this were predominantly women and young girls. The report also highlighted that 20% of all trafficked victims happen to be children with 29,000 trafficked or close to being trafficked from Nepal alone.

It was amid such conditions combined with the lure of profits from the trade that resulted in little Doli being whisked away from the safety of her home to ultimately be thrown in a world where other children, like her, were made to suffer extreme forms of exploitation. Fascinated by the thrill of the circus, the daredevil acts of its star performers as well as their dazzling costumes, Doli couldn’t resist saying yes when circus scouts from India came looking for children to make a part of their team. "The circus sounded like a magical place, so I wanted to go, too," she said. She was later rescued and managed to return home. Along with other victims of human trafficking, she later became a part of Circus Kathmandu, Nepal’s first and only circus.

According to statements from other survivors rescued from exploitative circuses in India, many children were deprived of schooling, made to live in deplorable conditions and were forced to learn punishing routines, being even beaten if they failed. "The trainer ... if we couldn't do it, would … hit us with a twisted wire," said a young woman. One of the girls who was rescued was so young when she left Nepal that she didn’t even remember her real name.

Bijaya Limbu faced a similar treatment at the hands of his owners after being sold to a circus company at the tender age of eight. He was eventually rescued four years later by charity workers who helped him reunite with his family in Nepal. "We were forced to train for long hours. It was difficult. Sometimes, we were beaten and abused,” recalls Bijaya, who is now a star performer for Circus Kathmandu. “It was like a prison and I thought of running away from that circus on many occasions. Luckily, I was saved."

For many young children, like Bijaya and Doli, being rescued is only half the battle; a number of children, once back home with their families, find it increasingly difficult to lead normal lives. With no formal education, it is difficult to find employment. In addition, the social stigma attached to their experience hinders them from

reintegrating into society. In an effort to facilitate the

rehabilitation of trafficked children, in 2010, two British charities, namely Freedom Matters and The Esther Benjamin’s Trust, founded Circus Kathmandu to enable former circus performers to start a new life using their newfound skills. “Bringing together youngsters from different backgrounds who went through lots of trauma and abuse was a challenge,” said Anjali, one of the performers. "Some are talented and some are less talented. Initially, we had problems understanding each other's feelings and emotions. Now we are like a family and helping each other."

After having performed in the Kathmandu Valley, the border towns of southern Nepal’s Terai plains and, most recently, at Britain’s Glastonbury Festival in 2014, the troupe of performers are getting a chance to showcase their talents on a variety of platforms for a range of audiences and are now living independent lives with confidence. The circus itself stands out for its rather unique fusion of circus acts, which include acrobatics, juggling, hula hoop, rope climbing and back flips, along with theatre, dance and a mix of Nepali, Hindi and English songs to help narrate their personal stories.

"Circus Kathmandu provides what you could call ethical entertainment. It provides a salary for the troupe which means they are able to develop their circus skills, have a career and live independent lives," says Ellie Turner, one of the volunteer producers at Circus Kathmandu.

"What we found most upsetting is how women who have survived trafficking are treated - they are often stigmatized, have usually lost out on education and have very little opportunities. Establishing Circus Kathmandu seemed like a bold and attention-grabbing way to confront this," says Sky Neal, the co-founder and co-director of Circus Kathmandu. "They also do workshops for children and speak to hundreds of villagers about their own personal life and what they had gone through. The idea is to create awareness among villagers on human trafficking and why they should not sell their children."

Despite continuous efforts on part of activists, NGOs and ventures like Circus Kathmandu, child trafficking is still on the rise. It is the duty of the Nepali government as well as the international community to put a stop to this trade and bring those responsible to justice.

– M.F.


Despite continuous efforts on part of activists, NGOs and ventures like Circus Kathmandu, child trafficking is still on the rise.

Bhutan – known for its beauty - has recently been in the news for hosting Kate Middleton and

Prince William, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The country embodies both tradition and modernity. The government’s policies focus primarily on protecting the deep, rich cultural heritage without compromising on the high environmental standards that the government has pledged to safeguard. These two concerns are great challenges for the country’s development.

The government’s commitment to keep 60% of its land under vegetation is vital in maintaining the natural beauty of the country and in making it one of the world’s most “carbon negative” nations.

But in a country that already has a rugged landscape and development of infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.) is difficult, such restrictions worsen the prevailing problems. Almost half of the population relies on agriculture; the absence of an indigenous rail system and inaccessibility to the sea, prevents agricultural produce to reach foreign markets. This is also a barrier to foreign exchange earnings.

Bhutan’s Free Trade Policy with India is serving the cause but more steps need to be carried out to clear the way for sending local produce to the world. The lack of transportation facilities are also a serious hurdle for foreign investors as they too find it quite expensive to send

their people into the country. Scan Café, an American image-scanning company that employed 400 people, suspended further hiring because of the limited transport options for the staff.

Bhutan has shown remarkable success in fighting poverty and has registered a decline from 47 percent to 3 percent (1981 and 2011). Despite this achievement, the unemployment rate is going up. The rising graph raises eyebrows at the international level, further emphasizing the need for comprehensive policies.

Bhutan is the first country in the world to introduce the GNH concept (Gross National Happiness) as an alternate to GDP. The notion is a blend of numbers,

Bhutan must open up to make progress.

By Saira Owais Adil

Potential for Prosperity



FEATURE BHUTAN



subjective perceptions and virtually immeasurable concepts. The index is a number derived from happiness survey statistics covering health, education, psychological wellbeing, time use, community vitality and cultural diversity. It rose from 0.743 in 2010 to 0.756 in 2015.

In 2016, the World Happiness Report published by the United Nations ranks Bhutan as the 84th happiest country in the world. To the world at large, GNH is more qualitative and not quantitative. Bhutan’s GDP, on the other hand, has shown a decline from an all-time high of 17.90 percent in 2007 to a low of 2.10 percent in 2013. Between 2013 and 2014, Bhutan also lost three places

in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report. It now ranks at 125 out of 189.

Reacting to the decline and withdrawal of foreign companies from the country, the FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) policy was reviewed in 2014. The government’s most recent FDI reforms, enacted in December 2014, addressed some important areas that had led foreign investors to leave earlier. One change made it easier for the foreign companies to convert the Bhutanese ngultrum to foreign currencies and repatriate up to $5 million in dividends every year. The reforms also announced minimum commitments for IT sector investments. In 2014, the economy in Bhutan opened itself to the pharmaceutical sector and reduced lock-in periods. Investors can now buy land as well, which was not permitted earlier.

Development of the hydroelectric power plants was done with significant assistance from neighbouring India, which is also a major buyer of electricity. Though production of electricity is to a certain extent threatened by the melting of glaciers, together with the construction sector, it still remains an attractive investment proposition. The professional labour comes largely from India to enable functioning of the hydroelectric plants and other industries. In return, a large sum of foreign exchange is paid.

Surprisingly, Bhutan’s young rural

population that moves to the cities in search of better opportunities remains unemployed. This is due to their lack of professional education and the training and skills required. The small, yet advanced urban industrial units like the power plants, fail to accommodate the locals, restricting the educated youth to the agricultural sector.

The tourism sector has a potential to play a vital role in the uplift of the economy but the country’s commitment to its heritage and environment restricts its exposure to only those tourists who care for the environment and can afford the high cost of visiting Bhutan. Entry is free for the citizens of India, Bangladesh and the Maldives, but all other foreigners are required to sign up with a Bhutanese tour operator and pay around US$250 per day for their stay in the country. Though this cost covers most of the travel, lodging and meal expenses, it makes things difficult for the tight-budgeted tourists. If policies are relaxed and air routes are seriously worked on, Bhutan would get a bigger share of international tourism.

The results of the FDI reforms that came in 2014 are yet to be seen but Bhutan seems to have all the potential to develop a better economic index. All it needs is to open up its natural resources a little more to the world.

The writer is a freelancer with special interest in socio-economic issues.

The government’s most recent FDI reforms, enacted in December 2014, addressed some important areas that had led foreign investors to leave.


FEATURE THE MALDIVES

The Maldives has a low population density but the highest divorce rate in the world.

Divorce Paradise


The Maldives is one of the smallest countries in the world, both in terms of area and population.

However, the country, with a total population of 0.4 million, tends to be much bigger in size when it comes to divorced citizens, compared to other countries of the world.

The Maldives, according to the UN’s Demographics and Social Statistics Division, has the highest divorce rate in the world with nearly 11 divorces per 1,000 citizens every year. The archipelago is followed by Belarus with 4.63 divorces per 1,000 citizens every year, the United States with 4.34, Cuba with 3.72, Estonia with 3.65 and Panama with 3.61 divorces every year. With more than 145 million people, even Russia falls behind the Maldives.

The archipelago of 1,200 small islands, scattered over 90,000 sq. kilometres, achieved the Guinness World Record in 2014. The latest divorce statistics reveal every Maldivian woman in her 30s is divorced three times. In 2012, some 5,699 marriages were conducted in the country, but 3,011 of those marriages ended in divorce in the same year, according to the Department of National Planning of the Maldives. Shannon Sims, a Brazilian writer, says the Maldives happens to be a paradise where everyone is divorced.

Cases of divorce are filed in the Family Court in the country that works under the Ministry of Justice. In 2013, the Family Court processed some 784 divorce cases, of which 262 cases were filed by women. To mitigate the increasing divorce rate, the Family Court has started imposing a fine of US$324 (MVR 5000) on those couples who directly apply for a divorce in the court without seeking reconciliation. However, this warning did not seem serious to the majority, as less than 15 couples sought reconciliation in 2013.

In 2000, the Maldives registered nearly 4,000 marriages, but more than 50 per cent of those were dissolved in the same year. In 2002, however, the average rate of divorce was reduced from 50 per cent to 32 per cent, which is 18 per cent lower to that of 2000.

The phenomenal decrease was due to some amendments which were brought in the Family Act of the Maldives in 2001. Under its ‘Divorce and Dissolution of Marriage’ section, clause 23 (a) of the revised Act says, “Where a husband is desirous of divorcing his wife, he shall do so only with the approval of the Judge after the husband has made an application to the competent court containing particulars as may be required by Regulations made under this Act.”

Furthermore, “Where an application

is made to the Court in accordance with subsection (a) of this section by a husband who is desirous of divorcing his wife and where both parties have been summoned thereafter to the court and the wife has expressed no objection to being divorced, then, with the approval of the Judge, the husband may divorce his wife in court,” says the Act.

According to the Act, when a husband wants to divorce his wife, but she wants to continue the marriage, the Judge has to forward the case to the Conciliation Division for Family Matters. In accordance with section 25 of the Act, the Judge works towards reconciliation between the couple.

“Where the Conciliation Division for Family Matters communicates to the Judge that efforts towards reconciliation between the couple in accordance with Section 25 of the Act have proven to be unsuccessful, and where the Judge finds that the parties to the marriage may not be able to peaceably continue in that marriage, then the Judge shall grant his approval to the husband to divorce his wife,” says the Family Act.

Dr Haala Hameed, the Maldivian State Minister of Health and Gender, believes a lack of scientific research makes it quite difficult to identify the reasons behind the increasing divorce rate in the country. However, according to Hameed, women’s active participation in economic activities seems to strain family life, which often results in an early dissolution of marriage.

“In this globalised era, more women are entering the workforce. To meet high standards of living, women supplement their husband’s income. However, there are no childcare facilities. And certain religious elements see working women negatively. All of this can create stress within families and lead to divorce,” says Dr Haala Hameed.

“The new family law does not improve the quality of marriage, but it does, for the first time, raise a critical view of divorce and it is likely to be the beginning of more laws aimed at divorce,” says Jochem Wijnands, a Dutch journalist.

The majority of the analysts from the West hold the Sharia-based laws accountable for the high divorce rate

in a country where a man can end his marriage simply by declaring divorce out loud in the presence of a witness, thus wrapping up the legal process within a moment and that too without any drawn-out paperwork and prolonged court proceedings.

The judgment is quite misleading, since almost all Muslim-majority countries follow similar laws in relation to marriage and its dissolution.

However, the rate of divorce in the Maldives is higher than the rest of the other over 57 Islamic countries, which shows Islamic laws don’t have any role in increasing the divorce rate and the recent development is more a Maldivian issue. In 2014, the UN’s Demographics and Social Statistics Division released a list of the world’s 10 most divorced nations. It included such countries as Belgium, Portugal, Hungary, Czech Republic, Spain, Luxembourg, Estonia, Cuba, France and the USA. The Maldives or any other Muslim country was not on the list.

Many international studies show that divorce rates are highest among people who marry in their early twenties. Considering that early marriage is widely practiced in South Asian countries, the Maldives has the lowest rate of child marriage in the region. However, many Maldivians travel to neighbouring countries to carry out child marriages, according to the U.S. Department of State’s 2010 Human Rights Report.

Being in their early twenties, most newlyweds are not economically and psychologically prepared to bear the responsibilities of marriage. In the Maldives, the legal age of marriage is 18. However, as per the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW), “the minimum age for marriage that is commonly observed in practice is 15. Moreover, over the past 10 years, there has been no record of children under 15 being married in the Maldives.”

Particularly for the younger couples, the United Nations and the Government of the Maldives have started pre-marriage and post-marriage counselling programmes in order to reduce the burgeoning divorce rate in the country.

– F.U.

The Maldives, according to the UN’s Demographics and Social Statistics Division, has the highest divorce rate in the world with nearly 11 divorces per 1,000 citizens every year.

SLUG


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