Pakistan Press on Rape Culture, FATF, Pakistan Military and Halal Exports: New Age Islam's Selection, 23 September 2020
By
New Age Islam Edit Bureau
23
September 2020
•
Reporting Rape
By
Beenish Zia
•
Halal Exports: A Solution To Pakistan’s Trade Deficit
By
Syeda Nazish/Zahra Bukhari
• Is
Pakistan’s Military Spending Just Right?
By
Nasir Khan
•
Passage of FATF Bills Sans Consensus
By
Syed Akhtar Ali Shah
-----
Reporting
Rape
By
Beenish Zia
23 Sep 2020
HAVE you
ever wondered what a rape survivor goes through post-incident? Let me walk you
through their journey and encourage readers, in particular policymakers and
state officials, to imagine themselves in the shoes of the survivor. And to
keep this feeling in mind when they take their next steps.
The first
torture for the survivor, if conscious, is to report the crime. There is no
universal access number in Pakistan. Therefore, depending on where you are, you
have to be in your complete senses to know where to call to report. The longer
the delay between a crime committed and its reporting, the weaker the case.
Within the
state machinery, the police are typically the first responders. Yet they are a
product of the same society that reeks of patriarchy and misogyny. We are naive
to expect them to behave differently, unless trained and under strictly
enforced protocols. As you can imagine, that is not the case.
Unsurprisingly,
the police engage with survivors in an insensitive and judgmental manner —
their questions reveal they are mostly on the lookout for things that the
survivors must have done to ‘invite’ such ‘behaviour’. Although police
protocols require that a female officer be part of the investigation team, this
is often not the case due to a number of reasons, including shortage of female
officers.
Every step
of the way, the system is a monster.
Next comes
the investigation process. What is the first step, you ask? Demanding the
survivor prove her virginity. A survivor who was just assaulted is then
subjected to an intrusive, outdated and wicked procedure known as the
‘two-finger test’ (TFT). It has no legal or medical basis but is followed more
rigorously than any existing laws. Recently, Punjab health authorities
indicated their intent to ban this horrendous practice. However, as of writing,
it is still customarily enforced across the country.
After
reporting, the survivor needs to undergo a medical examination as soon as
possible. The most authentic evidence that can prove rape is said to be
gathered within the first 24 hours — without taking a shower or changing
clothes. According to official Punjab Police statistics for this year, 2,043
rape cases have been registered to date, with only 295 (a mere 14 per cent)
being under investigation. One ray of hope in the investigation process has
been the growing use of forensic labs (particularly in Punjab), but the quality
and usage varies across provinces.
Let’s say
you get this far, and the case goes to trial. The torture doesn’t end here.
Rape has been criminalised under Section 376 of the Pakistan Penal Code. It
mandates death penalty for gang rape, and 10-25 years’ imprisonment or death
penalty for rapists. The case begins at the sessions court but, like all other
cases, it can be appealed in the superior courts as well.
While the
law since 2016 requires that a rape trial be concluded within three months,
this is rarely the case. The final decision could take years, given the backlog
of cases. The mortifying treatment a survivor endures is also psychologically
tormenting. Imagine being in a courtroom filled with strangers (mostly men) and
having to narrate the horrific incident in as much detail as possible. Imagine
being cross-examined while men snicker around you. Every step of the way, the
system is a monster.
Today, I
don’t want to aim for the sky, but to at least be able to look up. I want to
feel hope. Today, I want to recommend small changes, not big wins.
Firstly,
first responder police teams should be trained and given strict protocols to
follow. We need to criminalise breaches of protocol.
Secondly,
we need a universal helpline that works throughout Pakistan. If the state
doesn’t have the resources, then it should find a development partner. It makes
reporting easier and also generates useful statistics for informed and targeted
decision-making. The command centre should inquire about the issue and pass on
the complaint to the relevant and nearest team for immediate relief. This is
likely to eliminate possible confusions and delays caused over territorial
disputes.
Thirdly,
Pakistan should immediately ban the use of TFT across the country. There is no
legal reason for it, besides being traumatising and humiliating. Finally,
police stations in every province should have the numbers of listed NGOs that
can send professionally trained female facilitators to accompany first
responders to the crime scene, with her prime purpose being to ensure the
welfare of the survivor.
In
conclusion, if we can’t do anything else, we should at least improve the
quality of state-citizen engagement post-incident. We can at least try to ease
the pain and help the survivors and their families begin healing through our
handling of the situation.
----
Beenish
Zia is a lawyer at the Asma Jahangir (AGHS) Legal Aid Cell.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1581169/reporting-rape
----
Halal
Exports: A Solution To Pakistan’s Trade Deficit
By
Syeda Nazish/Zahra Bukhari
September
23, 2020
In the
coming future, the trillion-dollar global halal market will be captured by
countries that were proactive enough to recognize the emergence of this highly
lucrative and fast-growing global Muslim consumer market. The global halal
market is not only substantial in terms of the size of its consumer base; it
also encompasses a broad array of potential products and services. Currently,
we are witnessing Muslim countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia
trying to capture the halal vaccination market and Non-Muslim countries like
New Zealand, Singapore and Australia gaining a share of the global halal
logistics and supply chain industry. Innovations in halal industries include
several offerings such as halal pharmaceuticals, halal hospitality, Islamic
Fintech, halal tourism, and modest fashion. But where is Pakistan in this whole
halal market equation?
Muslims in
Pakistan account for approximately 96% of the country’s total population and
represent 11% of the global Muslim population. This makes Pakistan not only an
attractive market for the rapidly expanding global halal businesses but also
identifies a promising opportunity for the country in terms of halal market
exports. However, current statistics do not validate this hypothesis. According
to the data, Pakistan has a meagre 0.25% share in the global halal trade which
vastly falls short of the country’s halal export potential. This gap has been
recognized by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, who has repeatedly shared his
vision of broadening the halal export base of our country. Halal exports can
have a significantly positive impact on the country’s trade deficit especially
if we are able to tap into the halal meat market.
Out of the
all the Muslim countries only a few countries including Bangladesh, Iran,
Malaysia, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the UAE are exporting Halal meat
to various Muslim and Non-Muslim countries. This creates an enormous potential
for Pakistan. According to some estimates Pakistan can earn up to PKR90 billion
through the export of halal meat to various international markets. It is among
the top 10 global beef and veal producers and produces 1.8 million tons of beef
and veal annually. The country’s livestock exports account for around 3.1% of
its gross exports. Within this the halal meat accounts for only 1.1% of the
country’s total export base. Pakistan has a large rural community having large
potential for the production of halal meat. However, its inability to capture
the halal meat export market can be traced back to a number of issues currently
existing in our local market place.
Brands do
not follow the halal standards from raw material to the selling point as being
done by the rest of the halal hubs all around the world. Majority of the
stakeholders are unaware of the concept of Halalan Toyyiban or the halal
value chain
In
Pakistan, majority of the stakeholders equate the concept of halal with the
Shariah specified method of slaughtering animals and the absence of pork and
alcohol from products. Globally the concept of halal has surpassed the premises
of halal manufacturing. Muslim consumers want the products to be manufactured,
stored, transported, sold and advertised according to Shariah principles for
them to be considered Islamic brands. Brands are being developed on the Islamic
concept of Halalan Toyyiban. It relates to the products and services
that are “allowed and permissible for consumption with relation to Shariah law
as long as they are safe and not harmful”. If Pakistan wants to capture the
halal meat market it needs to develop a halal value chain for the halal meat.
Non-Muslim
countries have captured a major portion of the halal meat market by gaining expertise
in various halal supply chain activities. Brazil is the largest exporter of
halal meat to the OIC countries followed by Australia, India, France and China.
Countries are tapping into various stages of the halal value chain process for
products and services such as halal supply chain management, halal logistics
and warehousing, halal packaging and Islamic branding. Brazil has developed
halal chicken slaughtering houses, New-Zealand is the largest exporter of halal
lamb and has developed halal logistics facilities according to international
standards and Netherlands have created halal warehouses for storing halal
shipments according to halal storage standards. Such halal supply chain
facilities are non-existent in Pakistan.
Currently,
majority of the brands being sold in Pakistan fall in the category of
Traditional Islamic brands in which the halal status of the product or service
is assumed and not explicitly stated by the seller. This creates a problem
since research shows that almost 90% of the products being sold in Pakistan are
not certified halal by a credible authority. Based on the recent developments
in the halal market, this seems plausible since the concept of halal logistics;
warehousing, transportation and storing are almost non-existent in our country.
Brands do not follow the halal standards from raw material to the selling point
as being done by the rest of the halal hubs all around the world. Majority of
the stakeholders are unaware of the concept of HalalanToyyiban or the
halal value chain. With the large amount of imported products present in our
local markets and our local brands targeting the global export market, Pakistan
is in a drastic need to develop centralized halal standards and certification
requirements for all industries and value chain activities. The development of
trade relations with other Muslim countries such as Malaysia and Turkey can be
strengthened through the formation of standardized Islamic brands. This is the
stepping stone for the development of a substantial halal export base for any
country.
-----
Syeda
Nazish Zahra Bukhari is an Assistant Professor in the Institute of Business and
Information Technology (IBIT), University of the Punjab, Lahore
https://dailytimes.com.pk/669608/halal-exports-a-solution-to-pakistans-trade-deficit/
-----
Is
Pakistan’s Military Spending Just Right?
By
Nasir Khan
September
23, 2020
Pakistan’s
military is the only actor in most of the today’s pressing security challenges
because it has been facing these issues from last many decades. Pakistan’s
military has been simultaneously combating the ferocious internal insurgency,
revolts and suppress international terrorist groups. This is the only real
institution that responds in the worst flood, earthquake or any other problem
that affect from last 70 years. The region is strategically complex because we
have at our borders and the main rival is India. In such difficult conditions,
this is Pakistan’s army that has been protecting and securing the sovereignty
of the state.
Being the
strongest organ of the state, army has an influence on Pakistan’s foreign
policy and its internal politics. It has analysed that corruption is existed in
most of the public institutions and the politicians protect the corrupt and
crooked people so army must intervene in to curb this menace. This is the
transparent institution and has a clear vision to promote the safety and
security of the public. Nothing is wrong that they influence the governmental policies
because they are the well-wisher of our homeland.
Many so
called scholar call them ‘FA Pass’ and how they can intervene in public policy
development. For those, army has a mechanism of training, education and
learning within the institution, so all army officer are well trained, educated
and even they have many foreign trainings related to devise the policies and
administrative strategies. No doubt in it, the army officers have more
administrative skills than others. If we look at the national and multinational
organizations, they also prefer to hire retired army officer, you know why
because they are more disciplined, regimented, honest and good administrator as
well.
Army has
been battling vicious and nasty domestic adversaries who have killed many
civilians and targeted the whole nation. Furthermore, they are putting efforts
to repress international terrorist groups who are funded by our rival India.
Furthermore, Pakistan’s armed forces manage the world’s fastest-growing nuclear
armoury amidst significant concerns about its safety and security because there
is a domestic insurgency existed in the form of non-state actors funded by the
rival and foreign organizations to destroy our nuclear weapons. Pakistan army
is in the flux of strategic competition with all powerful states including
India and USA. The safety and protection of the nuclear weapons is as important
as to be alive. Pakistan is the only Muslim Nuclear state so the powers of the
world want to demolish our nuclear programs but due to our strong and dedicated
army; we and our nuclear program is safe and secure.
A debate
about the ‘military spending’ has created hype due to vague and false
statistics at social media. According to the real statistics, Pakistan’s
defence budget is 3% of its total GDP. In this 3% they manage all their
activities and operations. This is not fair to manipulate the statistics of
defence budget. It is quite expensive to maintain advanced military as war can
be pricier than ensuring the state’s defence power. State security and safety,
and the development of economic upliftment options are also indispensable.
India, China, USA and many other countries have been spending much more on
their defence. So, in this scenario, Pakistan is spending less on defence that
is even less than India.
Technologically
advanced military forces could have the ability to serve as players in
assigning states a higher role in the international hierarchical structure,
thus providing them with greater political influence in the political arena
Due to the
dynamic, uncertain and unpredictable strategic climate of the world, military
spending is imperative for Pakistan. Security tribulations in Pakistan have
become complex as juxtaposed and contrasted with inter-state border challenges,
intra-state socio-religious and ethnic conflict and war against radicalised
insurgent groups in Pakistan and across the region, terrorist organizations,
syndicates, and the brim over effects of protracted asymmetric warfare in
Afghanistan. The larger states in the region are China and India, due to their
military, geography, natural features and demography. The predominant and
principal geopolitical location of India in the region that shares borders with
many South Asian states aflame its desire to be a powerful state or the
region’s “big brother.” With ample military ability and ‘strategic will,’ China
and Pakistan have dissuaded such hegemonic Indian designs.
Classical
economists like Adam Smith acknowledged: “The sovereign’s first responsibility
to protect society from other societies’ aggression and inequality is steadily
expanding as society progresses in civilization.” Throughout Pakistan’s
history, it has been acknowledged that every government’s prime responsibility
is to build its forces in order to make sure its national survival,
sovereignty, control and focus on its national interest. Pakistan geo-strategic
location is the important to explore the need of strong armed forces. So the
defence budget must be considered the influential and indispensable to meet the
requirements of the region. Pakistan army is the strongest organ and this is
the only institution that is protecting Pakistan’s sovereignty.
Conservative
military strategy analysts argue that sustaining an appropriately sized,
trained, and well-equipped military force capable of deterring, dissuading,
and, if possible, overcoming a diverse range of potential adversaries is a
realistic approach to national security. According to this view, all other
diplomatic, developmental and monetary achievements seem fragile when military
stability is undermined.
It is
important to analyse that improving infrastructure and its effects due to which
military expenses will indirectly contribute to the economic betterment of
states by the development of public infrastructure and mega projects such as
highways, bridges, railways , canals, dams, airports and other engineering
projects of alternative civilian use.
In
addition, technologically advanced military forces could have the ability to
serve as players in assigning states a higher role in the international
hierarchical structure, thus providing them with greater political influence in
the political arena.
Military
has the greatest interest in national survival in developing countries, and has
gradually become a player in national governance and politics due to massive
corruption and malpractice. Military-related institutions in Pakistan,
including the Fauji Foundation, the Shaheen Foundation, the Bahria Foundation,
the Army Welfare Trust, and DHA have employed civilians in addition to retired
military personnel, and are also engaged in programmes of social uplift,
including the establishment of educational institutions, health facilities,
etc., thereby helping Pakistan develop its economy. Military as also invested
in industries such as cement and fertiliser, building works, electronics, and
electrical industries, etc.The ultimate objective is to make Pakistan
self-reliant and saving foreign exchange, these factories meet the needs of the
civilian economy, thus reducing the import burden to boost Pakistan’s economy.
All military related institutions in Pakistan are transparent and accountable.
The overall
rise in the South Asian states’ defence budget since 1990 can be due to the
changed perceptions of security in the post-Cold War period, with Pakistan and
India’s defence budgets steadily multiplying. Despite these trends, in
comparison to other states in the region, Pakistan’s military spending remains
low.
----
Nasir
Khan (Ph.D. Scholar in Media and Crime, CSS Coach and author of different books
on International Relations, Criminology and Gender Studies)
https://dailytimes.com.pk/669607/is-pakistans-military-spending-just-right/
-----
Passage
of FATF Bills Sans Consensus
By
Syed Akhtar Ali Shah
September
22, 2020
A joint
session of Parliament last week passed three bills related to the Financial
Action Task Force (FATF) amid noisy protest by the opposition and a walkout
later. The opposition accused the government of not allowing them to bring
amendments and speak on the vires of the bills. Prime Minister Imran Khan,
however, speaking on the occasion, termed it as a landmark achievement in the
context of efforts to prevent money laundering and meet the conditions to get
rid of the FATF grey list.
FATF, a
global monitoring agency, sprang up in 1989, in the backdrop of the horrors of
terrorism. The international body was tasked to set standards to promote
effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for
combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to
the integrity of the international financial system, based on a coordinated
strategy to meet such challenges. Also associated with it is the Asia Pacific
Group (APG) which implements anti-money laundering policies and initiatives
besides securing an agreement to establish a more permanent regional anti-money
laundering regime. Both FATF and APG now act as watchdogs to assess the
capacity and efforts of member countries in combating money laundering and
terror financing.
Pakistan,
being a member and under jurisdiction and increased monitoring of the two
bodies, is under an obligation to overcome the strategic deficiencies, within a
timeframe as pointed out by the FATF and APG. The statement on Jurisdictions
under Increased Monitoring, adopted in February 2020, would remain in effect
for countries that besides Pakistan included Albania, Bahamas, Barbados,
Botswana, Cambodia, Ghana, Myanmar, Jamaica. Nicaragua, Panama, Syria, Uganda,
Yemen and Zimbabwe. Pakistan found a breathing space for compliance with the
FATF conditionalities as time for evaluation was extended due to Covid-19.
The FATF
webpage suggests that it was in June 2018 that Pakistan made a commitment to
working with FATF and APG in order to strengthen its Anti Money Laundering
(AML) and Counter Finance Terrorism (CFT) regime and to address its strategic
deficiencies related to counter-terrorist financing. Towards this, Pakistan has
made progress in a number of areas in its action plan, including risk-based
supervision and pursuing domestic and international cooperation to identify
cash couriers. It was however still found to be lagging behind and was
therefore asked to demonstrate that remedial actions and sanctions were applied
in cases of AML/CFT violations, relating to Terror Finance (TF) risk management
and Targeted Financial Sanctions (TFS) obligations; and demonstrate that
competent authorities were cooperating and taking action to identify and take
enforcement action against illegal money or value transfer services (MVTS).
It was also
asked to demonstrate the implementation of cross-border currency and BNI
controls at all ports of entry, including applying effective, proportionate and
dissuasive sanctions. It was also to show that law enforcement agencies (LEAs)
are identifying and investigating the widest range of TF activity and that TF
investigations and prosecutions target designated persons and entities, and
those acting on behalf of or at the direction of the designated persons or
entities.
It was
further required to demonstrate that TF prosecutions result in effective,
proportionate and dissuasive sanctions; effective implementation of targeted
financial sanctions (supported by a comprehensive legal obligation) against all
1267 and 1373 designated terrorists and those acting for or on their behalf,
including preventing the raising and moving of funds, identifying and freezing
assets (movable and immovable), and prohibiting access to funds and financial
services; demonstrate enforcement against TFS violations, including
administrative and criminal penalties and provincial and federal authorities
cooperating on enforcement cases; and demonstrate that facilities and services
owned or controlled by designated person are deprived of their resources and
the usage of the resources.
In this
context, the concern of the policymakers in Pakistan appeared to be that all
deadlines had already expired with FATF calling upon Pakistan to meet its
obligations by fully implementing the action plan, and a failure in the context
might lead to crashing of business and other relations with member countries.
It was in this backdrop that the government in order to allay the fears of FATF
resorted to amendments in the Anti-Terrorism Act; the Anti-Money Laundering
(Second Amendment) Bill; and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Waqf
Properties Bill.
The
question in this respect is whether the mere passage of amendments to the laws
will bring any significant change. The other associated issue is of duplication
of laws. Pakistan already has laws in place to deal with terror financing and
money laundering, such as the Pakistan Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code,
Qanun-e-Shahadat (Law of Evidence), Anti Money Laundering Act 2010,
Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, Investigation of Fair Trial Act 2014, Securities and
Exchange Commission of Pakistan Act 1997, State Bank, Companies Act 2017,
Societies Registration Act 1860, and the likes. But the problem lies in their
efficient and effective implementation. Until and unless the capacity of those
civilian institutions is enhanced, desired results are difficult to achieve.
The powers via amendments to Anti-Terrorism Act carrying provisions that the
investigating officer, with the permission of the court, can conduct covert
operations to detect terrorism funding, track communications and computer
system by applying latest technologies in 60 days are also available in
Investigation of Fair Trial Act 2014 but police officials have not been endowed
with powers under the rules made therein.
The
apprehensions of the opposition and civil society are that many of the
provisions are essentially against the fundamental rights and liberties. They
are also critical of the role given to NAB and other such institutions, which
may use these arbitrary powers for political engineering. Another area of
concern for opposition is the insertion of the provision empowering the government
to notify a National Executive Committee. In all probability, besides others,
the committee is likely to be composed of NAB and intelligence agencies. In the
past, persons like Dr Asim had been grilled using powers under anti-terrorism
but later on he was charged for corruption. Similarly, the experiences of
forming JITs, while inquiring into the Panama cases, have also not gone well.
Legislation,
that has national and international ramifications, should always be done with
national consensus after ensuring that all stakeholders are onboard.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2265188/passage-of-fatf-bills-sans-consensus
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