Pakistan Press on Pakistan's Position on Rape Punishment and Afghan Peace Process: New Age Islam's Selection, 18 September 2020
By
New Age Islam Edit Bureau
18 September
2020
•
Zia’s Medicine in Imran’s Era
By
Asha’ar Rehman
• The
so-called war on terror has been both cause and consequence of further polarisation
By
Aasim Sajjad Akhtar
•
There are serious flaws in Pakistan's criminal justice system
By
Syed Ali Zafar
•
Predicament of Pakistani women: Patriarchal norms and governance issues
By
Aimen Babur
• The
myth and reality of Afghan-owned peace process
By Dr
Moonis Ahmar
------
Zia’s
Medicine In Imran’s Era
By
Asha’ar Rehman
18 Sep 2020
A WHOLE
jungle of wild voices have resulted from the horrors of the motorway incident.
Some comments have had to be later clarified but no apology is expected, nor
has one been sought from the maker of these remarks which have been quoted
verbatim.
“I wish
Imran Khan had mentioned about Pappu case in Zia-ul-Haque time ... the culprit
was sentenced to death in a case of child rape and his body was publicly hanged
at Chauburji Chowk, this served as a deterrent as many years. This is the
solution to the problem in such cases.”
This is a
veteran from the general’s stable speaking from his heart in the latest race to
nail the guilty. His profound words are additionally inspired by the policy
line given by Prime Minister Imran Khan on the horrifying crime that shook the
country.
Prime
Minister Khan favours public hanging of the highway rapists. He favours
castrations as punishment so that no one can again think about committing the
act. On cue, the prime minister’s team members — for instance, Senator Faisal
Javed Khan — have made it quite clear. Ideally they would like a consensus for
public execution post-conviction.
Zia’s urge
to hold a whole party, actually an entire country, in awe of his menacing
powers, must have been at its strongest.
The
sentiment is echoed by many in this country. Inevitably, the one example that
is cited in support of the demand is the sole public hanging staged in Pakistan
more than four decades ago.
The Zia
veteran quoted here is a ringside witness of many a champion who has ruled this
country. He may have naturally been struck by the similarity in tone of our
prime minister now and the general who was out to create fear of his writ under
martial law then.
The hanging
of those convicted of the rape and murder of Pappu in Lahore took place in the
year 1978 — one day short of Pakistan Day in March, according to the peerless
chronicler duo, Raziuddin Razi and Shakir Husain Shakir.
The message
was sent across alright — but to whom is a point in contention. Less than a
year into his ambitious rule, Zia needed to reinforce his position as a stern,
no-nonsense dictator. This was not for the benefit of petty criminals. The urge
to hold a whole party, actually an entire country, in awe of his menacing
powers, must have been at its strongest.
It so
happened that four days before young Pappu’s murderers were hanged in what is
recalled by a witness 42 years later as an eerily quiet day in the city of the
zinda dilan, the Lahore High Court had sentenced Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to death.
Now while the fate of Pappu’s killers had been sealed the moment the gavel lent
finality to the judge’s order for their extermination, the public hanging, the
first and the only one in the history of the country, cast them in a role in a
drama that had political ramifications.
The
protests were on and PPP politicians were being rounded up. The mercy pleas by
countries such as Iran and Qatar had just landed and there were reports of
students at demonstrations falling to the Lahore police’s bullets. The Masawat
newspaper was shut down. There was a reason for a public hanging now to clear
the way for a secret execution of another, of a former prime minister, a year
and two weeks later.
Through the
next few years, intimidation and rule by fear were the main ploys employed by
Gen Zia — although towards the latter half of his rule, he did find merit in
flashing his human side before an appreciative audience. However, not even this
trendsetter warrior on the right path could bring himself to take human lives
publicly — notwithstanding the ghastly nature of the crime.
He may have
had his reasons for not attempting to institutionalise public hangings, instead
carrying out floggings to make an example. The debate on turning executions of
capital convicts into terrifying spectacles of deterrence has gone on through
all these years, albeit with a due amount of politics thrown in.
Perhaps it
was not the smallest attempt at legerdemain to take the political context out
of the public hanging of Pappu’s killers. You routinely run these days into a
message pasted next to a smiling Gen Zia in which this model public hanging is
said to have taken place in 1981 — at a sufficient distance from ZAB’s
sentencing and his non-public and quite secret hanging and burial.
Only with
the gap established, do supporters of public hanging hail it as an event which
ensures there were no such crimes in the country for the next decade. God knows
in which wonderland these angels of justice were distracted. For counting from
1981, the next 10 years would have included the two-and-a-half-year term of ZAB’s
daughter, even if it is assumed that the little period of time in the decade
when Mian Nawaz Sharif was at the helm was expected to follow the calm
perfected by his mentor.
This
veteran now prescribes Zia’s medicine in Imran’s era as a most loyal understudy.
He was a vital part of the machinery then and is a handy part of the system
now. His association with the origins is just too deep and long for him to come
out of that age. The disappointing part is that others — not least of them our
prime minister— have to begin this debate by taking extreme positions.
‘Castration’,
‘hanging’, ‘public hanging’ … these terms are certain to be repeated as the
discussion on the issue at hand heats up further. An in-charge of an operation,
where the government is unable to prevent a suspect from disappearing in the
fields right before its eyes, will only be adding to the outrage and
frustration by resorting to personally favouring punishments that, according to
his own admission, have been replaced by other evolved substitutes.
To tell you
the truth, pledging punishments and public hangings and then saying these may
not be possible in the face of international pressure is in itself a withdrawal
plus an unnecessary admission of foreign influence. Better avoid the company of
apologists such as the opposition leader in the National Assembly and the CCPO
Lahore.
----
Asha’ar
Rehman is Dawn’s resident editor in Lahore.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1580308/pappu-and-politics
-----
The
So-Called War On Terror Has Been Both Cause And Consequence Of Further
Polarisation
By
Aasim Sajjad Akhtar
18 Sep 2020
IT is
telling that last week, 19 years to the day since the so-called ‘war on terror’
was initiated with the US invasion of Afghanistan, a massive rally was held in
Karachi by religio-political parties of an explicitly sectarian nature,
harkening to an era of hate-mongering that Pakistani officialdom insists is now
in the past.
Since 2001,
successive Pakistani governments have claimed that the state’s official policy
vis-à-vis the religious right has changed definitively. Our current prime
minister had himself said that Islamist militancy had its genesis in official
state policy — from at least the 1970s, not to mention external patronage by
the US, Saudi Arabia and other front-line anti-communist states. Over the past
two decades, both the external patrons and our own strategic planners, we were
assured, have changed tack.
In truth,
the so-called war on terror has been both cause and consequence of further
polarisation, the opaqueness of state policy at the heart of a crisis with deep
historical roots. Seen through a comparative lens, the state here is not all
that different from the rest of the world; its coercive and surveillance
apparatuses have been empowered everywhere under the guise of containing
terrorism that is nebulously defined.
While in
Pakistan these apparatuses have used these enhanced powers to suppress
progressives who have always been considered threats to ‘national security’,
they have also targeted at least some former protégés on the right of the
spectrum, predominantly of a religious ilk, but also, as in the case of the
MQM, those of a more secular variety.
A small
spark can spiral into a raging inferno.
What this
suggests is that right-wing forces are not simply puppets that can be
manipulated at whim. Nevertheless, the establishment continues to play a major
role in shaping novel organisational and sectarian phenomena like the
Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan.
Put
differently, the religious right has continued to survive, and in some cases,
thrive, in part because of state patronage but also because it maintains
organic linkages to young people in contemporary Pakistan, particularly amongst
the toiling classes.
This is a
lethal combination. Young people — of whom there are 150 million in Pakistan —
want economic security and dignity. As the recent upsurge in sectarian
mobilisation suggests, the way in which such aspirations are moulded by
religio-political organisations is potentially devastating.
On an
everyday basis, we hear regularly about religious functionaries abusing minors,
girls and women being treated as barely human on account of supposedly
religious mores, as well as accusations of apostasy and blasphemy against
almost completely invisibilised religious communities.
Perhaps
some amongst us don’t care about such matters. But how long can we turn a blind
eye to rallies in which thousands come onto the streets of Karachi, or
Islamabad, chanting slogans against the biggest non-Sunni sect in the country?
Or the fact that leaders of various sects are employing strong-arm tactics to
lodge cases against and incarcerate leaders of other sects?
Let us not
forget that the so-called Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union in the 1980s
also had a specifically regional context. The Iranian Revolution of 1979
triggered a chain reaction that weaponised both Shia and Sunni identities
within Pakistan due to the competing strategic interests of Iranian and Saudi
theocracies. Needless to say both states continue to exercise influence beyond
their borders; Saudi Arabia in particular remains a kingmaker in Pakistan’s
domestic politics. Even if one argues that Shia-Sunni sectarian violence that
peaked in Pakistan in the 1990s subsided, a small spark can once again spiral
into a raging inferno.
Today as in
the past, the establishment still perceives itself as the ultimate arbiter,
able to unleash chaos upon society yet still manage it effectively enough to
both ensure its monopoly over power and neuter any meaningful transformative
impulses. It has certainly managed to weather any number of geopolitical storms
in the past, and clearly believes it will be able to do so in the future.
Seen from
the perspective of oppressed castes, genders, ethnic-nations and the working
masses more generally, the weaponisation of religion has been an unending
disaster that continues to have untold effects on our individual and collective
genus. Crucially, however, some of the most exploited elements in our
brutalised society seek mobility through religio-political movements, not to
mention the promise of salvation in the afterlife.
The genie
that was let out of the proverbial bottle more than four decades ago continues
to haunt us till this day. We can continue to shout ourselves hoarse about it,
screaming into the ears of strategic planners and religious leaders who will
never listen. Or we can undertake the much more difficult task of building an
alternative politics to transform state and society.
----
Aasim
Sajjad Akhtar teaches at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1580306/genie-in-a-bottle
-----
There
Are Serious Flaws In Pakistan's Criminal Justice System
By
Syed Ali Zafar
September
18, 2020
In a recent
tweet, I had said that in a civilized society protection to women is given outside
the home, and this is called “successful policing”. If a woman’s honour is
dependent upon time and situation, then there is no need for the writ of the
state. Globally, women are going to space and here we are trying to keep them
shrouded in darkness.
My tweet
got a wide array of responses. Most people were of the view that rapists should
be publicly hanged. Others have suggested that they should be castrated,
physically or chemically. Still many said they should be stoned to death. Many
were angry at the insensitive remarks of the CCPO Lahore and demanded his
removal. One segment of the population even supported the CCPO’s statement in
which he said that “women should refrain from traveling alone at night.” There
were also others who have ideologically opposed the death penalty for the
rapists.
Under
Pakistani law, the penalty for rape is death or imprisonment for maximum
twenty-five years. The tragic and horrific gang-rape of a mother in front of
her children on the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway has shaken humanity and hence we
see the demand that punishment should be made even more public and exemplary.
Each
country has to evolve punishments according to its own peculiar situations. For
example, many European countries as well as 10 states in the US punish rapists
with chemical castration as punishment for repeat sexual offences. A few
countries also give castration as punishment for rape, but this is not
mandatory; it is imposed if the culprit voluntarily agrees to the procedure in
return for a reduced sentence. Pakistani law could also certainly be amended to
add this punishment as retribution to a heinous crime such as rape. Such a
punishment in my view would not be in violation of our constitution.
The real
question, however, is: can we, by increasing the severity of the punishment,
deter criminals from committing crimes?
Research
shows that the death penalty alone does not deter criminals but in fact feeds
the fear of being caught in the rapist, thereby leading him to kill the victim
to erase evidence. Notwithstanding this, in a society like Pakistan, where the
death penalty is expected by public to be minimum punishment for such heinous
offences, and the only way in which the family and the victim can be
‘compensated’ and obtain retribution, it is necessary. However, it is not just
the severity of punishments but the high probability that the culprit will be
caught, prosecuted and harsh punishment given which will actually discourage
criminals from committing rapes.
A few years
ago, a seven-year-old child Zainab was raped and murdered. This act of horror
rightly generated hue and cry across Pakistan. It was said that this case would
be made an example so that such crimes are not repeated. Yes, the culprit was
caught and punished, but these crimes still go on. The Motorway gang-rape too,
with all this media scrutiny and civil society in arms, will be successfully
prosecuted, culprits caught and punished. However, it is only when culprits are
given swift punishment in all other rape cases which do not make media
headlines that true deterrence will be accomplished.
The problem
is that there are serious flaws in our criminal justice system where culprits
involved in violence against women are either not caught as assaults go
unreported or, if caught, are not convicted. (The conviction rate in Pakistan
for cases of violence against women is as low as 2.5 percent).
Take the
example of one of the suspects in the Motorway case. Reportedly, he has already
been tried for rape but got acquitted because there was a so-called
‘compromise’ between him and the survivor’s family. He went on to commit the
same crime again. This is nothing new. Pakistan’s legal system is full of such
instances. We have even seen prominent women being assaulted in their homes and
then being forced to keep quiet. This is what creates a feeling of impunity
amongst criminals.
Although it
is the duty of the state to prosecute and convict rapists, a compromise usually
takes place between the culprit and the victims or their families, through money,
threat, influence or because of fear, frustration and delays or simply the lack
of resources. Statements are then made by witnesses that the incident never
took place. Courts are forced to acquit the accused.
Criminals
know that the probability of them being caught and punished is extremely low
either because they have themselves previously gotten away scot-free after
committing a crime or are aware of people who have committed the crime and have
not been convicted. This belief that they will not be punished nullifies the
effect of any severe penalty.
The
solution lies in increasing the rate of conviction. For this to happen, the
government would have to work on two fronts. One is to reform the judicial
system in which many measures need to be taken. Without an efficient justice
system in the country, no severity of punishment will have much effect.
The second
is to carry out massive police reforms which include increasing the capacity of
the police and breaking the nexus between police and criminals. Our police
system is still beholden to an archaic system where the SHO is investigating
everything under the sun, from petty thefts to rape and murders.
The remarks
of the CCPO show that the police still hold a mindset that indulges in victim
shaming. This needs to be changed. I suggest that the police force should also
have only one designated person to address the media, much like ISPR does, so
that damage to the credibility of the police force caused by irresponsible
statements can be avoided.
The third,
and equally important change that is required, and that has to come from the
civil society itself, is regarding the attitude about sexual assaults. It is
common for women all over the world to avoid reporting sexual assaults because
of fear of the shame it would bring to them and their families. The lack of
reporting enables criminals to get away with their crimes. The state has to
provide institutional mechanisms to support and protect victims and survivors
and their families.
I am sure
that the time has come for the government to, in light of its duty to protect
the life and dignity of its citizens, start taking measures on at least these
three fronts for sustained results.
----
Syed Ali
Zaf is a Supreme Court advocate, former federal minister for law and former
president of the SCBA.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/716359-reform-the-system
----
Predicament
of Pakistani Women: Patriarchal Norms And Governance Issues
By
Aimen Babur
SEPTEMBER
18, 2020
The
motorway incident has, yet again, exposed the facade of safe spaces for women
in Pakistan.Women constitute about half of society, yet, they remain subjugated
in many segments of life. The alarming increase in crimes against women has
largely been normalized by the misogynist elements within society. The patriarchal
norms at large either blame women themselves for the crimes perpetrated against
them or term it as “western agenda” spread to sabotage our cultural values. The
common woman keeps suffering while society keeps debating upon the legitimacy
of basic rights being demanded by Aurat March.
Consequently,
the feminists continue to face harassment from keyboard warriors while the
situation of governance is deteriorating steadily. The deeply troubling aspect
of the current rape episode was not the crime itself but the way it was
portrayed by careless statements of officials involved. Women are facing
genuine issues which are being side-lined in the name of social norms. The
stigma faced by women is real, be it in the field of education, employment,
access to justice or healthcare facilities. The global ranking places Pakistan
as sixth most dangerous country for women, however, it is largely brushed under
the carpet and termed as a misconception. This depicts an overall callous
attitude towards well-being of women in society.
Illiteracy
is one of the most troubling aspects hampering women empowerment in Pakistan.
According to 2017 census statistics, the female literacy rate stands at a
meagre 46.47%. As compared to that, male literacy rate is about 71.12%. This
gross difference suggests that education of girls remains a tough nut to crack.
Despite of several initiatives taken by successive governments and awareness
campaigns launched by civil society, the local patriarchal structure maintains
a toxic rigid approach on said matter. Although the situation is improving
steadily, especially in urban areas and metropolitan cities, the problem is
largely ignored in rural peripheries. The more troubling aspect of this
disastrous situation is that the number of females opting for higher education
drops down to a mere 8.32% across the country. Such horrible figures of UNESCO
call for immediate attention of higher authorities.
The toxic
and suffocating patriarchal norms form the basis of a society where women are
considered inferior in every segment of life. Their narrative is largely
ignored and their opinions remain overlooked
The rule of
law remains a foundation of good governance in state institutions. However, in
Pakistan, access to justice remains a problematic endeavour, especially for
women. Although the constitution of Pakistan provides protection to women in
both domestic and private sphere, yet lax implementation of law coupled with
the tag of family honour generally dissuades them from perusing any legal case.
The situation worsens with negligible presence of women in legal institutes.
The first women police institution was inaugurated in 1994, yet, National
Police Bureau’s report states that women constitute less than 2% of police
force. This is one of the most significant factors which contribute towards underreporting
of crimes, especially crimes related to sexual assault.
Political
empowerment is another substantial milestone of women empowerment which remains
a dream owing to male dominant dynastic local politics. Although 17% quota is
reserved for women in provincial and federal legislature, the mechanism for
filling these seats remains flawed. The women representatives are selected,
rather than being elected, by the leadership of political parties.
Additionally, local cultural norms bar political participation of women as
voters which leads to exclusion of women from decision making bodies, thereby
causing absence of women centric policies at national level. The figures
released by ECP depict a voter gender gap of whooping 12.54 million in 2018
polls which has increased from 10.97 million in 2013 elections. Although both
media and ECP are playing a significant role in providing a conductive
political environment to women, the rigid patriarchal traditions are bent upon
keeping women away from administrative legislative groups. The continuous
upward trajectory of voter gap in official statistics suggest that serious
efforts are required by government institutes to tackle with this issue.
The
incidents of violence against women including sexual harassment, domestic abuse
and rape are also on a rise. SSDO has reported a sharp spike in rape cases
during February and March 2020. The police record suggests that during first 60
days of 2020, about 73 incidents of rape happened in Lahore alone which
included 5 incidents of gang rape as well. Government officials also confirmed
25% increase in cases of domestic violence perpetuated against women between
months of March and May. Additionally, official statistics reveal that more than
100 women were killed for honour in Sindh in 2019 alone.
Overall,
these statistics paint a gory image of miserable conditions being faced by
Pakistani women on daily basis. The male chauvinism prevalent within societal
structure coupled with the apathy of governance institutions has only added
fuel to the fire.Men and women are both essential pillars of a community and
the absence of anyone of them could damage the roots of society. The plight of
Pakistani women is real and their issues need to resolve the issues of women on
priority basis.
Although
many laws have been enacted in past as well for resolving women issues,
however, they have not been effective owing to patriarchal mentality. The toxic
and suffocating patriarchal norms form the basis of a society where women are
considered inferior in every segment of life. Their narrative is largely
ignored and their opinions remain overlooked. Until and unless some steps are
taken to reform the patriarchal societal norms, any law passed would remain
ineffective. Here, governance institutes could play a contributory role by
increasing awareness on misogynistic norms and their contribution in increasing
sexism. It is high time we need to take these issues seriously and work
collectively for gender balance and gender equality within our society.
-----
Aimen
Babur is a Project Assistant SDPI
https://dailytimes.com.pk/667887/predicament-of-pakistani-women-patriarchal-norms-and-governance-issues/
-----
The Myth
And Reality Of Afghan-Owned Peace Process
By Dr
Moonis Ahmar
September
17, 2020
The
so-called Afghan peace process has reached an interesting phase with the
opening of the Doha talks between warring Afghan factions. Participated by the
concerned stakeholders including the United States, Pakistan, China as well as
representatives of the Taliban and the Afghan government, Doha talks focused on
issues which, for decades, have been a cause of war, violence, terrorism and
political polarisation in Afghanistan.
What is the
Afghan-owned peace process and to what extent is it a myth or reality? How can
the four-point peace proposal presented by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister help the
process of peace and stability in Afghanistan? Why do the Taliban still insist
on introducing their version of sharia and how is their non-compliance with
democracy and political pluralism a non-starter of the peace process? These are
questions which are raised in the context of the prevailing peace talks on
Afghanistan.
The
four-point peace plan presented by Pakistan addresses the core of conflicts in
that unfortunate country which has been mired in violence, terrorism and
political and socio-economic predicament since 1973. Foreign Minister Shah
Mahmood Qureshi has suggested that one should learn lessons from the bitterness
of the past faced by Afghanistan. His last three points focused on economic
engagement, reconstruction and a time-bound return of refugees. Taliban
political office director Mullah Baradar called for an Islamic system in
Afghanistan and assured the world of a peaceful and prosperous life for the
Afghans while Abdullah Abdullah, the Afghan Peace Council chief, called for
adhering to democracy, the Constitution, freedom of speech, rights of women and
minorities, rule of law, and civil and political rights. He asserted, “We call
for a humanitarian ceasefire. The declaration of humanitarian ceasefire will
enable humanitarian aid and development programmes to reach all parts of
Afghanistan and benefit our people.”
US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, whose country has a key role in the Afghan
peace process, is confident that following the February 29 agreement with the
Taliban, the US will scale down its forces to 4,500 by October this year. Such
a reduction will be in sharp contrast with the surge of American forces in
Afghanistan which had totalled 100,000 in 2011. Yet, the US intends to maintain
its strategic presence in Afghanistan despite considerable withdrawal of its
forces unlike abandoning the country after the signing of the Geneva Accords on
April 14, 1988.
The Doha talks
on Afghanistan which were to commence in March were derailed because of a
deadlock between the Afghan government and the Taliban on the release of
thousands of Taliban prisoners. It was only after a breakthrough between the
Taliban and the Kabul regime on that contentious issue that the intra-Afghan
talks began on September 12. Since the withdrawal of Soviet forces from
Afghanistan in February 1989, and the outbreak of civil war leading to the
seizure of power by the Taliban in September 1996, the absence of an
Afghan-owned peace process galvanised violence and bloodshed in the country.
The
occupation of Afghanistan by US-led coalition forces in October 2001 and the
transformation of the Afghan conflict reflected the failure of Afghan
stakeholders to start the process of dialogue. Given the complicated
geographical location of Afghanistan and the lack of ownership by Afghans,
violence and terrorism continued which not only deepened conflict fatigue but
also compelled the Taliban and the Afghan regime to unleash the process of
dialogue.
There are
three major requirements to bridge the gap in myth and reality of the
Afghan-owned peace process.
First,
despite assurances by the Afghan government and the Taliban about establishing
peace in Afghanistan through dialogue, there still exists a huge trust deficit
between the two major stakeholders. It is for the first time that there are
direct talks engaging the Taliban and Afghan government representatives in Doha
as since the induction of Hamid Karzai as Afghan president in December 2001 and
the formation of the Kabul regime with the support of US-led coalition forces,
the Taliban had refused to accept the Afghan regime’s legitimacy and had
demanded its dismantling as a precondition for peace talks. Now, the Taliban
have, after reaching a deal with the US in February, agreed to initiate
dialogue with what they called the illegitimate Afghan regime. Unless the trust
deficit is bridged between the Taliban and their Afghan counterparts, including
the Afghan government, there cannot be any breakthrough in the Afghan peace
process.
Second, the
Afghan-owned peace process is still a myth because local stakeholders lack
political will, determination, commitment and clarity to pull their country out
of decades of civil war, violence and terrorism. Unless, those engaged in the
intra-Afghan dialogue in Doha and elsewhere are professional in their approach
in terms of reaching a durable ceasefire, demilitarisation, deweaponisation,
rule of law, good governance and upholding democratic process, one cannot
expect peace in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, the Taliban are unable to
understand that their country cannot revert to the past, and governance based
on a ruthless and suppressive order in which women and minorities live as sub-human
creatures cannot work. The Taliban’s interpretation of sharia is a major
problem in pulling Afghanistan from the web of social and economic
backwardness.
Post-Taliban
Afghanistan cannot impose a political order based on an orthodox and
ultra-conservative way of life. A major requirement in the Afghan-owned peace
process is tolerance, adherence to political pluralism, rule of law, good
governance and justice. If the Taliban reject democracy as a mode of
governance, it would prolong stagnation in the so-called peace process.
Furthermore, if the Taliban want peace, stability and well-being of their
people, they should cease violence and attacks on Afghan forces. There cannot
be meaningful dialogue in Doha unless the Taliban agree to a permanent
ceasefire and the Afghan government accept the Taliban as a major stakeholder
for peace in their country.
Third,
unless civil society groups, political parties and vulnerable segments of
Afghan society are included in the peace process, one cannot expect any smooth
sailing of Doha talks. An inclusive approach, instead of an exclusive one,
needs to be pursued for accomplishing the goal of a comprehensive peace in
Afghanistan.
Afghanistan,
like other conflict zones, is at crossroads. In this scenario, Pakistan’s
stakes are obvious because unless violence ceases in Afghanistan and the
Afghan-owned peace process reaches its logical conclusion, refugees will not go
back to their country and the security of Pakistan’s western border would
remain an issue. Yet, Pakistan has, unlike three decades ago, marginal
influence over the Taliban who are still a cause of violence and terrorism in
Afghanistan.
Unless, the
Afghan majority who resent the Taliban’s use of violence as a weapon for
seeking power are united and isolate them, the situation in Afghanistan would
remain chaotic. Ownership of the peace process by the Taliban and other Afghan
stakeholders is the only way to give the people of Afghanistan a break from
decades of bloodshed in their war-torn country.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2264454/the-myth-and-reality-of-afghan-owned-peace-process
----
URL: https://newageislam.com/pakistan-press/pakistan-press-pakistan-position-rape/d/122881
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism