Pakistan Press On ‘Terror Campaign' Inside Pakistan, Pakistan Needs TikTok And COAS And PM Of Pakistan: New Age Islam's Selection, 3 December 2020
By New Age Islam Edit
Desk
3 December
2020
• Ground
Realities Of India’s ‘Terror Campaign' Inside Pakistan
By Mushtaq Rajpar
• Pakistan Needs Tiktok, Not Education!
By Kashif Mirza
• Healing Is The Answer! An Urgent Appeal To
The COAS And PM Of Pakistan
By Dr Rakhshinda Perveen
• 30 Seconds Over Natanz
By Harlan Ullman
-----
Ground Realities Of India’s ‘Terror Campaign'
Inside Pakistan
By Mushtaq Rajpar
December 3,
2020
As the
world battles an extraordinary pandemic that has taken away over a million
lives across the globe, ties between India and Pakistan continue to worsen.
Pakistan has now presented to the UN secretary-general a dossier the second in
the past five years on India’s ‘terror campaign' inside Pakistan.
The dossier
comes ahead of India’s two-year non-veto membership tenure in the UN Security
Council, starting from January 2021. Pakistan's Ambassador to the UN Akram has
also briefed journalists on what he said is substantial evidence of India’s
hand in destabilizing Pakistan and sabotaging the China Pakistan Economic
Corridor (CPEC), which Pakistan sees as key to its future development and
security. Though Ambassador Akram did not name the groups that India is said to
be pampering and funding, this does shed a light on India’s ability to gain
access inside Pakistan's areas and raises some fresh concerns regarding India’s
ability to mobilize proxies within Pakistan's borders.
Since the
overthrow of the Taliban government in Afghanistan, concerns have been raised
about India supporting militant groups, both religious and non-religious the
detained Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav being a prime example, apart from other
attacks and incidents such as the ones on the Chinese Consulate in Karachi as
well as the Karachi Stock Exchange. India's ability to enter two very sensitive
border areas should indeed be cause for alarm; another scary revelation the
dossier makes is India helping Daesh in Pakistan.
During the
vote last June on non-permanent Security Council seats, India’s bid went
uncontested for the Asia Pacific region; it was clear from the outset that
Pakistan would not be able to do much to deny India access to the Council.
However, it can be argued by some that, with the presence of China in the UNSC,
we need not worry about any possible Indian move in the Council against
Pakistan. The status quo is expected to continue to prevail in the South Asian
region for years, and in the present global political situation there are no
leaders and governments that find it essential to corner Pakistan.
In fact,
other than a few angry tweets about Pakistan, the Trump administration’s overall
Pakistan policy remained cordial. If they did not offer major financial
packages to Pakistan, they also did not threaten Pakistan nor repeat the
‘Do-More’ mantra. Trump’s chief diplomat Mike Pompeo did not warm up to
Pakistan, but the country was still able to get financial loans from the IMF.
In the
beginning of the pandemic, the IMF extended a $1.4 billion emergency loan to
Pakistan. The argument would be that without US support, Pakistan would not be
able to get such loans. This can be seen as an indication that the Trump
administration was satisfied with Pakistan’s role in facilitating dialogue with
the Afghan Taliban, which Trump and his administration see as one of the
successes of his era’s foreign policy objectives.
Post-Trump
Washington is likely to review the dialogue process and may delay the troop
withdrawal from Afghanistan, which means Pakistan will remain important for the
US when it comes to any deal or lack of it on Afghanistan. The Biden
administration is also most likely to base its South Asian policy on the Obama
administration's goal of ensuring a stable, prosperous and
at-peace-with-its-neighbors Pakistan.
If the
Biden administration does not take a confrontational path to contain China,
CPEC may not be an obstacle in US-Pakistan bilateral and regional relations.
Given the higher levels of foreign debt, it is in Pakistan’s interest to keep a
balance in its relations with China and the West. Despite the fact that China
has pumped $22 billion in Pakistan, we are not on our feet in any economic
sense; in fact, Pakistan stands more indebted today than four years ago. In
2019 alone, Pakistan borrowed $14.9 billion. The expected $50 billion more
coming from China under CPEC also does not offer a clear path to
self-sufficiency. It is a vicious circle of debt-trap, which Pakistan is still
in denial about.
The role
and scale of diplomatic efforts are always subject to a country's economic and
political stability. Unfortunately, we lack both. Without such stability, our
dossiers may not go beyond providing talking points to spokespersons. The
utmost concern for us at the moment should be political stability, which could
then lead to economic independence from loans, poverty, deficit and
uncertainty. Sadly, that is not the course we are on.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/752697-ground-realities
----
Pakistan Needs TikTok, Not Education!
By Kashif Mirza
December 2,
2020
School
closures are stressing our kids and threatening their future. Our children are
going through it too and keeping them out of school makes it much worse. The
pandemic is testing us all with volatile, uncertain and complex times and our
children are going through it, too. The adults in the room worry about their
own mental health, education and security, avoiding the virus raging around us.
That ambient stress is absorbed by our youngest. And keeping them out of school
makes it much worse. The latest closure of schools has not only exposed the
weakness of our education system, but also added to the number of out of school
children.
On October
9, Pakistan became the latest country to ban TikTok, which was part of a recent
slew of platform bans in the country over the past month that includes Bigo,
PUBG as well as dating apps like Tinder and Grindr. On this issue our youth and
liberal groups had joined in condemning Pakistani authorities for blocking the
video-sharing application TikTok. Nevertheless, there has been a great hue
& cry among the youngsters who are still mourning this 'Great
Loss' and being deprived of a Great Platform to display their natural
Talents to the world. TikTok has 20 million monthly active users in Pakistan.
Resulting Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) lifted the Tiktok, Bigo,
PUBG and other apps’s ban after heavy pressure of our nation especially youth
and the companies. Shockingly, the apps have been banned by the government of
Pakistan and the decision came after many complaints about the usage of the
gaming applications and its effects on many players in the country. The PTA
forbade the use of the game as it is reportedly promoting unaccepted behaviour
of children while getting involved in the game. The challenge for these apps in
Pakistan lies in what constitutes immoral and indecent content, and who is the
arbiter of said parameters. In 2016, the country’s parliament passed the
Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) to ultimately regulate content on the
internet, and Section 37 of the legislation.
Pakistan
needs TikTok, not education! More than 10,000 schools across Pakistan had
already been closed permanently. It’s fear that the latest closure of schools
will jeopardise the existence of 20,000 to 25,000 more low-cost schools.
On the
other side, our youth rejoiced on November 23, and announced ‘Youm e Shahfqat’
when the government announced the closure of all educational institutions from
November 26 to January 11. The decision was taken in the Inter-Provincial
Education Ministers’ Conference (IPEMC). The closure will initially include
winter vacations from December 25 to January 10. Students with online options
will continue their studies through this mode of education. Respective
provincial governments will make other arrangements for those lacking this
facility. The government also announced the cancellation of the examinations
scheduled in December. The examinations for assessment and recruitment will
continue. The ban on schools was not something to rejoice. Instead, it not only
sets a draconian precedent for any education system operating in Pakistan,
local or foreign, but also sends a negative signal for International level
already nervous about the education, so all stakeholders can have transparency,
visibility, and a fair chance. The ban on schools also poses repercussions for
the millions of students that use the platform of schools for creative
expression, connection, and even just escape.
All
Pakistan Private Schools Federation – APPSF successfully implemented SOPs in
schools as success story since 15th August this year and which were praised and
admired by government officials included ministers. APPSF announced that they
won’t agree with the government’s decision. It will further damage the
education system, students, families and the national economy. The educational
institutions can work smoothly with strict implementations of the SoPs. More
than 10,000 schools across Pakistan had already been closed permanently. It’s
fear that the latest closure of schools will jeopardise the existence of 20,000
to 25,000 more low-cost schools.
Thousands
of teachers had been rendered jobless after their schools were closed
permanently because of the financial crisis. Thousands of teachers will also
lose their jobs after the current closure. Most of the public and private
schools did not have the resources to provide online education. Teachers and
students of such schools will have no choice but to look for other options.
Most of the students will either join the seminaries or get low-wage hazardous
jobs. They will not come back to the schools. This will be a tragedy. About
26.1 million children were currently studying in private schools and 21.9
million children in public schools. As a result of previous lockdown, 13
million children from public and private institutions did not return to schools
when they reopened.
Out of 1.5
million teachers, 0.7 million did not come back as they had got into other work
after remaining jobless for months. Only 14 percent of schools and homes in
Pakistan had the capacity to access online education. The most had closure hit
educational institutions in Balochistan, KP, interior Sindh and southern Punjab
where thousands of private schools were shut down permanently because the
school managements could not the building rents and salaries. In only Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, a large number of school children are joining the
religious seminaries. They will not only remain exposed to the threat of
contracting Covid-19 but also lose their path to mainstream schooling.
About 2800
private schools in KPK and Balochistan were shut down permanently because of
the previous lockdown. Hundreds will not be functional after the recent
decision to close the schools for nearly six weeks, the fact is parents in
Balochistan have started sending their children to religious seminaries. These
children will not return to the schools. The trend is spreading in other
provinces and may result in increase across Pakistan.The seminaries will remain
open. Madaris have the biggest board of religious seminaries in Pakistan. It
runs over 35,000 registered religious seminaries employing 180,000 teachers and
having 3.5 million students across Pakistan. In these circumstances, All
Pakistan Private Schools Federation-APPSF also sought soft interest free bank
loans to provide financial relief to small private schools and coaching
centres.
Almost half
of the world’s 1.6 billion primary and secondary students won’t return to
school this year, Insights for Education estimates. More than 80% of these live
in lower-income countries. Pakistan is a economy with 500 billion rupees of
school education and it’s related allied economy with infinite opportunity
which damaged bitterly. History has lessons for how children suffer through
trauma like wars and natural disasters. A cratered economy also hurts. A
research paper found that during the Great Recession, a 5 percentage point
increase in the unemployment rate was correlated with a 35% to 50% increase in
clinically meaningful childhood mental-health problems. Another thing is that
there’s no conclusive, causal relationship between schoolrooms and rising
infection rates. Schools reopened this fall for a few weeks, without any large
outbreaks, and yet we’re now in our second round of home learning by Zoom for
limited access to kids. But start-stop lockdowns make it tough for children to
transition online to offline and back. Classroom habits and independence have
suffered. Anecdotally, younger children who would typically start reading
around this age aren’t able to pick it up and are losing confidence and
interest. Research shows that child development is a hierarchical process of
wiring the brain. Losing these building blocks impedes future development.
These pressures on children seem a poor way to control the virus. Researchers
reviewing studies of school shutdowns to contain epidemics, not a single
country in all over the world did completely shut-down of school education
despite of micro or smart-lockdown.
Pakistan is
—the country boasts the fifth largest population in the world, with increasing
smartphone penetration and a burgeoning young population, perhaps that are
tech-savvy and hyper-connected only for Tiktok, Bigo, PUBG etc, but
unfortunately not for education.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/696816/pakistan-needs-tiktok-not-education/
------
Healing Is The Answer! An Urgent Appeal To The
COAS And PM Of Pakistan
By Dr Rakhshinda
Perveen
December 2,
2020
In an age
of glorification of oversimplification, instant success and speed one may
wonder how to state what happened on the 16 December 1971 in the Ramna
racecourse ground of Dhaka. The dismemberment of Pakistan’s Eastern wing has
been summed up by the victorious side as the liberation and by the armed
enabler as a humanitarian action. A vast majority of people, including well
educated people of the present day Pakistan, could never recognize the
magnitude of the misfortune. Rather they were and are led by biased
nationalist/regionalist narratives, that too often work in favour of enemy
forces. This in turn culminates in clear diversion of resources from priority
problems like education, health, infrastructure and population. Those digital
media warriors, who already have an anti-Pakistan agenda and/or sentiments;
their interest and influence are further fed by the mockery of a human tragedy
and humiliation of our army. The cost of this unattended damage is yet to be
fathomed and it has certainly affected our collective mental health and
happiness.
A quick
scan of the academic literature and gray literature around this harrowing
occurrence, gives a blurred image of the history that led to the change in our
geography. As per the late veteran journalist, Kasturi Rangan, in his special
feature in the ‘The New York Times’ (1974), the then Prime Minister Zulfiqar
Ali Bhutto, during an official visit to Dhaka, stated in a public apology that,
“shameful repression and unspeakable crimes were committed in Bangladesh by the
Pakistani Army before the eastern part of Pakistan gained independence in
December 1971.” The archived document also recorded that Mr. Bhutto had been
disparaged by a few hundred demonstrators when he visited a memorial for
Bengalis killed in the 1971 struggle for independence. During which, the
demonstrators shouted, “murderer Bhutto, go back!” Historically, the hostility
of the public sentiments had justification in their origins, however it has
been cleverly manipulated and a plethora of literature has been produced since
then to malign Pakistan army in particular. Sadly, the books with a tilt
towards Pakistan, bearing Pakistan’s perspectives or aiming to straighten the
record without truth-twisting are not only little known but too few in number.
In the last two decades I have been personally inspired by three books. These
have convincingly advocated the case of Pakistan in relation to the 1971
tragedy. Dr. Junaid Ahmad (A Pakistani scholar) authored, ‘Creation of
Bangladesh: Myths Exploded’ (2017). Besides busting most of the
insurgency-related myths, he meritoriously proved the falsehood of the number
of Pakistani soldiers who surrendered. Whereas ‘Dead Reckoning: Memories of the
1971 Bangladesh War’ (2011), authored by American-Indian academic and
journalist Dr. Sarmila Bose not only unfolded how the 1971 war is still playing
out in the region but challenged the assumptions about the character of the
conflict. Whilst, not exonerating the West Pakistani forces, Bose’s book
bluntly states that the Pakistan army "turned out to be fine men doing
their best to fight an unconventional war within the conventions of
warfare". This statement single handedly is enough to anger both
external and internal enemies of our country. The words of internationally
acclaimed Pakistani origin American strategist, Mr.Shuja Nawaz aptly describe
Bose’s contribution as, “powerful and poignant retelling of the birth of
Bangladesh…” and he adds, “her book should help the people of both countries
accept the facts of that tragic and bloody separation of 1971 and to take
responsibility for the war that stained the verdant Bengali countryside
red." One cannot ignore the stunning story “Of Martyrs and Marigolds”
(2011), penned by Ms. Aquila Ismail (engineer, academic, writer and current
director of the Orangi Pilot Project) .Yet to incapacitate the ache that I
receive while relating with some passage, I must share a heart wrenching line,
“no one from Bangladesh was party to the surrender document” (p.179). I
sincerely wish that our foreign office, strategists from political parties and
think tanks could do some deep diving and soul searching into this book.
History
should not be tempered, and the past is irreversible. However, a proud history
can be shaped, and a future filled with moral victory can be created by taking
some intellectual risks and revisiting the moral foundations of politics in our
part of the globe
Far from
the ecosphere of biased or unbiased academic arguments and research is another
biosphere composed of shambolic spots inhabited by some 300,000 to 450,000
human beings who migrated in 1947 to the Eastern part of Pakistan.
More than
half of them are in Dhaka. They are characterized by discrimination, identity crises
and dearth of dignity. Some local and international non-profits have chosen
some of them as target audiences and intended beneficiaries. Their stories and
images create data for the research students and development practitioners. The
usual superficial nature of the logical framework bound projects successfully
fail to look beyond the obvious and answer the unsaid questions of different
generations clustered in inhumane conditions. The vocal among the younger ones
occasionally voice their anger, their demand for basic human needs and
individuality through human rights/NGO forums. The current pandemic of COVID 19
has added more to their existing deprivations and vulnerabilities. A story
published in Dhaka Tribune in April 2020 quoted Shahjahan, who lives with his
five family members in a single room, “Maintaining social distancing is a dream
for us. We have so little space to live. If the virus spreads in the camps, it
will result in a famine here.” Internet surfing did not provide any follow up
to the stories that intermittently emerge on TV screens and newspapers. In the
“camps” of Bangladesh (Former East Pakistan), the unending showcasing of the
multilayered deception faced by the generations of forgotten, abandoned and
betrayed Pakistani Biharis who sided with Pakistani army in 1971 is neither
“newsworthy” nor of any “commercial interest”.
History
should not be tempered, and the past is irreversible. However, a proud history
can be shaped, and a future filled with moral victory can be created by taking
some intellectual risks and revisiting the moral foundations of politics in our
part of the globe. These most unfortunate people with many names like Bihari’,
‘Mehsoreen’, ‘Maura’, ‘Muhajir’, ‘etc. have yet to receive a formal, civilized
and dignified exit from their current situation which they do not see (and
still do not see) as their final destination. There are no easy solutions, but
this denial has to be ended. Healing is the answer.
How can
this be done and more importantly who can do this? Pakistan as a mature state
has to take urgent actions for rehabilitation of those stranded Pakistanis who
want to reclaim their Pakistani citizenship . In spite of being a staunch
advocate of democratic institutions and without undermining these I would not
mince words in disclosing my unaltered believe that this issue of Pakistani
stranded Biharis can only be solved by military-civil leadership’s
collaboration with the COAS taking a lead. There should not be even an iota of
competition or comparison. It is all about compassion and contribution. Nothing
is more powerful than the power of purpose. The issue can be and must be
settled with the intellectual strength and empathy before enemies of my
Pakistan assemble to celebrate 50 years of the fall of Dhaka.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/696819/healing-is-the-answer-an-urgent-appeal-to-the-coas-and-pm-of-pakistan/
------
30 Seconds Over Natanz
By Harlan Ullman
December 2,
2020
Given
reports of Iran’s continuing uranium enrichment program in its Natanz’ nuclear
facilities, according to the New York Times, on November 12th, the president
met with his key national security advisors to discuss striking those nuclear
facilities. The president, apparently, was keen to take action.
His
advisors, fearing consequences that were unpredictable and unacceptable,
cautioned restraint.
Today,
certain indicators suggest that an American pre-emptive military strike against
Iran’s nuclear programs is still possible however unlikely. Central Command
deployed a B-52 bomber to the region in a show of force. Two American carrier
strike groups are in the region as are a number of nuclear submarines carrying
Tomahawk cruise missiles.
In a not so
secret and unprecedented meeting in Saudi Arabia, Israeli Prime Minister
Benyamin Netanyahu met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, an advocate of regime change in Iran. No
diplomatic breakthroughs took place other than the meeting itself. But the
assassination last weekend of Iran’s top nuclear scientist Moshen Fakhrizadeh
did not seem coincidental.
In 1995,
Bill Clinton approved cruise missile strikes against a suspected chemical
weapons plant in Kenya that was actually producing weed killer. And George W.
Bush’s crusade into Iraq was founded on destroying weapons of mass destruction
that did not exist.
One
possibility is that this assassination may have been timed to provoke an
Iranian response that in turn could serve as justification for retaliatory
action. This would fulfill Donald Trump’s promise that Iran would never have a
nuclear weapon. And it would leave the Biden administration, that Trump still
asserts was fraudulently elected, to clean up the radioactive political mess
left behind.
Suppose
President Trump declared Iran to be a “clear and present danger” requiring
immediate action. Suppose further, Trump ordered the Acting Secretary of
Defense to execute an attack. Several former Secretaries of Defense and
Chairmen of the JCS told me that such an order was probably legal. While the
order might also be catastrophic, it was not at face value unethical or
immoral. Previous presidents have done worse with even weaker rationale.
Based on a
second North Vietnamese PT boat attack against two US Navy destroyers in the
Tonkin Gulf in August 1964 that did not take place, President Lyndon Johnson
used the incident to gain a near unanimous Congressional resolution to engage
in a war that would be lost. In 1995, Bill Clinton approved cruise missile
strikes against a suspected chemical weapons plant in Kenya that was actually
producing weed killer. And George W. Bush’s crusade into Iraq was founded on
destroying weapons of mass destruction that did not exist.
What would
Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller do? Would he have the courage as
Attorneys General did during the Nixon years and not carry out the presidential
order to fire the special prosecutor investigating Watergate? Would he follow
the lead of then Secretary of Defence James Schlesinger, concerned about
Nixon’s mental state during the October 1973 Arab-Israeli War, who instructed
the field commanders to respond only to orders directly from him and no one
else per the chain of command?
If Miller,
a Trump loyalist placed in the Pentagon to do Trump’s bidding, believed the law
to be legal, ordered the responsible operational commander to execute it, what
would the commander do? Note that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Army
General Mark Milley, is not in the chain of command.
Nor is
Congress part of this process except through the War Powers Act that does not immediately
apply or the power to declare war which the president would not request. It is
clear that the responsible operational commander would consult with his lawyers
and certainly the chairman about that order. Whether the order could or would
be rescinded is an open question.
The order
could be leaked. Given the tightly controlled access list, that might be
difficult. The order for Seal Team 6 to capture or kill Osama bin Laden was
kept secret until after the operation was successfully completed. But according
to the Constitution, the president has the authority as commander-in-chief to
direct such actions.
If US
forces stationed in land bases in the region were part of the strike, would
allies need to be informed in advance? During the 1986 Libyan strike, France
refused overflights of US bombers enroute to targets from bases in Britain and
the US Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar could also refuse access if they were
informed.
Donald
Trump tested the basis of America’s democracy by calling the election “rigged”
and a “fraud.” Given Trump’s track record as unpredictable and purposefully
disruptive, could he also conclude that, in his final days in office, an attack
against Iran’s nuclear facilities was warranted? How would the system respond?
The system worked in electing Joe Biden the 46th president. But would it work
again?
We can only
hope we do not have to find out.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/696818/30-seconds-over-natanz/
------
URL: https://newageislam.com/pakistan-press/pakistan-press-‘terror-campaign-inside/d/123645
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