UNIVERSITY OF THE PUNJAB
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Stolen versus Wasted Waters of Pakistan P
No full textAvailability of per capita water is decreasing in Pakistan very fast. No serious effort has been done after the commissioning of Mangla and Tarbela dams long ago. The efficacy of these dams is also falling fast due to sedimentation. The construction of Kalabagh dam has been made politically controversial and Sindh, KPK and Baluchistan provinces are not even ready to consider the proposal. Successive Governments are dragging their feet on Diamer Bhasha dam due to its cost, long time required for completion and other logistic challenges. India, as upper riparian, is continuing with its designs to impede water flow towards Pakistan by building hydroelectric projects, and at some places even diverting water against the Indus Water Treaty 1960. Pakistan has already entered water stressed zone and experts are since long warning about this fact. It is said that the scarcity of water could prove to be a bigger threat than even the terrorism which Pakistan faced for almost 20 years. If it is politically Kalabagh dam is not feasible Pakistan should find alternatives, as there is no short cut solution to this problem. It has already been delayed for long and further delay shall cause clausal damages to economy, agriculture, industry, environment, ecology and above all national integration, as shortage of water is turning into inter provincial dispute
Rejuvenation and Global Dominance of the Chinese People through the BRI: A Confucianist Solution
No full textChina has initiated its plan to become the world’s next global power and to obtaininfluence over other countries. China through its soft power strategy wants to be able to influence countries and people around the world. There are different means for a country like China to gain soft power and persuasive influence over other nations ways are country’s political values, its foreign policy and its culture. Xi Jinping delivered speeches referencing to the ancient Silk Route in Central Asia. He launched China’s multi-trillion dollar project called the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which has two components; the economic belt and the modern day maritime Silk Road. China has also incorporated traditional aspects of Confucianism into its modern day policy to influence countries like Pakistan and gain persuasion over people
Break the Silence: Pakistani Women Facing Violence
No full textWomen have always been treated as second grade citizen in Pakistan. Pakistan isconsidered the 3rd unsafe country for women to live. Pakistani women are facingproblems in their private and public life. Violence is the most thriving issue for thewomen in Pakistan. The main reason of the wide spread violence is poverty andignorance. Social structure is not supporting woman although gender ratio ofpopulation is more than half. This paper is an attempt to explore the causes and types of violence in Pakistan. It also deals with the effects of violence in society. State has introduced a number of legislations but the common woman in Pakistan is conscious about her rights. The state of Pakistan is not progressed without the help of other gender. State and women both have to take the task to eradicate the issue of violence
Efficacy of Personality Traits, Religious Ideology, and Political Capital of Event: The Case of Pulwama Attack
No full textConflict between India and Pakistan, after the 2nd World War constitutes a special space in the catalogue of conflict history. Even when the issues between the two nuclear states are numerous and contentious, they have attempted at different points to resolving the issues – though unsuccessful. The paper reiterates the significance of idiosyncrasy in policy making by looking at three different attacks in India (or territories administered by it) and the response of New Delhi to each. It further explores the personality of Prime Minister Narendra Modi vis-à-vis his religious and ideological beliefs and analyses the extent to which these factors sway Modi in formulating policy particularly towards Indian minority (Muslims) and neighbours like Pakistan. Employing content analysis of Dawn newspaper with the timeline of 2001 to 2019, the paper methodologically looks at three significant attacks unleashed in India (or associated territories)till the Pulwama bombing. To have a perspective of the latter, this paper raises the question that why the attack on the Indian parliament and Mumbai attacks failed to generate similar response as the Pulwama attack did. The paper argues that the Pulwama attack generated a different response due to idiosyncrasy, personality traits, religious and nationalistic tendency of the current administrator of India. More importantly, the season of election is always sensitive; meanwhile incumbent government is always scouting for event(s) to be exploited as political capital for election victory. Premised on the theoretical underpinnings of personality traits, religious ideology, and event such as the Pulwama attack, Modi has managed to change the playbook of India-Pakistan relations
Reviewing the Workforce Diversity in Public Administration: A South Asian Perspective (1975—2019)
No full textWorkforce Diversity is an undeniable challenge in the field of public administration. It is vital to do a systematic literature review to identify the gaps in context of South Asia, notably Pakistan. The current research reviews 83 research articles of last 45 years by addressing the following question: How research on workforce diversity has developed over time in the field of public administration? The two studies are noted from South Asia: Pakistan and India. The researchers tried to examine the dimensions, antecedents and consequences of workforce diversity in context of public administration. Moreover, the relationship of workforce diversity with other variables: mediators and moderators used in the researches are also studied. The aim of the study is to identify the trends of workforce diversity worldwide and by following the footprints of developed countries, how South Asia can benefit by supporting equality and accepting differences. The current research has valuable implications for public organizations in South Asia
Parliamentary Democracy and the Issue of Institutional Jurisdiction in South Asia (The Case of Pakistan)
No full textNormative form of democracy marks the jurisdiction of its various institutions so that no institution could override the powers of others. But in most of the developing countries state institutions (the legislature, executive, judiciary and the military) outstretch their domain and Pakistan is no exception. This paper is an attempt to understand the concept of institutional jurisdiction with in parliamentary democracy. In Pakistan, where democracy has tried to establish after years of military rule, the state institutions remained unable to adhere to their jurisdictions. Although, democratic spirit is revived but efforts to assert more dominance by each institution have undermined the parliamentary spirit and its supremacy. Resultantly, an institutional imbalance and chaos has been observed in the politics of Pakistan. For the purpose the study will observe the period of Pakistan People‟s Party (2008-2013). The study is qualitative in nature which is primarily descriptive and exploratory. Thehistorical description will help to gain familiarity with the constant phenomenon of frequent institutional imbalance which is undermining the democratic growth in Pakistan. The qualitative design will also benefit to provide insights into the problems of the politics of Pakistan, constitutional jurisdiction of each institution; the sanctity ofparliamentary system and the reasons of frequent interruption
Religious Ideology: Origin of Transnational Terrorism in Pakistan
No full textThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the causes and international links ofreligious groups that are supporting their sect fellows in dissemination andacknowledgement of their specific rigid sectarian religious ideas that may contrary to the other sect ideology. Iran and Saudi Arabia play as a leading actor in the promotion of transnational religious extremist ideologies in Pakistan. Later Afghanistan and Central Asian states also play their role in the propagation of polarization on the basis of sects. It is posing severe security threats to individuals, society and the government. After the incident of 9/11 the emergence of different terrorist international Islamic networks, such as Al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood etc., which are helping to disseminate a specific religious ideology across the world and have a great impact on the pre-existing religious groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This article gives an overview of the role of transnational militant Islamic groups in Pakistan. It also explains how they use religious ideology for transnational terrorism in Pakistan. This paper also highlights the role of Taliban in Pakistan and formation of strange relationship between different religious groups and ethnic groups. When the religious tension increases the ethnic tension decreases and this relationship is vice versa. It also makes suggestions for curbing transnational terrorism in Pakistan
Democratization of Afghanistan and Karzai Regime
No full textAfghanistan‟s dependency upon international economic and military assistance has brought international involvement and instruction in its internal affairs. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and subsequent war on terror not only damaged the very foundation of democracy, but also exposed the intentions of the US and its allies, whose interests were focused to the elimination of terrorism rather than the promotion of a political system to root out such evil permanently. The initial peace building efforts revealed the American intentions and installing a stable and cooperative regime in Afghanistan was not in lines with democracy. However, the Bush administration changed his role, realizing the American global commitment to democracy. After the fall of the Taliban regime, the UN made efforts to win the support for the ongoing peace process in Afghanistan and the political development through Bonn Agreement. The agreement was planned to make arrangement among the victors rather than apeace settlement between the belligerents. Humid Karzai was chosen as the head of the Interim Administration and later won the presidential election consecutively in 2004 and 2009. The Karzai administration violated the election procedure to secure its votes, accommodating the powerful armed groups. The Loya Jirga confirmed its support for American priorities, creating doubts about its legitimacy, bulldozing the expectations of the people for a healthy democratic setting in Afghanistan. The most serious question was the type of government as the ethnic minorities, consisting more than 50 percent of the population, wanted parliamentary system, whereas the US showed its inclination towards the presidential system. Elections were labeled independent, but some basic elements of democratic traditions were ignored as the political parties were sidelined, which produced a fragmented and weak legislature. Here the question is about the process of democratization of Afghanistan, whether the President Karzai regime adopted a right direction for true democratic setup, making incremental measures or molded the system as per interests and requirements in the name of security? After reviewing the available literature, the paper has hypothesized that the Karzai regime has not projected itself as a true elected representative of the people, but with the impression of the devotee of American interests in Afghanistan. The objective of the study is to look into the tenure of President Hamid Karzai and his regime‟s effort to democratize the state. Being a tribal society, the process of democratization was a new experience in Afghanistan, but the US and its allies ignored the culture, traditions and ethnic composition while launching Western liberal democracy. They forgot that the countries, which opt to be democratized can show performance if the system is assimilated to its traditions. The study is to explore the process of democratization in Afghanistan, reviewing the role of the regime. Bothqualitative and descriptive methods have been used for analyzing the data
Pakistan as a Frontline State in War Against Terrorism: Cost & Benefit Analysis
No full textPakistan being an immediate neighbor of Afghanistan and a historical U.S. allybecame frontline state not only in combating terrorism but a victim ofaggression itself in multiple forms including sectarian conflicts, instability andextremism, discontent in the provinces, militancy, and growing violence whichhas dragged the country into social, political and economic quagmire. Today,Pakistan has become a source of great concern for the U.S. regarding combating terrorism. Pakistan’s western border is used by Taliban and AlQaeda terrorists as a safe haven where they could easily pursue their activities. These terrorist not only posing a serious security threat to the stability and security of Pakistan but on the other hand, they are trying to destabilize U.S. and its allies reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan in the War against Terrorism. This precarious situation has given these terrorists a free hand to exploit already deteriorating condition and they successfully create toxic propaganda on the basis of a narrative of government’s failure to provide stability and prosperity to the deprived people of the region. Since Pakistan has been a key ally of Washington; it has contributed more than any other coalition partner of the U.S. in this ongoing War againstTerrorism including sacrifices of more than 8,500 Pakistan military personnel and as many as 35,000 Pakistani civilians. Pakistan under President Musharraf regime not only banned several militant terrorist organizations but it acted in a prompt manner in detaining thousands of extremists from its territory. It captured many high value Al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorists thus extending full length support to the U.S. military and law enforcement agencies in rooting out terrorists’ network. U.S. is very much aware of the fact they could not have killed and captured terrorists without the co-operation and support of Pakistani intelligence. But on the other hand, American officials believe that Pakistani military is not playing an effective role to combat terrorism. They often blame that Pakistani military is playing a dual role with the U.S. and its allies and is supporting the Afghan Taliban on the other side of the border in Afghanistan where they undermine NATO and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) efforts to bring peace and stability. Since 9/11, Washington and Islamabad have different perceptions and strategies to combat terrorism with outstanding differences but somehow both unequal partners in War against Terrorism have tried to manage their ties. Undoubtedly, the most important and grave concern from the Pakistani military perspective has been the U.S. unreliable role in this War against Terrorism and the way it has been showing its distrust regarding Pakistan’s military efforts to fight terrorism. This study basically examines post-9/11 period and the impact which this War against Terrorism has created on U.S.-Pakistan relations. It emphasizes
China – Pakistan Future Prospects and their Strategic Compulsions
No full textPakistan and China are known to be strange bed fellows who found themselves in opposite camps in their genesis, Pakistan being a Muslim majority state much dependent on western capitalist powers for her security while China was communist naturally backed by Soviet Russia. Subsequent events clearly imposed strategic compulsions forcing both states to come closer. It took less time for leadership of both countries to realize ground realities and soon a new epoch of mutual understanding and cooperation ensued. Pakistan’s disenchantment with the western block and rising Indian security threats compelled her to seek Chinese assistance. China, on her turn was parting her ways with Soviet Union while seriously concerned about Indian hegemonic designs. Pakistan proved to be strategic asset for China when she played a pivotal role in bridging gaps between China and U.S. the proverbial friendship between the two states has entered into a new phase in the post cold war era. Afghanistan issue and the U.S-India growing ties coupled with Pakistan’s security and energy problems are the issues around which future Sino-Pak relations would revolve