Umair Khalil: US and the Baloch Cause

The Balochistan issue is making headlines again. But this time with a new and unexpected twist. The US Congress hearing and subsequent resolution are generating waves in the Pakistani media. So what is new with that? The Congress foreign affairs committees regularly conduct hearings on several issues. What shook me was that Dana Rohrabacher, the conservative Republican who tabled the resolution, went as far as demanding a separate Baloch state. The resolution may be termed as a ‘stunt’ and a futile attempt to gain political points, but this may spark a debate among opponents of the US-Pakistan aid programme in the Congress and in the administration. If it happens, it will be largely in the favour of Baloch activists in the US. In order to assess the dynamics of the entire situation, we need to understand the extent of Baloch activism in the US.

The Baloch diaspora is politically active in the US; it engages in efforts to promote the Baloch cause among US politicians and policymakers. Unsurprisingly, such “activism” serves the self-proclaimed “leaders” of the Baloch separatist movement which organizes its efforts through NGOs, think-tanks, interest groups and media outlets in order to gain US support in Balochistan’s bid for independence.

Andrey V. Demidov: Russia’s relationship with Iran

We in Russia consider Iran as a very important nation, as a nation that has important influence on the world political climate. We know that during the period of last three decades Iran has achieved a lot in the fields of social development, politics and sports. We do our best to have good relations with Iran as well as with Iranian people. There are almost no political disagreements between Russia and Iran at present. We attach serious importance to the development of mutually beneficial economic and scientific cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran. In our view, such cooperation is an important investment to the future.

Our cooperation in the field of nuclear energy is one of the core issues of our bilateral ties and of world politics. We in Russia are partisans of nuclear non-proliferation regime. Iran is a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which in our view is an important component of the present-day international world order.

Abdulkadir Suleiman: Norway’s Conservatism …

Norway’s Conservatism:  Would you want your daughter to marry a Sicilian?

It is literally perfect to assume that the Norway shooting spree on July 2011 did not come by chance, as Europe has been experiencing a wave of loathing for the last ten years throughout the continent. The number of individuals who excessively obsess xenophobic as well as Islamphobic expressions was significantly increased in European metropolitan cities since 9/11 and, as a result, conservatism has grabbed some attention since then. . Indeed, the action by Anders Behring Breivik has translated the inner ambition of conservative individuals into a real political manifestation.

The rise of right-wing politics in western countries is becoming clearer as they are winning too many seats in Parliamentary elections as compared to the 1990s. The racist and nationalistic elements, who advocate far more restrictions on immigration policies, have retained wide sympathizers from Ireland to Italy and from Italy to Norway. In Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Italy and France, hard right-wing and anti-immigrant parties regularly receive more than 10 percent of the vote. According to online statistics; in Norway it is 22 percent, in Switzerland 29 percent, in Italy and Austria they have been in government.

Mohammad Qaseem Saeed: The bottle stops at Germany, again!

The Bonn Conference reminds the world of the active role of Germany at decisive stages, again! The conference was held to provide a road map for the development and re-construction of Afghanistan. The agenda was inclined to strengthen the pre-transition 2014 situation to give sustainability to the post-transition era. The United States entered Afghanistan after September 11 attacks and now wants an acceptable magnitude of stability in the landlocked country. But Pakistan boycotted the conference because of the US led NATO strike on its soil. The attack – which left 24 Pakistani soldiers killed at Salala checkpost, Mohmand Agency – took place barely a month before this significant seating at Bonn.

Bonn, the former capital of West Germany, is also called UN city. It was the meeting place of international actors with Taliban under UN auspices in 2001: Bonn Agreement. Germany is emerging as a major party in the current international debate pertaining to the war against terrorism. Today’s Germany, a country of 82 million, has a history full of tides. But at every stage – regional or international – Germany has been a major player in the arena.

Dr Masuma Hasan: International Conference on Global Movement of Moderates

In Pursuit of an Enduring and Just Peace

The Global Movement of Moderates was launched in Kuala Lumpur in an international conference on 17-19 January 2012. It was organised by the International Islamic University Alumni Association. A very high profile gathering, it was inaugurated by the Malaysian prime minister, Mohammad Najib Tun Razak who also delivered the opening keynote address. The Global Movement Moderates Foundation was simultaneously launched.

It was said that the Conference was attended by 600 delegates from 36 countries. The delegations were heavily titled towards Southeast Asia. Surprisingly, there were no delegates from the People’s Republic of China, a moderate giant ─ or none that I could spot as the list of delegates was long and had not been circulated. Nor was there representation from the high powered think tanks in India, although some Indian delegates were present. Pakistan was represented by Dr. Fazlur Rahman from the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad and by me from The Pakistan Institute of International Affairs, Karachi. Our ambassador in Malaysia, Masood Khalid, attended many sessions of the Conference.

Majyd Aziz: The Fat Lady is about to Sing

Imran Khan is riding the waves because he is talking about change à la Obama. Right now he is being propped up ostensibly by the establishment as an acceptable alternative to Zardari or Nawaz Sharif. Unfortunately he has not come out with any concrete answers or a roadmap for improving the economy, creating quality jobs, global bilateral relations, and good governance. Salman and Abrar can whip up a frenzy at his rallies but the question is, “Where’s the beef?”

Some big names as well as the youth, and what are called “burger families”, have rallied behind him. He terms his various rallies as a Tsunami that is out to wipe away the traditional political environment that is the root cause of the way this nation is being governed. This was the same scenario in 1977 when the Pakistan National Alliance was set up against Z A Bhutto till Gen Zia took over. The “primo” leader of PNA was Air Marshall Asghar Khan who was touted as the next Prime Minister. At that time, the big names in the politics of Pakistan were in PNA but the focus was on Asghar Khan.

Umair Khalil: Iran and the Strait – Prospects and Implications

Consider this question: if you were the policymaker of a country on the verge of an economic catastrophe and involved in a complex political imbroglio with the world’s foremost power, would you attempt to close down ‘the world’s most important oil chokepoint’ (which – according to international law – belongs to no one in particular)? For the sake of peace, personally I would avoid doing so.

I ask the question because Iran has threatened to shut off the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically important shipping passage which links major oil-rich Gulf States to the rest of the world and through which almost one-fifth of the world’s oil passes. According to various analysts, if Iran blocks the Strait entirely, the global oil prices could increase by 50 percent or more in a matter of days. The Iranian decision of obstructing the strategically vital sea route may arise as a result of the latest US sanctions against Iran and mounting European pressure which might lead to the possibility of an oil embargo.

Our journal’s last two issues

The Pakistan Horizon is the flagship Journal of The Pakistan Institute of International Affairs which we have published continuously since 1948. The July and October 2011 issues have been dedicated to the Arab Awakening and Pakistan’s relationship with China over the past six decades. The contents of the two latest issues of our journal are set out below. Please contact us on piia@cyber.net.pk should you want more details. 

THE ARAB UPRISING, Volume 64, Number 3, July 2011

• Pakistan’s Foreign Policy Survey, Staff Study     1

• The Arab Awakening, Ana Marija Bešker   7

• The Arab Spring:  How Will It Blossom? Karamatullah K. Ghori    13

• US Democracy Promotion and Popular Revolutions in the Middle East: Challenges and Opportunities, Muhammad Ijaz Latif and Hussain Abbas    25

PIIA’s Network Partnership with AGORA Asia-Europe

The Pakistan Institute of International Affairs (PIIA) has become an exclusive network partner of AGORA Asia-Europe making us the only think tank in Pakistan to have been chosen as partner.

AGORA Asia-Europe is a pioneer network linking leading think tanks in Asia and Europe in order to bring together intellectual communities from Asia and Europe. It is borne out of the need to build a bridge between Asia and the EU and create a dynamic strategy so that both regions can interact credibly in the 21^st century. It will be led and directed by Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo (FRIDE), the European think tank for global action based in Spain.

The main focus of AGORA Asia-Europe will be on applied research, joint policy briefs and high quality seminars. While the EU outlook towards Asia focuses on a larger number of priority areas, the Agora will monitor and assess the EU’s performance under five pillars in order to find a mix between the broad political ambitions of the EU and the narrower practical realities of engaging Asia within the EU’s capacities.

The research pillars will be Global Governance and Regional Settings, Security-Development Nexus and Stability, Energy and Climate Change, Trade, Democracy and Human Rights.

Dr. Masuma Hasan: Reaching Out to Widows in Pakistan

Aurat Foundation Pakistan is a member of the South Asian Network for Women’s Empowerment in Development (Sanwed) and I have had the privilege of representing Aurat Foundation at Sanwed’s inaugural meeting in Chennai in December 2005, at the Conference in Kathmandu in June 2010 and at the International Windows Day Conference held in London on 23 June 2006. These gatherings were highly rewarding. They enabled me to meet colleagues and partners, exchange views, and learn about new ideas, projects and initiatives.

Therefore, I was looking forward to this Sanwed workshop which has been organised by Women for Human Rights (Single Women Group) in Kathmandu but, unfortunately, am unable to attend it. However, I should like to put forward my views on the subject of ameliorating the plight of widows, which is our common concern, with respect to Pakistan.

Until the results of Pakistan’s Census of 2011 become available, we have to rely on statistics about widows on the Census of 1998 which I have quoted in the paper I read in the Conference in Kathmandu in June 2010. However, since the population of Pakistan has increased greatly since the last Census, given the pattern population growth, the number of widows must have also risen in the same proportion.