Download Agenda For FATA Reforms Agenda for FATA Reforms (Download)
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THE recent closure and subsequent reopening of the Torkham border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan must be seen in the wider of context of the two neighbours’ historical tensions over the Durand Line, the international boundary between the two countries. The Durand Line stretches over some 2,250 kilometres of mountainous and flat terrain. In the northwest it divides Pakistan’s tribal areas and Afghan territory. Here the ‘line’ is about 460 km long. Its demarcation began in 1893 under Afghan ruler Abdur Rehman and Sir Mortimer Durand, a state official in British India. The Durand agreement was reaffirmed by Abdur Rehman’s…
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THE global handling of security challenges is causing immense secondary problems related to the mass migration of populations from war zones to countries at peace such as those in the European Union. According to the UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, about 70 million war-displaced persons are seeking entry to the EU. Out of the additional 700,000 who joined the ranks of this category 370,000 were Syrians, 14pc Afghans, 10pc Iraqis and 4pc Pakistanis. In Afghanistan and Pakistan migration has always been a traditional means of finding employment in countries short of labour; however, ordinary people are now fleeing their homeland…
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ACROSS the world, spring is associated with rejuvenation and rebirth after a burdensome winter. Yet this logic skips Afghanistan. Here spring has been associated with death since 2003. One of the unintended consequences of the long military operation in Afghanistan has been its emulative nature; the adversary, in this instance the Taliban, has learnt the techniques normally used by states. Its clearest proof was provided last year, when on April 22, the Taliban announced in a tone normally associated with government press releases that, “The Islamic Emirate is going to launch the spring operations under the inspirational name of ‘Azm’…
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“O Motherland! Why are all our tributaries, of love in tumult, our rivers of life, in revolt?” — Ejaz Rahim I WAS recently in Afghanistan to attend the academic forum meeting in connection with the sixth gathering of the Regional Economic Cooperation Conference for Afghanistan. It gave me an opportunity for discussion with the Afghan leadership, officials from the Pakistani mission in Kabul, diplomats from different countries, and an enriching interaction with the youth under the young Afghan leaders programme run by the Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung, Afghanistan. Many of us had high hopes of a paradigm shift in Afghan-Pakistan relations when…
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Fata, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Karachi, Balochistan and Afghanistan have remained in the forefront of violence since 2001. It has at times spilled over into Punjab but violence has remained mainly fixated to the above regions. Violence and conflict can be a result of many factors and studies have shown that it is hardly ever related to a single factor as its main driver. However, one thing is clear that if a nation sits on as many fault lines as we do in Pakistan, it is a question of when, not why, will this violence consume the nation? Some commentators have concluded…
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The passage of the 9/11 bill by U.S. Congress on 28 July, is a clear sign of the Democratic Party’s legislative dominance. This bill was passed by a majority of 371 – 40 and 85 – 8 in the House of Representative and Senate respectively. It is my conjecture that this legislation will cause difficulties in Pakistan U.S relations and will lead to further Talibanization. The ground for these fears is explained in the following essay. The pattern of this legislation follows closely the unfolding of U.S relationship with Pakistan before the imposition of sanctions in 1990, under the famous Pressler…
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