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Jahangir World Times Published: January 2015

An Agonizing Reappraisal Foreign policy of a nation is always predicated on where you want to go as a sovereign nation and an independent state. This is the basic determinant of a country's foreign policy. In our case, at the time of our independence, like Alice in Wonderland, we just did not know which way to go and this turned out to be the first 'dilemma' of our foreign policy. In June 1949, our acceptance of Stalin's invitation to our prime minister to visit Moscow was quickly matched with a similar invitation for Liaquat Ali Khan to visit Washington.

Written CSS 2015 Special Thursday, January 01, 2015

Thanks to the old imperial connections at the civil-military level, we immediately got sucked into the Cold War struggle. In the process, we have encountered unbroken series of endemic crises and challenges that perhaps no other country in the world has ever experienced. We still have not been able to come out of our 'dilemma' and are living with one crisis after another. Even today, we are living in a hostile environment. No wonder, the outgoing year was no different from all the previous years of our independent statehood in terms of challenges to our foreign policy. For any country, it is important who its neighbours are, as their attitude, irrespective of their size or power, has a direct bearing on its personality and character, and on issues of its security, development and resource allocation. We could not change our geography nor choose our neighbours. We had to live with geopolitical realities no matter how challenging they were. In doing so, our sole consideration had to be how to safeguard and preserve our independence and territorial integrity. Geography thus placed on Pakistan the onerous responsibility of consistent

vigilance and careful conduct of its relations not only with its immediate neighbours but also with the rest of the world. Pakistan's strategic location was pivotal to the global dynamics of the Cold War era and remains crucial even to the post-9/11 'great game' in the name of global 'war on terror.' Indeed, the events of 9/11 represented a critical threshold in Pakistan's foreign policy. In the blinking of an eye, we again became a pivotal player in a US-led long war in our region. It was the beginning of another painful chapter in our turbulent political history. The sum-total of Pakistan's post-9/11 foreign policy was its new identity on the global radar screen as the “hotbed” of religion-based extremism and terrorism, and its frontline role in the global 'war on terror'. This sordid reality has seriously hurt Pakistan, domestically as well as externally, limiting its policy options. Its negative global image has not only made it the focus of world attention and anxiety but also forced it to make difficult choices in its perennial struggle for security and survival as an independent state. Today, we are the only country in the world waging a full-scale war on its own soil and against its own people. We have staked everything in this war and are constantly facing the brunt with more nearly 60,000 Pakistani civilians and security personnel

having lost their lives in terrorist attacks in the last few years. The gruesome Peshawar tragedy was the limit any nation could take. Foreign policy of a country, and the way it is made and pursued is inextricably linked to its domestic policies, governance issues and socio-economic and political situation. A country's standing in the comity of nations always corresponds directly to its political, social, economic and strategic strength. No country has ever succeeded externally if it is weak and crippled domestically. And domestically, the tally of our woes includes loss of half the country, leadership miscarriages, governance failures, politico-economic debacles, societal disarrays and militant religious perversities. This is the sum-total of our post-independence history. It is against this dreary backdrop that we enter the year 2015. For nearly seventy years now, we have followed a foreign policy that we thought was based on globally recognized principles of inter-state relations and which in our view responded realistically to the exceptional challenges of our times. But never did we realise that for a perilously located country, domestically as unstable and unpredictable as ours, there could be not many choices in terms of external relations. Our domestic failures have not only seriously constricted our foreign policy options but also exacerbated Pakistan's external image and standing. No doubt, we have survived these crises and challenges but at what cost? It is time we did some soul-searching no matter how agonizing it may be to look upon ourselves and see what we have done to our country in our own lifetime. Foreign policy of a nation is

nothing but an external reflection of what you are from within. And domestically, we present a pathetic picture. Whether we accept it or not, in other countries, Pakistan's name today instantly raises fear and concern. Terrorism is our sole identity now. We are seen both as the problem and the key to its solution. We have become a suicidal nation and are killing ourselves. We are not even ashamed of what we have done to ourselves. No wonder, the world now calls us the "most dangerous place" on earth. It's no longer important what our foreign policy is or who our friends are. To the world, we are a mastless country looted and plundered by its own rulers, left with no dignity or pride. Economically, we are no more than a 'basket' case with our Marco Polo rulers never tired of going around the world with a begging bowl. Despite our vast human and material resources, our vulnerable rulers have followed policies that have kept the country hostage to external influence and control. With our continued political instability and precarious extremism-led violence, we remain unable to harness the unique asset of our location for our economic growth. Pakistan's biggest challenge now is to convert its pivotal location into an asset rather than a liability. And to be treated with respect and dignity by others, Pakistan has to be stable politically and strong economically so that it can be self-reliant and immune to external constraints and exploitation. There is no foreign policy worth its name in the absence of good governance. No country has ever succeeded externally if it is weak and crippled domestically. And our challenges today are domestic, rooted in governance failures. Even our external difficulties are extension of our domestic failures. Remedies to our problems are also at home, not anywhere else. For us at this critical phase in our history, it is not important what we are required to do for other's interests; it is what we ought to do to serve our own national interests. To be at peace with others, we must be at peace with ourselves. Peace, as we know by now, is much more than the absence of war. It has come to mean more than the end of a military conflict; it now means peace and harmony within nations. It is this peace and harmony that we as a nation need in Pakistan. To have a foreign policy of our own, we need good governance. But in our country, there is so much aridity of it. The foremost priority for us therefore is to fix the fundamentals of our governance. We also need to change world's perception of our country, which surely has many reasons and assets other than terrorism and violence to be recognised as a responsible member of the international community. We must free ourselves of the forces of extremism, obscurantism, intolerance, militancy and violence. The writer is a former foreign secretary. Shamshad Ahmad

Global War and Peace Contemporary world is fraught with perpetuated violence and killings to undermine the sustainability of mankind's future. Complex societal conflicts need rational and flexible strategies using men of new ideas, diplomacy and peaceful means to conflict management. War is not a prelude to peacemaking. The sadistic warriors are using obsessive power to victimize the global humanity. Tim Roemer in his article “The Threats We Forget” published in Foreign Policy recently, notes that the Islamic State and Ebola are the “twin plagues” unleashed upon the world. The IS is trying to create a “house of blood”; and Ebola is the modern-day African ogre, and the two are “monumental crises” that the world must face together.


While the Ebola crisis is adequately considered by the global community, IS has been mishandled by the US and its European allies. The IS did not grow out of nowhere. The US and its allies have failed to imagine the ripple effects of their own follies and continued aggressive war as well as prolonged occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. IS, Iran-backed Badr group and several other groups are all active in Iraq and Syria. So are the US and its allies launching bombing campaigns and killing thousands of innocent civilians! Several millions of Arab refugees scattered around helplessly are the direct results of this insanity. President Obama and other Western leaders don't touch the facts of this prevalent global madness aimed at dismantling and occupying the entire oil-producing Arab region. Tim Roemer points out: “The world is an unpredictable place right now — and things could grow worse. The Islamic

State might quickly escalate geopolitical problems in the Middle East, destabilize Jordan or Turkey, and begin a more systematic export of radicalized fighters around the world. That is why the United States needs to take immediate and bipartisan action against these threats.” Western Hypocrisy or Emerging “Jihadist” Challenge? Do the Islamic societies breed jihadis or did the US-led bogus war on terrorism produce reactionary jihadists? Where do the “Jihadists” come from? Most North American and western European intelligence establishments operate “Jihadi” watch websites to alert the public consciousness of the ongoing war on terror. It's a one-way descriptive fantasy of the Jihadi alarm bell. All of the Jihadi groups are fighting reactionary wars against American-led wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and, more broadly, across the Arab world. They owe their existence to American strategic warfare policies and practices. To counteract the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the US State Department and CIA envisaged, created and trained Al-Qaeda. The “Jihadi” group was financed and led by the US armed forces' personnel to fight against the former USSR-installed Afghan Communist regime. How strange the US excelsior club of “Jihadi” movement does not come to terms with the contemporary radical “Jihadist” ideology based in Iraq and Syria! All of the Jihadis were used by the Western nations in ideological conflict zones. But once they became a liability, they were abandoned and were termed terrorists. While the US is bombing the innocent civilians in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, these radical Jihadi enterprises are attracting more minds and souls in the same war theatres. Certainly, a disconnect is prominent in what the US policy proclaims and what is being done on ground. The radicalized Jihadi groups are the means by which the US war economy and Europeans maintain their manipulation of ideas and ideals to support the continuous military interventions. Political Deceptions and Lies of the War on Terrorism All the monsters of history are to be found among the absolute leaders exercising absolute power in disregard of the peoples' interests. Since the Washington-based major military-industrial war complex orchestrated the bogus War on Terrorism, American politics in one-sided endeavour to unfold unthinkable futuristic disasters. Glenn Greenwald in his article “The 'War on Terror' – by Design – Can Never End,” writes: “There's no question that this "war" will continue indefinitely. There is no question that US actions are the cause of that, the gasoline that fuels the fire. The only question — and it's becoming less of a question for me all the time — is whether this endless war is the intended result of US actions or just an unwanted miscalculation.” He further states: “Why would anyone in the US government or its owners have any interest in putting an end to

this sham bonanza of power and profit called “the war on terror”?” Arguably, conflicts generate mistrust and drain out all positive human energies and thinking for peaceful change, and transformation to sustainable future and productivity. Is it hard for Obama administration to understand this truth? To cover up their secretive and unhealthy minds, the US policymakers continue to lie and deceive the well informed global mankind. Societies evolve and progress when they are open to rational communications and enjoin cooperation and mutual respects, not conflicts and illegal and immoral intelligence spying as stumbling blocks. “Is America at war with itself and that war is illusion,” wonders William Boardman in his article “A Country At War With An Illusion.” He writes: “We are waging war on terrorism even as we embody terrorism. No wonder we seem sometimes to be at war with ourselves, and have been for most of the 21st century.” How to Decode Insanity into Rationality? Wars are planned by insane minds and sadistic political strategists. Wars kill people, dehumanize the civic culture and destroy the human habitats and

undermine the natural environment to support life. There is not a single historic reference to indicate if wars were a prelude to peacemaking. The hourly paid Western news media intellectuals propagate and misinform the masses that Islamic terrorism is threatening the Western nations and their security, values and living standards. After the 9/11, George Bush used to contend “they hate our freedom.” Outside America, no impartial observer believes that America enjoys political freedom or the capacity to make public-interest-based foreign policy. The Washington-based political lobbyists and the powerful industrial-military complex set the US foreign policy agenda and conduct the warfare. From George W. Bush, Tony Blair (Former British PM), Dick Cheney, Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice and all other conspirators and liars onward to Barack Obama, all have consumed precious time and opportunities to cause massive deaths and destruction across the globe. Most probably, they will escape moral and political accountability. Were they not responsible for the longest bogus wars against the innocent people in Afghanistan and Iraq? Were they not the cruellest

people to set up Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, Bagram prison in Afghanistan and the Guantanamo Bay? These were not the hallmarks of human freedom, liberty, democracy and justice! It might be hard for any morally and intellectually conscientious American policymaker to see the mirror. How dare you claim that the “Jihadists” are waging war against the Western nations and their civilizations? You are the reason for the emergence of radicalized “Jihadists” across the globe. The IS owes its origin to the US strategy and military intervention in Iraq. American and British leaders infested Iraqi culture with coerced sectarian divides and violence. But after the facts, America and some of its European allies fear a less engaged role and cumbersome futuristic domination of the oil-rich Iraq and the neighbouring Saudi Arabia and UAE. They want to contain the IS. American and Europeans do not seem to be bothered by the bloody sectarian rampage carried out by the Badr group sponsored by Iran and fighting against the Sunnis in Iraq. One wonders, if there is a cure to a cruel mindset? Absolute political power cannot be justified as simple favourable perversion to torture, kill the innocent mankind and destroy the universal harmony and natural habitats on the Earth. Should all the political leaders take a space journey and view the 10,000 mile per hour orbiting planet Earth and try to understand its operational existence and governance by its Creator and the vitality of human life and habitats. Do these leaders have the capacity to learn from scientific observations? If not, how could they be leaders to lead the 21st century informed humanity? What is the cure to raging indifferences and cruelty to the interests of the people of the United States and for that matter the whole of the mankind? Professor P.L Thomas of South Carolina's Furman University speaks out loud and clear in “Obama's Failed Hope and Change: Forget the Politicians. They are Irrelevant.” He writes: “Forget the politicians. They are irrelevant. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice! You have owners! They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They've long since bought, and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the State houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear.” If the leaders of a powerful nation like the US are not flexible and intelligent enough to realize the attributes of the 21st century effective leadership and be able to know and manage their comparative political strengths and weaknesses, how could they deal with the futuristic global challenges of security and peacemaking? Dr Mahboob A. Khawaja

Strategic Paradigm Shift in South Asia South Asia hosts eight Saarc states namely Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives and Afghanistan. The region comprises most ancient cultures in the world, housing over a fifth of population. South Asia holds a significant strategic importance because of its geography (warm water access and numerous resources) and strategic location. The region became more significant after India and Pakistan declared their nuclear status. The world understands that the nuclear weapons in South Asia are alarming for the rest of the world.


South Asia has always been a source of strategic and economic attraction for regional and international powers. From ancient Central Asian invaders and Medieval Muslim conquerors to European colonisers, this resource-rich region has assumed irreversible significance even in the modern era. For instance, during the Cold War period, the capitalist world under the leadership of the US, and the communist bloc led by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) sought to win allies in modern South Asia. Little wonder then, post-partition India, ensconced in the Nehruvian understanding of global capital and politics, opted to apparently stay non-aligned. However, the Indian state, in real terms, could not hide its socialist inclinations that were only to be thwarted during the 1962 Sino-India war. On the other hand, Pakistan, from very early on, chose to ally with the US and its allies. Pakistan's strategic vision was largely shaped by the individual, if not institutional, socialisation of its first generation political and bureaucratic leaderships. Beside India and Pakistan, Afghanistan has also been an active actor in regional politics. Indeed, since the Czarist days, Russians looked to Afghanistan for strategic, political and economic penetration inside South Asia and beyond. Moreover, the modern Indian state viewed Afghanistan as a potential source to make inroads into Central Asia along with the containment of Pakistan. Paradoxically, Afghanistan declined to recognise Pakistan as a sovereign and independent state in 1947, more on account of its nationalistic aspirations than any conspiracy theory. However, once grounded in the Afghan state mentality, mutual distrust further grew,

especially during the 1970s. The following decade did bring Pakistan almost into mainstream Afghanistan strategically, economically and even politically. The US and the USSR fought the final round of the Cold War, which ended in the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. In the post-Cold War period, South Asian politics and economy were greatly influenced by political and strategic developments that engulfed the poor and war-ravaged country. By and large, there is now a consensus among the scholarly and political communities that Washington's engagement level with Afghanistan was much lower during the 90s. By default, this provided an opportunity to both Pakistan and India, along with other regional stakeholders, such as Iran and China, to make and maintain a strategic presence inside Afghanistan. The so-called strategic depth doctrine can be seen in this respect. Unsurprisingly then, Pakistan became one of the three states to recognise the establishment of an Islamic state by the Taliban in 1996. Afghanistan's neighbours, especially Iran and India, viewed the Taliban government in oppositional terms. The US, which was least interested in the strategic game in South Asia, became the topmost stakeholder not only in South Asia but also Afghanistan in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. 'Either with or against us' was the communicated policy of the US to bring a strategic paradigm shift in South Asia. Acting very rationally, Musharraf-led Pakistan saw more benefits than cost in cooperation with the global superpower. This apparent policy shift on the part of the Pakistani security establishment gave birth to concepts such as soft strategic depth, which believed in cooperation with Western powers, the Taliban and the like simultaneously. Moreover, regional actors, India in particular, also sought to cultivate the Afghan power elite in the hopes of building a long-term relationship based on mutual exchange of views and products. Iran and China also became alert given their security and commercial concerns. In other words, since the replacement of the Taliban-led Islamic state with the Karzai-led nation state, international and regional actors engaged each other in a constant game of strategic, political and socio-economic influence building. Collectively, the US played the role of an arbitrator and financer of such activism. Afghanistan and Pakistan were the chief beneficiaries, at least economically. Nevertheless, Pakistan did face the human and infrastructural cost of the conflict but this is largely because of our ambiguous strategic policy for the South Asian region. Now that the US has already pursued its (partial) withdrawal policy, the political and strategic situation that Afghanistan and South Asia are likely to face demands our serious attention. How will Ghani-Abdullah-led Afghanistan rebuild itself? What role can the US and its NATO allies play in this respect? How are Russia and China viewing the political change in Kabul? Is Pakistan going to fully support the new political setup? Will India agree to Pakistan's role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan? What role can be played by Iran? These are some relevant questions that need to be addressed by policymakers, academics, etc. More importantly, owing to its involvement in Afghanistan's internal matters, Pakistan, at this critical juncture, needs to decide for its own larger interests whether it has concluded a meaningful revisit of its strategic vision of South Asia and the world around it. In this respect, the recent public statements by the

former army chief (Pervez Musharraf) and the serving army chief (Raheel Sharif) merit attention. The former lamented the recognition of the Taliban government by the Pakistan state whereas General Raheel Sharif, while referring to Pakistan's efforts in the war on terror, argued that “the enemy lives within us and looks like us”. One wonders why the former general was criticised by the US and others for playing a dual policy with respect to the Taliban whose government was recognised by the Pakistan military. Why did he not realise the flaws in the recognition policy when he was ruling the roost? General Raheel Sharif's statement can be contextualised in his recent visit to the US. Pakistan's role in Afghanistan, if not in South Asia, has been termed as a “binding force” by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Monetary assistance assured the other day, under the terms of the Coalition Support Fund, is still conditional. This, in the view of Dr Ehsan Ahrari, who has advised the Obama Administration on Pakistan and Afghanistan. He points to the fact that the US is still not clear and satisfied with the strategic policy of the Pakistani security establishment. By default, this also complicates the debate on the strategic paradigm shift in South Asia. In order to be revered regionally and globally, this is the time Pakistan should engage itself in a serious debate on its grand policy.

Courtesy: South Asia Monitor

US at A Crossroads

The basic feature of US foreign policy during the Cold War was inclusiveness — a willingness to embrace any country that opposed communism, whatever its type of government. The US contested the Soviet system and held the line militarily, and its consistent and comprehensive approach eventually led to the Soviet Union's implosion. After the Cold War, came the “war on terror” during which the United States has not been as inclusive as it was in its war against communism. Aside from those in the “coalition of the willing,” even most European countries have distanced themselves from Washington. Iraq also has exposed the weaknesses in American policymaking. All these factors have brought the US at a crossroads.


Washington officials have recently announced that the United States is going to increase its military presence in Iraq. At the same time, a number of US troops have been deployed in Iraqi Kurdistan. Simultaneously, the White House is applying a lot of pressure on Iran in the negotiations on the issue of Iranian nuclear programme. The US is trying to extract as many concessions from the Iranians as it possibly can, including the reduction in support that Tehran has been, and is still, providing to Damascus. Yet, Washington refuses to decrease the tension around the situation in eastern Ukraine, claiming that Russia had been sending military equipment and troops there. Europeans have found themselves in a position similar to Iran, since the US officials have been twisting their arms in order to make them adopt a new package of anti-Russia sanctions. Therefore, it's no coincidence that Russia and China have taken a number of major steps to increase their efforts in the fields of energy and economic cooperation. The question then arises as to what is the ultimate goal of the US foreign policy — Ukraine, the Middle East or China? Should the Washington think tanks be presented with such a question, one would definitely hear an answer that the Obama administration can handle a number of different matters simultaneously. However, should you persist, the outcome of your inquiry can prove to be rather peculiar. It's a general belief in Washington now that if choosing between the two recent crises — in the Middle East and Ukraine — the Middle Eastern one is by far the most important to American interests. There are a number of indicators to prove this statement: Firstly, the Middle East is now torn apart by a full-scale war, especially in Iraq and Syria, and the US is carrying out air strikes against the positions of IS militants in these two countries on a daily basis. Secondly, under the US national security doctrine the protection of the US population at home and overseas is imperative and Washington believes that the jihadists present by far a more pressing threat to US citizens than Russia. Finally, Washington think tanks believe that the regional structure of the Middle East is now

going down in flames, and it will take several decades to build a new one, while the European structure has been “slightly shaken” by the events in Ukraine. Moreover, American politicians, lawmakers and analysts believe that the United States, while focusing on Russia and the Ukraine crisis, is not paying enough attention to Iraq, Syria and Iran. Therefore, Obama administration is being accused that its obsession with Ukraine had allowed IS militants to establish control over large parts of Iraq and Syria. However, for those concerned with Vladimir Putin's actions aimed at restoring Russian influence in the post-Soviet space, the Middle East looks more like a dangerous distraction. Supporters of this approach fear that the US may once again be drawn into the “war on terror” in the Middle East, while the main security threat to US interests is growing in Europe. This position is based on the premise that the US has not fully realized how serious are the actual challenges that are associated with the strengthening of Russia. The supporters of this approach are sure that the return of the Crimea along with a de facto secession of the southeast territories from Ukraine is just the beginning of redistribution of the world at the expense of the United States. Moreover, they are convinced that Russia will become a threat to the rest of Ukraine, and even the Baltic states.

The fact that Washington dismisses the possibility of its direct military involvement in the Ukraine crisis makes it pretend that it is not as tense as it could be, but in fact it is indirectly raising the stakes in the game called “the creation of a new world order.” The worst case scenario, which is being discussed behind closed doors in the White House, is the alleged possibility of Moscow putting its tactical nuclear weapons to actual use. This, of course, would be the biggest crisis in the field of international security since the Cuban Missile Crisis, and it would be by far graver and more dangerous than the next phase of war in Iraq that has been going on for 35 years now. Naturally, the vast majority of sensible and sane politicians and experts in the US don't believe in the nuclear scenario, although many of them still fear that Moscow will start a full-scale conventional assault in Ukraine or provoke a “rebellion” of the Russian-speaking population in the Baltic States that are Nato members. Should Russia invade the Baltic States and should Nato fail to react, they argue, Moscow will show the world that the Western military alliance is in

fact a “paper tiger.” This part of the US political elite hopes that the ever increasing pressure on the Russian economy will hold Putin back from escalating the Ukrainian conflict though their opponents are convinced that the economic crisis may instead push Russia to take a number of unpredictable steps by switching to “brute force” scenario. Against this background Obama flew to the APEC summit in China. For supporters of the American 'pivot' to Asia, the ever growing Chinese influence is the main challenge in the long run. A handful of think tanks are convinced that while the US will try to deal with the two above-mentioned crises, China will be able to establish control over East Asia and the Asia Pacific region, which is slowly being transformed into a major centre of the world economy. These think tanks insist that the Obama administration must take steps to prevent China from growing stronger in military, political and economic terms. Russia's turn to China in search for a new major energy market can only make China stronger if Russia provides it with gas and modern weapons. Americans are increasingly nervous about the formation of a new alliance in Asia — between China and Russia. These think tanks, apparently, are closer to the actual understanding of the processes that affect the formation of a new world order. Time will tell how well the Obama administration sets the US strategic priorities right, since it seems to be a turning point in the process of creation of a new world order, and it will be too late to change anything once the bets are made. It looks like the major challenge the United States is facing today is China, not Russia or the Middle East. The rapid rise of China is truly a significant development, though it may look deceptively long term from the outside, therefore one may get the impression that it is not leading to a possibility of an immediate conflict between China and the United States. The collapsing states in the Middle East and the possible spread of terrorism are the threats that the US should, one way or the other, deal with now. The first occupation of Iraq and the consequent actions of Washington have unleashed a chain of colour revolutions that led to the events that cannot be controlled anymore. The supporters of the US in the region — Riyadh and Doha which assisted the White House in its plan of redrawing the regional map — are now facing the threat of an imminent collapse due to the rise of radical jihadists. Not Iran only will benefit from this course of events; China and, to some extent, Russia, will benefit too. But it's imperative for the US now to find a balanced approach to China, Russia and the Middle East, since a failure to achieve this goal would not only endanger the international peace, but would also affect the very survival of the United States as a superpower and America will have to settle for a role of a regional power only, with no real influence whatsoever over the situation in Europe and Asia. It seems that this will be the most likely scenario since the recent actions of Barack Obama are showing that he has realized his miscalculations and now he's desperately trying to get out of trouble he has created himself.

Courtesy: New Eastern Outlook

London Conference on Afghanistan Since the withdrawal of Nato and Isaf forces from the war-torn Afghanistan is in the offing, and the country is entering into yet another transformative period, a grand international conference, the London Conference on Afghanistan, where the world met to discuss how to help tackle Afghanistan's many problems, was held in London on December 4, 2014. The Conference was jointly hosted by the British and Afghan governments. In total, 74 international delegations were invited, including 59 partner countries as well as multilateral organizations, NGOs and representatives of civil society. Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, was one of the key speakers at the conference.


Years of bloodshed and grim political and economic fluctuations have shifted Afghanistan as well as the whole region especially Pakistan decades back and have created a paralyzing and fragile situation for both the countries. The Conference is going to play a pivotal role in development and reconstruction of Afghanistan and will also help ensure peace, security and stability in the region. The London Conference was the first opportunity for the new Afghan Government, the International Community, Pakistan, and wider stakeholders, to reaffirm collective commitments to Afghanistan's future. Though it was to serve as a follow-up event to the 2012 meeting in Tokyo, where allies pledged $16 billion to help rebuild and stabilize Afghanistan, the gap between commitment and actual release of funds was so big that officials in London refrained from discussing how much out of that money Kabul has so far received. In the security perspective, this conference was held at a time when Afghanistan is going through a critical security situation. The Taliban have intensified attacks against foreign and Afghan forces, which have raised serious questions over the Afghan National Army's professional credibility to protect the country from insurgents. On the other hand, London Conference has once again highlighted Pakistan's role in the Afghan peace process as concerns are growing about the emerging security challenges that Afghanistan would face

with the withdrawal of most of the foreign forces by the year end. Speaking at the conference Pakistan's Prime Minister, Mian Nawaz Sharif, reiterated his country's support to Afghanistan's quest for peace. He said: “I shared with President Ghani my vision of a comprehensive and enduring partnership between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which contributes to the security and prosperity of our two nations and reinforces efforts for peace and development in the region.” He also emphasised that Pakistan would follow up the Heart of Asia-Istanbul process to strengthen Afghanistan's ability to stand on its own feet after the West withdraws. Besides this, in his meeting with the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, on the sidelines of the Conference, Mr Sharif pledged that he would not allow the Pakistani soil to be used for terrorist attacks in Afghanistan. Signs that relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan may be on an upward trajectory have been evident ever since the election of Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani. Apart from the usual exchanges of pleasantries and promises of cooperation, there have also been tangible efforts at working for each other's benefits. Pakistan’s operation in North Waziristan has been so successful in disrupting the Haqqani Network that even the US — normally accusing Pakistan of supporting them — have taken note. Afghanistan and the US, in reciprocation, finally seem to be taking seriously the presence of TTP head Mullah Fazlullah in the border regions and even launched a drone attack targeting him. All of this added weight to the supportive words delivered by Nawaz Sharif at the Conference. For Pakistani and Afghan leaders to publicly pledge cooperation is routine but this time they did not try to undermine each other in private. Perhaps the realisation has set in that with the US beginning its troop withdrawal, both countries will now have to work together for the sake of their survival. The TTP and Afghan Taliban may be distinct entities but they operate across the same porous border and both will thrive unless coordinated action is taken against them. This is also the moment of truth for us. Perhaps we have allowed the problem to fester for too long and no longer have the capacity to decisively influence the Frankenstein we have nurtured. But we must realise that every day that passes will reduce our influence further and allow the situation in Afghanistan to deteriorate further. There is a reasonable resolution available. It is the road map that Afghanistan’s High Peace Council brought to Pakistan in November 2012 and which envisaged that to start with, the Kabul government could recognise the political reality of the support the Taliban enjoyed — a recent credible Asia Foundation survey shows that one-third of Afghans still sympathise with the Taliban — by giving them such non-elected offices as district and provincial governorships and then let them participate in the next round of elections. Afghanistan faces formidable challenges. Meeting them requires long-term commitments and sustained realistic strategies to root out corruption, combat terrorism and strengthen good governance and the rule of law, build the foundations for sustainable and inclusive productivity and growth, enhance regional dialogue and cooperation, progress in social development including health, sanitation and education, particularly in rural areas, and strengthening human rights — all easier said than done.

Intricate Pak-US Relationship The US-Pakistan relations are characterized by increasing divergence between the two countries rather than the convergence. A potential convergence also exists on the end game in Afghanistan and a strategic cooperation leading to a broad partnership in other spheres but it will take a Herculean effort on both sides to overcome their differences. This relationship has served some important interests of the two countries over the past six decades. Yet the relationship's failures have been as big as its successes, because it has never truly reflected a larger conceptual framework, a shared vision, or continuity.


The history of Pak-US relationship has always been on a rocky path as numerous ups and downs have been witnessed since its establishment. The relationship was based on seeking national interests. The very first visit of Pakistan's first premier, Khan Liaquat Ali Khan, to United States in May 1950, was actually to seek financial, political as well as military support for the newly-born country to counter India's aggressions and overtures. The prime minister had expressed in a news conference that Pakistan occupied an important strategic position that was why he was interested in procuring up-to-date equipments for Pakistan's armed forces. In the early phase, United States was least interested in relationship with Pakistan because it was looking towards Western Europe to contain the expansion of Communism. Western European countries were assisted economically in the shape of Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan.

The Korean war of 1950 changed the US perceptions; with the change of government in Washington; Eisenhower administration adopted the policy to find allies in important regions of the world. The US paid special attention to South Asia to frustrate the spread of communism. It co-opted Pakistan because India was unwilling to accept US advances. The first seven years — 1947-1953 — passed without any actual bilateral alliance. The first mutual defence agreement between both countries was signed in 1954. Then, Pakistan joined SEATO and CENTO in 1954 and 1955 respectively. In 1959, Pakistan signed another agreement of bilateral cooperation with the US. By these agreements Pakistan received nearly 2 billion dollars as economic assistance. During 60s, the first trust-deficit emerged in Pak-US relations. China was seen by the US as an emerging threat to its global hegemony. So, in Sino-Indian War of 1962, it supplied military aid to India without consulting Pakistan. Eventually, Pakistan aligned with China. The actions of both the countries made Pak-US relationship fragile. Under the mutual defence agreement, the US was bound to assist Pakistan in case of a war or an aggression against her but in Indo-Pak war of 1965, the US did not come to assist Pakistan. In June 1968, Arshed Hussain, the then foreign minister of Pakistan, explained in National Assembly that Pakistan would no longer take any part in military side of SEATO and CENTO and will attend the ministerial meetings as an observer. Finally, Pakistan withdrew from SEATO and CENTO in 1971 and 1979 respectively. In 70s, Nixon administration made some radical changes in its Pakistan policy. Nixon also wanted to use Pakistan as a bridge in building ties with China. For this reason, United States extended some help to Pakistan in the 1971 crisis. During 1976-77, nuclear issue put the relations under pressure again to such an extent that the US suspended its aid to Pakistan in 1978 due to its agreement with France for a reprocessing plant. In early 1979, military aid to Pakistan was stopped on the account that it was to be used in nuclear enrichment programme. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 brought abrupt changes in US policy towards Pakistan. In an address on January 23, 1980, President Jimmy Carter said: “An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.” This statement spoke volumes about the US intentions to contain Soviet expansion in the region. United States had realized that they had no option better than Pakistan. For this purpose, the US revived its aid programme to Pakistan, which was the third largest getter after Israel and Egypt at that time. In his State of the Union Address, President Carter said: We've reconfirmed our 1959 agreement to help Pakistan preserve its independence and its integrity. The United States will take action consistent with our own laws to assist Pakistan in

resisting any outside aggression.” China's huge investments in Pakistan especially her involvement in Gwadar also irks the US as it considers that this jeopardizes its interests in the region.

Pakistan fully cooperated with US in the proxy war against Soviet Union in Afghanistan. The mighty USSR was defeated with the help of jihadists supported by Pakistan. With the disintegration of USSR, the US became the sole superpower of the world. But, immediately after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, the US slapped sanctions on Pakistan in form of Pressler Amendment. The relations turned from cordial to adversarial once again. This gave birth to a huge trust-deficit in Pak-US bilateral relations that persists even today. Pakistan's nuclear tests of May 1998 provided the US with another chance to strangulate Pakistan. In response to Musharraf's military coup of October 1999, Pakistan had to face more sanctions which further weakened this already fragile relationship. The fateful incident of 9/11 changed the whole scenario of the world politics. The incident made the US change its foreign policy and the US once again turned to Pakistan. The then US President, George W. Bush famously said: “Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” It was impossible for Pakistan at that time to afford tensions with the US and the whole world at large. So, it had to join the US-led war on terror. In this war, too, Pakistan has been — and is still — playing a vital role as a frontline state. The US immediately lifted some sanctions and Pakistan became a non-Nato ally in this campaign. However, after 2005, some major issues emerged between both the allies including, but not

limited to, drone strikes in FATA; Indo-US Nuclear deal; Haqqani Network and Dr A.Q Khan's alleged role in nuclear proliferation. This schism further deteriorated the relations of both the countries and led to a huge trust-deficit between Islamabad and Washington. The tumultuous events of 2011 also exacerbated the situation. In the first half of 2011, the Raymond Davis episode, killing of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad and then the partial suspension of US security assistance to Pakistan again strained this relationship. Osama's death intensified the distrust of Pakistan's role in war on terror among the US authorities. Another such incident was the Salala check post attack of November 26, 2011, in which 24 Pakistani soldiers were martyred by the US forces. The situation reached to such an extreme boiling point that Pakistan blocked the Nato supply routes to Afghanistan; got evicted the Shamsi Airbase from the US and also boycotted the Bonn Conference on Afghanistan that was to be held in Germany. Islamabad demanded an unconditional apology from Washington and after a formal apology, the supply lines were restored in July 2012. The US was also infuriated by the signing of Pak-Iran gas pipeline. Despite the US warnings, former president Asif Ali Zardari went on to sign the agreement in May 2013. China's huge investments in Pakistan especially her involvement in Gwadar also irks the US as it considers that this jeopardizes its interests in the region. The crux of the matter is that the US does not acknowledge Pakistan's endeavours and sacrifices in war on terror. The 'do more' mantra created a lot of resentment in Pakistan and has further intensified the lack of trust in US among the Pakistanis. Pakistan is justified in this case. It is the time for Washington to realize that its policy towards Pakistan has been flawed and it still lacks balance that serves neither its interests nor those of Pakistan. The US treats Pakistan as a hireling. It has to be changed now for the sake of better Pak-US relations. Pakistan too have to realize that the US has its own interests in the region. Islamabad cannot afford complete disengagement with Washington because of country's debt ridden economy. Instead of being hostile to the US, Pakistan should strive to gain a rebalance in ties with Washington. The writer is an MPhil scholar at the Department of Political Science, University of Peshawar. He can be reached at [email protected] Zafar Iqbal Yousafzai

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a development programme to connect Gwadar Port in southern Pakistan to China's north-western region of Xinjiang via highways, railways and pipelines to transport oil and gas. Economic corridor is not only the road to economic prosperity for Pakistan, it can also be termed as future of the world. It is estimated that about 3 billion people from China, South Asia and Central Asia, would benefit from the economic corridor. The project has the potential to empower half of the world's population living in Asia. This is probably the most important agreement signed between Pakistan and China till now and it will expand the depth and breadth of our bilateral strategic relations.


What is a Corridor? Economic corridors are integrated networks of infrastructure within a geographical area designed to stimulate economic development. Corridors may be created to link manufacturing hubs, areas with high supply and demand, and manufacturers of value-added goods. When implemented, the economic corridors are often one of a package of different measures including infrastructure development, visa and transport agreements and standardization. Geography of Pak-China Economic Corridor The corridor is about 533 km from Karachi and 120 km from the Iranian border and 380 km northeast of the nearest point in Oman across the Arabian Sea. Gwadar Port is located at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, just outside the Strait of Hormuz, near the key shipping routes in and

out of the Persian Gulf. It is situated on the eastern bay of a natural hammerhead-shaped Peninsula protruding into the Arabian Sea from the coastline. Project Details This 107-km long track will be built with 50 bridges over beautiful lakes and tunnels across different mountains. By this project, 5 million commuters will be benefited annually. Pakistan is also working on Karachi-Lahore motorway. This 1160-km long motorway will connect Karachi, Hyderabad, Dadu, Sukkur, Rohri, Pannu Aqil, Ghotki, Obara, Rahim Yar Khan, Sadiqabad and Multan. This six-lane road will be built over terrain composed of mainland, mountains and plateaus. Three bridges will also be constructed over River Sindh, Sutlej and Ravi. These mega-projects along with several others will help Pakistan stable its economy in order to execute these projects. Effects on the Region At the regional level, India is not very happy with growing Pak-China military and diplomatic ties. During his visit to India, the Chinese president announced $20 billion of Chinese investment in India over the next five years while it has promised to invest over $42 billion in Pakistan; a strong Pakistan-Chinese alliance is a grave threat to India. China has also increased its trade with Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam, Philippines, Myanmar, Singapore and Malaysia to balance increased US influence in the region under its Asia-Pacific policy. China is spending heavily on its navy and building its seaports in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan as a part of its “String of Pearls” strategy. Strategic Importance When the corridor is completed, it will serve as a primary gateway for trade between China and the Middle East and Africa. In particular, oil from the Middle East could be offloaded at Pakistan's Gwadar Port, which is located just outside the mouth of the Persian Gulf, and transported to China through the Balochistan province. Such a link would vastly cut the 12,000-kilometre route that Mideast oil supplies must now take to reach Chinese ports. Gwadar is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea it is in Pakistan's western province of Balochistan. Importance for Pakistan Despite its economy being hit hard by flawed economic policies, political chaos, and a spate of terrorism, Pakistan has made a significant breakthrough on the economic front as well as against terrorist outfits. With the military going all out in North Waziristan Agency and adjoining areas to dismantle the operational infrastructure and hideouts of terrorists, the PML-N government has achieved a landmark goal by signing numerous agreements with the Chinese government. Agreements and MoUs Though the amount for all agreements and MoUs, a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, is around US$34 billion, around 22 agreements have already been signed between the friendly neighbours. These include bilateral agreements for Economic and Technical Cooperation; Government's Concessional Loan Agreement for Construction of Cross-Border

Optical Fibre Cable System between China and Pakistan; Signing of Minutes of the 3rd JCC Meeting of CPEC; Signing of MoU on the Outline of Long Term Plan of CPEC; Signing of MoU on Capacity Building for Development of CPEC; Framework Agreement for Construction of Cross-border Optical Fibre Cable System between China and Pakistan; MoU on Cooperation of Textile Garment Industrial Park Projects in Pakistan; and some other projects. In energy sector, MoU on Surface Mine in Block-II of Thar Coal Mine and the Engro Thar 2X330 MW Coal Fired Power Plant between Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company and China Development Bank Corporation have been signed. Others included MoUs for development of Thermal Power Assets for Pakistan, HUBCO Power Company Limited (2 x 660MW including Jetty); Memorandum of Facilitation between Port Qasim Electric Power Company Private Limited and Government of Pakistan (2X660); Memorandum of Facilitation Agreement between Govt. of Punjab and M/s Huaneng Shandong Rui Group, China for Development of 1320 (2×660) MW Coal Fired Power Project at Qadirabad, Sahiwal; Signing of Framework Facility Agreement on Sukhi-Kinari Hydro Power Project; Memorandum of Facilitation Agreement between Govt. of Punjab and M/s China Machinery Engineering Corporation China (CMEC) for 1×660 MW Coal Fired Power Plant at Muzaffargarh. In Gwadar, agreements have been made to construct Gwadar New International Airport; Gwadar Eastbay Expressway; Hospital at Gwadar; Technical & Vocational Training Institute; Water Supply and Distribution; Infrastructure for Free Zone & EPZs port related Industries and

Marine works. The Chinese government plans to complete this economic zone by year 2020, and industrialists have been offered tax-free zone and other government concessions. Infrastructure Projects The infrastructure projects planned included Karakorum Highway (KKH) Phase II (Raikot-Islamabad); Karachi-Lahore Motorway (KLM) – (Multan-Sukkur Section); Expansion & Reconstruction of existing Mail Railway Line (ML-1); Peshawar to Karachi; Construction of Havelian Dry Port; Orange Line Project at Lahore; and Cross Border Optical Fiber Cable system project. Energy Projects Significant Energy Projects are being

installed of around 10,400 megawatts. Those projects included the Port Qasim Electric Power Company (2X660) 1320 megawatts; Engro Thar Coal-fired Power Plant 660 megawatts; Sindh Sino Resources Power Plant of Thar Coal (Block-1) 1320 megawatts; Gwadar Coal Power Project 300 megawatts; Rahimyar Khan Coal Power 1320 megawatts; Muzaffargarh Coal Power 1320 megawatts; Sahiwal Power Plant 1320 megawatts; Suki Kinari Power Project 870 megawatts; Karot Hydro Power Station 720 megawatts; UEP Wind Power Project 100 megawatts; Sunec Wind Power Project 50 megawatts; Sachal Wind Power Project 50 megawatts; Dawood Wind Power Project 50 megawatts; Quaid-e-Azam Solar 900 megawatts; and Quaid-e-Azam Solar 100 megawatts. Making Corridor Operational For the purpose of making the economic zone operational, the Chinese government has been involved in constructing a multi-billion-dollar New Kashgar City, where Kashgar Special Economic Zone is being constructed. With its proximity to Pakistan (approximately 500 kilometres) and a flying time of around one hour, Kashgar-Gawadar Economic Corridor may prove to be a game-changer for development in Pakistan, India and beyond. The Chinese government plans to complete this economic zone by year 2020, and industrialists have been offered tax-free zone and other government concessions. This economic zone would prove to be the linchpin for trade between China, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and eight other central Asian states. The integrated project has been designed under a holistic approach to link modern means of communication including rail, road links with trade and economic opportunities not only for both China and Pakistan but for the entire South Asia. The early harvest projects of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor would be completed within a span of two to three years. These include laying of rail, road networks besides several long and short term energy projects. Strategic Importance for China This trade initiative has strategic importance for China as well as Pakistan as it would provide an opportunity to reach out to the Central Asian states through Pakistan and Afghanistan. There is an integrated communication network which would not only benefit Pakistan but also China to help open a new vista of trade with the rest of the world in a short period of time. Chinese trade through this route would grow manifold. In order to operationalise China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the Chinese government has set up a special economic zone in the historical city of Kashgar, which is the border city between China and Pakistan. The New Kashgar Economic Zone is spread on 6600 acres of land and various provincial

governments of China and some private firms are developing their own projects within the tax free zone. All necessary civic facilities are available in Kashgar New City Project where the preservation of farms is also being ensured. In the eastern part of the Kashgar New City, residential areas, hospitals, parks and other civic facilities are being made available. Since Kashgar borders eight countries, a business city has been named after each country of the region. Conclusion The business community of the entire region may benefit from the ambitious project designed to share and expand the trade opportunities for progress and development of South Asia. This would not only help regional governments to fight poverty, illiteracy and religious fanaticism, but would also bring development and prosperity of the people of around ten developing states. Aftab Ahmed

The Peshawar Carnage

Times come in life when the barbarity we witness is so heart-wrenching and horrific that we are dreaded. We feel grief to such an extent that we do not have any words to describe our feelings. The appalling as well as horrendous, to say the least, Peshawar Carnage has left everyone of us weeping and mourning the brutal killing of more than 132 students in Army Public School Peshawar. These helpless innocent flowers were targeted by the Taliban beasts. They have attacked the very heart and soul of our nation. The entire nation will remain in a thick shroud of silence and grief for many days to come. Written CSS 2015 Special Thursday, January 01, 2015

This year sixteenth of December again came to reopen the gaping old wounds of the Fall of Dhaka. This fateful day did pass but by adding another shocking and tragic chapter to our history. The most dastardly act of terrorism in Army Public School Peshawar is another national tragedy which had never been witnessed in the history of the country and for that matter anywhere in the world. The spine-chilling murder of innocent children for no fault of theirs shocked and horrified the people across the country. Our hearts are laden with rue when we see the images of the carnage. They say nothing good comes out of evil; barring the reality that in this case the anguish and anger the massacre of the innocents caused to the polity has helped clinch the long-eluded national consensus for a fight-to-finish action against terrorist outfits. The act has made our political leaders push their animosity and antagonism on the back burner to unite and be on the same page to augment efforts aimed at eliminating these bestial elements from Pakistani soil. For the first time, there is political convergence on the imperative of a decisive operation against this curse, which was not there given the political elite's total engagement with its do or die power play. There is no way the country and its leadership should waste this rare unanimity. It's, undoubtedly, the time for an earnest introspection. The recent attack clearly indicates that it was carried out after thorough deliberations — ISPR reported that the planning of this attack was made in earlier days of December. This report exposes the vigour and zeal of terrorists for their nefarious designs and also the complacency and lethargy of our government. The attack has also made it vividly clear that the hardcore terrorists still have the capacity to regroup, communicate with their colleagues freely and there is every possibility that similar tragedies, God forbid, could happen in the future too. The fundamental question that we face now is that whether the supreme sacrifice of our children will go in vain again or will this be a watershed event from where one will see a change in Pakistan's approach to tackling terrorism.

The primary responsibility to counter terrorism lies squarely on the government's shoulders. Unfortunately, so far it has not proved up to the task. Back in February Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, while presenting draft of a new National Security Policy in the National Assembly, had announced setting up of a joint intelligence directorate to make exchange of information between the centre and the provinces more effective. The National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Nacta) was to implement the policy, for which the ministry had requested Rs 280 billion. How non-serious the government has been about pursuing that policy is obvious from the fact that to date Nacta has received merely Rs 90 million out of the Rs 280 billion required! And, hence it remains non-functional. Sadly, despite recurring terrorist attacks the government has been long on the rhetoric and short on action. Hopefully, this time action will speak louder than words. The PM needs to take a holistic view of the situation and defeat terrorism with a strong resolve. Both immediate and long-term measures are in order. First of all, Nacta must be made fully functional, and provided with necessary infrastructure and financial resources as determined by the Interior Minister. Second, the ongoing intelligence-based operations being carried out by the Army in different parts of the country must continue until the last terrorist is eliminated. In tandem with these operations, the flow of funds, from local as well as foreign sources, to sectarian seminaries must come to a complete stop. Extremists with violent agendas use these places as nurseries for nurturing militants. Third, the relevant law must be amended so as to ensure no terrorist wriggles out of the justice system's hands and goes scot free. The government needs to act immediately to introduce necessary legislation. Fourth, the existing laws banning the spread of religious hatred through pamphlets and the pulpit must be implemented in letter and spirit. Fifth, there is a dire need to take a longer-term view of the spread of religious intolerance in this society and institute reform. The religious leaders owe it to the people of Pakistan that they should sit together and sign up a code of conduct aimed at taking out the poison of extremism from their preaching. The security and intelligence agencies must also reconsider their strategies and find out where the fault lies. Pakistan is in a state of war and the only way is to overcome political differences and address the dangers that are threatening our security. If the country is safe and secure, the political leaders would have enough time to settle their scores. Therefore the political leadership and other stakeholders should move forward from just condemnatory statements, sit together and evolve a comprehensive strategy to go for an all-out action against the militants with political ownership.

Muhammad Usman Butt

General Raheel's US Visit The unprecedented two-week visit to the US by Chief of Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif, during which he held parleys with the US military authorities, security establishment and Secretary of State John Kerry has been in the limelight with regard to its purpose as well as the outcome. In his interaction with the top military and civil officials, the COAS straightforwardly pointed out the co-relationship of regional problems including Pakistan's sacrifices during war on terror, successes of the military operation Zarb-e-Azb, Afghanistan factor, US blame game, India’s anti-Pakistan campaign etc. in order to remove hurdles in the Pak-US relations.


The visit of the COAS came at a time when a report of the US Department of Defence revived old blame game against Pakistan. But, after the successful visit of General Raheel, it can be assertively said that the nature of the Pak-US relationship is perceptibly changing for the better. However, it would be unwise to assume that the years of mutual mistrust and antipathy will be undone in a few days or weeks. No matter how much things may improve, there is always going to be a frisson of edginess, but the recent signals are undeniably good. The bottom line is that both countries need one another in the short-to-medium term though not necessarily for identical reasons. The recent visit was stretched from one to two weeks and the American and Pakistani militaries are now likely to be reading off the same page on most, but not all, issues. Nothing is ever black and white, no matter how the politicians paint the picture — and nuance is everything. The Kashmir issue is a case in point and the recent flare-up prior to the visit by the Indian prime minister to the state, which has seen six militants and 11 Indian security forces killed. The US has cautioned against making any assumptions linking Pakistan to the incident, the US State Department spokesperson said that it would be unwise to jump to any conclusions in response to a question from a journalist seeking to implicate Pakistan. She unequivocally rejected the premise of the question. Following hard on the heels of the Kashmir incident there was an event of very considerable import — with potentially far-reaching implications. The Americans have handed to Pakistan a leader of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Latifullah Mehsud, whom they captured in Afghanistan last October. The capture incensed the Afghan government of the time, and the current Afghan government has not been involved in the transfer either — which may not please it any more than its predecessor. Assurances are said to have been given by Pakistan as to the “humane” treatment of Mehsud, but the Americans would be watching closely as to where he goes — or does not go — once in Pakistani hands. Potentially this is a major confidence-builder and if Pakistan 'handles' Mehsud to the satisfaction of his erstwhile captors, there will be dividends, no doubt. But if he disappears into the undergrowth to reappear red in tooth and claw and once again battling on the side of the extremists, the dividends will be negative rather than positive. Taken together, these events themselves aggregate to a shift away from the confrontational style of engagement that has characterised the relationship between the two countries since the dark days of Raymond Davis and the 2011 Salala incident that devoured 24 Pakistanis soldiers. We have to understand that there is a delicate balance in bilateral and trilateral relations with Pakistan, India and the US each at a point on the triangle in a broader spectrum. Outside the closed geometry, there is Afghanistan and China, both of whom are closely interested in the nature of the relationship between the three countries. India is experiencing a nationalist resurgence under the new Modi government and America, led by a weakened president, is looking to a success in foreign policy that may bolster the Democratic Party fortunes among the electorate back home.

Nevertheless, the visit also needs to be viewed in the backdrop of the recent visit of the Afghan President to Pakistan during which both the countries agreed to work together to fight the menace of terrorism, joint management of the porous border, enhancement of economic ties between the two countries and the request by the Afghan President for the training of Afghan troops by the Pakistan Army. The tripartite summit of the UK, Afghanistan and Pakistan in London is also a link in the same chain. While the military leadership is tasked to sort out matters relating to security and relations between the two military establishments, the civilian leadership is engaged in sorting out matters at the political level. US Secretary of State John Kerry also welcomed the progress on improvement of relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and assured unflinching US support in carrying that process further, emphasizing the need for ever increasing cooperation between Pakistan and the US at the military as well as political level. With regard to the outcome of the visit, it can safely be inferred that it has been very successful in the context of its objectives. It has given a new dimension to military ties between the two countries. The General convincingly advocated Pakistan's unswerving commitment to fight terrorist groups without any distinction and cleared doubts in this regard which have been frequently aired by US authorities. Pakistan Army's contribution to eliminating terrorism and the sacrifices made by its soldiers were duly acknowledged. General Raheel made it a point to urge the desirability of the US and Afghan government taking action against TTP terrorists sheltering in Kunar and Nooristan provinces of Afghanistan, who were launching frequent attacks on Pakistan security forces along the Pak-Afghan border. This issue has invariably remained a subject of discussion during the interaction between US and Pakistan military and the civilian leaders on both sides for quite some time now. Even before launching Zarb-e-Azab, General Raheel visited Afghanistan to seek cooperation against TTP terrorists based in Afghanistan. Reportedly, US authorities have agreed to step up air strikes, including drone attacks on Pakistani militants sheltering across the border in Afghanistan. That perhaps could be termed as the biggest success of General Raheel's visit to the US.

Waqas Iqbal

Indo-Pak Rivalry & Afghanistan William Dalrymple's “deadly triangle” that comprises India, Pakistan and Afghanistan is going through a number of important events these days and the developments might give regional peace and stability some trying times ahead. But, the question arises here that whether the region would continue to face the same old challenges when the new leadership is at the helm in these three countries. Keeping in view the recent initiatives, and the fact that Indian and Pakistani governments have unprecedented political power while Afghanistan has a resilient government, it can be said that there is every possibility that the leadership of these countries would launch a sustainable process of cooperation to stabilise the region.


At present, Taliban and ISIS continue to establish their military networks in areas of Afghanistan vacated by the US and UK forces. The Taliban are making advancements in Helmand, Kandahar, Kunar, Nooristan, Badakhshan, Kundoz and Ghazni provinces with the support of the local population alienated by the Afghan police and Afghan National Army (ANA). Afghanistan is fluttering its wings for another civil war. This war may see new domestic and international players sharing their guns with the Afghan army, local militias, Taliban and the ISIS. Faced with the prospect of a military vacuum, Nato and the ISAF are withdrawing from the country anytime soon. That's why Afghanistan now wants to cling to India for stability and a military build-up. Afghanistan wants a bigger Indian role and in this context the recent visit of India's National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval to Kabul is extremely significant.

From Kabul's perspective, India's role and its military deployment will help the country defeat the Taliban insurgents. The Afghan government wants to bolster its ethnically divided army with big ticket military hardware from India and Russia. The new President, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, realises the importance of China as well as Pakistan. That's the reason why he headed to China for crucial talks, only days after he assumed the office of the president. His next stop was Pakistan where after holding initial talks with senior officials in the Pakistani capital, he and Afghan army chief General Sher Muhamad visited the GHQ in Rawalpindi in

what is being described as a significant development in Pak-Afghan ties. Now, with the withdrawal of US forces from the country, new players like China, Russia, India and Pakistan are expected to fortify their strategic interests. India's relations with Afghanistan have improved steadily since the fall of the Taliban but relations with Pakistan have been traditionally strained. India needs to walk slowly into mountainous Afghanistan because the return of the Taliban or other anti-India forces might pose a major threat to its interests in the near future. It is also true that to preserve its strategic interests in Afghanistan, India will need close cooperation and coordination with Pakistan and China. But, keeping in view this scenario, there is a degree of hope amidst scepticism in forecasting regional stability beyond 2014. There are, however, reasons for this scepticism. India's relations with Afghanistan in the past have been a source of concern for Pakistan because New Delhi's military support and intelligence cooperation with Kabul has exacerbated its

security challenges. Conversely, India suspects that the attacks on its personnel and infrastructure in Afghanistan are not entirely indigenous. There is also a concern that there may be a spectacular terrorist – even if false flag - attack in India which may reverse the embryonic reconciliation process with Pakistan. Such an incident would test Modi's election promise that he would not exercise past restraint if the attack turns out to be linked to entities that are considered quasi-state sponsored. The most critical challenge to stabilise the region would be to ensure that any movement across the Afghan-Pakistan border does not lead to a spike in terrorism in Afghanistan, India or Pakistan. The common goal would, then, be to continually ensure that the Taliban and other militant outfits are contained in their locations. Terrorism is a regional concern and the acts of terrorism are not unidirectional. Bilateral Indo-

Afghan intelligence cooperation should, at least, be trilateral and include Pakistan. The cooperation should involve intelligence sharing, as encapsulated in the 2009 Sharm el Sheikh statement after a prime ministerial summit between India and Pakistan. Effective intelligence cooperation would reduce the chances of destabilising terrorist incidents. The prospective intelligence cooperation would remain ephemeral until there is consensus amongst the regional countries and other players regarding strict non-interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan. This policy of non-interference would also imply that the Afghan territory has no scope for anyone using it to destabilise others. Such interference can be consequential, destabilising for the region and would run against the pre-election goals of the leaders who hold the reins in India and Afghanistan. Until the three states fully commit to trilateral cooperation in stabilising Afghanistan, the times beyond 2014 would be a new Dickensian, 'Tale of Three Cities'. These would only be the worst of times; it would be age of foolishness; it would be an epoch of incredulity. Afghanistan, India and Pakistan make the most populous region in the world and regional cooperation is the only panacea for 2015 and beyond. Being the larger states, the onus lies primarily on India and Pakistan. Mustansar Hussain Tasir

The Islamic Constitutions Index & The Constitution Of Pakistan

While Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Republican Party candidate in US Presidential Election 2012, observed that Shariah was a mortal threat to the survival of freedom in the United States, some academics have tried to take a more objective and serious look at Shariah. Two researchers have jointly published a research paper in which they have developed a new Islamic Constitutions Index (ICI); the instant article will briefly explore the research conducted by them and will examine the findings of the research vis-à-vis the Constitution of Pakistan.


The Islamic Constitutions Index (ICI) In an article styled as 'Measuring Constitutional Islamization: the Islamic Constitutions Index', Ahmed I. Dawood and Moamen Gouda from the University of Chicago have proposed the Islamic Constitutions Index. The internet version of the article shows that it is divided into five parts. A synoptic look at its parts of the article will help better explore its gist. Part one of the article is devoted to the relationship of constitutionalism and Islam; part two elaborates the framework of Shariah; part three explains the model Islamic Constitution (which was developed by the scholars of Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt in 1977 and has been used as a template for the research); part four describes the methodological details of the empirical analysis, and part five records the conclusion of the research. The authors have measured the use of technology of constitutionalism in the fifty-six member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). They have done so by using a dataset based on the coding of in-force constitutions of these countries. Borrowing thirty Islamic clauses from the abovementioned model Islamic Constitution, they have prepared a template and similar constitutional provisions in the extant in-force constitutions of Muslim countries have been extrapolated to examine the 'Islamicity' in those constitutions. The general findings and important points are as under: First, the Islamic Constitutions Index (ICI) will serve as a proxy for measuring prevalence of constitutionalism in Muslim countries. Secondly, half of the OIC member states have common Islamic constitutional provisions.

Thirdly, the geography and the colonialism of the countries have some influence on their level of Islamicity. Fourthly, the Islamicity of the constitutions analyzed, showed negative correlation with democracy, gender equality and political stability. Fifthly, the authors have tried to discuss the Islamic constitutionalism in the backdrop of peace talks between Pakistan and Taliban, and constitution-making in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Constitution of Pakistan and the ICI The Constitution of Pakistan 1973 has been analyzed in the research in detail. The following points were noted about Pakistan in the research: First, the constitutional design of Pakistan, like many other Muslim countries, privileges religion in the Constitution by specifically declaring a state religion. Article 2 of the Constitution is instrumental here, which clearly states that Islam shall be the state religion. The implication of this declaration, however, is not fully explained in the research article. Secondly, there is a 'repugnancy clause' in the Constitution of Pakistan. Article 227 of the Constitution enunciates that all existing laws of the country to be brought in conformity with the Holy Quran and Sunnah. The Article 203-B (which defined 'law' for the Federal Shariat Court) and Article 2 (which declared the Objectives Resolution to be substantial part of the Constitution) fortify the Islamic provisions of the Constitution. Thirdly, the issue of sovereignty attracted debate in 1947 at the time of constitution-making in Pakistan. The debate has been settled insofar as Pakistan is concerned. The first recital of the Preamble of the Constitution states that the sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to Allah. Though to a layman, this may sound simplistic, the question about sovereignty over 'state' or 'universe' has not been

fully settled universally in all the Muslim countries' constitutions. Fourthly, 'Islam and — not Islam or — democracy' is the rallying call in all the Muslim countries' constitutions; Pakistan is no exception. Fifthly, like many other Muslim countries, Pakistan's Constitution provides for an advisory constitutional body on lawmaking over and above the parliamentary system. Article 228 provides for Islamic Council, in which scholars have been provided a constitutional advisory role. In case of Pakistan, Article 203-C provides even for an adjudicatory body (Federal Shariat

Court) as well, parallel to the constitutional judiciary to examine the Islimicity of the laws. Sixthly, Pakistan is ranked fourth on the rankings among fifty-six countries for the degree of Islamicity with a score of 16. Iran, Saudi Arabia and Maldives surpass Pakistan on the ICI. Seventhly, there is a correlation between the Muslim population and the degree of Islamic provisions in the constitution of a Muslim country. The higher the Muslim population of a country, the higher the probability of Islamic provisions in its constitution: Pakistan is a pertinent example. Finally, the thirty characteristic clauses on which the marking of scores have been done is very interesting vis-à-vis Pakistan. The thirty clauses have been framed into questions and have been divided into seven schematic parts. Brief discussion on each part is as under: Part one contains General Characteristics and comprises fourteen constitutional clauses including the religion clause, the preamble clause, the unity with Ummah clause, the Jihad clause, the Islamic Calendar clause, Muslim head of the state clause, the Muslim citizen clause, the Muslim judges clause, the Islamic idiom oath clause, the Islamic morals clause, Islamic legal provisions special procedure clause, the Islamic advisory group clause, authority (or sovereignty) clause and the government's accountability subject to Islam clause. In this part one, Pakistan has scored high as these are formal and black - lettered law issues. The second part relates to Rights. Two clauses have been considered here: (a) the enjoyment of rights subject to Shariah requirements, and (b) the family priority clause with respect to women. In this part, Pakistan has been given zero score. It may be noted that the Constitution of Pakistan has a very elaborate scheme of Fundamental Rights (from Articles 8 to 28) coupled with implementation mechanism as contained in the powers of the High Courts and the Supreme Court of Pakistan (powers to issue writs under Article 199 and suo motu powers for enforcing Fundamental Rights under Article 184(3)). Likewise, the Principles of Policy (from Article 29 to 40) also elaborate on the guiding principles for the executive. There is mention of Islam in the Principles of Policy part of the Constitution, but it is not enforceable. The third part relates to Executive and comprises three clauses. These clauses are formal as they allude to the religious duties of the head of the state or the government, the need for head of the state to have Islamic knowledge, and the Islamic pledge or Bai'ah clauses. Pakistan has scored one point in this part. The quantitative assessment of a qualitative characteristic is very difficult thing to do, this has been abundantly made clear in part two and three of the ICI. The fourth part relates to Legislation. It comprises three clauses that include source of legislation, supremacy and repugnancy clauses. Pakistan has scored one mark in this category. The jurisprudence developed by the superior courts of Pakistan on this part need sophisticated analysis, and will reflect on the qualitative aspect of the legislative competence of a parliament in a Muslim country.

The fifth part is about the Judiciary. This part has three clauses: the application of Shariah, the qualification of possessing Islamic knowledge, and the compliance to Shariah. In Pakistan, the Council of Islamic Ideology and the Federal Shariat Court chapters were inserted (from Articles 203-A to 212). The ICI does not capture this aspect of the Constitution of Pakistan. The sixth part is about the Economy. It has three clauses: the Islamic economy, the ban on interest, and the Alms (Sadaqat). Pakistan has scored one mark on three marks in this part. On implementation side, the ban on interest clause has not been enforced in Pakistan, but the country has scored one mark on the scorecard. Likewise, the Zakat has also been legislated upon through an Ordinance, but with feeble implementation. The Islamic banking, however, is in vogue. The last part is about 'Other' issues and contains clauses on Islamic criminal penalties and Islamic religious education. On Islamic criminal penalties, the score as for Pakistan is zero. This is queer as it belies the attempts of Hudood Ordinance promulgated in 1979 and the Shariah law made applicable to the offences against person part of the Pakistan Penal Code. The research design becomes very questionable at this juncture, though limiting it to the letter of the Constitution makes it viable. Concluding Remarks The research on the Islamic Constitutions Index should not be treated as exhaustive. The authors have themselves exhorted others to research on the subject by stating that their research is trying to set research agenda for future research on the subject. The politics of Shariah, that is all-pervasive in the Muslim countries, should be designed around the subject. Unfortunately, the leaders in the Muslim World try to evoke emotions of their followers instead of their logic and curiosity on the Shariah subject. Clearly, there is much to be done. For example, Islamic banking is one area which has shown that Shariah can be developed into a modern legal system by providing the adjective law on the subject, and by academically challenging the existing legal structures. Likewise, counter-narratives can be offered about the ICI by vetting its methodology, which is based on black - lettered law and is designed against a 'model' constitution, which is not treated as such. Besides, there should be some way to fathom the jurisprudence being developed about Shariah in both the Common Law and Civil Law countries.

The author is an independent researcher and has done his BCL from the University of Oxford.

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Should Religion Be Blamed for the World's Bloodiest Wars?

Not long after the Iranian Revolution of 1979, in which Ayatollah Ruhollah Kho-meini became supreme leader, a US official was heard to exclaim: “Who ever took religion seriously?” The official was baffled at the interruption of what he assumed was an overwhelmingly powerful historical trend. Pretty well everyone at the time took it for granted that religion was on the way out, not only as a matter of personal belief, but even more as a deciding factor in politics. Secularization was advancing everywhere, and with increasing scientific knowledge and growing prosperity, it was poised to become a universal human condition.


There is no denying the fact that there were some countries that remained stubbornly religious — including the United States. But these were exceptions. Religion was an atavistic way of

thinking which was gradually but inexorably losing its power. In universities, grandiose theories of secularization were taught as established fact, while politicians dismissed ideas they didn't like as “mere theology.” The unimportance of religion was part of conventional wisdom, an unthinking assumption of those who liked to see themselves as thinking people. Today, no one could ask why religion should be taken seriously. Those who used to dismiss religion are terrified by the in-tensity of its revival. A noted scholar Karen Armstrong describes the current state of opinion in the following words: “In the West, the idea that religion is inherently violent is now taken for granted and seems self-evident.” She further says: “Religion has been the cause of all the major wars in history. I have heard this sentence recited like a mantra by American commentators and psychiatrists, London taxi drivers and Oxford academics. It is an odd remark. Obviously the two World Wars were not fought on account of religion.” Experts in political violence or terrorism insist that people commit atrocities for a complex range of reasons. Yet so indelible is the aggressive image of religious faith in our secular consciousness that we routinely load the violent sins of the 20th century on to the back of “religion” and drive it out into the political wilderness. The idea that religion is fading away has been replaced in conventional wisdom by the notion that religion lies behind most of the world's conflicts. Many among the present crop of atheists hold both ideas at the same time. They will fulminate against religion, declaring that it is responsible for much of the violence of the present time, then a moment later tell you with equally dogmatic fervour that religion is in rapid decline. Of course it's a mistake to expect logic from rationalists. More than anything else, the evangelical atheism of recent years is a symptom of moral panic. Worldwide secularization, which was believed to be an integral part of the process of becoming modern, shows no signs of happening. Quite the contrary: in much of the world, religion is in the ascendant. For many people the result is a condition of acute cognitive dissonance. It's a confusion compounded by the lack of understanding, among those who issue blanket condemnations of religion, of what being religious means for most of humankind. Modern Western conception of religion is idiosyncratic and eccentric. In the West, people think of religion as a coherent system of obligatory beliefs, institutions and rituals, centring on a supernatural God, whose practice is essentially private and hermetically sealed off from all 'secular' activities. But this narrow, provincial conception is the product of a particular history and a specific version of monotheism.

Atheists think of religion as a system of supernatural beliefs, but the idea of the supernatural presupposes a distinct sort of cosmogony that is found in only a few of the world's religions. Moreover, the idea that belief is central in religion makes sense only when religion means having a creed. Until the British started classifying the people of the Indian Subcontinent by their religious affiliations, there was no such thing as “Hinduism.” Instead there was an unfathomably rich diversity of practices, which weren't seen as separate from one another or from the rest of life, and didn't define themselves in terms of belief. The same was true in pre-Christian Europe. Neither the Greeks nor the Romans ever separated religion from secular life. They would not have understood our modern conception of 'religion.' They had no authoritative scriptures, no compulsory beliefs, no distinct clergy and no obligatory ethical rules.

Throughout much of the history and all of the prehistory, “religion” meant practice — and not just in some special area of life. Belief has not been central to most of the world's religions; indeed, in some traditions it has been seen as an impediment to spiritual life. Vedanta, Buddhism and Taoism caution against mistaking human concepts for ultimate realities. A religious tradition is never a single, unchanging essence that compels people to act in a uniform way. It is rather a template that can be modified and altered radically to serve a variety of ends. In one form or another, religion is humanly universal, but it is also essentially multifarious. One of the founders of liberalism, John Locke, found it intolerable that the “wild woods and uncultivated waste of America be left to nature, without any improvement, tillage and husbandry.” Involved in his own right in the colonization of the Carolinas, Locke argued that “the native 'kings' of America had no legal jurisdiction or right of ownership of their land.” Again, the Spanish Inquisition is a notorious example of the violence of religion. There can be no doubt that it entailed hideous cruelty, not least to Jews who had converted to Christianity, often in order to save their lives, but who were suspected of secretly practicing their faith and consequently, in some cases, burnt. Yet in strictly quantitative terms, the Inquisition pales in comparison to later frenzies of secular violence. Recent estimates of the numbers who were executed during the first 20 years of the Inquisition range from 1,500 to 2,000 people. By contrast, about a quarter of a million people were killed in the Vendée (out of a population of roughly 800,000) when a peasant rebellion against the French Revolution was put down by republican armies in 1794. And some 17,000 men, women and children were guillotined in the purge that ended in July that year, including the man who had designed the new revolutionary

calendar. It is indisputable that this mass slaughter had a religious dimension. In 1793, a goddess of reason was enthroned on the high altar at Notre Dame Cathedral; revolutionary leaders made great use of terms such as “credo,” “sacrament,” and “sermon” in their speeches. Few movements have been as single-minded in their commitment to modernization as Lenin's Bolsheviks, and few have been so virulently hostile to mainstream faiths. Yet as Bertrand Russell observed in his forgotten 1920 classic “The Practice and Theory of Bolshevism,” written after he travelled to Russia and talked with Lenin, Soviet Communism was from the beginning as much a religion as a political project. Oddly, though it was a rerun on a vaster scale of the French revolutionary terror. Together with Nazism, these 20th-century state cults plant a question mark over the very idea of secularization. Certainly there has been a decline in the old authority of churches, but that does not mean religion is becoming weaker. Simultaneous with the retreat of the mainstream faiths, there has been a rise of a plethora of political religions and an explosion of fundamentalism, sometimes fused in a single movement. The ambiguities of secularization are especially prominent in the Middle East. What does Islamic State stand for — an ultraviolent type of religious fundamentalism, or a radically modern politics? Clearly, it represents both. The background to the emergence of IS can be traced back to Wahabism, the 18th-century Islamic movement whose founder, Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, helped establish the first Saudi state. Since the influx of oil wealth, the Saudis have promoted Wahabism worldwide. IS is one of the offspring of this project: an ogre that is now a deadly threat to the Saudi state. A potential for violence was present in Wahhabism from the start. But it was not inherently violent; indeed, Ibn Abd al-Wahhab had refused to sanction the wars of his patron, Ibn Saud, because he was simply fighting for wealth and glory. The clear implication of the founder's statement is that war would have been justified if it had been waged in the service of faith. Religion is not the uniquely violent force as demonized by secular thinkers. Yet neither is religion intrinsically peaceful — a benign spiritual quest compromised and perverted by its involvement with power. The potential for violence exists in faith-based movements of all kinds, secular as well as religious. Evangelical atheists splutter with fury when reminded that a war on religion was an integral part of some of the 20th century's worst regimes. How can anyone accuse a movement devoted to reason and free inquiry of being implicated in totalitarian oppression? It is a feeble-minded and thoroughly silly response, reminiscent of that of witless believers who ask how a religion of love could possibly be held to account for the horrors of the Inquisition. Conventional distinctions between religious and secular belief pass over the role that belief itself plays in our lives. We are meaning-seeking creatures and unlike other animals we fall very easily into despair if we fail to make sense of our lives. We are unlike our animal kin in another way. Only human beings kill and die for the sake of beliefs about themselves and the nature of the world. Looking for sense in their lives, they attack others who find meaning in beliefs different from their own. The violence of faith cannot be exorcised by demonizing religion. It goes with being human.

Economy The Real Face of Middle East Crisis

President Obama surprised many recently when he diagnosed the crisis gripping Iraq as partly an economic one, noting that Iraqi Sunnis were “detached from the global economy” and thus frustrated in achieving their aspirations. While Iraq's chaos has many sources, Mr Obama is nevertheless on to something; and it's not just Iraqi Sunnis, but the entire Middle East that is detached from the global economy.


The Middle East accounts for just over 4 per cent of global imports, less than it did in 1983; Germany alone accounts for 6.4 per cent. Its economic stagnation is vividly illustrated by a comparison to Asian economies. According to the World Bank, in 1965, Egypt's per-capita gross domestic product was $406, while that of China was merely $110. Today (using constant dollars), Egypt's GDP has increased four-fold to $1,566, whereas China's has increased thirty-fold to $3,583. Similarly, Iran and South Korea had roughly the same per-capita GDP as in 1965; now South Korea's is $24,000, whereas Iran's is only $3,000. The economies of the Middle East are not only detached from the world's, but also from one another. Most exports in North America, Europe and Asia remain within those regions. Two-thirds of exports to Europe are also from Europe. In the Middle East, only 16 per cent of exports to the region as a whole are from other Middle Eastern states.

While Western observers focus on political issues in the Middle East, people in the region are themselves preoccupied with economic matters. According to a recent poll, residents of the Gaza Strip overwhelmingly desire calm with Israel and the chance to seek jobs there. In another poll, Iranians listed “expanding employment opportunities” as their top political priority, far higher than “continuing our nuclear enrichment programme.” But while Gazans hope for an end to their blockade, and Iranians for an end to sanctions, neither step would provide a silver bullet. Economic malaise is endemic to the region, even in places not suffering from blockades or sanctions. This should concern Western policymakers. The distinction between economic and political problems is false. Like anywhere, economics and politics are inextricably linked. And economic progress is the key to easing the chronic instability that threatens American interests in the region. Among oil importers, bloated public sectors are at the heart of socioeconomic woes. In places like Egypt, where the public sector employs around 30 per cent of workers, post-revolution governments in search of quick economic fixes have further increased the public work force and salaries. Generous government subsidies, particularly on fuel, encourage overconsumption and favour inefficient, energy-intensive industries. Together with the large public-sector wage bills, these subsidies strain government finances, resulting in deficits, which increase the cost of credit. These policies, together with obstacles to doing business, inhibit the sort of private-sector activity that would boost growth and employment. Across the region, unemployment — especially among youth — is in many cases higher than it was at the outbreak of the Arab uprisings, and economic growth is too slow to reverse the trend. These problems aren't limited to the oil importers. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that oil exporters' years of massive surpluses are nearing an end, as a result of heavy spending and growing populations. This makes them increasingly vulnerable to a decrease in oil prices, which looks increasingly likely as new sources come online internationally. These economic problems can be fixed, however. In contrast to the region's political dilemmas — which often seem intractable — not only is the West able to help, but regional leaders are open to receiving help. Jordan offers an example: Amid the chaos of the Arab uprisings, Amman quietly implemented tough reforms with the assistance of the United States and the IMF. Oil importers need to replace costly fuel subsidies with targeted assistance to the poor and the creation of social safety nets. They also need to ease their dependency on external aid, reduce corruption, and make regulatory changes to encourage private-sector growth. Exporters need to reduce spending and diversify their economies. And both need to shrink their public sectors and modernize their educational systems.

The United States and its allies should not only provide advice in overcoming these challenges but also incentivize regional governments to take it. That means working with regional allies that are seeking to diversify and modernize their economies, and coordinating economic aid and tying it to progress on reform, including the political steps necessary to make reforms successful. America should also promote greater economic integration by cooperating with wealthy oil producers to invest in the prosperity of their poorer neighbours, and by offering Middle Eastern states better access to Western markets, especially the European Union. Exhortations for the United States to “do more” overseas are often criticized as veiled calls for the use of military force. But integrating economic statecraft into diplomacy would help broaden America's international role beyond the security sphere in a way that promotes long-term peace and stability. It would be naive to think that economic growth will solve all of the Middle East's thorny dilemmas; but it would be equally naive to believe that they can be solved without it.

Courtesy: New York Times

Corruption in Pakistan

Causes, Repercussions and Solutions


Good governance flourishes in a situation that is necessarily corruption-free. Pakistan is unfortunately way down on the ladder on this account. Our society is facing a very grave problem of corruption since long and it is rampant to such an extent that the very basic foundations of our society have been shaken. It's a cancer that has gobbled up all the socio-economic prospects of development. Corruption of all magnitudes — mega, moderate and petty — permeates all tiers of governance and all segments of the society may it be public, private, political, judicial, commercial or even religious. Since corruption is authority plus monopoly minus transparency, it severely impacts the life of the citizens through lesser returns on resource use and adds manifold to their cost of living. Corruption that is defined by the Transparency International as the “abuse of entrusted power for private gain” because “it hurts everyone who depends on the integrity of people in a position of authority” is a universal curse and exists in all the countries as a common phenomenon, both in developing or poorer countries and developed countries. The difference is only of the degrees of corruption. It is unfortunately endemic in Pakistan as well. No structure, no tier and no office of public sector is immune from it as it has affected every organ of state and has put its claws even on judiciary and legislature. It would be no exaggeration to say that the whole body of the state of Pakistan is suffering from this malaise and is wailing under its dead weight. So enormous is its incidence that Pakistan is ranked 126th in Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2014. Though this ranking is up a notch from last year's ranking of 175 countries, it is still not, at all, enviable or even acceptable. The roots of corruption in Pakistan date back to the colonial period when the British rewarded lands and titles to those who were their loyalists leading to nepotism and corruption. Two major crises played a fundamental role in the genesis of corruption in this part of the world; the spiral in the defence related purchases during and after the World War II, and allotment of evacuee property after the partition of Indian Subcontinent. This was followed by industrial and trade licensing and patronage schemes. Bhutto's nationalization policy of the 1970s also created opportunities for corruption and gave birth to a new breed of corrupt government officers. The decade of 1980s witnessed the surge of corruption in religious and business circles. Serious attempts at accountability originating in mid 1990s and fortified on the turn of the century farcically turned into tools of political patronage or victimization. Today, a more disturbing and distressing fact is that over the period acceptability of corruption has increased in the society and at present the situation has deteriorated and people seldom feel guilty about their own role in corruption. It is so because corruption provides options to even those who lack power, and empowers them to rise above their circumstance. Put another way, corruption empowers as it allows people to buy the power they can exercise for their own benefit. In Pakistan, the scale of corruption is highest in development projects and procurements including even defence and public sector corporations, and the bank loan write-offs. Whereas mega corruption is mainly in development projects, bank loans and procurements which rock the foundation of the economy, the common man is more interested in the petty and middle

level corruption that he encounters in the daily dealings in the government offices. Candidly, corruption is simply a cold and calculated theft of an opportunity from the segment of society that is least able to protect itself. This menace continues to lurk where opacity rules. Moreover, evils such as fraud, forgery, dishonesty, and other malpractices which are harmful for the society come under the umbrella of corruption. Although it has wide-ranging deleterious effects on society and governance, it's most deadly impact is always on the poor. It undermines democracy, hinders good governance and weakens democratic institutions. It hampers economic growth and sustainable development. When countries improve governance and reduce corruption, they reap a "development dividend. The causes of this malady are to be found in the socio-cultural and political matrix of the Pakistani society which presently is faced with a gradual loss of value system and even identity. The causes of corruption are multidimensional. Among them, no punishment and “soft forgiving” culture for the corrupt individuals is the most preeminent. Unfortunately, in our country, corruption is considered as the low-risk and high-reward activity. Those involved in corruption are generally not caught. If, caught they are not punished in most cases due to the “soft forgiving” culture in our country or they go scot free due to 'lack of evidence'. If the corrupt people are punished befittingly, then corruption would not penetrate in the Pakistani society. Moreover, ambiguous and dubious practices have also marred the prospects of transparency. Non-disclosure of information is also promoting corruption in our country. If people do not know about the things which take place behind the closed door, then corruption will grow and prosper without any bounds. This is due to this evil that the Pakistanis innocently and unknowingly elect the same crooked politicians time and again. Besides, the poor judicial infrastructure and improper prosecution is also one of the main reasons of soaring corruption. Unfortunately, our flawed judicial system has never inspired confidence among the people that the looters of public money and those misusing power shall be brought to book. Due to malpractices of the officials, on the other hand, it becomes virtually impossible for prosecutors to prove allegations against the corrupt. In most of the cases of corruption, the records are tempered with and it results in the acquittal of the accused. Further, the mechanism of judiciary is also not praiseworthy due to its inefficiency in the disposal of cases. For instance, the former chief minister of Sindh, Syed Abdullah Shah, was proved guilty of corruption years after his death. Tax evasion and culture of writing off loans is also responsible for the growth of this canker worm of our society. A taxpayer is loyal to his country because he serves the interests of the state. As Ronald Reagan said: “The tax payer — that's someone who works for the federal government but does not have to take the civil services examination.”

Sadly, in Pakistan most people, including our rulers, do not pay taxes. A report from a study entitled “Representation without Taxation” by investigative journalist Umar Cheema said: “According to the findings, President Asif Ali Zardari did not file a tax return in 2011 and neither did 34 of the 55 cabinet members including Interior Minister Rehman Malik. Of the 20 cabinet ministers who did pay, most made only negligible contributions, including Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, with 142,536 rupees ($1,466) and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar with 69,619 rupees ($716). The cabinet member who paid the most was state minister for commerce, Abbas Khan Afridi, who paid 11.5 million rupees last year ($118,677). Religious Affairs Minister Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah paid the least with 43,333 rupees ($446).” According to the report, more than 60 per cent of Pakistan's cabinet and two-thirds of its federal lawmakers paid little or no tax during that year, despite an estimated average net wealth of $882,000. Are these appalling figures justifiable in any way for the so-called system of democracy in Pakistan and its people? Is this not a shameful revelation for the Pakistani public who votes them into power and then depends on them for lawmaking, and even a bigger embarrassment in the eyes of the nations whom we go back to begging for loans? In Pakistan the tax evasion ratio is so high that less than 1 million people are paying tax in the population of nearly 200 million. This has brought Pakistan equal to Afghanistan in tax-to-GDP ratio. A true leadership is necessary for a nation as water for a plant because this is the leader who guides the people according to the circumstances. Once a reporter asked from Nelson Mandela; what is the difference between leader and politician. He replied that leader thinks about the next generation while the politician only thinks about the next election. This maxim is really fit in the case of Pakistan. We do not have any such leader who sets examples for the masses to follow. A leaderless nation always involves in corruption. Poor governance is another cause of corruption in Pakistan. There is no concept of rule of law and only rule of individual is ubiquitous. This is the poor governance which leads to the acquittal of many culprits. Paradoxically, nowadays people are more influenced by the materialistic approach than the religious or ethical teachings. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: “Beware of bribery for verily it is sheer infidelity, and the briber will not even smell the fragrance of Paradise.” But, how saddening is the fact that we have forgotten this lesson. This is religion and ethics which guide an individual in his course of life. But today people hardly care about the religious edifices as they want to earn money as much as they can. Gone are the days when corrupt elements faced social boycott by the rest of the society.

As far as its effects are concerned, corruption lowers economic development and undermines poverty alleviation. The social contract obligates that the state should provide an environment where people can realise their full potential. Corruption scuttles the level of revenues which consequently reduce the capacity of the state to fund basic social services. Corruption also affects targeting of social programmes. If corrupt practices are pervasive, leakages in such programmes will usually be high. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the money allocated for various social spending and poverty alleviation programmes have not reached the intended targets. A substantial percentage of such funding was squandered away during the process of distribution. Further, targeting of the poor was riddled with nepotism and patronage. Corruption also enhances the operating costs of the government and reduces the resources available for social spending. The budget for the health and education sectors gets squeezed. It is an open secret now that the major chunk of the funds allocated for development of infrastructure like roads, schools and hospital buildings is eaten into by corruption in the form of commissions and kickbacks by the engineers, contractors and construction companies. And so corruption undermines development, deepens poverty and exacerbates other human rights violations. Corruption can also violate human rights directly. If a corrupt judge takes a bribe to decide a case against an individual or a corrupt police officer takes a bribe not to properly investigate, that corruption directly violates human rights like the right to a fair trial. Corruption can manifest itself as the worst abuse of human dignity and rights. Corruption also impedes Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) which is so badly needed to generate economic activity, create employment, and support the dwindling foreign exchange reserves. The world economic forum's Global Competitiveness Report (2007-08) identified corruption as the 3rd biggest problem for companies doing business in Pakistan, after government bureaucracy and poor infrastructure. The corruption cycle is really vicious, to say the least. Rampant corruption in tax and customs and excise collection and costly public sector purchases, and inefficient major public sector entities like PIA, Railway, Steel Mills, etc. cause a major deficit for the government every year in term of resource generation and expenditure that makes the government borrow from IMF and other foreign and domestic resources, and it through increased debt repayments broadens the gap and compels the government to increase the price of the utilities like electricity, gas, CNG and petroleum products. That takes a heavy toll on the people of Pakistan. Resultantly, corruption which is done at far away and much higher places from the common citizens has a direct and deep impact on their lives. Thus, act of corruption, whether direct or indirect, close or remote, is not innocuous for common man. Corruption also undermines democracy and good governance. It erodes the legitimacy of the government and democratic values. It also makes the loss of international trust. On one hand, we are the victim of terrorism and on the other, of the overcrowded market of corruption. The

rampant corruption is also jeopardizing the development works in the country. The funds are not used for the welfare of the people and are only found in the pockets and in the bank accounts of the crooked politicians. Due to this apathy, people are deprived of hospitals, schools, roads, etc. Furthermore, relief work also comes to halt as witnessed in recent floods Now solutions, if to be implemented the reign of corruption can come to an end. Corruption is not a problem that can be attacked in isolation. It is not sufficient for the criminal law to search for bad apples and punish them. Of course, the state may need to establish credibility by punishing highly visible corrupt officials, but the goal of such prosecutions is to attract notice and public support, not solve the underlying problem. Following suggestions can be helpful in achieving a corruption-free Pakistan. Firstly, there must be transparency. Secondly, information of funds’ amount and disbursement time must be publicized. Thirdly, media should play the role of a watchdog. Fourthly, accountability must be ensured. Because in the absence of credible and independent accountability mechanism, there is no effective means to deal with the endemic malaise of corruption. Fifthly, rule of law must be ensured. Sixthly, legislation should be done on the laws which provide shelter to the offenders. Seventhly, education should be used as a medium to make people aware about their rights and duties. Eighthly, reforms must be brought to fix the genuine problems. It is like renovating and reinforcing the foundations of a building which is about to collapse when the termite of corruption is done away with. Then, new and wide avenues of progress and prosperity are opened. If this society is to be saved and the country has to shake off the tag of a failing or failed state, urgent and stringent measures need to be taken. A host of measures are needed to eradicate this menace. The awareness in the general public and emergence of a strong civil society, vociferous media and an independent judiciary all by themselves stand as a guarantee to the success of any future programme of accountability.

Dr. M. Usmani

Gender-based Violence In Pakistan

Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is a universal phenomenon that affects all societies one way or the other. Almost every woman faces discrimination or fear because of her gender. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that at least one in every five of the world's females has been physically or sexually abused. GBV affects both physical and emotional health of women and has far-reaching effects on the society as a whole.


Before discussing gender-based violence in Pakistan, it is pertinent to understand as to what violence and gender-based violence actually are. Gelles and Straus define violence as “an act carried out with the intention or perceived intention of physically hurting another person.”

Exerting power in order to impose one's will on another person is also violence. When this violence falls within the ambit of gender relations, it affects all aspects of a woman's life. When violence is directed against women, simply because they are weak and dependent, it is called gender-based violence. As women are generally victimized because of their gender, the term gender-based violence is, therefore, used to describe violence against women. Due to many forms and manifestations of GBV, a woman continues to face it, one way or the other, throughout her life. Heise, Pittenguay and Germain delineate different types of violence a woman faces throughput her life which are as under: Pre-birth: It includes sex-selective abortion. Battering during pregnancy and coerced pregnancy are the forms of pre-birth gender-based violence. Infancy: It includes female infanticide as well as physical and emotional abuse and differential access to food and medical care. Girlhood: Child marriage is its worst form. At this stage, sexual and physical abuse of girls by family members and strangers are common occurrence. Differential access to food, medical care and education continues at this stage. Adolescence: At this stage, the most common forms are violence during courtship, sexual abuse at the workplace, rape, sexual harassment, marriage without consent and trafficking. Reproductive Age: The most common form of violence at this stage is physical, psychological and sexual abuse by the intimate male partner and relatives, forced pregnancies, sexual abuse at workplace, sexual harassment, rape and abuse of widows. Senility: At this stage, abuse of widows including property-grabbing, physical and psychological violence by younger family members and differential access to food and medical care are the most common forms. Levels There are different levels wherein women experience violence. These are as under: Violence within home Violence within community Violence perpetrated by the state Causes Following are the causes of GBV: Gender-specific socialization Belief in inherent superiority of males Values that give men proprietary rights over women and girls

Notion of the family as private sphere and under male control Customs of marriage Acceptability of violence as a means to resolve conflict Women's economic dependence on men Discriminatory laws regarding inheritance, property rights, etc. Limited access to employment in formal and informal sectors Limited access to education and training for women Lesser legal status of women either by law or by practice Lower level of legal literacy among women Under-representation of women in power, politics, media, legal and medical professions. Domestic violence not taken seriously Limited organization of women as political force Limited participation of women in organized political system Effects of Gender-based Violence Injury Disability Sexual and reproductive health problems Rejection, ostracism and social stigma at community level Reduced ability to participate in social and economic activities Acute fear of future violence which extends beyond the individual survivors to other members in community Damage to women's confidence resulting in fear of venturing into public spaces. This often curtails women's education which, in turn, can limit their income-generating opportunities Job loss due to absenteeism as result of violence Divorce or broken families Jeopardized family's economic and emotional development Babies born with health disorders as a result of violence experienced by mother during pregnancy Increased likelihood of effects on children who witness violence at home resulting in emotional and behavioural disturbances Burden on health infrastructure and judicial system

Gender-based Violence in Pakistan GBV is a very serious problem in Pakistan. Gravity of the situation can be gauged from the fact that Pakistan ranked 141 out of 182 on gender-related Development Index. Discrimination and violence are more societal problems than legal. Society breeds discrimination which often finds its manifestation in GBV. Legal framework is not supportive to women thereby aggravating the situation by leaving no breathing space to women who at times find it difficult to come out of the vicious trap of violence. According to Aurat Foundation's Annual Report 2013, total number of reported cases of violence against women from the four provinces, FATA and Islamabad stood at 7516. From these cases nearly 63 per cent were reported only from Punjab followed by Sindh with 1628 cases. 674 cases were reported in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and FATA. Islamabad was noted for 281 cases which is very high number considering that the region is much smaller compared to other regions. Balochistan has a total of 167 reported cases. In Pakistan, the underlying causes of violence are due to deep-rooted social and cultural values. Sadly, women facing discrimination and violence cannot get support from society and even the government. The government should formulate gender-sensitive policies in collaboration with the civil society so that the crimes against women can be minimized. Such policies will also help in changing the attitude of the people in the long run.

(Muhammad Shahid Rafique is a civil servant and Nazia Abdul Ghaffar is a lecturer in

Gender Studies at the University of the Punjab) Muhammad Shahid Rafique

Women in Struggle

In Pakistan, the situation of women is quite alarming as they have to deal with immense pressure and face a seemingly insurmountable array of obstacles, which are preventing them from becoming productive and empowered citizens within our society. No doubt, steps are being taken by the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for improving their condition. Same is the case with home-based workers who work from their homes and earn for survival and ensuring the financial stability of their households. But they face severe problems like inadequate education, lack of skills, physical mobility, health and safety and limited access to productive resources.


First of all, we need to know what the term 'home-based workers' actually means as it refers to the general category of workers within the informal or unorganised sector who carry out remunerative work within their homes or in the surrounding areas. These home-based workers usually belong to poor, lower or lower-middle income backgrounds, from various age groups, and possess very little or no education, at all. They have virtually no social protection. It is estimated that there are over 100 million home-based workers in the world and more than half of them are in South Asia of whom around 80 percent are women. Pakistan is one of the Asian countries with the largest number of women engaged in home-based work and this sector has expanded at a fast pace in recent year. This expansion can be linked to the globalisation of industry and the search for efficient means of production through low-cost labour. These working women contribute to the national economy and export earnings but sadly they are left on the sidelines by the government and no law or action is taken by authorities to protect or regularize them. They are denied any form of legal protection, including a minimum wage guarantee or social security benefits. According to a World Bank (WB) study, over 10 million women in Pakistan are engaged in home-based work in sectors like garments, bangles, shoes, embroidery and carpet weaving among other areas. In spite of their contributions to the economy, these women still do not have social and legal protection and are among the most unprivileged segment of society. Unlike other types of workers, home-based workers do not have any access to social security benefits and have long working hours with no operational safety and health standards in their work area. Furthermore, Pakistan's labour laws do not include home-based workers, who are now covered by the definition of worker all around the world. Article 3 of the Constitution of Pakistan says that the state must eradicate all kinds of exploitation and ensure appropriate compensation for workers.

But, in reality, do these words have any importance? It appears they are just hollow words since no such measures have been taken so far. Who is responsible for implementing the laws which

are mentioned in the Constitution of Pakistan? For the past few years, women's organisations have been preparing draft legislation called the “Home Based Women Workers Social Protection Bill”. While this bill was tabled in the National Assembly in 2007 and has undergone several revisions since, sadly it has not yet been approved. Injustice to home-based workers can be confirmed from the fact that a home-based woman worker who makes bangles at home is paid Rs 3 for making 100 bangles, but the same bangles are sold by the contractor for Rs 50 or 70 in the market. Here a question arises for the government and lawmakers: you always claim to be providing justice to all, but it appears there is no law for the protection of the rights of workers as they are always in the hands of profit-crazy capitalists. What do you intend to do? The successive governments have remained silent on such issues, or seemed to be least interested in introducing the necessary legislation. But, now is the time that they start it by having an immediate review of labour laws to find solutions to the issues of home-based workers through legislation. The government should endeavour to resolve issues of the home-based workers concerning their status as workers, the extension of social security benefits currently applicable only to workers in the formal organised sector of employment through the enactment of a laws, enjoyment of core labour standards with the rights and entitlements in addition to all rights and benefits available to other wage earners performing similar work, easy access to comparatively cheaper credit through several ongoing programmes, easy access to markets for their products, protection from malpractices of 'intermediaries' and 'middlepersons' and the promotion of non-industrial handicraft goods. If Pakistan agrees to the C-177 law, which has already been ratified by seven countries, it will have to allow workers the right to establish or join organisations of their own choice and to participate in the activities of such organisations aimed at protection against discrimination in employment and occupation, and protection in the fields of occupational

health and safety. It will be a huge achievement if this law gets approved by this government for civil society and for those who have worked hard for getting home-based workers their rights. There is also a need to set up specialised entities or dedicated cells within the existing administrative structure to undertake registration of home-based workers and to subsequently ensure that they receive social protection benefits. Also a true and result-oriented tripartite consultation meeting should be organised in which government officials, labour department officials including ministers, civil society representatives and home-based workers sit and discuss a framework to achieve these protections for the workers. While taking these steps will indirectly increase the price of products made by home-based workers, competitiveness can be maintained by placing greater emphasis on quality of products home-based workers produce, in effect, encouraging improvement of their existing skill levels, while simultaneously ensuring that the households of these workers derive greater benefit from the fruits of their labour.

Courtesy: Daily Times

Sources Of Income Inequality

There is no denying the fact that income inequality within as well as across the countries has increased significantly especially after the second wave of globalization. The rich-poor gap, which has widened in the past few decades, speaks volumes about the gravity of the problem of unequal income distribution in the world. It is, therefore, pertinent to analyze the issue of income inequality in detail.


There are basically three major sources of the rising income inequality: tax policy, tax enforcement, and employment structure. Here is a brief analysis of these sources: Taxation Policy Taxes are important tools used by the governments to redistribute revenues in a bid to reduce income inequality. This objective of fiscal policy ultimately ends up with welfare maximization of the society because income redistribution from rich segment of the society to the poor will enhance purchasing power of the latter and thus will lead to higher level of consumption in the society. Furthermore, higher consumption of goods and services also boosts economic growth. Taxation policy deals with tax structure — the type of taxes as well as tax rates and tax bases. Direct taxation policy concentrates on collection of tax revenues through direct taxes such as income tax, wealth tax, inheritance tax, gift tax, etc. This policy ensures that people pay taxes according to their income. It, thus, tries to achieve horizontal as well as vertical equity. So, direct taxation policy plays a crucial role in reducing income inequity.

Unfortunately, many countries have increasingly resorted to indirect taxation policy as a fiscal instrument over the past many years. Indirect tax rates increased in all the regions except in North America and Latin America. Average indirect tax rates in Asia and Europe increased from 11.7pc and 18.88pc in 2009 to 12.5pc and 20.18pc. In North America, the average indirect rate remained constant at 5pc during that period. Thus indirect taxation policy over the years could be an important source of income inequality in many countries. In Pakistan, the World Bank, in a recent study, has concluded that taxation on poor was equal to that on the middle income as households in the lowest decile pay about 2.4pc of the total taxes while consuming only 3pc of the total consumption.

In Pakistan, in order to collect tax revenues, generally indirect taxation policy along with several withholding taxes is followed. Several types of withholding tax are regressive in nature as these are included in the final prices of goods and services to be purchased and consumed by the rich as well as the poor in the same country. Enforcement Policy Weak enforcement of tax policy has resulted in tax evasion, thus enriching the already rich and depriving the government from revenues to finance much needed public services such as security, law and order education, health, etc. It is worth mentioning that an effective legal, judicial and security infrastructure is direly needed in the country. The corporate tax evasion is massive as the multinational corporations pay little or even zero taxes by shifting the income to low tax jurisdiction or tax havens. Similarly, there is massive tax evasion by the corporate taxpayers in Pakistan due to weak policy enforcement. For example, the corporate tax is an important source of revenue in Pakistan. It currently raises 2.5pc of the GDP, which comprises about 25% of all federal tax revenues (World Bank 2009). The scale of non-compliance is suspected to be large in Pakistan but credible evidence on the amount of corporate tax evasion has been lacking due to problems with the data as well as the methodology. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) reports an estimate of the corporate evasion rate equal to 45pc. A World Bank study puts the evasion rate to as high as 218pc of actual corporate income tax payments. Tax audits along with other enforcement measures such as penalties, additional taxes, etc., are considered effective tools against tax evasion. But tax audits have been discontinued for quite some time and there has been a virtual moratorium on other enforcement measures since years. Employment Structure The world has witnessed a massive growth in the multinational enterprises (MNEs) over the last century, with a rapid flow of trade and investment across the borders. Over 60pc of world trade is conducted by the MNEs. They have been exploiting the human resources in the developing countries. But, labour force is employed at lower wages in such countries but the businesses are making substantial incomes and it has resulted in huge income inequalities. Weak enforcement of labour laws in developing countries has been responsible for providing the MNEs with lacunae which they use to exploit the labour force. Furthermore, laws are not clear and the legal and enforcement frameworks are also being utilized by the large enterprises for accumulating wealth. In a nutshell, the problem of income inequality has gained much importance in the recent years and has been vigorously debated in the print and electronic media. In Pakistan, the gravity of the problem can be assessed from the fact that hundreds of children have lost their lives in the Sindh's Tharparker region due to non-availability of food despite the fact that Pakistan is an agrarian economy with abundant grain production. Therefore, it is

suggested that the government must revisit its taxation policy and adopt a policy with main focus on direct taxes. It also needs to adopt strict measures to ensure compliance so as to curb tax evasion and avoidance. There is a need to enforce clear and strict labour laws so that the employees get due wages. Increasing wages is important for reducing income inequality and boosting economic growth.

The writer is a joint Japan-World Bank Scholar and has Graduated in Taxation Policy & Management

from Keio University, Japan. He can be reached at [email protected]

Bilal Hassan

10 Questions with Suhai Aziz Talpur First Woman ASP from Lower Sindh

Belonging to a middle class family of Bhai Khan Talpur village in Sindh's Tando Muhammad Khan district, Suhai Aziz Talpur, is an impressive story of strong will, great determination, and relentless hard work. Beating all odds, she achieved marvellous success in CSS exam and was appointed as ASP. She is the first woman from lower Sindh to join the police at this rank.


Jahangir's World Times (JWT): First of all, for the interest of JWT readers and CSS, PMS aspirants, please tell us about your educational credentials. Suhai Aziz Talpur (SAT): My life has been like a ride of roller coaster of dreams. As a child, I was a big dreamer; I seriously flirted with dreams of being an architect, neurosurgeon, and pilot but ended up being a police officer. I have the distinction of being the first woman ASP from lower Sindh. As regard my educational credentials, I did matriculation from Fauji Foundation Higher Secondary School, Tando Muhammad Khan. And after doing intermediate from Bahria Foundation College, Hyderabad, I did B.Com from Zubaida Girls College, Hyderabad. Later, I earned my master's degree in Economics from University of Sindh, Jamshoro. I did a certificate course of Chartered Accountancy from Al-Hamd Academy Hyderabad and Skans Islamabad as well.

JWT: As a police officer, how will you utilize your qualification? SAT: As a Police Officer, I feel my purpose in this particular field should be to prevent injustices and cruelties perpetrated through crime by identifying and bringing such culprits to justice. I think, I will be more capable of preventing crime and protecting the rights of citizens. My certitude and hope with regard to my future role would definitely help me in achieving this purpose. JWT: Do you think that the PSP is better than other occupational groups? SAT: It's, actually, a matter of temperament as well as of your outlook on life. It's not group, it's rather ability, nature and spirit

of the individual as to how one aspires to serve the nation. PSP is a great group and so are the others. Nevertheless, I feel it's more challenging, especially for women. JWT: What, between books and notes, should be preferred for better preparation? And, what strategy should one adopt to make a difference in CSS? SAT: In my opinion, it is imperative to read different books and some other topics as well. This broadens one's scope and clears the concepts on a particular topic. Hence, it enables one to tackle a question from various angles. However, retention of these concepts is possible only by making one's own notes instead of relying on those of others. As regards the best strategy, I think one should not blindly follow the fixed norms or 'trends'. In fact, critical thinking and open-mindedness put one on the path that leads to making a difference. JWT: It is believed that appropriate selection of the optional subjects is very crucial to getting your desired group but fresh aspirants often get confused while selecting those. In your opinion, what is the best way to choose optional subjects?

SAT: I think the prevalent notion of 'scoring subjects' is only a myth. If one considers oneself capable in a particular subject, one may go for it confidently. I chose Accounting & Auditing and Mercantile Law because I had studies them in past and Sindhi because of my literary taste. Journalism and International Law are subjects of general nature. JWT: What sort of guidance the aspirants to competitive exams should seek for and how do you see Jahangir's World Times (JWT) as a source of guidance for them? SAT: Well, each and every CSS aspirant must realize that the key to a better preparation is practice and relentless efforts. The candidates should be consistent in learning and utilizing their knowledge while actually writing. JWT is a good source of information and knowledge about international and national affairs. I have been an avid reader of Jahangir’s World Times while I was preparing for CSS, and it helped me a lot. JWT: We often see that a number of average students get allocated whereas the talented ones just can't make it. Do you believe that the luck factor plays an important part? SAT: Certainty of employment depends upon hard work whereas what group you land into is absolutely a matter of luck. JWT: Do you think that more and more females should join the police service? SAT: Changing times and conditions of our country put another great responsibility on the shoulders of our women. Today, they cannot afford to remain confined in the four walls of the house; it's not only the right but also the duty of women to stand with the males to confront the grave challenges that our country is facing today. JWT: How one can score well in interview? SAT: To me, the foremost quality that an interview candidate must possess is confidence. If a candidate doesn't possess adequate knowledge, this confidence would compensate this shortcoming. One cannot know everything, but one should always express the zeal to learn new things. JWT: Would you like to give any message to JWT readers? SAT: I strongly feel that our youth possesses great potential as well as verve to serve the country. Our young men and women are eager to tread the path of prosperity and they must believe that the destiny is in their own hands. Let me assure all the readers that sincere efforts are always rewarded and hard work never goes in vain.

For feedback: [email protected] Waqas Iqbal

Sustainable Development and Good Governance

The last half of the twentieth century has been marked with the emergence of four key themes as a result of efforts and collective aspirations of the world community. These are: peace, freedom, development and environment. The peace could not be achieved though as envisaged by the world community. However, it had largely been prevailed while the world powers remained tangled in Cold War tactics or in proxy wars. Peace is still wanted in many parts of Asia and Africa.


Freedom was the most cherished dream after the wave of nationalism swept many parts of the world. The new states diverted their efforts towards economic development, good and democratic governance, human rights and protection of minorities. Similarly, in the last 40 years or so, environment attracted the key focus of national and international law and institutions. In the last three decades of the 20th century, overall thrust had been on the four areas highlighted above. Toward improving conditions and developing uniform policies with consensus of the world community, different commissions have been constituted and international conferences have been held with the overwhelming characteristics to link together the aspirations of humans. One of those is sustainable development with its emphasis on environment and development. In 1982, the World Commission on Environment and Development, also known as Brundtland Commission named after its chair, a former Norwegian PM Gro Harlem Brundtland, was launched. It was the first time that the conflict between development and environment was acknowledged. The brief definition provided by the Brundtland Commission on Sustainable Development in their report entitled “Our Common Future” is: “Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable — to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” The main focus has been upon intergenerational equity having thrust upon citizen participation in ensuring balance between development and environment. In this pursuit, the Earth Charter Initiative which focuses on “declaration of fundamental principles for building a just, sustainable and peaceful global society in the 21st century” was taken in 1992 but efforts were geared up in 1994 with new Earth Charter Initiative. In developing countries, while formulating policies the emphasis is now on environmental issues. However, much more is required to be done in order to develop human values such as life expectancy, education, equity and security. The lack of good governance compromises the future of generations that is why developing countries lag far behind in achieving UN Millennium Development Goals. These goals can best be achieved by acting upon the values underlying MDGs: freedom, tolerance, equality, respect for nature and shared responsibility. These are the core values and without acting upon them, it is not possible to ensure sustainable development without compromising the welfare of future generations. All these values lie in good governance, promoting democratic institutions and care for those who are at most disadvantageous position. In this regard the role should be equally played by the developed countries so as to maintain world peace and also to divert resources towards helping the poor nations in developing capacity to ensure sustainable development as their current pattern of production and consumption is most unsustainable and it must be changed in the interest of our future welfare.

The writer can be reached at: [email protected]

Muhammad Ramzan

Axe Your Exam Anxiety Exam anxiety is a phenomenon that is experienced by almost every student. After my article entitled 'How to Ace Psychological Assessment,' published in November issue of JWT, I received a number of emails from individuals preparing for the written exam as to how to deal with exam anxiety. The feelings of having butterflies in the stomach, nervousness, excessive worry, forgetting the memorized material, inability to stay focused and fear of failure are known to all students — even brilliant students face these problems. Actually, being well prepared is not enough; one must be highly confident before entering the examination hall. But, this confidence cannot be gained overnight. The suggestions presented in this piece will surely help the candidates in axing their exam anxiety.


Positive Approach First of all, always adopt a positive approach. Taking the CSS exam is a long and tedious process and only a 'can do' attitude will help in sustaining its pressure. The way you think determines your actions. If you believe that you can perform well, you will study intently. Don't ever get the feeling that “I can't do it,” or “I will fail”. Try to consciously change such negative thoughts to positive ones by believing: “I am working hard and I will do it,” and “It's not a big deal for me.” Planning Before preparing for an exam, you have to chalk out some study plan. You have to plan wisely the whole journey because if you begin haphazardly, you will always be facing the same question: Where to start from?

Before starting preparations, gather as much information about the exam as possible. Go through syllabus and course outlines of the subjects you select, and work out how much time you would require to cover those. But, while determining the required time, always be honest and realistic. Always avoid selective study, however, you can prioritize the most important topics. Organization After chalking out the plan, start organizing the study material. Arranging books and notes for each subject separately will, surely, save a lot of time hence you will be more productive and more efficient. Study Habits To ace the exam, you should develop good study habits. Always find a comfortable place to study that is free from all sorts of distractions. Also, choose the time when you think you are at the height of your brainpower — morning, evening or night. Do study difficult topics during these hours and leave the easier ones for the time when you don't find yourself very productive. If you like group study, it would be much better. Don't study for long hours at a stretch. Study for 45-50 minutes and then revise what you have learnt in the next 5 minutes. After each session, a 5-20 minutes break would help you reenergize for the next session. If you find something difficult, do seek help from a teacher or a friend. Time Management In the exam context, time management is distributing time for studying each subject. Time can be well managed if you schedule your study. This will not only help you track and monitor your progress, but will also make you more punctual. Usually, a schedule is made on weekly or monthly or daily basis. Another effective way to make your time is to divide the number of topics of each subject over the days available for preparation. This will give a fairer idea that how much course should you cover daily so that you get yourself amply prepared for the actual exam. The timetable you prepare must be kept at a prominent place so that it's easily visible. Avoid Distractions While studying, various temptations like TV, music, cell phone, computer, etc. distract your attention. It is not smart to study in a place where such distractions are near. Do study in a place that is quiet and peaceful. Before sitting down for study, take all what you might need such as water, snacks, highlighters, pen, books etc. Distractions can also be psychological. There might be different thoughts that intrude into our minds. But you can suspend such thoughts for at least 45 minutes and stay focused. Sleeping Habits You must have heard people complaining that as soon as they open their books, they start feeling drowsy. This is quite common and can be dealt with. Firstly, always sit on a proper chair and in a well-lit room. Avoid curling up on a comfortable couch or bed as you will only end up dozing. If you feel sleepy while sitting, take your book and study while walking. You can also

wash your face with cold water and take tea or coffee. Having an undisturbed sleep at night is equally important because a point comes when your body refuses to work more. Prior to sleeping, avoid the bright lights from the cell phones, tablets and computers. Turn the cell phone to silent mode. Also maintain a consistent sleeping schedule and sleep for a good 7 to 8 hours during night. Learning the Study Material New study material should preferably be learned when you feel you are alerter and more focused. Merely reading the material wouldn't be effective. To memorize it completely, first understand it, then think and connect the facts you have understood. Later, you can recall the topic with questions such as “What were the main headings or what were the main points, and what is my opinion on the topic?” This will help you make it a part of your long-term memory. You can also explain a topic to a friend to make sure that you have fully comprehended it. If you make a summary of each topic and then write it in bullet points, it would be highly productive. Important points can be remembered by using mnemonics. For example, if you want to memorize the seven conjunctions of English i.e. For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, you can take the first letter of each conjunction and make a word with them like FANBOY which is easily to memorize. This will not only help you revise the material but will also help you in recalling the material in exams. Revision You must have gone through the experience that once you learn something, you forget it the very next day. Don't worry, most people forget nearly 80% of the information they learn after a day or two. This is because of the storage of information in short-term memory rather than the long-term one. To remember things, it is important that you store them in long-term memory and this can be achieved by revising the learnt material again and again. Do revise whatever you learn the next day, then the next week, after a month and so on. Needless to say, revise before exams as well. Go through the papers of past ten years and identify the questions that have been asked on a particular topic. You can test your knowledge by solving those questions and getting them checked. Taking mock examinations will give a fair idea as to where you stand and on what you need to work on. Fear of Failure Preparation for examination and fear of failure often go hand in hand. An exam is always an exam as these 60-80 days of your life will never come back. Instead of thinking negative, instead of undermining your abilities, instead of fearing the future and instead of wondering how this exam would influence your life, just explain to yourself: These few days are extremely important and probably the most crucial ones. So, why not make the most of it? Steve Nash once said: “You have to rely on your preparation. You got to really be passionate and try to prepare more

than anyone else, and put yourself in a position to succeed, and when the moment comes you got to enjoy, relax, breathe and rely on your preparation so that you can perform and not be anxious or filled with doubt.” My suggestion to the candidates is almost the same. If you work hard and persevere, maintain good and strategic study habits and believe in yourself, you will succeed. YOU CAN DO IT!

The writer is a Clinical Psychologist. She can be reached at:

[email protected] Fatima Ali Bokhari

How to Achieve Success in CSS To be among top 50-100 candidates, you need to score at least 56% (672) to 60% (720) in the written exam of 1200 marks. But, you cannot get 60% grades in each subject. For instance, the Essay paper gives a tough time to most aspirants. Nevertheless, a very specific lot can go up to 50% and even 60%. Similarly, scoring trends of Pakistan Affairs and Islamiat has also not been encouraging in recent years. Therefore, you have to breakdown your subjects and then set targets against each of them.


Prologue For achieving success the goal must be clear. More important is to know that how to reach that goal. Getting into CSS takes a lot of energies. Investing weeks and months of tireless efforts is for a certain goal and that is to become a Civil Servant of Pakistan. This time of year is very crucial; nerve-wrecking pressure is raising tensions as CSS exam is just around the corner. At the end of the day, what will matter is how skilfully you have presented your arguments on the answer sheet because you will be assessed on the basis of your answers. So in a nutshell, you have to get excellent marks to be a CSP. Following paragraphs are aimed at elaborating a few points that can help you secure maximum marks. 1. Set Targets Let us make it simple. To be among top 50-100 candidates, you need to score at least 56% (672) to 60% (720) in the written exam of 1200 marks. But, you cannot get 60% grades in each subject. For instance, the Essay paper gives a tough time to most aspirants. Nevertheless, a very specific lot can go up to 50% and even 60%. Similarly, scoring trends of Pakistan Affairs and Islamiat has also not been encouraging in recent years. Therefore, you have to breakdown your subjects and then set targets against each of them. For instance, you can excel in optional subjects and can also score 60-70% and even more in Everyday Science and Current Affairs. This will turn the equation in your favour and will compensate for the subjects in which you couldn't fetch good marks. Hence, it is of paramount importance to understand and calculate your targets and work accordingly to achieve them. 2. Prepare Objectives Well Apart from Essay and English Précis & Composition, each paper of 100 marks carries MCQs of 20 marks, barring Everyday Science in which MCQs consist of 50 marks. This means objective portion carries 230 marks out of a total of 1200. This is a considerable portion because it can make a lot of difference in boosting your score and, of course, merit. To explain it further, on average, you can get 10/20 objectives right in a paper but you can score 13-14 marks with a little extra effort. This would boost your score by 27-36 marks through objective portion only — excluding EDS. This may be a difference of more than 100 candidates on merit. 3. Give Outlines Outline is very important as it guides the examiner about what you have written. It is like the skeleton of an answer. Normally, we associate outline only with Essay paper but it proves very handy and helpful if given before writing your answer to a question in all papers. The point is to facilitate the examiner. It tells your assurance about what you would be writing and would also make your expression coherent. 4. Proper Introduction and Conclusion You must also write introductory and concluding paragraphs for each question, particularly in Current Affairs, Pakistan Affairs and Islamiat as well as in optional subjects like Political Science, International Relations, History, Sociology, Journalism, etc. For a good score, a proper beginning and ending to an answer is imperative. Introduction guides the examiner as to how

you are going to build your argument and justify it. Conclusion is always important to tell the examiner that you are convinced about your points. This will also give your answer an attractive appearance which would be more appealing to the examiner. 5. Use of Headings One-word heading are not preferable. Headings should be pithy and sententious. Moreover, there are certain headings that are used frequently in each question like introduction, conclusion, causes, effects, suggestions, analysis, etc. For them, you can also use some synonyms or alternatives. For example, for introduction you can write prologue, introductory note or opening remarks; for conclusion, epilogue, concluding remarks or end note while for causes, factors or reasons maybe the suitable alternatives. 6. Quotations and Facts & Figures Your answer is basically the tool through which you have to convince the examiner that you deserve good marks. All your answers must be weighty and convincing. Therefore, data elements, statistics, maps, diagrams and sometimes apt and relevant quotations add to the effectiveness of your words. Most significantly, in Essay or Current Affairs the strongest way of authenticating your argument is facts and figures. Whereas, diagrams and maps can be drawn in papers like Geography, quotations can be used in any paper i.e. Islamiat, Pak Affairs, History, Essay, Current Affairs, etc. But when quoting someone directly, do give reference; otherwise, quote indirectly and relate it to your paragraph or subject matter. Irrelevant quotes are good for nothing. End Note Remember, you are striving for the best and competing with the best; so, be at your best. In competition, only grades and merit matters. So, you have to stand head and shoulders above others. Practice all right things that bring you closer to your target and defeat your fears and follies. Stay focused during your exam and write relevant and logical stuff. You can command success with perfection of your expression and this perfection comes through formal presentation, strong, cogent and logical arguments supported with facts and figures and other aides. In a nut shell, to attain your dreams and ambitions you always need to go an extra mile but in the right direction.

With this prayer, I am leaving you on a high note that you all do well in your attempt. Amen!

The author is a PAS officer 37th CTP.

He can be contacted at: [email protected]

Sikander Zishan

How to Score High in Islamiat The students usually prepare two segments: “Islamic Systems” and “Fundamental Problems of the Humans and the Holy Quran” and neglect the other two. But, only one or two questions are asked from these segments and sometimes this number falls to zero.


It is a known fact that Islamiat paper in CSS exam has always been a tricky one. In CE 2014, 8628 candidates failed this very paper. Moreover, during 2005-11, the examiners have mainly focussed the contemporary challenges to Islam. On the basis of my experience and interaction with the students, I have found these 10 mistakes responsible for very low scores in Islamiat: 1. The whole range of question in Islamiat paper can be divided into four segments: a. Beliefs b. Pillars of Islam c. Islamic Systems d. Fundamental Problems of the Humans and the Holy Quran The students usually prepare two segments: “Islamic Systems” and “Fundamental Problems of the Humans and the Holy Quran” and neglect the other two. But, only one or two questions are asked from these segments and sometimes this number falls to zero. 2. The aspirants seldom practice writing good introduction to an answer. 3. Then there is hardly any heed paid to maintain coherence and linkage between the paragraphs. 4. The students neither memorize Arabic text of verses and ahadith nor do they bother to write any text in actual paper.

5. Objecting others is, unfortunately, rampant in our society. We hear criticism of every sort almost round the clock. But, in CSS, it is not approved of by the examiners. They just want to assess that which candidate has actually understood the issue and what suggestions he has to help resolve the said issue. It has been witnessed that some students become more-than-necessary critical while writing the answers to questions related to Western culture or civilization or those related to the issues of women. However, to score high, a balanced approach must be followed. 6. The students do read the books but they fail to utilize their analytical skills and creativity while writing down their answers. The students should consciously try to think about the contemporary challenges to Islam and the ways to tackle those. 7. Unfortunately, the books available in the market are mostly meretricious as no heed has been paid in those to the prevailing trend of questions in the actual paper. 8. Most students follow “read, read and read” principle but do not pay any attention on enhancing their writing speed. 9. Numerous aspirants, having no academic background in Islamiat, need a lot of guidance but they do not bother to seek any. 10. The last, but not least, are spelling and grammar mistakes. How to Overcome These Mistakes? If the above mentioned problems are overcome then there is no reason why the students would get low scores or fail this paper. Proper, coherent and impressive introduction to an answer is a prerequisite to scoring high in Islamiat paper. Following suggestions can be helpful in improving the quality of your answer to get the maximum score: 1. There are usually three types of sentences: a. Issue-based b. Argumentative, which may support the issue at hand c. concluding, which are usually suggestion-based 2. After providing an impressive introduction, the answer should be written in a style that is simply rational and coherent. 3. During preparations you should focus basically the Islamic Systems and the questions related to the fundamental problems of human beings and the importance and role of the Holy Quran in finding solutions to them. 4. Do write a relevant Quranic verse before starting to write the answer.

Hafiz Arshad Iqbal Chaddhar

CSS 2014 Result An Analysis of Trends


CSS is the most prestigious exam in Pakistan where the best brains compete for a dream job in the country's bureaucracy. Thousands of bright and intelligent candidates put in all-out efforts to qualify this exam. But, unfortunately, they often get misguided by the so-called mentors and get tangled in the web of 'scoring trend’, which results in shattering of their dreams. CSS-2014 result is an eye-opener for the CSS aspirants as the pass percentage remained extremely low, with only 439 candidates passing the written exam. A major factor behind this fiasco has been the misconceptions and false notions spread by the self-styled experts of this field. One of these notions is the “scoring subject” phenomenon. Let us have a look at how 'hot subjects' fared this year:

1. Compulsory Subjects The significance of compulsory subjects cannot be overrated. This time again, most candidates couldn't clear this first hurdle, as the following table reveals. Let us take a look at each of these subjects: 1.1 English Essay This time, unlike previous years, candidates performed really well Essay paper. A record number of 6299 candidates passed this paper. It is encouraging to see that candidates selected the right topic and comprehended well its meanings, spirit, direction and range. They presented their arguments in a logical, coherent manner.

1.2 English Précis and Composition This year, Précis and Composition paper decided the fate of most of the candidates. Result was a dismal 7.1%. The key in this paper was the Précis question which surprisingly was a repetition from a past paper of CSS. The aspirants who took this question seriously and prepared by practicing passages from past papers must have done well in this paper. The CSS aspirants MUST understand that they need to learn what Précis is and how it is structured. Comprehending the message of the given passage and self-expression are essential to surpass this hurdle. Simply reproducing the text or using the original expression wouldn't accrue any credit. 1.3 Everyday Science Most candidates were able to pass this paper. 75.56 was the percentage of those getting at least qualifying marks. The examiner actually demands a clear expression of your understanding of the subject and not merely regurgitation of facts. The 2015 candidates

should focus on understanding topics. They must also draw relevant diagrams wherever applicable. 1.4 Current Affairs Generally, examiners have been complaining the candidates' attempts as being devoid of critical analysis and lacking application of knowledge to given situations. The 2015 candidates must keep this fact in mind. While attempting Current Affairs paper, do write precise and to-the-point answers with relevant information. Drawing relevant maps and giving a candid critical analysis is always advised. 1.5 Pakistan Affairs Only 58.44% percent candidates could pass this paper. However, marks of a majority haven't been above 50. There are certain reasons for these low scores. Very few candidates produced answers according to the requirement of the questions. Creative and thought provoking answers were very rare. A simple advice for 2015 candidates: read carefully and comprehend the

question before writing the answers. 1.6 Islamiyat Fewer than 32% candidates passed this paper. The 2015 candidates must avoid rhetoric. They should support their views with strong, effective arguments. Always avoid indulging in sectarian debate; it is never required in CSS as questions are broad-based. Do not forget to give relevant references from Quran and Hadith to support your arguments. 2. Subjects Most Commonly Opted for The most commonly opted for subjects were Journalism, Sociology, Psychology, Punjabi, History of Pakistan & India, Geography, Islamic History & Culture, International Law, Public Administration and Arabic. Let us have a look at how candidates performed in these papers: Thus it reveals that most candidates selected subjects like Journalism and Sociology without any prior exposure to those and flunked these papers miserably. Their selection was probably influenced by others, without taking into account their own aptitudes and/or prior knowledge of it. Only 0.8, 3.9 and 0.1 percent candidates respectively could secure a modest score of 60 percent in subjects of Journalism, Sociology and Islamic History. The only exceptions were Geography and Psychology where decent numbers of 451 and 578 candidates respectively were able to score more than 60% marks. The 2015 candidates must give a serious thought to their preparation in these most favourite subjects. Good marks can be earned but only with hard work and proper study.

3. History Subjects In 2014, candidates opting for British History and US History were able to fetch more marks than those who selected Indo-Pak History and Islamic History. Lack of proper understanding and overreliance on short notes may have resulted in this poor performance.

4. Subjects with Better Scores in 2014 In 2014, candidates couldn't secure satisfactory marks in any of the so-called 'scoring subjects'. Here are the Top 10 subjects which yielded high scores in CSS-2014: Thus, the candidates who opted for specialized subjects; for whom they had an aptitude or prior study, were able to do well in the exam. Thus, problem is not the subject; it's the preparation where the fault lies. The aspirants of CSS-2015 should therefore avoid these mistakes while giving final touches to their preparation.

How to Score High in CSS-2015 Since the CSS-2015 aspirants are readying themselves to face the challenge of written exam, it is always advised for them to take mock exams especially those conducted exactly after the FPSC pattern i.e. 2 papers a day (09:00am-12:00noon & 02:00pm-05:00pm). World Times Academy is offering such mock exams as per the timings followed by the FPSC. Actually, when you take such an exam, you not only adapt yourself to the tough schedule, but a good, honest assessment of the arguments you present in your paper also helps you improve your thoughts as well as the way to express them. Common Mistakes in Preparation The common mistakes which lead to failure in CSS include overconfidence, insufficient writing practice, reliance on substandard/outdated study material and ignoring English grammar, among others. CSS-2015 candidates must keep in mind these things to score high and to embark on the career of their dreams. Good Luck!

Guess Papers For CSS 2015 From World Times Academy


English Essay (by Sir Farrukh Sultan) 1. Political culture in Pakistan 2. Pakistan and menace of terrorism 3. Place of women in society 4. Education in Pakistan: a neglected frontier 5. The impact of corruption in society 6. The Importance of national integration 7. Global warming 8. Disaster management in Pakistan 9. Energy crisis and its manifestations in Pakistan 10. Muslim Ummah at crossroads 11. Capital Punishment Current Affairs (by Sir Farrukh Sultan) 1. An unswerving will, indomitable courage and unshakeable and unified resolve seem to be the basic elements to get our nation free from the evil grip of the octopus of terrorism. Discuss the

causes both horizontal and vertical and also suggest measures to confront this menace of terrorism. 2. In the name of 'Arab Spring', the West seems to have contributed more fuss then respite. Discuss the statement in the backdrop of ISIS perceived threats towards instability of Arab world in particular. 3. The key of a permanent and enduring peace against 'War on Terror' lies more with Kabul and Islamabad than elsewhere. Discuss the statement in the context of 'Realpolitik' and vested interests of major players of 'War on Terror'. 4. Pakistan-US relations have been marred by 'more odds than evens'. Discuss and explore the ways and means to reduce trust deficit and enhance cooperation both at strategic and economic fronts. 5. The peace in Middle East, and more particular in Palestine, seems to have locked in Israel's unilateral self-assertion in a unipolar world. Discuss. 6. Pakistan-India relations, most of times have been bumpy, smashing against the Indian hegemonic desires and policies. Highlight the key areas and possible steps to be taken by the leadership of these countries to off-load the burden of history. 7. Muslim Ummah seems to be rich in material resources but poor in vision and leadership. Identify major challenges being confronted by Ummah and also suggest steps to be taken to make it a viable, unified and effective platform of Muslims. 8. Critically evaluate the role of vibrant but responsible media towards sustainable democracy in Pakistan. 9. Political culture in Pakistan has been embroiled, most of the time, by questions of transparency, incapacity and intolerance. Discuss the problem and also suggest remedies to need to be done to address both the theoretical as well as the practical front to improve democratic values in our country. 10. Discuss the different dimensions of the Sino-US relations and their possible impact on the future political course of the world. 11. SAARC is like a vehicle without engine. Discuss. 12. The United Nations is like a lion without teeth and nails. What measures do you suggest to make this world body more effective and impartial in future? Pakistan Affairs (by Salman Kazmi) 1. Write down in detail the evolution of Muslim society in the Subcontinent. 2. According to your own viewpoint, what were the main causes of the decline of Mughal Empire? 3. Write a comprehensive note on the chain of constitutional development in the Subcontinent that ended in 1947. 4. The social, traditional, cultural and religious invasions along with imposed rules by the British caused the locals to fight the War of Independence, 1857. Discuss. 5. The Muslim civilization was at its lowest ebb after the War of Independence. In this critical time, the Muslims were really suffering and it was impossible without the wisdom and farsightedness of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan that the Muslims regain the dignity and a respectable

place in Subcontinent. Comment! 6. Simla Delegation was a step towards the changing of whole political scenario in the Subcontinent. Do you agree with this statement? If yes, provide some suitable arguments from the history. 7. Write a comprehensive note on the comparison of the services provided by both All India Muslim League and Indian National Congress. 8. Lucknow Pact can be categorized as a clear evidence of the inexperience of the Muslims as it brought many disadvantages for them in the later years but at the same time it was considered a huge success of Muslim League. Discuss. 9. Khilafat Movement was an incident that proved vital in the history of the Subcontinent as it paved way for the Muslims to learn the art of making agitation against the government which they utilized in struggle for getting a separate homeland. Comment! 10. Discuss in detail the influence of three Round Table Conferences in shaping the Congress' behaviour in politics in the coming years. 11. The One Nation Theory and the Two Nation Theory as claimed by Indian National Congress and All India Muslim League, respectively, were the basis of political scenes between 1940 and 1947. Discuss in detail in the light of the incidents which took place during this period. 12. A newly-formed country with meagre resources was confronted with gigantic problems. Discuss with the reference to Pakistan in 1947. 13. Write a comprehensive note on judicial crisis in the recent years in Pakistan. Find out the genesis of this crisis from the history of Pakistan. 14. What are the major causes of energy crisis in the country? Write some practical measures to ameliorate the situation. 15. Corruption is the root cause of many ills of Pakistan. Suggest some suitable steps to eradicate this evil from the country. Islamiat (by Hafiz Arshad Iqbal Chaddhar) 1. Write a note on the collection and compilation of Quran and also elaborate that why Muslims neglect to practice the Holy Quran. Suggest the ways to reform this situation. 2. State the important points of Co-existence between Islam and other religions in the light of Hudaibiya Truce and the last sermon (Hajjatul Wida) of the Holt Prophet (SAW). 3. Elaborate the duties and responsibilities of Muslim women with special reference to her right to education and her role in the development of society. 4. Describing the importance of moral values in Islam, elaborate the causes of moral degeneration and the ways to rectify. Also write a comparative note on Islamic morality code and Western code. 5. Elaborating important points of Political System of Islam, presents its comparison with the Western political system. 6. While state guiding principles of economic system of Islam, prove that the dream of prosperity can be achieved without the interest-based economy. 7. Define Ijtihad and Ijma. Also discuss the need of Ijtihad in contemporary world and its role

in the making of humanity. 8. Describing the significance, kinds, principles and conditions of “Jihad” differentiate between Jihad and terrorism. 9. Describe the human rights in the light of the Last Sermon of the Holy Prophet (SAW) with special emphasis on the rights of Non-Muslims in an Islamic State. 10. Discuss the cultural challenges faced by the Muslim societies. Also describe the important contours of Islamic Culture. 11. Discuss in detail the resources and problems of Muslim Ummah while commenting upon the initiatives and conspiracies of the West. 12. Discuss the role of Wahi (Revelation) in the solution of problems faced by the humans. 13. Define Tauheed (Unity of Allah) in a scholarly manner describing its significance and its effects on human life. 14. Give arguments in favour of belief in the Day of Judgement, its role in an organized society and its effects on societal life. 15. Describing the meaning and heads of Zakat, discuss its role in alleviation of poverty and purity of the self. Optional Subjects History of Pakistan & India (by Azmat Farooq) Paper I 1. Mahmood Ghaznavi's 17 invasions (a debate that investigates his character as of a great Muslim conqueror driven by religious zeal; a greedy Monarch who wanted to fill his coffers or a great warrior who was simply riding the tide of his time where conquest was the most sought after objective of any successful monarch) 2. Mahmoud Ghauri, the forerunner of the Slave Dynasty 3. Life sketch of Humayun; his role in consolidating the Mughal Dynasty 4. War of succession among the sons of Shah Jahan was actually the war of competing ideologies 5. Contribution of Mughal era in the development of culture, arts and architecture 6. Din-e-Ilahi was not a separate religion but a social code. Discuss. Paper-II 1. Aligarh Movement vs Deoband Movement – comparison and contrast 2. Madrissa education – a critical evaluation 3. Constitutional development since 1947 4. The lack of good governance, not military, is the real threat to democracy in Pakistan 5. Pakistan's problems are not always its own rather they are thrust upon it. Evaluate the observation in the light of current political developments in Afghanistan 6. India does not accept Kashmiris as a legitimate player and insists upon having bilateral resolution of dispute. Can this approach, if followed, result in peaceful resolution of dispute? Discuss.

Mercantile Law (by Salman Kazmi) 1. Write a comprehensive note on essentials of a valid offer and when it is considered to be accepted in a valid manner? 2. Write a detailed note on the agreements which have been expressly declared void. 3. All the contracts are agreements but all the agreements are not contracts. Discuss. 4. Define contract. What are the various kinds of contracts? 5. What are the various modes in which a contract can be discharged? 6. What are remedies available to the aggrieved party if the breach of contract has taken place? 7. Differentiate between indemnity and guarantee. When a surety is discharged from liability under the contract of guarantee? 8. Define bailment. What are the rights and duties of bailer and bailee and how a contract of bailment is discharged? 9. Define agency. Write different modes in which an agency is created and also discuss the rights and duties of an agent. How an agency is terminated? 10. What is meant by partnership? Can a minor be a partner? Write a comprehensive note on the rights and duties of a minor in partnership business. 11. (a) Define the essentials of a contract of sale of goods. Distinguish between a contract of sale and an agreement to sell. (b) Describe in detail the “kinds of goods” and clearly explain the effects of perishing of goods under various circumstances. Also define the term price under the contract of Sale of Goods Act? 12. (a) Define a Promissory Note and a Bill of Exchange. Write down their essentials. Write the distinguishing points between a promissory note and a bill of exchange. Explain the various kinds of a bill. (b) Define Cheque. Also distinguish between a Cheque and a bill of exchange. 13. (a) Define consent. What is free consent? Give a detailed note on all the ways when the consent is not considered free. (b) Differentiate between coercion and undue influence. 14. Define consideration. Give essentials of consideration and explain exceptions to the rule that "No consideration; no binding of performance." 15. (a) Define Arbitration. What are the powers of a court in Arbitration? (b) On what grounds can the award passed by an arbitrator be set aside? Who can set it aside? 16. How a company is formed? Write the characteristics of a Company. What is meant by Memorandum of Association? Explain Articles of Association. How alterations can be made in Memorandum of Association and Article of Association? British History (by Waheed Asghar)

How to Score Good in British History? British History is an invariably good scoring subject in CSS. Especially in 2014, candidates scored very well as against miserably low scores in Indo-Pak and Islamic History subjects. To score higher marks in British History: Always present your answers in critical rather than narrative style. Give the significance of any particular event in a historical perspective. Try to draw schematic diagrams or maps wherever applicable. Objective part of this paper is mostly repeated and you may prepare it by consulting past 10 years papers. Good Luck! Paper I 1. Analyze the cause and results of Glorious Revolution. 2. “Robert Peel has rightly been called the most liberal of the Conservatives and the most Conservative of the liberals.” Comment to elaborate his achievements as the Prime Minister of United Kingdom. 3. Queen Anne and War of Spanish Succession 4. Critically review the Parliamentary Union between England and Ireland. How would you compare it with Scottish Union? 5. Sir Robert Walpole as first PM 6. Personal Rule of George III and its consequences for Britain 7. French Revolution and Britain's reaction to it 8. Foreign policy of Castlereagh and Canning in Concert of Europe 9. Political and Social Reforms in Mid-19th Century 10. Short Notes a. Pitt, the Younger b. 7 Years' war c. Durham Report d. War of Greek Independence e. Syrian Question Paper II 1. “Palmerston was more successful as a Foreign Minister than as a Prime Minister.” Comment and Analyze. 2. Achievements and culture of Victorian Era 3. Compare and Contrast the policies and personalities of Gladstone and Disraeli as Prime Ministers. 4. The parliamentary reforms in England from 1832-1928 made the country politically democratic. Analyze. 5. What do you mean by Eastern Question? Produce an analytical essay on Eastern Question

mentioning British policy towards it with special reference to Crimean War and Congress of Berlin? 6. Discuss critically the major social and political institution that developed in England during the latter half of the 19th century. 7. Analyze the British Foreign policy from a. 1870 to 1914 b. 1919 to 1939 8. Britain's Role in World War I and World War II 9. British PMs – Churchill, Thatcher, and Blair 10. Elucidate the British de-colonization process in the different nooks and corners of the globe and give the main characteristics of the New Colonial Policy of Great Britain as it developed since the end of the Second World War. 11. Note: a. Irish Question b. Rise of the Labour Party c. Winston Churchill d. Suez Canal Crisis e. Margaret Thatcher Public Administration (by Muhammad Ramzan) 1. Nature, scope, importance and role of public administrator 2. Planning its advantages and disadvantages, steps of planning 3. Theory x and theory y and its relevancy in the present day world 4. Zero based budgeting, pros and cons and its use in Pakistan 5. Administrative accountability and its mechanism in Pakistan discussion with reference to Ombudsman's office 6. Role of parliamentarians in policy making and efforts toward capacity building 7. What is Maslow's hierarchy needs theory and its role in motivation and enhancing public service delivery in Pakistan 8. What are the ingredients of good governance and how the extensive use of IT can improve governance? 9. Budget making process in Pakistan and role of standing committees in this regard 10. What is the structure of federal government after 18th amendment? 11. NPM has actually replaced bureaucratic approach to public administration Note on the followings 12. Ecology of bureaucracy, sustainable development, what is Hallow Effect, what is span of control, 13. Judicial activism, civil service reforms, note civil service academy, access to information, coordination and communication issues in public service delivery, Weber's ideal type of bureaucracy its characteristics, HRM process in Pakistan civil service

English Précis & Composition How to Write A Good Précis? While writing out a précis three aims are to be kept in view: Firstly, the general argument is to be clearly conveyed. Secondly, all salient points are to be included. Thirdly, the diction is to be concise yet adequate and independent of the original. The following rules, however, should be followed:


Dos a) Read through the whole passage you are asked to make a précis of or find out the central through, that is, the general argument contained in it. If not already given, calculate approximately the number of words in the passage set. b) Read the passage thoroughly (slowly and carefully) twice, thrice, or four times, if necessary, so that clear grasp of the whole passage could be obtained. c) Mark the salient points (leading ideas) appearing in the passage or make marginal notes, leaving out all unimportant ones or note them down separately on the margin. This requires considerable practice. d) Give a suitable heading of your précis. e) Prepare a rough copy with the help of marks or marginal notes. Arrange them, if necessary in what you think to be the best logical order. But it is better to keep the same order of thought as

in the original. f) Write your précis in the third person, indirect form and appropriate tense. The tense of the précis should be the same as that of the passage. g) It is better to give designations of officials and not their names and titles. At times, the official designation is not mentioned and you have to use the personal name. Whatever, designation you employ, you must stick to it throughout the précis. h) If necessary, divide the précis into paragraphs and to show where these begin, indent your writing clearly. i) Revise your rough copy, abridge it and if need be, improve its language. The précis should in itself be a piece of good English. j) Read once again the original passage to see that all the important points have been incorporated in your précis. k) Then write out the précis in its final revised form. Handwriting counts here also as everywhere else. Don'ts a) Do not express your own opinion, wish, remark or criticism. b) Do not insert any question in your précis. Its significance, if essential, may be expressed by a statement. c) Do not convey the ideas in the précis by incomplete sentence. d) Do not use telegraphic abbreviations. e) Do not be jerky. This suggests that most probably, you have not understood the sense of the passage properly. f) Do not retain one or reject the other if two ideas are equally important. Either retain both or give that combined significance. g) Do not forget that a standard précis will bring good marks in the examination. ORIGINAL PASSAGE Our instinctive apparatus consists of two parts – the one tending to further our own life and that of our descendants, the other tending to thwart the lives of supposed rivals. The first includes

the joy of life, and love and art, which is psychologically an offshoot of love. The second includes competition, patriotism and war. Conventional mortality does everything to suppress the first and encourage the second. True mortality would be the exact opposite. Our dealings with those whom we love may be safely left to instinct; it is our dealings with those whom we hate that ought to be brought under the dominion of reason. In the modern world, those whom we effectively hate are distant groups, especially foreign nations. We conceive them abstractly, and deceive ourselves into the belief that acts which are really embodiments of hatred are done from love of justice or some such lofty motive. Only a large measure of scepticism can tear away the veils which hide this truth from us. Having achieved that, we could begin to build a new morality, not based on envy and restriction, but on the wish for a full life and the realization that other human beings are a help and not a hindrance when once the madness of envy has been cured. This is no impossibly austere morality yet its adoption would turn our earth into a paradise. THE NEW MORALITY Two parts of our instinctive part are to safeguard our selfish interests and to harm our enemies. The first contains joy love and art and the second patriotism and war. Conventional morality suppresses the first and encourages the second. True morality consists in being reasonable rather than harbouring hatred for others. We wrongly call our bad behaviour justice. We must realize this truth. Sympathy and understanding should replace every and hatred. Only this new morality can make life pleasant. COMPREHENSION 1. Read the passage fast in order to form a general idea of its theme and its main ideas. 2. Next read the passage more slowly with two aims in mind: (a) To confirm if your first impression was correct, and (b) to underline the key ideas. 3. Now read the question based on the passage, and write the numbers of questions against the lines that contain the answers to them. 4. Finally, write down the answers and try to avoid reproducing parts of the given passage; use your own words. 5. All answers to questions on comprehension should be clear and concise, expressed in simple English that follows the rules of grammar and syntax and idiom. 6. Except in the case of meanings of words and phrases, all such answers should be written in complete sentences. 7. Unless otherwise directed, you should base your answers entirely on what is said in passage set.

SAMPLE 1 Education is the instruction of the intellect in the laws of nature, under which name I include not merely things and their forces, but men and their ways; and the fashioning of the affections and of the will into an earnest and loving desire to move in harmony with those laws. For me, education means neither more nor less than this. Anything which professes to call itself education must be tried by this standard, and if it fails to stand the test, I will not call it education, whatever be the force of authority, or of numbers, upon the other side. It is important to remember that, in strictness, there is no such thing as an uneducated man. Take an extreme case. Suppose that an adult man, in the full vigour of his faculties, could be suddenly placed in the world, as Adam is said to have been, and then left to do as best he might. How long would he be left uneducated? Not five minutes. Nature would begin to teach him, through the eyes, the ear, the touch, the properties of objects. Pain and pleasure would be at his elbow, telling him to do this and avoid that; and by slow degrees the man would receive an education, which, if narrow, would be thorough, real, and adequate to his circumstances, though there would be no extras and very few accomplishments. Questions 1. What does education mean? 2. In what sense is there no such thing as an uneducated man? 3. What would a man learn from nature, if he suddenly found himself in this world, like Adam, without any prior knowledge? ANSWERS 1. Education means the instruction of the human mind in the laws of nature, including the world of nature as well as of man. It would guide human feelings and will to work in harmony with those laws. 2. There is no such thing as an uneducated man, because man takes very little time to learn important lessons from his interaction with things around him. He is constantly learning by trial and error, and cannot be called uneducated. 3. Nature would teach a man, through his senses, what would give pleasure and what would give pain, so that he would learn what to do and what to avoid. Thus he would slowly receive an education that would be quite adequate to these circumstances, even if narrow in perspective. SAMPLE 2 There is something humbling to human pride in rustic life. It grates against the heart to think of

the tone in which we unconsciously permit ourselves to address him. We see in him humanity in all we respect in our species is what has been created by art; the gaudy dress, the glittering equipage, or even the cultivated intellect. The mere and naked material of nature we eye with indifference, or trample on with disdain. Poor child of tool, from the grey dawn to the setting sun, one long task! No idea elicited, no thought awakened beyond those that suffice to make him the machine of others, the serf of the hard soil. And then too, mark how we frown upon his scanty holidays, how we hedge in his mirth, and turn hilarity into crime! We make the whole of the gay world, wherein we walk and take our pleasure to him a place of snares and perils. If he leaves his labour for an instant, how many temptations spring up to him! and yet we have no mercy for his errors: the jail, the transport-ship, the gallows. These are our sole lecture-books, and our only method of expostulation. Questions 1. Why do we despise a rustic? 2. Is the life of a rustic a bed of roses? 3. How do we punish him for his errors? ANSWERS 1. We despise a rustic because he is too simple, in dress, in manners, and in mind. He is uncultivated, unrefined, and untouched by the usual marks of civilisation. Besides, we look down upon him also because he works with his hands rather than with his mind. 2. The life of a rustic is very busy and very hard. He has no time for relaxation and recreation. Only toil and labour are supposed to be his lot. 3. When a rustic strays from his labours to taste awhile the joy of life, we punish him inhumanly by sending him to jail or exile, or by executing him. Expansion of Ideas Knowledge of Power People may think that it is might that rules. Indeed, even now there are many worshippers of brute power. But a little thinking will show that it is knowledge that rules the world. A man of knowledge possesses immense influence. He has the knowledge of the men and matters around him which mystify or baffle the ignorant. If he is a scientist, he studies the phenomena of nature and chains the mighty forces of nature and enlists them to human service. Thus today the forces of nature give us light, energy, comfort and power. A man of knowledge understands his fellow men and judges them rightly. That is why it becomes easy for him to lead them. He inspires confidence which an ignorant man, however, powerful he otherwise may be, is incapable of

doing. In times of danger the man of knowledge proves himself to be a man of resource. Lastly, such a man knows himself and understands himself. There is no knowledge greater than the knowledge of self. Knowing oneself means mastering one's passions and controlling one's faculties. These give one immense power. So the men of knowledge have always achieved wonders. Ulysses, the Greek hero, contributed more to the capture of troy by his wisdom than Ajax did by his strength, or Achilles did by his courage. It was Archimedes the savant, (a very knowledgeable person) who saved Syracuse from Marcellus and his soldiers when the combined efforts of the army and fleet of King Hiero of Syracuse could do very little. Roger Bacon, the medieval scientist, was thought to have supernatural powers, because of his immense knowledge. The Bible says 'Wisdom strengthens the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.' Hence, it can safely be said that 'Knowledge is Power'. A STITCH IN TIME SAVES NINE. This well known proverb 'A Stitch in Time Saves Nine' literally refers to the mending of clothes before they become irreparable. What is true of clothes is true for anything that needs mending. The advantage of a stitch in time does not limit itself to fabrics alone. Figuratively, it refers to health, medicine, morals, education and politics. We have often heard a doctor telling his patient that an earlier consultation would have avoided the present painful suffering. a popular story of the son who had turned into a thief and finally went to the prison. He wished his mother had used the 'timely stitch'. On a larger perspective, the French Revolution could have been avoided had the French bureaucrats been intelligent enough to appease the people in time. In our personal lives, too, the timely stitches are of immense value. Before our wayward tendencies can turn into confirmed habits, let us apply the stitch in time. Our ancestors must have realized the importance of 'timely stitches' and stored their wisdom in this proverb for us to benefit by it. They have done their duty. Let us do ours.

Climate Change Facts & Figures Diplomats from more than 190 nations recently held talks at a United Nations global warming conference in Lima, Peru, to pave the way for an international treaty they hope to forge next year. At present, the numbers are stark. Carbon dioxide emissions: up 60 percent. Global temperature: up six-tenths of a degree. Population: up 1.7 billion people. Sea level: up 3 inches. U.S. extreme weather: up 30 percent. Ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica: down 4.9 trillion tonnes of ice. To see how much the globe has changed since the first such international conference - the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 – Here is the crux of databases from around the world.


Wild Weather Since 1992, there have been more than 6,600 major climate, weather and water disasters worldwide, causing more than $1.6 trillion in damage and killing more than 600,000 people. Extreme weather has noticeably increased over the years. From 1983 to 1992, the world averaged 147 climate, water and weather disasters each year. Over the past 10 years, that number has jumped to an average 306 a year. In the United States, an index of climate extremes — hot and cold, wet and dry — kept by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has jumped 30 percent from 1992 to 2013, not counting hurricanes, based on 10-year averages. NOAA also keeps track of US weather disasters that cost more than $1 billion, when adjusted for inflation. Since 1992, there have been 136 such billion-dollar events. Worldwide, the 10-year average for weather-related losses adjusted for inflation was $30 billion

a year from 1983-92. From 2004 to 2013, the cost was more than three times that on average, or $131 billion a year. Temperature It's almost a sure thing that 2014 will go down as the hottest year in 135 years of record keeping. If so, this will be the sixth time since 1992 that the world set or tied a new annual record for the warmest year. The globe has broken six monthly heat records in 2014 and 47 since 1992. The last monthly cold record set was in 1916. So, the average annual temperature for 2014 is on track to be about 58.2 degrees (14.6 degrees Celsius), compared with 57.4 degrees (14.1 degrees Celsius) in 1992. The past 10 years have averaged a shade below 58.1 degrees (nearly 14.5 degrees Celsius) — six-tenths of a degree warmer than the average between 1983 and 1992. The Oceans The world's oceans have risen by about 3 inches since 1992 and gotten a tad more acidic — by about half a percent — thanks to chemical reactions caused by the absorption of carbon dioxide. Every year sea ice cover shrinks to a yearly minimum size in the Arctic in September — a measurement that is considered a key climate change indicator. From 1983 to 1992, the lowest it got on average was 2.62 million square miles. Now the 10-year average is down to 1.83 million square miles. That loss — an average 790,000 square miles since 1992 — overshadows the slight gain in sea ice in Antarctica, which has seen an average gain of 110,000 square miles of sea ice over the past 22 years. On Land The world's population in 1992 was 5.46 billion. Today, it's nearly a third higher, at 7.18 billion. That means more carbon pollution and more people who could be vulnerable to global warming. The effects of climate change can be seen in harsher fire seasons. Wildfires in the western United States burned an average of 2.7 million acres each year between 1983 and 1992; now that's up to 7.3 million acres from 1994 to 2013. And some of the biggest climate change effects on land are near the poles, where people don't often see them. From 1992 to 2011, Greenland's ice sheet lost 3.35 trillion tonnes of ice. Antarctica lost 1.56 trillion tonnes of ice over the same period. The Air Scientists simply point to greenhouse gas emissions, mostly carbon dioxide that forms a heat-trapping blanket in our air.

There's no need to average the yearly amount of carbon dioxide pollution: It has increased steadily, by 60 percent, from 1992 to 2013. In 1992, the world spewed 24.9 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide; now it is 39.8 billion tonnes. China has tripled its emissions from 3 billion tonnes to 11 billion tonnes a year. The emissions from the US have gone up more slowly, about 6 percent, from 5.4 billion tonnes to 5.8 billion tonnes. India also has tripled its emissions, from 860 million tonnes to 2.6 billion tonnes. Only European countries have seen their emissions go down, from 4.5 billion tonnes to 3.8 billion tonnes.

How Islam Spread in India Today, there are over 500 million Muslims throughout the Indian Subcontinent (India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh), making it one of the largest population centers of Muslims in the world. Since Islam first entered India, it has contributed greatly to the area and its people. Today, numerous theories about how India came to be such a largely Muslim land exist. Politically, some (such as the Hindutva movement in India) try to make Islam seem foreign to India, by insisting it only exists because of invasions by Arab and Persian Muslims; the truth, however, is far from that.


The Earliest Muslim Indians Even before the life of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) in the 600s, Arab traders were in contact with India. Merchants would regularly sail to the west coast of India to trade goods such as spices, gold, and African goods. Naturally, when the Arabs began to convert to Islam, they carried their new religion to the shores of India. The first mosque of India, the Cheraman Juma Masjid, was built in 629 (during the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)) in Kerala, by the first Muslim from India, Cheraman Perumal Bhaskara Ravi Varma. Through continued trade between Arab Muslims and Indians, Islam continued to spread in coastal Indian cities and towns, both through immigration and conversion. Muhammad bin Qasim The first great expansion of Islam into India came during the Umayyad Dynasty that was based in Damascus. In 711, the Umayyads appointed a young 17-year-old man from Ta'if to extend Umayyad control into Sindh: Muhammad bin Qasim. Sindh is the land around the Indus River in the Northwestern part of the Subcontinent, in present-day Pakistan. Muhammad bin Qasim led his army of 6,000 soldiers to the far eastern reaches of Persia, Makran as well. He encountered little resistance as he made his way into India. When he reached the city of Nerun, on the banks of the Indus River, he was welcomed into the city by the Buddhist monks that controlled it. Most cities along the Indus thus voluntarily came under Muslim control, with no fighting. In some cases, oppressed Buddhist minorities reached out to the Muslim armies for protection against Hindu governors. Despite the support and approval of much of the population, the Raja of Sindh, Dahir, opposed the Muslim expansion and mobilized his army against Muhammad bin Qasim. In 712, the two armies met, with a decisive victory for the Muslims. With the victory, all of Sindh came under Muslim control.

It is important to note, however, that the population of Sindh was not forced to convert to Islam at all. In fact, for almost everyone, there was no change in day-to-day life. Muhammad bin Qasim promised security and religious freedom to all Hindus and Buddhists under his control. For example, the Brahmans continued their jobs as tax collectors and Buddhist monks continued to maintain their monasteries. Due to his religious tolerance and justice, many cities regularly greeted him and his armies. Patterns of Conversion The successive waves of Muslim armies penetrating into India followed much the same pattern. Leaders such as Mahmud of Ghazni and Muhammad Tughluq expanded Muslim political domains without altering the religious or social fabric of Indian society. Because pre-Islamic India was entirely based on a caste system in which society was broken into separate parts, conversion to Islam happened in a step-by-step process. Often, entire castes would convert to Islam at a time. This would happen for many different reasons. Often, however, the equality Islam provided was more attractive than the caste system's organized racism. In the caste system, who you are born to determines your position in society. There was no opportunity for social mobility or to achieve greater than what your parents achieved. By converting to Islam, people had the opportunity to move up in society, and no longer were subservient to the Brahman caste. Buddhism, which was once very popular in the subcontinent, slowly died out under Muslim rule. Traditionally, when people wanted to escape the caste system, they would move to the major population centres and convert to Buddhism. When Islam became an option, however, people began to convert to Islam instead of Buddhism, while still leaving the caste system. The myths of Islam violently destroying Buddhism in India are simply false. Buddhists were tolerated under Muslim rule and no evidence exists that shows forced conversions or violence against them. Wandering preachers also had a major role in bringing Islam to the masses. They travelled throughout India, making it their goal to educate people about Islam. Many of them preached Sufi ideas, a more mystical approach to Islam that appealed to the people. These teachers had a major role in bringing Islam to the masses in the countryside, not just the upper classes around the Muslim rulers. Did Islam Spread by Force? While some claim that Islam's huge population in India is a result of violence and forced conversion, the evidence does not back up this idea at all. Although Muslim leaders replaced Hindu kings in most areas, society was left as it is. Stories of forced conversion are very few and often not credible enough to warrant academic discussion. If Islam spread through violence and warfare, the Muslim community today in India would exist only in the areas closest to the rest of the Muslim world. Thus only the western part of the subcontinent would have any Muslim population, if at all. What we see instead is pockets of

Islam throughout the Subcontinent. For example, Bangladesh and its 150 million Muslims are in the Far east, separated from other Muslim-majority areas by Hindu lands in India. Isolated communities of Muslims exist also in western Myanmar, central India, and eastern Sri Lanka. These communities of Muslims are proof of Islam spreading peacefully throughout India, regardless of whether or not a Muslim government existed there. If Islam spread by force as some claim, these communities of Muslims would not exist. Conclusion Islam is an integral part of India and its history. As the Indian subcontinent remains today a multi-ethnic and multi-religious place, it is important to understand the position Islam has in the region. The political claims that some make regarding Islam as if it is an invading religion and foreign to the people of India need to be defied with the truth of Islam's peaceful spread throughout India.

Jinnah's 14 Points & The Nehru Report

The report was not acceptable to Muslims and both the Muslim members of the Committee, Syed Ali Imam and Shoaib Qureshi, refused to sign it. Syed Ali Imam could not attend the meetings of the Committee due to bad health.


Introduction The wave of communal harmony between the Muslims and the Hindus in India, created in the early 1920's by the symbiosis of the Khilafat Movement with M. K. Gandhi's Non-Cooperation Movement was replaced by an atmosphere of grave mistrust between the two communities. Jinnah's celebrated Fourteen Points, presented on 30 March 1929, were one passionate attempt to make sense of the situation and reach upon a solution through parliamentary means within the framework of a United India. Background Failure of Simon Commission Under the Act of 1919, new reforms were to be introduced in India by the British Government after every 10 years. For this purpose, Simon Commission was sent to India in 1927. Most of the Indian political parties decided to boycott the Commission on the plea that it lacked Indian representation. Lord Birkendhead, Secretary of State for Indian Affairs, challenged the Indians: “If they have any political capability and competence then they should form a unanimous constitution and present it to us and we will implement it.” So, the Simon Commission — as it was destined to — failed. Nehru Committee After the failure of Simon Commission, there was no alternative for the British government but to ask the local people to frame a constitution for themselves. Indian political parties accepted the challenge and called an All Parties Conference at Delhi in January 1928. But, the Conference failed to reach a conclusion on the issue of the rights of minorities. The second round of the All Parties Conference was held in March the same year. Two sub-committees were formed but the end result of the session was not different from the first one. Nehru Report Despite many hurdles, the Nehru Committee completed its task. And its report, commonly known as Nehru Report, was presented in the fourth session of the All Parties Conference held in August 1928. The Committee declared that it was useless to ask anything less than complete Swaraj, and presented the following demands: 1. India should be given Dominion Status with the parliamentary form of government. 2. There should be a bicameral legislature consisting of senate and house of representatives. The senate will comprise two hundred members elected for seven years, while the house of representatives should consist of five hundred members elected for five years. 3. Governor-General will act on the advice of executive council. It was to be collectively responsible to the parliament.

4. There should be federal form of government in India with residuary powers to be vested in Centre.

5. There will be no separate electorate for minorities. It claimed “since separate electorate awakens communal sentiments therefore it should be scrapped and joint electorate should be introduced”. 6. System of weightage should not be adopted for any province. 7. There will be no reserved seats for communities in Punjab and Bengal. However, reservation of Muslim seats could be possible in the provinces where Muslim population should be at least ten percent. 8. Judiciary should be independent from the executive 9. There should be 1/4th Muslim representation at Centre. 10. Sind should be separated from Bombay provided it proves to be financially self-sufficient. 11. Reforms should be introduced in NWFP. Muslims' Reaction The report was not acceptable to Muslims and both the Muslim members of the Committee, Syed Ali Imam and Shoaib Qureshi, refused to sign it. Syed Ali Imam could not attend the meetings of the Committee due to bad health. Amendments proposed by Quaid-i-Azam In the fourth session of the All Parties Conference convened in December to review the Nehru Report, Jinnah, representing the Muslim League, presented following four amendments in the report: 1. There should be no less than one-third Muslim representation in the Central Legislature. 2. In event of the adult suffrage not being established, Punjab and Bengal should have seats reserved for the Muslims on

population basis.

3. The form of the constitution should be Federal with residuary powers vested in the provinces. 4. Sind should immediately be made a separate province and the reforms should also be introduced in NWFP and Balochistan at the earliest. Rejection of Proposals Jinnah's proposals were rejected when put to vote in All Parties Conference. The Congress managed to get the majority vote in favour of the Report. Quaid-i-Azam's Fourteen Points The League, after anxious and careful consideration, most earnestly and emphatically laid down that no scheme for the future constitution of the Government of India will be acceptable to Muslims of India until and unless the following basic principles are given effect to and provisions are embodied therein to safeguard their rights and interests: 1. The form of the future constitution should be federal with the residuary powers vested in the provinces. 2. A uniform measure of autonomy shall be granted to all provinces. 3. All legislatures in the country and other elected bodies shall be constituted on the definite principle of adequate and effective representation of minorities in every province without reducing the majority in any province to a minority or even equality. 4. In the Central Legislative, Muslim representation shall not be less than one-third. 5. Representation of communal groups shall continue to be by means of separate electorate as at present, provided it shall be open to any community at any time to abandon its separate electorate in favour of a joint electorate. 6. Any territorial distribution that might at any time be necessary shall not in any way affect the Muslim majority in the Punjab, Bengal and the North West Frontier Province. 7. Full religious liberty, i.e. liberty of belief, worship and observance, propaganda, association and education, shall be guaranteed to all communities. 8. No bill or any resolution or any part thereof shall be passed in any legislature or any other elected body if three-fourth of the members of any community in that particular body oppose such a bill resolution or part thereof on the ground that it would be injurious to the interests of that community or in the alternative, such other method is devised as may be found feasible and practicable to deal with such cases. 9. Sind should be separated from the Bombay presidency. 10. Reforms should be introduced in the North West Frontier Province and Baluchistan on the

same footing as in the other provinces. 11. Provision should be made in the constitution giving Muslims an adequate share, along with the other Indians, in all the services of the state and in local self-governing bodies having due regard to the requirements of efficiency. 12. The constitution should embody adequate safeguards for the protection of Muslim culture and for the protection and promotion of Muslim education, language, religion, personal laws and Muslim charitable institution and for their due share in the grants-in-aid given by the state and by local self-governing bodies. 13. No cabinet, either central or provincial, should be formed without there being a proportion of at least one-third Muslim ministers. 14. No change shall be made in the constitution by the Central Legislature except with the concurrence of the State's contribution of the Indian Federation. Comparison 1. The Nehru Committee's greatest blow was the rejection of separate electorates but Quaid-i-Azam was in the favour of separate Muslims electorate. 2. In 14 points of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, weightage for minorities was demanded but Nehru in his report did not compromise with our Quaid. 3. Nehru report demand strong Central Government. On the other hand Quaid-i-Azam believed in provincial autonomy. 4. Jinnah was in the favour of inclusions of Muslims in the cabinet but Nehru was against the inclusion of Muslims in the cabinet. 5. Quaid-i-Azam demanded 1/3rd representation in central government for Muslims but Nehru report gave 1/4th representation to Muslims in central government. 6. It is true that demand of separation of Sind from Bombay was considered in the Nehru Report as Jinnah mentioned in his 14 points but the condition of self-economy was also put forward. Conclusion The Nehru Report was nothing else than a Congress document and thus was totally opposed by Muslims of the Subcontinent. The Hindus under Congress threatened the government with a disobedience movement if the Nehru report was not implemented into the Act by December 31, 1929. This Hindu attitude proved to be a milestone in the freedom movement of the Muslims. It also proved to be a turning point in the life of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. After reading the Nehru Report, Jinnah announced a 'parting of the ways'. The Nehru Report reflected the inner prejudice and narrow-minded approach of the Hindus.

For MCQs Pakistan's National Anthem was first released on Radio Pakistan on August 13, 1954

Written CSS 2015 Special Thursday, January 01, 2015 CONTINUE TO NEXT PAGES……………

World in Focus (Nov-Dec 2014) National & International News & MCQs


National Nov 16: “Defender,” a short film about the Pak Army that features various sections of the military, won the best documentary award in its category at Rome Film Festival 2014. Nov 17: Pakistan successfully revalidated the design and technical parameters of Shaheen-1A (Hatf-IV), a nuclear-capable intermediate range ballistic missile. Nov 17: The United States and Pakistan concluded the first phase of a confidence-building dialogue linked to the Pakistani army chief’s maiden visit to the United States. Nov 18: A three-member bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, rejected the petitions seeking disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif declaring them ineffective. Nov 18: A new global study by London-based Institute for Economics and Peace ranked Pakistan third on the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) list. Iraq was the country hit hardest by terrorism, with 2,492 attacks that killed more than 6,300 people followed by Afghanistan and Pakistan, with Nigeria and Syria in fourth and fifth place

respectively. Nov 19: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif, during his official visit to the US, was conferred on US Legion of Merit Medal for brave leadership, sagacity, vision, efforts for peace and stability in the region. Nov 19: The Supreme Court disposed of a petition filed against October 12, 1999 military action that removed the Nawaz Sharif government, declaring it infructuous. Nov 21: The special court seized with trying Musharraf for high treason ordered the federal government to include former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, former and existing federal minister Zahid Hamid and former chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, as co-accused in the case. Nov 21: Zahid Hamid, the minister named by a special court as one of the abettors of retired Gen Pervez Musharraf, resigned. Nov 23: University of the Punjab won the All Pakistan Bilingual Declamation Contest held at PAF Academy Risalpur. Nov 23: A Swiss federal tribunal ruled that a valuable jewellery set that was seized by authorities in connection with investigations into allegations of graft, belonged to former president Asif Ali Zardari or the legal heirs of the late Benazir Bhutto. Nov 23: The UK Immigration officials imposed a fine of £2,000 on PIA flight PK-785 carrying an air hostess bearing an expired passport. Nov 24: Polio vaccination began in South Waziristan after a break of two-and-a-half years. Nov 24: Another 50MW generated through the wind energy were added to the national grid after the National Transmission and Dispatch Company got the test run of the wind energy plants at Jhimpir (Nooriabad), near Hyderabad. Nov 24: Pakistan has the world's fastest-growing nuclear programme capable of making up to 200 nuclear devices by the year 2020, a report entitled “Strategic Stability in the Second Nuclear Age Council,” released by the Council on Foreign Relations said. Nov 25: The Supreme Court held that provisions of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999, are applicable with equal force even to a person who is not holder of a public office and ordered to proceed against a guarantor of Messers Ittefaq Foundries (Pvt) Ltd in a loan default case. Nov 25: The Lahore High Court suspended the recovery of debt servicing surcharge (DS-surcharge) on electricity bills levied by the federal government at the rate of 30 paisa per unit.

Nov 25: With a score of 27.8 in the South Asia Women's Resilience Index, Pakistan is the worst performer when it comes to women empowerment in the face of a disaster, be it natural, economic and conflict related, revealed a latest report by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Nov 26: Police recovered 26 girls, aged between five and 11 years, from a two-room house in Liaquatabad C-1 area of Karachi. Nov 26: President Mamnoon Hussain conferred Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Military) on Admiral Dr Marsetio, Chief of the Indonesian Navy in recognition of his outstanding services towards further cementing the defence cooperation between the two countries. Nov 26: The chief minister of Punjab allowed free treatment to the retired officers of Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS erstwhile DMG) and Police Service of Pakistan (PSP), who served and got settled in Punjab, in all provincial hospitals. The free treatment is also allowed to the dependent family members of these officers. Nov 26: The Punjab government constituted a special police contingent trained to control mobs and to disperse them effectively, when needed. The special police contingent includes male as well as female personnel. Nov 27: A brief meeting between Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi salvaged the Saarc summit, held at the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu, with all eight countries clinching a last-minute deal to create a regional electricity grid. Nov 28: Pakistan and Russia expressed their determination to remove all impediments in the way of finalising plans and projects already agreed upon. Nov 29: Over 1.5 million votes were rejected in the 2013 general elections, far more than the number of ballots rejected in the 2002 and 2008 elections, according to an internal Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) document. Nov 29: Independent candidate Inamullah Khan Niazi won the by-elections in PP-48 constituency of Darya Khan. Nov 30: Pakistan emerged as the second largest donor for the World Food Programme (WFP) with a donation of 150,000 metric ton wheat in 2013. The donation was valued at Rs 5.5 billion ($52 million). Dec 2: Pakistan's ranking in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2014 improved. The TI described Pakistan's CPI score of 29 out of 100 and ranking of 126 among 175 countries as the best. The country has never achieved this distinction since the first CPI was issued in 1995.

Dec 2: A blasphemy case was registered against singer-turned preacher Junaid Jamshed on the directives of a district and sessions court for one of his televised sermons that is thought to contain blasphemous remarks about a wife of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Dec 3: Police used batons to disperse a group of visually-impaired persons who had gathered on International Day of Persons with Disabilities to protest against disregard of the job quota for special persons and to raise voice for their rights. Dec 4: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved eight development projects worth Rs157 billion, including two signature projects of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N first phase of Pakistan-China Economic Corridor (PCEC) and another dedicated rapid transit system for Karachi from Saddar to Surjani. Dec 4: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif said that the presence of non-state actors was a direct threat to the states' internal security. Addressing 8th International Defence Exhibition and Seminar IDEAS-2014 in Karachi, the COAS said terrorists were trying to impose their ideology and that national security was the duty of every institution. Dec 4: Pakistan's prestigious Lux Style Awards was held in Karachi's Movenpick Hotel. Dec 5: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reiterated Pakistan's commitment to forging cooperative relations with the Afghan national unity government. He was speaking at a meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron. They discussed Pakistan-UK relations, the regional situation and other issues of mutual interest. Dec 5: Newly-appointed Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Justice Sardar Mohammad Raza Khan resigned as chief justice of the Federal Shariat Court. Dec 5: An agreement was signed between Pakistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a loan of $150 million to rehabilitate and upgrade the capacity of two barrages, Trimmu and Panjnad, in Punjab. Dec 6: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet approved the release of $16.46 million to the cash-starved PIA to enable it to induct aircraft on dry lease. Dec 6: A key Al Qaeda commander Adnan el Shukrijumah was eliminated during a raid by Pak Army at a compound in Shin Warsak area of South Waziristan Agency. The 39-year-old Saudi of Guyanese origin was on the “US Most Wanted List” and carried a reward of $5 million on his head. Dec 6: Retired Justice Sardar Mohammad Raza Khan was sworn in as the 14th Chief Election

Commissioner (CEC) of Pakistan. Dec 6: The Government of Pakistan's policy on electricity subsidies is regressive as it benefits the richest and the most affluent segment of society more than the poorest in the country, the World Bank claims. In its latest report 'Addressing Inequality in South Asia', released on December 4, the World Bank identified the most unjust and regressive part of the government's power policy where taxpayers' money is offered as a power subsidy but to the benefit of the richest segment of the society instead of the poor. Dec 6: The tenure of US assistance under Kerry-Lugar-Berman (KLB) Act expired without providing whole committed amount up to $7.5 billion for Pakistan. Dec 7: The Lal Masjid-run Jamia Hafsa madrassa for girls expressed its support for the Islamic State (IS) being led by Commander Abu Bakar Al Baghdadi. Dec 8: An election tribunal ordered inspection of polling bags of the National Assembly constituency NA-122, where NA Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq had been declared victorious in general elections 2013 against the PTI chief, Imran Khan. Dec 8: During the last session of the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) legislative assembly, a resolution criticising remarks made by Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rasheed and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif that GB is not a constitutional part of Pakistan, was adopted. Dec 9: The Supreme Court disposed of a set of identical petitions seeking the disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as the counsels failed to convince the court that the premier had misstated facts on the floor of the house. Dec 9: The kidnapped Punjab Assembly member Rana Jamil Hassan was recovered from the Taliban militants in Khyber Agency. Dec 9: At the 19th session of Pakistan-Iran Joint Economic Commission (JEC), Pakistan and Iran signed five MoUs to boost cooperation in the field of investment, economic and technical assistance, small and medium enterprises, ports and handicraft. Dec 10: MQM chief, Altaf Hussain, sent the Karachi and London-based members of the top decision-making forum packing and asked his workers “to prove that the MQM can work without them”. Dec 10: The Supreme Court suspended a Nov 25 verdict of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Anti-Terrorism Court, convicting media tycoon and Geo TV owner Mir Shakeelur Rahman.

Dec 10: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif granted approval to enhance the quota of jobs for the disabled from two per cent to three per cent besides lifting ban on their recruitment. Dec 10: An audit report exonerated ministry of water and power of over-billing in the month of July and, on top of that, the government has decided not to give Rs.8 billion relief to the people it had earlier announced on account of inflated bills. Dec 12: The country escaped a national power breakdown by a minute margin as some technical fault either in one of the dams or the 500kV transmission lines triggered a domino effect and took the entire system down, suspending supplies to the entire country, except Karachi and some parts of lower Sindh and to some parts of Balochistan. Dec 12: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced a Rs2.32 per unit reduction in electricity tariff. Dec 12: Co-chairperson of the Pakistan People's Party and former president Asif Ali Zardari was finally acquitted in two corruption references filed against him about 17 years ago. Dec 12: The caretaker Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan Sher Jahan Mir took oath of his office. Governor Gilgit-Baltistan Pir Syed Karam Ali Shah administered the oath. Dec 12: The government decided to keep the ban on YouTube for an indefinite period after a secret trial opening of the video-sharing website. Dec 13: PTI and the MWM leaders challenged in the Supreme Court the appointment of the newly-appointed Gilgit-Balistan CEC Justice (retd) Tahir Ali Shah, contending that he was 'unsuitable' for the post because of his alleged close association with the ruling PML-N. Dec 15: An antiterrorism court declared Dr Tahirul Qadri a proclaimed offender and issued his arrest warrants in a case of kidnapping and attacking policemen as well as arson at the Lillah motorway interchange. Economy Nov 17: The government announced to lift a ban on new gas schemes in the country. Nov 17: The Asian Development Bank announced an interim plan for six sectors including energy and transport; agriculture and natural resources; rural development; water supply and other urban infrastructure and services; finance; and public sector management to which the ADB assistance will continue. Nov 19: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and Shanghai Chamber of Commerce China signed an agreement for the joint construction of maritime Silk Road economic cooperation and promotion of common development.

Nov 22: According to the 'Paying Taxes 2015 Study”, a report jointly released by the World Bank and PwC, tax filing time has increased by 17 hours in Pakistan due to the introduction of a new provincial VAT (value-added tax) system. Nov 26: Pakistan raised $1 billion from the international Islamic bond market by selling its Sukuk papers at 6.75 per cent profit rate. Dec 3: KASB Securities Limited (KSL) was back in business after the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) lifted its suspension of trading facilities imposed on November 18. Dec 3: Qatar Investment Authority, an investment institution of the Qatar government, announced to make huge investment in Pakistan in various national development projects especially energy generation, gas supply and other sectors. Dec 7: Sindh increased sugarcane price to Rs182 per maund after growers' mounted protests against the price temporarily fixed at Rs155 by the agriculture department. Dec 10: The State Bank of Pakistan claimed in its annual report that the fiscal year 2013-14 was a better year for macro-economy, though most of the targets set for the year could not be achieved, except the fiscal deficit which remained lower than the target. The report also indicated that the government had artificially managed to bring down the fiscal deficit to 5.5 per cent as it did not pay the amount due in FY14. Dec 10: Meezan Bank's Annual Report 2013 was awarded the 'Certificate of Merit' in the private banks category by South Asian Federation of Accountants. Education Nov 19: Higher Education Commission Pakistan (HEC) declared MCom (3½ years programme) equal to MPhil/MS of Commerce. Dec 15: The University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) set up Waris Shah Chair for research on the Punjabi classic poet. Appointments and Transfers Nov 17: President Mamnoon Hussain administered the oath to retired Maj Gen Niaz Mohammad Khan Khattak as chairman of the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC). Nov 19: President Mamnoon Hussain granted one year extension to Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) Chairman Dr Iftikhar Ahmed.

Nov 21: CEO of Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco), Brigadier (Retd) Tariq Saddozai, was appointed as the chairman of NEPRA for five years. Nov 24: The Secretary of Narcotics Control Division, Muhammad Akbar Khan Hoti, was appointed as director general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Acting DG FIA Ghalib Ahmad Bandesha will assume the charge as secretary Narcotics Control Division. Nov 25: Enver Baig, the chairman of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), resigned from his post. He was later made the chairman of Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC). Nov 27: The board of directors of the K-Electric Limited appointed Tayyab Tareen as the Chief Executive Officer. Dec 1: Federal Ombudsman Salman Faruqi was given additional charge of Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) as the incumbent FTO Abdul Rauf Chaudhry went on one-month leave. Dec 4: On the advice of the prime minister, President Mamnoon Hussain approved the appointment of Justice Sardar Mohammad Raza Khan, the incumbent Chief Justice of Federal Shariat Court, as the new Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan. The parliamentary committee for the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) had agreed on the name of Justice Khan only a day ahead of the apex court's deadline. Dec 9: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appointed Sher Jahan Mir as caretaker chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan after the legislative assembly completed its five-year tenure. Earlier President Mamnoon Hussain, on recommendation of the prime minister, made amendments in the GB Empowerment and Self-governance Order, 2009, because there was no provision in the law for setting up a caretaker government in Gilgit-Baltistan. Dec 11: President Mamnoon Hussain, on the advice of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, approved the appointment of Justice Fida Muhammad Khan, the senior-most judge of the Federal Shariat Court as Acting Chief Justice. The President authorised Justice Sheikh Najmul Hasan, the next senior Judge of the FSC to administer the oath of office to the Acting Chief Justice. Dec 13: The government decided to appoint Sohail Mahmood as Pakistan's new ambassador to Turkey. He will be replacing Muhammad Haroon Shaukat. Dec 15: The government appointed Dr Maleeha Lodhi as the new ambassador to the United Nations. She succeeds Ambassador Masood Khan and will assume her new assignment in February 2015.

Science Nov 23: While the scientists around the globe are in search of efficient enzymes that can simplify the process of starch hydrolysis for glucose and maltose production, four scientists of the PU's Institute of Agricultural Sciences, including Dr Nasir Ahmad, Dr Muhammad Saleem Haider, and School of Biological Sciences Dr Naeem Rashid, Dr Muhammad Akhtar, discovered a novel thermo-acidophilic enzyme. It is worth mentioning that there is not even a single unit of enzyme production in Pakistan. Sports Nov 17: M. Inayatullah took the winner's trophy in the prestigious “Premier” category comprising top 10 players of the country at the Danpak 4th Ranking Scrabble Tournament held at the Beach Luxury Hotel, Karachi. A record 84 players featured in four categories. Nov 17: Experienced wrestler Mohammad Inam lifted bronze medal for Pakistan in the fourth edition of the Asian Beach Games being held in Phuket, Thailand. Nov 22: Iman Qureshi won the women's singles title of the 2nd Hassan Tariq Rahim Masters Cup Tennis tournament. Nov 22: Pakistan lifted bronze medal when they defeated Bahrain 2-1 in the bronze medal match of the men's handball competitions of the 4th Asian Beach Games at Phuket, Thailand. Nov 23: Three-year-old bay colt, Risk Free, lifted the Shah Mardan Shah II Pir Pagara VII Memorial Cup at the Karachi Racecourse. Nov 23: Pakistan kabaddi team won the silver medal after losing to Iran in the final of the 4th Asian Beach Games men's Kabaddi. Nov 24: Madeha Hussain of Punjab Law College won a gold medal for the first time in the Punjab University Intercollegiate Karate Championships. Noor Asfia of the same college won the silver medal. Dec 4: Star-studded polo team Witribe Shahsawars won the Grace King land Polo Cup held at the Lahore Polo Club. Dec 5: New Zealand beat Pakistan in the second Twenty20 international in Dubai to level the two-match series. Dec 7: India beat two-time winners and defending champions Pakistan in a thrilling final to be crowned champions of Blind Cricket World Cup.

Dec 7: Rawalpindi's Ghazanfar Mahmood with an aggregate score of 218 retained the trophy of the three-day Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Amateur Golf championship at the Royal Palm Golf Course, Lahore. Dec 7: Pakistan won the title of men's International Handball Tournament by outplaying Yemen in the final played at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF). Dec 8: Karar Hussain of the DHA shot one under par 71 to win the amateurs gross crown in the Atlas Honda golf tournament played over 18-holes at the Arabian Sea Country Club (ASCC). Dec 12: Former senator Salim Saifullah Khan took over as president of the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) as his group was elected unopposed. Dec 13: Pakistan edged out hosts India 4-3 in a thrilling semi-final to set up a Champions Trophy field hockey title clash against Olympic gold medallist Germany. Dec 13: The first game of the five-match series between Pakistan A and Kenya was played at the Gaddafi Stadium in what was said to be the revival of international cricket in Pakistan. Obituaries Nov 18: Renowned industrialist and former minister Shahzada Alam Monnoo died. He was 80. Nov 19: Renowned trainer, consultant and motivational speaker Nadeem Chawhan passed away. Chawhan was called “The Vizier of Storytelling” due to his enigmatic, humorous and insightful style of engaging audiences. Nov 23: Educationist, lyricist, writer and critic Ahmed Aqeel Ruby passed away at 75. Nov 25: Founder member of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and its former Punjab president Ahsan Rasheed passed away. Nov 29: Dr Khalid Mehmood Soomro, secretary general of the Sindh chapter of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, was gunned down at a mosque adjacent to Madressah Haqqania in Sukkur’s SITE area. He was 55. Nov 29: Former Lahore High Court Chief Justice Rashid Aziz Khan passed away. Dec 8: Veteran communist leader Comrade Sobho Gianchandani died. He was 95. Dec 8: Renowned tennis coach Qamaruddin, the father of Davis Cupper Nomi Qamar, passed away. Dec 9: Usman Ahmed Bilour, the younger son of Awami National Party’s late leader Bashir

Ahmad Bilour, died. He was 43. Dec 10: Mansoor Malangi, the great Seraiki singer died. He was 66. Dec 11: Renowned Pashto poet Ikramullah Gran Bacha passed away. He was 73. Dec 12: Noted scholar and former Balochistan Education director, Dr Inamul Haq Kausar, passed away. The author of 80 books, Dr Kausar rendered meritorious services in the fields of education and literature. He was also awarded with pride of performance and many other accolades. Dec 14: One of the pioneers in neurosurgery in Pakistan, Prof Bashir Ahmed, passed away. Dec 15: Adviser to PPP's Parliamentary Group in the National Assembly and Senate Izhar Amrohvi passed away at 82. People in News Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah Nov 21: President Mamnoon Hussain decorated Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah, Chief of Naval Staff with Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Military) in recognition of his long meritorious services, exceptionally commendable performance and inspirable devotion of duty. Raniya Hosain Nov 21: Raniya Hosain, a 15-year-old Pakistani student won praise from the Duchess of Cornwall after being declared winner in the Commonwealth Essay competition. Raniya, who wrote a descriptive essay about Pakistan's contribution to the Commonwealth, won in the senior category and was especially flown over from Pakistan to take part in a ceremony at the Buckingham Palace. Nov 26: A gold medal was awarded to Prof Dr Masood Sadiq, dean of the Children's Hospital and Institute of Child Health, by President Mamnoon Hussain at the opening ceremony of the 22nd International Biennial Paediatrics Conference in recognition of his services in the field of paediatric cardiology in Pakistan. Cecil Chaudhry Nov 29: The government renamed a portion of Lawrence Road to honour the late Cecil Chaudhry, a war veteran of the Pakistan Air Force.

Ushna Suhail Nov 29: Pakistan ladies tennis champion and FFC Sports Ambassador Ushna Suhail became Pakistan's first female tennis player to enter International Tennis Federation (ITF) rankings. Fawad Khan Nov 29: Pakistan's Fawad Khan was honoured with the Best Bollywood Debut award at the Masala Awards 2014 held in Dubai. Bilal Tanweer Dec 3: Writer and translator Bilal Tanweer won the 2014 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize for his novel “The Scatter Here Is Too Great”. The judges for this year’s award were: Amit Chaudhuri, Aatish Taseer and Mridula Koshy. Malala Yousufzai & Kailash Satyarthi Dec 10: Malala Yousufzai received the Nobel Peace Prize as the youngest ever laureate, sharing her award with Indian child rights campaigner Kailash Satyarthi. Nobel winners receive $1.1 million (roughly 110 million rupees), which is shared in the case of joint wins. Tahira Yasub Dec 12: Tahira Yasub became the first woman superintendent of police (SP) in Gilgit-Baltistan region. Shaukat Aziz Dec 14: The Asian Business Leadership Forum gave 'ABLE Statesman' award to the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shaukat Aziz, on playing an excellent role in the financial progress of Pakistan in the Asian Union. Sadruddin Hashwani Dec 15: Prominent businessman of Pakistan and Chairman of Hashoo Group, Sadruddin Hashwani was honoured with “ABLE lifetime achievement Award”. Places in News Washington

Nov 18: The Pentagon hosted COAS Gen Raheel Sharif for talks with top American defence leaders on US-Pakistan military-to-military relations. Gen Sharif's delegation was greeted with a full honour guard. Lahore Nov 21: During a public gathering in Lahore, Jamaati-Islami Emir Sirajul Haq unveiled his 'people's agenda' containing all features of a welfare state. Presenting himself for accountability as two-time senior minister in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, he expressed hope that the incumbent and former presidents and prime ministers will follow suit to promote good democratic traditions. Lahore Nov 24: Fifty noted Muslim scholars and leaders of Islamic movements from 30 countries reaffirmed their pledge of peaceful preaching of Islam and refraining from violence for the cause. These leaders came to Pakistan to attend Jamaat-e-Islami's three-day convention at Minar-e-Pakistan. Lahore Nov 30: The 7th plenary session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly started in Lahore. As many as 126 parliamentarians from 25 Asian countries attended session of the APA which was launched in 2004. Karachi Dec 4: 8th International Defence Exhibition IDEAS-2014 was held in Karachi. Islamabad Dec 9: A three-day international conference on sustainable development opened in Islamabad. The conference is being attended by representatives from more than 16 South Asian countries and over 50 international experts. New Delhi Dec 12: The India-Pakistan Parliamentarians Dialogue-VI, which concluded in New Delhi, suggested eleven modes which could be used actively to facilitate the resumption of dialogue on terms that are mutually acceptable. The Dialogue was organised by Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and

Transparency (Pildat). International Nov 17: Almost 36 million people are living as slaves across the globe with an index listing Mauritania, Uzbekistan, Haiti, Qatar and India as the nations where modern-day slavery is most prevalent, a report by an Australia-based human rights group “The Walk Free Foundation,” said. Nov 17: Authorities in Burkina Faso named former foreign minister Michel Kafando as country’s transitional president. Nov 18: A United Nations General Assembly committee adopted a Pakistani-sponsored resolution reaffirming that the universal realisation of the right of peoples to self-determination was a fundamental condition for the effective guarantee and observance of human rights. Nov 19: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa unconditionally pardoned and released five Tamil Nadu fishermen who had been sentenced to death for drug trafficking by the Colombo High Court. Nov 19: Spanish lawmakers adopted a motion calling on their government to recognise a Palestinian state. The motion was adopted nearly unanimously with 319 in favour, two against, and one abstention. Nov 19: Colonel Isaac Zida, the military officer who took power after the fall of Burkina Faso president Blaise Compaore, was named country's interim prime minister. Nov 19: Malaysia became the only Muslim country making it to the top 10 in the Global Giving Index 2014 released by Charities Aid Foundation (CAF); a 90-year-old charity in the United Kingdom. The report was based on Gallup data collected across 135 countries. Nov 19: Oxford Dictionaries picked “vape” — the act of smoking an e-cigarette — as their new word of the year, with the affectionate “bae” and the more pragmatic “contactless” as runners-up. Nov 19: Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, called on the Muslim world to denounce the “monstrous” crimes of the extremist group that seeks to establish an Islamic state in Iraq and Syria. Nov 21: A study by the Swiss bank UBS and luxury industry consultant Wealth-X revealed that a bare 0.004 per cent of the world's adult population controls nearly $30 trillion in assets, 13pc of the world's total wealth. The report said 211,275 people qualify as “ultra-high net worth” (UHNW) those with assets

above $30 million. Of them, 2,325 have more than $1 billion. Nov 21: Prosecutors filed suits against government officials in Spain's powerful north-eastern region of Catalonia for staging a vote on secession that had been ordered suspended by the constitutional court. The prosecutor's office urged Catalonia's regional court to investigate possible charges of grave disobedience, abuse of public funds, prevarication, usurpation of powers and obstructing justice against Catalan regional President Artur Mas and two other regional officials for staging the November 9 non-binding ballot. Nov 21: The United Nations adopted the first-ever resolution calling on governments to stop child marriages. About 15 million girls worldwide become child brides each year and globally, more than 700 million women were married before the age of 18. Unless action is taken, some 1.2 billion girls will be married by 2050, says the Girls Not Brides coalition of non-governmental organisations. Nov 21: US President Barack Obama announced sweeping immigration reforms that will allow almost five million immigrants to legalise their status in the United States. Nov 21: In a stunning upset, 17-year-old Pakistani prodigy, Moiz Baig, defeated Nigel Richards, the reigning world champion and arguably the greatest player of all times in the Scrabble Champions Tournament 2014 in London. Nov 22: President Barack Obama signed an order that permits American personnel to continue to fight the Taliban and other militant groups that pose a threat to either the US forces or Afghan government even after the proposed pullout of most units in December 2014. Nov 22: Chinese director Lou Ye's drama “Blind Massage,” starring blind amateur actors as massage therapists scooped six gongs out of seven nominations at the Golden Horse Film Awards, touted as the Chinese language “Oscars”. Nov 22: The first bus in Britain powered entirely by human and food waste made its first journey. Bio-Bus, a 40-seater shuttle service between Bath and Bristol Airport, can travel up to 186 miles on just one tank of gas which is generated through the treatment of sewage and food waste deemed unfit for human consumption. Nov 22: A Tunisian woman Fatma Ben Guefrache, who is also a computer scientist, won a pageant exclusively for Muslims in Indonesia. Fatma received a prize which includes a gold watch, a gold dinar and a mini pilgrimage to Mecca.

Nov 23: Afghanistan's parliament approved agreements with the US and Nato allowing international troops to remain in the country past the end of this year. Nov 23: Israel's cabinet approved a contentious bill to officially define as the nation state of the Jewish people. Nov 24: US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel resigned from his post. Nov 24: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told a meeting on women's rights that gender equality was contrary to nature and said feminists did not recognise the value of motherhood. Nov 24: South Korea's education minister apologised and the head of the national exam board resigned after accepting that there were errors in two questions in the country's cutthroat college entrance test. Nov 25: Nepal and India signed a deal to build a $1-billion hydropower plant. The deal allows India's state-owned company Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam to construct a 900-megawatt hydropower project on Nepal's Arun river, with electricity expected to be generated from 2021. Nov 25: An influential Bangladesh ex-minister, Abdul Latif Siddique, was jailed over remarks criticising the annual Muslim Haj pilgrimage. He had called the Muslim ritual Haj a “waste” of manpower. Nov 25: A grand jury, comprising nine white and three black members, in Ferguson determined that officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed black teenager Michael Brown in August, should face no charges. Riots erupted overnight after the decision was announced. Nov 25: At a meeting of the Saarc Foreign Ministers' Council, it was decided to give up 30-year-old tradition of holding Saarc summit annually. Now from this year, the Saarc will be having its summit biannually. Nov 25: Afia Nathaniel's road trip thriller Dukhtar won the awards for 'Best Director' and 'Audience Award for Best Feature' at the 11th South Asian Film Festival (SAIFF) held in New York City. Nov 26: South Asian leaders, including from India and Pakistan, discussed trade and energy cooperation and regional peace, but did not reach a consensus on expected transportation and energy agreements at the 18th Summit of the Saarc. Nov 26: Britain unveiled The Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill, a draft legislation to ban extremist preachers from universities, increase surveillance on suspected radicals and stem the flow of jihadists joining the Islamic Stage group. Nov 26: Iran's parliament approved Iranian Red Crescent chief Mohammad Farhadi as the new

science minister. Nov 26: The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to extend its peacekeeping mission in South Sudan. Nov 27: A team of scientists led by Dr Francis Collins and Dr Anthony Fauci successfully conducted the first human trial of an experimental Ebola vaccine. Nov 27: The World Trade Organisation (WTO) adopted the first worldwide trade reform in its history. The agreement means the WTO will introduce new standards for customs checks and border procedures. Streamlining the flow of trade will add as much as $1 trillion and 21 million jobs to the world economy. Nov 29: The World Bank (WB) said it will loan East African nations $1.2 billion to improve inland waterways and ports in Kenya and Tanzania, as part of efforts to boost integration in the region. Nov 29: Taiwan's premier, Jiang Yi-huah, resigned after his Beijing-friendly ruling party suffered a landslide defeat at the island's biggest ever local elections. Nov 29: An Egyptian court dropped its case against former president Hosni Mubarak over the killing of protesters in the 2011 uprising. Nov 30: Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected proposals that would have forced the central bank to buy huge amounts of gold and imposed strict curbs on immigration. Nov 30: Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy gained control over the centre-right opposition and established a steppingstone in his attempt to run the country again. Dec 1: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks in Ankara with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin aimed at boosting trade and strengthening relations, despite sharp differences over the crisis in Syria and Ukraine. Dec 1: The Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) executive council, which consists of 25 members, approved the constitution of a special committee to mobilise support and prepare a strategy for establishing Asian Parliament. Dec 2: Chan Kin-man, Benny Tai Yiu-ting and Chu Yiu-ming, the original founders of Hong Kong's pro-democracy Occupy Movement announced they would “surrender” by turning themselves in to police and urged protesters on the streets to retreat. Dec 2: Nato member countries approved a new interim quick-reaction military force to protect themselves from Russia or other threats.

Dec 2: Ukraine's Parliament approved the formation of a new government, bringing an end to the political wrangling following an October election. The cabinet approved by lawmakers will be headed by Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who has served as prime minister since February. Dec 2: France's lower house of parliament voted to urge the government to recognise a Palestinian state. The vote, approved with 339 votes to 151, is non-binding. Dec 2: India successfully test-fired the nuclear-capable strategic ballistic missile Agni-IV, with a strike range of about 4,000km. Dec 3: A 900-kilometre railway linking Centra l Asia to the trade routes of the Persian Gulf through Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Iran was launched. The route permits train service from Kazakhstan`s city of Uzen through Turkmenistan to Iran's Gorgan. Dec 4: The US Congress extended the Coalition Support Fund for Pakistan for a year but has also included some new conditions in its final budget proposals. Dec 4: Tunisia's first full elected parliament appointed Mohammed Nacer, vice president of the secular Nidaa Tounes party that won 86 of the 217 seats, as its speaker. Dec 5: The British Museum sent one of its most precious artefacts for display in Russia, in a gesture of diplomacy amid the biggest rift in relations between the government in Moscow and Nato countries since the Cold War. Dec 5: US President Barack Obama officially nominated a former Pentagon official Ashton Carter as his new Secretary of Defence. He replaced Chuck Hagel who resigned on Nov 24 but will continue to serve until the Senate confirms Mr Carter. Dec 5: The House of Representatives adopted an annual US defence spending bill which includes emergency funding for military operations against Islamic jihadists in Iraq and Syria. The Republican-led House passed the measure by a vote of 300 to 119. Dec 5: The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor dropped a case against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta alleging crimes against humanity, saying there was insufficient evidence to take him to trial. Dec 6: Members of parliament voted Somalia's prime minister out of office for the second time in a year.

Dec 6: Britain signed a deal with Bahrain that will bolster the United Kingdom's military presence in the island nation and give it a more permanent naval base in the oil-rich Persian Gulf region. Dec 6: An additional 1,000 US troops will remain in Afghanistan next year to meet a temporary shortfall in Nato forces, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said during a visit to Kabul. Dec 6: UN General Assembly's Economic and Financial Committee adopted a resolution outlining the plan, which was proposed by developing countries and strongly backed by Argentina, to develop a new legal framework to restructure national debts and avoid the kind of speculative action that led Argentina to a second default. Dec 6: The Maldives declared two days of public holidays in a bid to manage fraying tempers and ration supply following a drinking water crisis. Dec 8: The US and Nato closed their combat command in Afghanistan, more than 13 years after invading the country in the wake of the Sept 11 terror attacks to target Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. Dec 8: In Australia's emotional opening Test against India in Adelaide, the late Phillip Hughes was symbolically named 13th man. Dec 8: Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah appointed new ministers for health, higher education, transport, agriculture, information and Islamic affairs as part of the kingdom's broadest reshuffle of second-tier posts in years. Dec 8: The Los Angeles Film Critics Association named Richard Linklater's “Boyhood,” a 12-year experiment, their best picture of 2014. Linklater also earned a best director honour for his film, while Patricia Arquette picked up the best actress. Dec 9: German Chancellor Angela Merkel was re-elected unopposed as chief of her conservative party. Dec 9: The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council announced to create a regional police force, known as GCC-POL, which will be based out of the UAE's capital of Abu Dhabi. Dec 9: The US Senate Intelligence Committee released a report on the CIA's use of torture for coercing information from terror suspects after the attacks of Sept 11, 2001. Dec 9: The Israeli military's destruction of civilian buildings during its Protective Edge offensive in summer 2014 amounted to war crimes and must be investigated, Amnesty International said.

Dec 10: The United States senate confirmed the nomination of Richard Rahul Verma as the next US ambassador to India. Dec 10: Ziad Abu Ein, 55, a Palestinian minister without portfolio, died shortly after Israeli border guards shoved and grabbed him by the throat. Dec 10: Poland's top court ruled that Jewish and Muslim communities can perform kosher and halal slaughter, striking down a two-year-old ban as an unconstitutional breach of religious freedom. Dec 10: Time magazine named the medics who have treated patients struck with the killer Ebola virus as its “Person of the Year 2014”, paying tribute to their courage and mercy. Dec 10: E. H. Shepard's original ink-drawing of an iconic literary illustration depicting Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends playing “poohsticks” sold at auction in London for a record-breaking £314,500 ($490,470). The sale of the much-loved A. A. Milne characters Pooh, Christopher Robin and Piglet broke the world record for any book illustration in the sale at Sotheby's auction house. Dec 10: President Robert G. Mugabe of Zimbabwe dismissed his vice president Joice Mujuru. Dec 12: US lawmakers approved fresh economic sanctions against Russia, a move likely to anger President Vladimir Putin as American lawmakers toughen their response to Kremlin's continued support to rebels in eastern Ukraine. Dec 12: The Federal Constitutional Court, Germany's top court, rejected a bid by leftist opposition parties to call former NSA contractor Edward Snowden as a witness in a parliamentary probe of US intelligence activities. Dec 12: Nearly 6,600 people have now died from the Ebola virus, almost all of them in west Africa, the World Health Organisation said. Dec 12: The Portuguese parliament adopted a recommendation calling upon the government to recognise the Palestinian state, drawing votes from the majority and the opposition. Dec 12: China banned playing its national anthem at weddings, funerals, balls or other non-political functions and it will now only be performed at certain dignified events. Dec 13: Iran extended temporary visas for 450,000 Afghan refugees for six months, lifting a threat to send them back home. Dec 14: About 190 nations agreed to the building blocks of a new-style global deal due in 2015 to combat climate change.

Dec 14: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won comfortable re-election in a snap poll. Dec 14: Hazem Sherif, a Syrian from war-torn Aleppo, was declared the winner of this year's 'Arab Idol' singing contest. Dec 15: The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution by consensus on promoting interreligious and intercultural dialogue under which the 193-member body affirmed that mutual understanding and dialogue were important components of the culture of peace. Dec 15: Miss South Africa, 22-year-old Rolene Strauss, was crowned Miss World 2014 at the pageant's final in London. Sports Nov 16: India beat Sri Lanka to secure a 5-0 series whitewash in the One-day International series. Nov 16: Bangladesh thrashed Zimbabwe by 186 to sweep the test series 3-0. Nov 17: American twins Bob and Mike Bryan claimed the ATP Tour Finals title for the fourth time. Nov 18: India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar won the Polly Umrigar Award for 2013-14 when he was declared India's best international cricketer for 2013-14. Nov 21: India clinched the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women's Championship, outclassing Nepal. Nov 22: Pole vault world record holder Renaud Lavillenie and Olympic shot put champion Valerie Adams were named World Athletes of the Year by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Nov 23: British driver Lewis Hamilton clinched his second Formula One title with victory at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Nov 23: Roger Federer defeated Richard Gasquet to seal Switzerland's maiden Davis Cup title. Nov 26: Lionel Messi netted his fifth Champions League hat trick in 91 matches to take his tally to 74. The previous record of 71 goals had been set by former Real Madrid and Schalke striker Raul over the course of 142 matches. Nov 28: Brendon McCullum scored the fastest test century by a New Zealand batsman on only 78 balls. The earlier record was of 81 balls by Ross Taylor.

Nov 29: The 14-year-old Chinese snooker sensation Yan Bingtao won the fully stretched final of the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) world amateur championship, held in Bangalore after defeating Pakistan's Mohammad Sajjad. Nov 30: Rising American star Jordan Spieth dominated the final round to win the Australian Open Golf by six shots. Dec 1: Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam became the first cricketer to claim a hat-trick on his debut in a One-day International. Dec 3: Pakistan and New Zealand dedicated the trophy for their two Twenty20 matches in the Dubai to the memory of late Australian batsman Phillip Hughes. Dec 3: Sri Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakkara became only the fourth batsman in history to surpass 13,000 ODI runs. Dec 8: Argentina beat Australia 3-1 in a penalty shootout in the final of the Women's Champions Trophy. Dec 9: New Zealand's Ross Taylor equalled the record of most successive hundreds in ODIs by making an unbeaten 105 in the first match of the five-match series against Pakistan at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. It was Ross Taylor's third successive hundred in one dayers. Pakistan's Zaheer Abbas and Saeed Anwar and South African Herschelle Gibbs, Arabham de Villiers and Quinton de Kock, have also scored three hundreds in successive ODIs. Dec 9: World number one Rory McIlroy won the Golf Writers Trophy for the second time in three years. Dec 10: Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting was appointed head coach of Indian Premier League side Mumbai Indians. Dec 13: China's world No.5 Feng Shanshan, the highest ranked player in the field, completed a dominant wire-to-wire victory at the 500,000 euros Ladies European Masters — her second win in the European Tour's season-ending championship in three years. Dec 14: British boxer Amir Khan won a 12-round bout over former champion Devon Alexander in a welterweight matchup. Dec 14: Olympic hockey gold-medallists Germany added the Champions Trophy to their list of laurels with a 2-0 victory over spirited Pakistan in the final. Dec 15: Double Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton, who won 11 grands prix for Mercedes in 2014, was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year. The award is widely

regarded as Britain's most prestigious cross-sports accolade. Obituaries Nov 16: Ian Craig, the youngest player to play Test cricket for Australia, died aged 79. Ian had debuted in 1953 at 17 years and 239 days. Nov 16: Alexander Grothendieck, one of the greatest mathematical minds of the twentieth century, died. He was 86. Alexander is known for his excavating new ground in the field known as algebraic geometry and supplied a theoretical foundation for the solving of some of the most vexing conundrums of modern mathematics. Nov 25: Legendary Kathak dancer Sitara Devi died at a hospital in Mumbai. She was 94. Born in 1920 in Kolkata, Sitara Devi drew from the themes, poetry and choreography collected by her father. Having appeared in a clutch of successful movies in which she invariably had a dancing role, Sitara Devi last performed a classic Holi dance in Mother India. Thus she connected two great movie makers, Mehboob who cast her in her last role in Mother India, and K. Asif of Mughal-i-Azam fame to whom she was married for some time. Nov 26: Lebanese singer and actress Sabah, an icon of Arab music, died at 87. Nov 27: British detective writer P. D. James, the creator of the best-selling series featuring poetry-writing sleuth Adam Dalgliesh, died at the age of 94. Nov 30: Mark Strand, whose spare, deceptively simple investigations of rootlessness, alienation and ineffable strangeness of life made him one of America's most hauntingly meditative poets, died at 80. Dec 2: Veteran Indian movie comedian Deven Verma passed away. He was 77. Economy Nov 17: China and Australia sealed a landmark free trade agreement more than a decade in the making, significantly expanding ties between the two countries. Nov 27: The European Parliament approved overwhelmingly a resolution calling on the EU to consider ordering search engines to separate their commercial services from their businesses. Dec 1: Turkey assumed the presidency of the G20 group of major economies for the first time in its history.

Dec 2: Iraq's government and the autonomous Kurdish region announced an agreement resolving their longstanding disputes over the budget and oil exports. People in Places Basuki Tjahaja Purnama Nov 19: A Christian named Basuki Tjahaja Purnama was inaugurated as governor of the Indonesian capital for the first time in 50 years. He is the first person from the country's tiny ethnic Chinese minority to become leader of Jakarta. Katy Perry Nov 24: Pop star Katy Perry and British boy band One Direction were big winners at the American Music Awards (AMA's), with both winning three top honours. Denis Mukwege Nov 26: Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege received the European Parliament's Sakharov rights prize for helping thousands of gang rape victims. The 59-year-old Mukwege is often dubbed "Doctor Miracle" for his work with victims in the DR Congo. Gergely Barki Nov 27: A long-lost avant-garde painting returned home to Hungary after nine decades thanks to a sharp-eyed art historian. Gergely Barki, a researcher at Hungary's national gallery in Budapest, noticed Sleeping Lady with Black Vase by Róbert Berény in the Hollywood film Stuart Little. Lord Harries of Pentregarth Nov 29: The former Bishop of Oxford, Lord Harries of Pentregarth suggested that readings from the Quran should feature in the next Coronation when Prince Charles succeeds to the Throne. Mahesh Savani Dec 1: Mahesh Savani, an Indian diamond trader, threw a mass wedding ceremony for 111 fatherless women and gave each one gifts worth thousands of dollars. Fidel Castro Dec 11: Fidel Castro was awarded China's version of the Nobel Peace Prize, with a paper close to the ruling Communist Party hailing the former Cuban leader's important contributions to

world peace. Asha Bhosle Dec 13: Noted Indian playback singer Asha Bhosle was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 11th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). Places in News Ljubljana, Slovenia Nov 21: China's Vice Premier Wang Yang paid a visit to Slovenia in what is being described as crucial for attracting Chinese investments in the tiny eurozone country. He also addresses a Slovenia-China Business Forum held in Ljubljana, Slovenia's capital. London, UK Nov 24: The World Scrabble Champion concluded in London where Britain's Craig Beevers lifted the trophy with Chris Lipe of the US stood the runner-up. Pakistan's Waseem Khatri won the prize for the biggest win of the tournament when he pulverized Catalin Caba of Romania 684-253. Kathmandu, Nepal Nov 27: South Asian leaders signed an agreement to improve the cross-border energy trade in the power-starved region, as the Saarc summit overshadowed by Pakistan-India rivalry ended with little progress towards regional integration. Bariyapur, Nepal Nov 28: Hordes of Hindu worshippers slaughtered thousands of animals in a remote corner of Nepal to honour their goddess of power. Sword-wielding devotees poured into Bariyapur making this remote village the world's largest abattoir, with animals ranging from buffaloes to rats butchered. London, UK Dec 5: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reiterated Pakistan's commitment to forging cooperative relations with the Afghan national unity government. He was speaking at a meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron. They discussed Pakistan-UK relations, the regional situation and other issues of mutual interest. London, UK

Dec 9: New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of London's Metropolitan Police, was sold to investors from the UAE, for $580 million. Beijing, China Dec 12: A multi-billion-dollar man-made river to divert water from China's south to its parched north was opened. The central route of the SouthNorth Water Diversion Project, one of the most ambitious engineering projects in Chinese history, will carry water from central China to quench the thirst of Beijing and other areas. Lima, Peru Dec 13: The UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC), known also as Conference of the Parties (COP 20), concluded its 12-day meeting at Lima, Peru. About 190 nations agreed to the building blocks of a new-style global deal due in 2015 to combat climate change. Weird News Nov 25: A 22-year-old Pakistani, Asim Abbasi, was declared an alleged Jewish terrorist in the country. Asim, accused of taking an alleged rifle to Belgium, was actually a cricket fan and was taking along with him a bat hidden in a jersey. Nov 26: In other countries, you may be asked to give a push to a car stuck in the mud. In Russia, passengers in the Arctic came out of an airliner in sub-zero temperatures to help it move to the runway. A Russian-made Tu-134 with 74 oil workers and seven crew members aboard was due to fly from the town of Igarka to Krasnoyarsk, about 1,300km to the south, when the plane froze to the ground. It was -52°C outside and the passengers seemed desperate to get home. Dec 4: In the first case of its kind, a New York appeals court rejected an animal rights advocate's bid to extend “legal personhood” to chimpanzees, saying the primates are incapable of bearing the responsibilities that come with having legal rights. Dec 6: A feline named Frank and Louie after he was born with two faces, two mouths, two noses and three blue eyes died at the age of 15. Dec 15: A Chinese teenager executed after being convicted of murder and rape 18 years ago was declared innocent by a court, in a rare overturning of a wrongful conviction. The 18-year-old, named Hugjiltu and also known as Qoysiletu, was found guilty and put to death in Inner Mongolia in 1996, but doubt was cast on the verdict when another man confessed to the crime in 2005.

National, International, Sports and Obituaries MCQs

Importance of Zakat According to the Islamic Shariah, an Islamic State cannot impose any taxes upon its Muslim citizens, besides Zakat. As far as the non-Muslims living in an Islamic state are concerned, they become citizens of an Islamic state through an agreement between them and the Islamic state. Taxes upon these non-Muslims shall be governed by the agreement that was mutually agreed upon between them and the Islamic state. The taxes proposed on the non-Muslim citizens in the agreement may or may not be equal to or related with the rates specified for Zakat.


In view of the above explanation, imposition of Income tax, wealth tax and all other direct or indirect taxes, by an Islamic state upon its Muslim citizens, is not in accordance with the directives of the Islamic Shariah. The word 'tax' first appeared in the English language only in the 14th century. It derives from the Latin taxare which means 'to assess'. Before that, English used the related word 'task', derived from Old French. For a while, 'task' and 'tax' were both in common use, the first requiring labour, the second money. 'Tax' then developed its meaning to imply something wearisome or challenging. So words like 'duty' were used to suggest a more appealing purpose. Political spin has just as long a history as taxation, and neither has been detained unduly by the meaning of words. The history of Zakat is the same as that of Salat. It is evident from the Holy Qur'an that like Salat its directive always existed in the Shariah of the previous Prophets. When the Almighty asked the Muslims to pay it, it was not something unknown to them. All the followers of the religion of Ibrahim (AS) were fully aware of it. For this very reason Surah Al-Ma'arij (70:25) describes it as “A specified right.” Thus it was a pre-existing Sunnah which the Holy Prophet (PBUH), with necessary reformations, upheld at the behest of the Almighty. There is a clear difference between Zakat

and Taxation. Zakat is the only tax an Islamic government can impose upon its Muslim citizens. It is not merely a charity fund but can be spent on the collective needs of the people as well: The Zakat money can be used to pay the salaries of all government officials including that of the head of state, to build all works of public interest, to cater for defence requirements and to establish an Islamic system of Insurance. In short, the system of Zakat envisaged by the Holy Qur'ân and Sunnah totally meets the requirements of running a welfare state. Elimination of interest in the economy and the imposition of the true concept of Zakat will not only generate enough money to meet the running expenses of the state but a considerable amount for development as well. However, a major part of the revenue for development would be obtained by means of all state owned enterprises whose management would be transferred to the private sector through either or both of the two modes: (i) selling a certain quantity of shares to the private sector, (ii) imposing kharaaj (tribute) on the party of the private sector which is entrusted with the job of management. One of the major objectives of Zakat is poverty alleviation. The issue is can Zakat be spent on Non-Muslims for this purpose. Though a number of Jurists have viewed that Zakat can be spent on non-Muslims, the majurity view is that for poverty alleviation of Non-Muslims non-Zakat resources should be spent. There is no disagreement on the point that poverty alleviation and welfare of non-Muslims is an important concern for an Islamic state. Zakat and tax are not same. Zakat is very small part of yearly income while tax is a huge share of monthly income one earns. Zakat eradicates poverty while tax increases in many folds. Hence, people pay taxes happily but they avoid paying Zakat which is lesser than taxes and better in use than the taxes.

Courtesy: Pakistan Observer

Economic Challenges for Ummah Islamic teachings consider “Indebtedness” as a detestable phenomenon, which should not be resorted to except in cases of extreme necessity. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) even refused to offer the funeral prayer for a person who died before paying back his loan. Islamic principles require that the Muslims should avoid incurring foreign debts, even if they face some hardships. But our present indebtedness was not created by lack of resources.


The nineteenth century was a century of political oppression whereby the powerful Western nations enslaved most of the Asian and African nations including a large number of Muslim countries. The present century, which is nearing its end, has witnessed the gradual independence of these countries from Western imperialism. However, despite our apparent success in achieving the goal of political liberty, we could not succeed in acquiring independence on intellectual, economic and strategic levels. That is why Muslim Ummah could not yet reap the fruits of its political freedom. Now the Muslim world is looking toward the coming century with hope that it will bring for it total independence in the real sense so the Muslims may find their due place among the nations of the world and may be free to live according to the Quran and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). However, this hope cannot be realized through wishful dreams. We will have to work hard for our total freedom even more than we did for our political freedom. We need a total revision of our strategy, a well-considered plan, a collective resolution, and a revolutionary approach. It is common knowledge that Ummah's basic economic problem is the dependence of the Muslim countries on others. Most of the them are borrowing huge amounts from the rich Western countries. Some countries are incurring these heavy interest-bearing loans not only for the development projects, but also for their day-to-day expenses, and what is more serious, for the payment of interest accrued on their previous loans which keeps the size of their indebtedness ever-increasing through a vicious circle. Dependency on foreign loans is the basic disease of our economy that has not only shattered our economic life, but has also devastated our self-determination and has forced us to submit to the demands of our creditors, sometimes, at the price of our collective interests. It is no secret that the creditors impose their own conditions before they advance a loan. These conditions keep us under a constant foreign pressure, often stop us from pursuing our own objectives and force us to follow the policies dictated by others. The evil consequences of dependence on foreign loans are too obvious to need any further elaboration.

Islamic teachings consider “Indebtedness” as a detestable phenomenon, which should not be resorted to except in cases of extreme necessity. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) even refused to offer the funeral prayer for a person who died before paying back his loan. Islamic principles require that the Muslims should avoid incurring foreign debts, even if they face some hardships. But our present indebtedness was not created by lack of resources. Our dependence on foreign loans is self-imposed for which we cannot blame anyone but ourselves. We did never probe in to the factors underlying the flight of our capital. We did never try to remove those factors and instill confidence in our own people. We could not deliver ourselves from the corrupt and oppressive system of taxation. We were not able to create a peaceful atmosphere for investment. We could not provide our countries with stable political system. We did not bother to create opportunities for the sound utilization of capital and, above all, we failed to mobilize the spirit of Islamic unity and to activate the strength of the Muslim Ummah as a whole.

Courtesy: Pakistan Observer

8 Most Expensive Substances

1. Antimatter, 2. Californium 252, 3. Painite, 4. Diamonds, 5. Tritium, 6. Taaffeite, 7. Plutonium, 8. LSD


1. Antimatter Cost: $100 trillion per gram Antimatter could possibly fuel spaceships to the planets, and maybe the stars, in the years to come. 2. Californium 252 Cost: $27 million per gram The Californium isotope is used in devices that find layers of oil and water in oil wells. 3. Painite Cost: $300,000 per gram or up to $60,000 per carat Thought to be the rarest gem mineral, it can be used in crystal healing or just make a pretty collectible. 4. Diamonds Cost: A colourless, 1-carat can cost more than $65,000 per gram, or $13,000 per carat Diamonds are a special jewellery item. 5. Tritium Cost: $30,000 per gram Tritium is used in self-luminating EXIT signs found in theatres, schools and office buildings. There are more than two million tritium EXIT signs in the United States. 6. Taaffeite Cost: Anywhere between $2,500 to $20,000 per gram or $2,400 per carat The mauve-coloured gem is thought to be more than a million times scarcer than diamonds. And while it's a bit too durable to use often in jewellery, if you're lucky enough to find one, don't let your hands off it. 7. Plutonium Cost: Roughly $4,000 per gram It makes things nuclear. There are two kinds of plutonium that can be used, for either military purposes or nuclear reactors. 8. LSD Cost: The crystal form of LSD costs about $3,000 per gram Popular in the 1960s, this substance is known to cause hallucinations.

World Top 10 Meliorating the Ties, Pride of Pakistan , Simply the Geniuses, 63 Not out FOREVER!, Whither Democracy?, Opening New Vistas, The King Reigns Supreme, Our Darkest Hour, Capital Punishment Redux, Back To Square One?


Meliorating the Ties Nov 19: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif went on an official visit to the US. During the visit, he was conferred on US Legion of Merit Medal for brave leadership, sagacity, vision, efforts for peace and stability in the region. Pride of Pakistan Nov 21: Raniya Hosain, a 15-year-old Pakistani student, was declared winner in the Commonwealth Essay Competition. Her essay about Pakistan’s contribution to the Commonwealth outsmarted 10,000 entries from more than 500 schools in 44 Commonwealth nations. Simply the Geniuses Nov 23: While the scientists around the globe are in search of efficient enzymes that can simplify the process of starch hydrolysis for glucose and maltose production, four scientists from the University of the Punjab discovered a novel thermo-acidophilic enzyme. 63 Not out FOREVER! Nov 27: Australian batsman Phillip Hughes died from an injury to his head, two days after being struck by a bouncer during a domestic first class match.

Whither Democracy? Dec 2: Chan Kin-man, Benny Tai Yiu-ting and Chu Yiu-ming, the original founders of Hong Kong’s prodemocracy Occupy Movement announced they would “surrender” by turning themselves in to police and urged protesters on the streets to retreat. Opening New Vistas Dec 3: A 900-kilometre railway linking Central Asia to the trade routes of the Persian Gulf through Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Iran was launched. The route permits train service from Kazakhstan’s city of Uzen through Turkmenistan to Iran’s Gorgan. The King Reigns Supreme Dec 14: Amir Khan won a 12-round bout over former champion Devon Alexander in a welterweight matchup. Our Darkest Hour Dec 16: In the deadliest terror attack in the Pakistan’s history, 131 schoolchildren and 10 other people were killed when heavily armed militants stormed Army Public School in Peshawar. The prime minister announced a three-day national mourning to express solidarity with the families of those who lost their loved ones in the barbaric attack. Capital Punishment Redux Dec 17: At the Multi-Party Conference in Peshawar, convened in the aftermath of the savage Taliban attack on the Army Public School, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lifted a moratorium on executions in the country, allowing capital punishment for those sentenced to death in terrorism cases. Back To Square One? Dec 24: Pakistan’s political leadership agreed to set up special military courts to try hardened terrorists. The courts, which will be operative for two years, will require a constitutional amendment before they could start functioning.

Editorial (January 2014) The Decisive Moment

Written CSS 2015 Special Thursday, January 01, 2015 No words can suffice the feelings of pain and agony the nation is experiencing after the traumatizing Peshawar carnage. The viciousness and savagery of the killers has crossed all limits of callousness one can ever think of. But, the souls of innocent martyrs are asking: “Will our killers be brought to justice ever, and will their sacrifices salvage other children of the nation from the bestiality of terrorists?” This blackest day in our country's history has once again brought us on a crossroads. And, this is, indubitably, the decisive moment for our civil and military leadership. Now, there is no option but to review the policies and strategies in order to meliorate the law and order situation in the country. Though, in an encouraging development, the entire political and military leadership have come together to chalk out the plans for steering Pakistan out of the multifaceted crisis, called terrorism, yet still a lot needs to be done. To start with, the recent spate of terrorism in different parts of the country must be an eye-opener for our political elites; who still seem immature and oblivious to the changed ground realities. The recently-announced 'Action Plan' to combat terrorism puts the whole burden of this onerous task on Pakistan Army. The military courts redux is such an instance. Isn't it an indirect admission that our law-enforcement agencies, including police and bureaucracy, and judiciary have failed to perform their constitutional duty. In Pakistan, it's quite common that whenever a crisis grapples the country, the civilian leaders call in military's help. However, despite its plausible role in all spheres, army is blamed of usurping the civil authority. But, leaving it all behind, a harmonious working relationship between civil and military leaders is more than necessary now. Brave soldiers of Pakistan Army are sacrificing their precious lives for the sake of their dear motherland in Operation Zarb-e-Azb aimed at eliminating the terrorists. But, let's be realistic for a moment and think that aren't they bearing the brunt of the inefficiency and ineptness of other state institutions? Even in this perilous situation, it seems that they are left alone to fight the terrorism monster and no institution, be it the bureaucracy, police, judiciary, political leadership or media, had functioned consummate to the standards required from them. No one can deny that even the greatest leaders cannot change the destination of a country sans an efficient bureaucracy. Unless policymakers and policy-implementers work in tandem, harnessing peace and development remain a far cry. To overcome the chronic crises, Pakistan is faced with, the bureaucratic sodality needs to be vigilant and zealous to make Pakistan a better, peaceful place for our future generations.

When it comes to police, the sacrifices rendered by the brave personnel deserve every accolade, yet it is also true that corruption has plagued this department to such an extent that it is still the most corrupt department in Pakistan as per the Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index 2014. Instead of being an active law-enforcement agency, the department has become only a tool in the hands of political elites who use it to harass and chivvy their political opponents. Moreover, had the judiciary done speedy trials especially in terrorism cases, the dilemmas we are faced with today could have been averted. However, as they say it is better late than never, the judges should also work more vigorously so that no rogue elements go scot free. In the end, it is hoped that our leaders would avoid political wrangling and point scoring in the larger interest of the nation. Let it be very clear, undeterred support from public as well as political leadership is more than necessary if we want our soldiers to annihilate the terrorists. The nation stands by its soldiers to eliminate this cancer from our soil.

Long live Pakistan, long live Pak Army. More power to your elbow!

Adeel Niaz

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Written CSS 2015 Special Thursday, January 01, 2015 THE PESHAWAR MASSACRE December has been the cruellest month for Pakistan. It dismembered Pakistan in 1971, deprived us of a great, enlightened political leader Benazir Bhutto in 2007, and now it has traumatized us again with the worst-ever tragedy. Words fail to express the grief on this barbarism and bestiality perpetrated against the innocent schoolchildren. It’s not only a national but also a

human tragedy and December 16 would always be remembered as a black day and one of the darkest of the darkest days in history. Let there be no doubt that extremism and religious fanaticism are the existential threat to our survival. The Peshawar massacre is a stark reminder that we as a nation immediately need to recognise our actual foe, shun our differences, realise the sensitivity of the challenge we are confronted with, be on same page and throw away the apologetic attitudes towards those monsters which are not sparing our innocent children even. It is high time all the stakeholders, be that political elite, security establishment, civil society, media or intelligentsia, revisited their priorities. Otherwise it would be too late and will go beyond getting rectified.

Tassawur Bosal (Mandi Bahauddin) TECHNIQUES FOR CSS EXAM I am an avid reader of Jahangir’s World Times. Undoubtedly, it’s a precious pearl for all the CSS aspirants as it contains everything that helps them in their preparations for the exam; written part as well as to viva practice. As the written exam is drawing closer and the students are in dire need of techniques for written part, the JWT should publish CSS special edition for written exam that should contain paper-solving techniques. This would be another great service for the CSS-2015 aspirants.

Dr Tarik Alam Khan (Larkana) SENIORS SHOULD GUIDE JUNIORS Kindly publish the interviews successful candidates of CSS in JWT including more questions regarding essay writing as is it necessary to give an outline at the start, how many words are sufficient for a good essay, what strategy should be adopted to score maximum, etc. Seniors often share success stories but rarely explain their strategy for success. Their strategies could prove beneficial to other aspirants.

Noshin APPOINTMENT OF TEACHING ASSISTANTS Through the pages of your esteemed magazine, I want to draw the attention of our government to a very important issue. Recently, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government appointed some 900 Teaching Assistants in the Higher Education Department, KP. It is definitely a laudable step carried out by the PTI’s government. These appointments were made after the candidates went through a tough screening test conducted by ETEA. It is a move to engage the highly qualified candidates and to reduce their difficulties. However, these appointments are incomplete in the terms of some relevant clauses which have aroused uncertainty among the selected Teaching Assistants. The most imminent threat includes the termination of the TAs from service at the arrival of the permanent selectees of the KPK PSC. If their future is at constant stake, then they wouldn’t be able to claim age-relaxation. The government should take remedial measures in order to address the grievances of the Teaching Assistants.

Imtiaz Ahmad (Village Haji Zarghoon Shah Kali, District Mardan) NTS UNJUST IN BALOCHISTAN Balochistan is the most undeveloped province of Pakistan with the lowest population and the lowest literacy rate. Moreover, poor students are now facing injustice from NTS (National Testing Service) as it demands at least 1000 rupee for a test for jobs and scholarships in the province. But in other provinces, this amount is much lesser. The applicants in Punjab pay Rs. 500 for jobs in grades 11 to 16 whereas in Khyber PK, it is only Rs. 300. I request the Balochistan government and the NTS authorities to take notice of this discrimination and injustice.

Chakar Ali (Turbat) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Domestic violence against women is, unfortunately, rampant in our part of the world. With its innumerable forms and manifestations, it is especially prevalent in Pakistan in general and in interior Sindh in particular. But, in recent months, the acts of such barbarism went beyond the boiling point where the violence toll, as per a survey, rose to over 500 incidents. Most of the victims of the woman abuse, the report noted, were the minors and teenage girls though the married and unmarried as well as aged women too faced the same fate. A look at lives of women in the hinterlands of Sindh reveals that they lead a life far below of what we can call a civilized life. Besides the Holy Quran, the Constitution of Pakistan also gives them due rights under articles 25 (2), 34, 37, and 38. But, the practical implementation of the Islamic injunctions as well as our law of the land is simply nowhere. ‘Karo Kari,’ a nasty and a diabolic ritual prevailing as a remnant of dark ages, has now hardened into an acceptable local norm. The Sardars issue edicts permitting a perpetrator to slay a poor girl just because she wanted to marry the person of her choice. If they have to escape death penalty, the “Sardar Sain penal code” requires the girl to pay huge penny in the form of “Chatti”, a daylight robbery. This must change now. We have to make endeavours to eradicate such inhuman customs.

Farrukh Aziz Ansari (Islamabad)

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