Building Peace across Pak-Afghan Borders

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2 Building Peace across Pak-Afghan Borders During the Lisbon Summit in November 2010, the three major declarations had called US, NATO and Afghanistan to set conditions for irreversible transition to full Afghan security responsibility and leadership in all provinces by the end of The proposed transition requires an increase in the preparedness-efforts, that is, to strengthen and enable the political, administrative, judicial and security institutions in Afghanistan to manage the post-transition burden effectively. Secondly a more supportive role of the countries in the region is imperative to assist the transition process. With regard to the first pre-requisite, efforts are on in Afghanistan to find a workable framework for power-sharing among all ethnic groups, including Taliban, to constitute a reconciled and representative government at Kabul, which has in its composition some basic ingredients of conflict-resolution and peace. And with regard to the second one, Kabul is increasingly becoming region-focused in its approaches as far as a post-us Afghanistan is concerned. Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed on April 16 this year on formation of a joint commission to carry forward the reconciliation process. It means Pakistan is being seen once again as a key player to reconcile and resolve the conflict in Afghanistan. At present both countries appear set to move forward to work together to counter not only militancy and terrorism but also pave way for and peaceful region. There have been some positive developments in that regard. But some irritants are also present. Both countries have their genuine security concerns which have internal and external factors and dynamics. The war on terrorism is not yet over and both countries are partners in it. The role of the United States and fate of war on terror would essentially have implications for Pak-Afghan relations as well. To quote some Pak-Afghan bilateral exchange of visits and meetings, Afghan President Hamid Karzai visited Pakistan in March 2010; Pakistan's Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani visited Kabul in December 2010; President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai were part of the 11th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Summit in Istanbul, on December 23, 2010; A high-level delegation of Afghans led by former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani visited Pakistan in February 2011 that was followed by Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir's visit to Kabul for policy consultations and exploring ways of strengthening bilateral ties. With regard to trade and economic relations Pakistan and Afghanistan signed the Pak-Afghan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) for boosting bilateral trade and exports on October 28, 2010 in Islamabad. Similarly Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India greed on December 11, 2010 to proceed with the TAPI gas pipeline starting from Turkmenistan and ending up in India after passing through Afghanistan and Pakistan. Moreover, General Kayani has recently inaugurated the 80-kilometre long road project, being undertaken by the Pakistan army, from the northwestern Pakistani town of Bannu to Ghulam Khan on the Afghan border. The road will provide a central trade route between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Recommendations - Formation of 'Pakistan-Afghanistan Peace Commission' on April 16 should be transformed into an effective channel of cooperation. Its working mechanisms should be laid down on priority bases to address the concerns of both countries about alleged interference in each other's territory. Moreover to find viable solutions to cross-border militant movement and other issues or border security there is a need to develop a joint counter-insurgency strategy within the scope of this commission or beyond. - At political front, the process of reconciliation should be carried forward. In this regard emphasis should be paid to revive and revamp 'Pakistan-Afghanistan joint grand jirga' in order to expedite enhancement and improvement of bilateral ties, especially those pertaining to mistrust and misgivings. Also there is a need to expand and strengthen people-to-people contacts especially between non-pashtun communities across the countries. - Both countries should undertake efforts, on priority bases, to materialize and implement projects of trade and economic interdependence to reach better level of convergence of interest. In this regard Pak-Afghan transit trade agreement should be implemented in letter and spirit. Implementation of transit trade agreement will not only propel the economy of the two neighboring countries but it will be a major step in boosting the process of regional economic integration as well by connecting oil-rich and landlocked Central Asian Republic (CARs) to warm water ports of Gawadar and Karachi. At the same time materialization of such plans would also help Pakistan to export its products to Central Asia and Afghanistan to transit its goods to India. Moreover, formalization of border trade through expansion of business exchanges will discourage illegal trade, help boosting confidence of the people and business communities thus tap revenue for both the countries.

3 PIPS Launches Pak-Afghan Media Collaboration Initiative with Kabul Moot Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) launched an initiative aimed at enhancing bilateral media contacts and co-operation between Afghan and Pakistani journalists and media organizations by holding Afghanistan-Pakistan Media Dialogue at Kabul on February 21-22, PIPS has partnered with The Killid Group (TKG) of Afghanistan to improve co-operation between the electronic and print media of Pakistan and Afghanistan and arrange training for journalists to improve the media's capacity to cover complex issues with a view to enhance the qualitative/quantitative reporting on regional issues. The International Media Support (IMS) has offered financial support and training expertise for the initiative. between journalists in the two countries with a view to raise voices for moderation and peace and to stand up against extremism. Mr. Muhammad Amir Rana, Director of Pak Institute of Peace Studies, said that the coverage by the respective media of Afghanistan and Pakistan about the other country was confined to conflict reporting to such an extent that issues of common interest did not get any space. Finn Rasmussen of International Media Support said that dialogue really was the operative word for the initiative. The first session of the media conference focused on the need for cooperation and media's role in that. Session two of the conference Senior Pakistani journalists from all parts of the country from the print and electronic media were shortlisted for the Kabul dialogue. They included: Mr. Zaffar Abbas, Mr. Jawwad Nazeer, Mr. Ejaz Haider, Mr. Shahzada Zulfiqar, Ms. Asma Shirazi, Mr. Shafqatullah, Mr. Adnan Rehmat, Mr. Muhammad Riaz Khan, Mr. Zahir Shah, Mr. Amir Zia, Mr Aamir Khakwani, Mr. Hassan Khan, Ms. Mehmal Sarfraz, Mr. Najib Ahmad, and Mr. Bilal Ahmed. Around two dozen Afghan journalists from the print and electronic media also attended the media dialogue. The event presented a rare occasion for candid exchange of views. In deliberations over two days, journalists from the two countries discussed challenges, possibilities and potential for collaboration. The media dialogue was launched by Afghan Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Mohammad Mobarez Rashedi who hailed the initiative and pledged every support. In his message read out at the media conference, Afghan President Hamid Karazai called the initiative a great opportunity not just for the two countries but for everyone. On the occasion, Mr. Shahir Ahmed Zahine, chairman of The Killid Group (TKG), said the initiative aimed at fostering collaboration discussed the specific difficulties that could create hurdles in achieving collaboration between journalists and media houses of the two countries. In session three in-depth discussions were held on challenges of security for the journalists, specifically in covering conflict stories and those with cross-border dimensions. Session four focused on identifying measures aiming to minimize the obstacles identified in session two regarding the different levels of professional skills among journalists/media houses that agree to carry together the research/coverage of a story. The concluding session focused on lessons learned and the way forward. At the conclusion of the conference, a joint Advisory Board was selected with seven journalists from Pakistan and an equal number from Afghanistan. The 14-member Advisory Board would manage the process of implementing the initiative and will select applicants from the two countries for trainings. Subject to successful implementation of the pilot phase, the initiative may be turned into a three-year program that will create a Cooperation Fund and training opportunities that will facilitate bilateral cooperation to cover complex cross-border issues.

4 Dynamics of Unrest in Middle East and its Implications for Pakistan The recent spate of popular unrest and uprisings in the Arab world has generated a number of binary views among the masses who consider it a revolution primarily because of the fact that for the first time in the history of Middle East people have raised their voices against the repressive and authoritarian ruling regimes. Some others, however, argue that there is no genuine revolution in sight so far. The public uprisings are still rudderless and it is better to term this trend as evolution instead of revolution. These views were expressed by Kamran Bokhari, Regional Director Middle East and South Asia at STRATFOR, in his lecture organized by Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) on March 22, 2011 at its premises. Dilating upon implications of Middle Eastern unrest for Pakistan, Mr. Bokhari was of the view that distinct circumstances in Pakistan and the Arab world make it least likely that a similar situation might replicate in Pakistan. He asserted that due to social fragmentation, political divisions and religious polarization in Pakistan chances of a revolution or regime change look dim. Moreover, unlike countries of Middle East, Pakistani people have different avenues and outlets such as right to protest and presence of free and vibrant media where they give vent to their aggression and frustration on various issue of discontent. The Pakistan Phantasmagoria: Between Liberalism and Extremism Conflicting perceptions of the traditional religious forces and secular moderate circles have confused the course of determining national identity for Pakistan. Soon after establishment of Pakistan the moderate ruling elites started to provide space to religious elites due to one reason or the other. The Soviet-Afghan war and the Zia regime offered some legal and structural frameworks to the extremists to strengthen their agendas in Pakistan. Since then they have been consolidating their foothold through their own war economies, media, schools and charity organizations. On the contrary civility has no economy to sustain itself. Revival of peaceful co-existence seems the only way out now to curb extremism and religious intolerance. These views were expressed by participants of a seminar titled The Pakistan Phantasmagoria: Between Liberalism and Extremism, organized by Pak Institute for Peace Studies in Islamabad on March 7, Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed, former Professor Emeritus of Political Science, However, unrest in Arab Peninsula still has some implications for Pakistan. Most pertinent one seems that the American focus on Pakistan and Afghanistan may subside with increasing unrest in Middle East where the balance of power is shifting in favour of Iran leaving Saudi Arabia and US in panic. By taking into account the historical trends and patterns of democracy and geography of the Middle Eastern countries Mr Bokhari argued that the current unrest in different Arab countries was not comparable with that of Iranian Revolution. He maintained that the people are demanding a liberal democratic system while the states do not want a true rather a 'guided democracy. Stockholm University, said in his keynote address that the confessional basis of Pakistan's foundation have made the question and debate of collective national identity a rather complex and difficult one. Dr. Tariq Rahman, Director National Institute of Pakistan Studies (NIPS) at Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad said though civilian governments have been myopic but at the policy level the major errors made during different military regimes in Pakistan paved the way for the rise of religious extremists in the country. Mr. Zafrullah Khan, Director of Center for Civic Education, said review of the resignation of Pakistan's first law minister Jogendra Nath Mandal in 1950 sums up the structural religious tensions in Pakistan. The ruling elites still continue to make compromises on long-term state interests for short-term tactical achievements through political expediencies. Mr. Colin Smith, Senior Advisor to Civilian Capacity Building and Law Enforcement (CCBLE) argued that at the time of Pakistan's inception the founding fathers of a newly born Muslim state had no model of a modern welfare Muslim state which they could adopt or follow.

5 Safdar Hussain Safdar Hussain is a research analyst at Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS). After completing his education in marketing research in 1995, he joined English journalism as a reporter and worked with various English daily newspapers in Lahore, Pakistan. In March 2007, he joined PIPS where his specific areas of focus are conflict and security, international politics, and media in Pakistan. His publications include: Safdar Sial, Exploring the Mindset of the British-Pakistani Community: The Sciocultural and Religious Context, Conflict and Peace Studies (Pak Institute for Peace Studies) 1, no. 1 (2008): Safdar Sial, Human Rights Reporting in Pakistani Media, Conflict and Peace Studies 2, no. 1 (2009): Safdar Sial, Taliban on the March: Threat Assessment and Security Implications for the Region, Conflict and Peace Studies 2, no. 3 (2009): Safdar Sial and Tanvir Anjum, Jihad, Extremism and Radicalization: A Public Perspectives, Conflict and Peace Studies 3, no. 2 (2010): Safdar Sial and Abdul Basit, Conflict and Insecurity in Balochistan: Assessing Strategic Policy Options for Peace and Security, Conflict and Peace Studies 3, no. 4 (2010): Authored two chapters and edited three others in Dynamics of Taliban Insurgency in FATA (Islamabad: PIPS, 2010). Marco Mezzera and Safdar Sial, Media and Governance in Pakistan: A controversial yet essential relationship, the Initiative for Peacebuilding (IfP), October 2010, available at ttp:// Muhammad Amir Rana and Safdar Sial, Pakistan, in Asian Transnational Security Challenges: Emerging Trends, Regional Visions, ed. Caroline Ziemke- Dickens and Julian Droogan (Sydney: Macquarie University, 2010), CGCC Regional Working Group Meeting at Bangkok Abdul Basit, a researcher at PIPS, attended regional workshop of Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation on 'preventing abuse of the non-profit sector for the purposes of terrorist financing' held at Bangkok, Thailand on March 21-23, He represented Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) sector of Pakistan in the meeting. The workshop was attended by NPO members of six South and Southeast Asian countries namely Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines. The participants of workshop noted that NPO sector in South and Southeast Asian countries was vulnerable to exploitation by terrorist organizations; be it related to terrorist financing or other forms of manipulation. However, the level of such threat varies from country to country. Six-day Workshop of African Center for Strategic Studies at Dakar, Senegal Muhammad Amir Rana, Director of Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), represented Pakistan in African Center for Strategic Studies' workshop titled Preventing Terrorism: Developing Comprehensive Solutions to the Challenges of Radicalization held at Dakar, Senegal from April He presented the sociocultural dynamics of radicalization in Pakistan with a view to point out commonalities of deradicalization programs and discourses in Pakistan that can be emulated in African context to strengthen their counterradicalization efforts. PIPS Publications Monthly Tajziat, an Urdu language research journal, offers academic, intellectual and ideological debates. All PIPS publications are available at Saeed Book Bank, Vanguard and Mr. Books in Islamabad, Readings and Vanguard in Lahore, Saeed Book Bank in Peshawar, and Sales and Services in Quetta. To place a direct order to publications@san-pips.com, or call at

6 Conflict and Peace Studies Volume 4, Number 1, Jan-Mar 2011 The latest issue of the PIPS research journal Conflict and Peace Studies primarily focuses on regional context of political, economic and security determinants of Pakistan's strategic and foreign policy options. Most of its previous issues nonetheless have been exclusively focusing on internal dimension of conflict and insecurity in Pakistan. The current issue has four papers, one research report and an analysis. Nida Naz's paper explores prospects for Pak-China relations in 2011 and beyond. Her study is an effort to understand how Pakistan's political, religious-political and nationalist parties, militant organizations and the people of Pakistan in general view Pakistan's ties with China. These views have been used to determine the level of political and socio-economic support factors available in Pakistan for long-term strategic relations with China. She professes that if insecurity and violence continue in Pakistan, its bilateral engagement with China, particularly in economic and trade areas, will remain below the expected pace. The second paper, by Safdar Sial, in the current issue analyzes emerging trends and future prospects for Pakistan-Afghanistan relations. The paper also elaborates the implications of Pak- Afghan relations for drive against counter-terrorism and rseduction in violence and insecurity in both countries in particular and wider region in general. militants should be done from a position of strength, tribes' involvement should be ensured, and clarity of objective and political endorsement should lead the entire process. Muhammad Amir Rana's analysis of discourses of religiouspolitical organizations in Pakistan tries to find the commonalities and divergences among religious organizations in Pakistan, which he thinks determine their twin discourses of 'Islamization' and 'relgio-socialization'. The article does not deal with the impact and influence of religious organizations, important though they are to understand their narratives. It only seeks to highlight their objectives and sharply focuses on their internal mechanisms, which are usually ignored in such discourse analyses. The research report by PIPS on 'Understanding North Punjab in the Context of Pakistan Diaspora in Britain' describes in detail the key religious, ideological and political trends and also identifies some critical groups, communities and geographical clusters among Pakistani immigrants hailing from North Punjab, which have radical and extremist tendencies. Based on its findings, the report identifies some effective strategies for initiating de-radicalization interventions in hometowns of Pakistani Diaspora in Britain. VOLUME 4 JAN-MAR 2011 NUMBER 1 Farhat Akram's paper is about irritants and challenges, and also factors that can influence Pakistan's closer relations with Central Asian States. She notes that one of the geographical realities that hinder the natural connection between Pakistan and Central Asia is that Pakistan does not have suitable geographic contact with the CARs. Secondly, faced with the transitional process of economic, financial and socio-political transformations as well as security challenges, the internal sovereignties of these states are still uncertain. Thirdly, insecurity and instability in Afghanistan and Balochistan offers another challenge. The fourth paper, by Sohail Habib Tajik, analyzes the various peace agreements which the government of Pakistan signed with the militants in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa starting from He endeavors to explore the broader perspective in which such peace Editor Safdar Sial Associate Editor Abdul Basit