Tag: (IPS)

Islamabad, July 27, 2022 (PPI-OT):The 30th session of IPS’ oral history series ‘The Living Scripts’ was held with Umar Khan Ali Sherzai on July 22, 2022. Umar Khan Ali Sherzai prominently served as the ambassador of Pakistan to Saudi Arabia and also as the consul-general in Mazar-i-Sharif and post-9/11 Kandahar. He also held several diplomatic appointments in Qatar and the UAE.

He shared that he was born in Kurram Agency in 1948 and received his early education in Parachinar, the capital of Kurram District, and later graduated from Islamia College, Peshawar, with distinction. Before clearing CSS exams in 1975, he served as a project manager under the Local Government, Election and Rural Development Department in the NWFP (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province).

In 1976, he joined the foreign service and was posted in Abu Dhabi as the third secretary. He later served in Qatar during 1989-1993 and worked diligently for the facilitation and progress of overseas Pakistanis. Later, from 1993 to 1996, he served in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan.

While recalling his appointment in 1993 in Mazar-i-Sharif, he apprised the audience about the then-prevailing resentment and reservations of Afghan nationals against Pakistan which were largely an outcome of Indian propaganda and its intensive investments in the region. Through his diplomatic skills and efficient working, he not only neutralized the anti-Pakistan sentiments among Afghans in that region but also had good relations with General Abdul Rashid Dostum. He contributed to boosting Pak-Afghan relations and, under his appointment, General Dostum visited Pakistan thrice.

Later, in 1996, he served as deputy head of mission in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. In 1998, he became the consul-general in Jeddah and took several developmental steps for the expatriates. Then, in 1999, he served as consul-general in Kandahar, Afghanistan. While recalling his frequent interactions with Mullah Omar, he stated that Mullah Omar always wanted a peaceful Afghanistan and stable Pak-Afghan relations. He also stated that the Afghan fighters fought with the zeal of jihad and not terrorism, as largely portrayed by the Western media.

In 2009, Sherzai went on to serve as the ambassador to Saudi Arabia till his retirement from the foreign service. He later joined the MQM party. While sharing his insights on Pakistan’s foreign policy, he stated that the foreign policy is ad hoc and lacks a determined goal and direction for its formulation and conduct. He also suggested that the political structure of Pakistan must favour technocrats in decision-making. Lastly, he opined that Pakistan has the potential to be an economically stable and aid-giving country provided that every institution of the country, instead of working beyond their domain, works efficiently within their spheres with an honesty of purpose and a sense of duty.

For more information, contact:
Outreach and Publications,
Institute of Policy Studies (IPS)
1, Street 8, F-6/3, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-8438391-3 (Ext: 122)
Fax: +92-51-8438390
Website: www.ips.org.pk

Islamabad, July 26, 2022 (PPI-OT):The nationalist identities of Afghanistan and Pakistan are perpetually at loggerheads with each other due to ontological insecurities of both, causing serious repercussions on the population on both sides of the Durand Line. The resolution of these chronic issues requires evidence-informed dialogue among all stakeholders, especially literati and media, to gain mutual respect to shun historical differences for long-term peace and cooperation, which is a dire need of the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The thoughts were reflected during an academic session, titled ‘Ontological (In)securities of Afghanistan and Pakistan and Resulting Repercussion on the Pashtun Population of Pakistan’, held at the IPS on July 20, 2022. The roundtable was chaired by Khalid Rahman, chairman IPS, and addressed as keynote speaker by Dr. Farhat Taj, associate professor, University of Tromso, Norway. IPS’ Associate Brigadier (r) Said Nazir Mohmand, former MNA Sahibzada Muhammad Yaqoob Khan and Fazal Ullah Farooq, leader of Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) – joined as discussants. Ambassador (retd) Ayaz Wazir; Prof. Dr. Fakhr-ul-Islam, director, Pakistan Study Centre, University of Peshawar; Farhatullah Babar, PPP leader and former senator; Mirza Hamid Hassan, former federal secretary; Dr Lutfur Rehman, author and researcher; Amanullah Khan, IPS senior associate; and Dr. Saif-ur-Rehman Malik, IPS’ senior research fellow, also spoke on the occasion.

Dr. Farhat Taj, while presenting her research, stated that the dynamics of Pak-Afghan relations, from historical context to contemporary times, revolve around a clash of identities, ontological insecurities, and divergent management of their respective insecurities. The head-on collision of these contrasting identities has led to certain repercussions for the ethnic Pashtun population.

She said that the Afghan identity is predominantly its Pashtun identity, which conflicts with the internal as well as external aspects of the Islamic identity of Pakistan. She elaborated that the Afghan ethnic identity feels threatened by the manifestations of Pakistan’s Islamic identity due to underlining Afghan perceptions about Pakistan as successor state of British India, especially colonial Punjab. From here originate the ontological insecurities, pushing both states into a state of ‘cognitive anxiety’.

These ontological insecurities have pressed both states to adopt narratives aimed at strengthening their respective identities. She emphasized that Afghanistan has been adopting peaceful as well as dangerous means of managing its insecurities, while Pakistan has been managing the insecurities by focusing more on normalizing relationships through various measures time to time.

Dr. Farhat concluded that with mutual efforts, open debates, narrative developments, and national consensus, the pressure that has been built on the Afghan government regarding retaining the Pashtun identity, in face of Islamic identity, can be lessened, while maintaining the ontological security of both states.

Taking up the discussion, the speakers were of the view that although the Durand Line has a historical background but now the situation has changed. Regarding the resolution of Pak-Afghan discords, the participants opined that both states need to adopt an optimistic behaviour, along with national consensus, for resolving their mutual differences through dialogues in order to live in peace.

For more information, contact:
Outreach and Publications,
Institute of Policy Studies (IPS)
1, Street 8, F-6/3, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-8438391-3 (Ext: 122)
Fax: +92-51-8438390
Website: www.ips.org.pk

Islamabad, June 09, 2022 (PPI-OT):For the conservation, protection, and management of the oceans a holistic approach is required which must include the implementation of international laws, behavioural change communication, capacity-building, employment of scientific innovations, and stakeholders’ collaboration at national, regional, and global level.

This was unanimously observed during a hybrid seminar at Bahria University titled “Blue Talks: Enhancing the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Oceans and their Resources by Implementing International Laws”, which was jointly organized by the National Institute of Maritime Affairs (NIMA), Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad, and the Portuguese Embassy in Islamabad on June 7, 2022.

The seminar was addressed as keynote speaker by Prof. Dr. Vasco Becker-Weinburg, president, Portuguese Institute of the Law of the Sea. Other speakers and discussants included Khalid Rahman, chairman, IPS, Vice Admiral (retd) Abdul Aleem, director general, NIMA, Paulo Neves Pocinho, ambassador of Portugal to Pakistan, Rear Admiral Foad Amin Baig, director general, Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA), Dr. Asif Inam, associate professor and head of maritime sciences, Bahria University, Dr. Maliha Zeba Khan, assistant professor NUML and non-resident research fellow IPS. The session was moderated by Cdre (r) Bilal Abdul Nasir, director, NIMA.

On the occasion, Macharia Kamau, principal secretary to Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also expressed his views on the topic through a video message and highlighted the significance of the oceans by highlighting that several nations have been built on the back of oceans. He urged all the stakeholders to act now at individual, communal, and governmental levels by transforming their approach and employing scientific innovations.

Khalid Rahman stated that now is the time to do more for the ocean, which is one and interconnected. He also identified the need for a behavioural change and a focus on oceans in all SDGs. He said human activities related to the sea and shores are playing havoc with the health of oceans and this state of affairs require good ocean governance. He also highlighted the need of holding educational and meaningful dialogues, seminars, and debates to recognize the problems and create awareness.

V/Admiral (r) Abdul Aleem, while highlighting the significance of a healthy ocean, stated that to make the UN’s ‘Ocean Decade’ a success story, all the countries must make concerted efforts to preserve oceans in order to preserve life on earth. In this regard, Pakistan must strive to become a maritime responsible state and understand what actions must be taken in this regard.

Rear Admiral Foad Amin Baig, while expressing his views, underscored the need to develop and adopt a humanitarian and futuristic approach towards mitigating the challenges, including the governance gaps, environmental degradation, lack of regional framework, and effective legislation. He highlighted the role of PMSA in the implementation of national and international laws in the seas and maintained that there is a need to create awareness and adhere to SDG deadlines. Lastly, he urged states to change their attitude towards the ocean.

Ambassador Pocinho spoke about the upcoming UN Ocean Conference 2022 at Lisbon (27 June – 1 July) and its significance in establishing a decisive action to move forward and forging a new international instrument to sustain and manage waters for the conservation of marine resources. He was of the view that as a maritime nation, Portugal has vast experience of marine affairs and can benefit Pakistan in many ways.

Dr. Vasco highlighted the need for the recognition of maritime environmental crimes within international law. He stated “the ocean is one” and interconnects all humanity. That is why managing oceans requires a holistic approach that must include the implementation of international laws to address and eliminate environmental crimes. He further explained how coastal communities are affected by these crimes, which are not addressed by states due to their lack of direction and awareness.

While talking about international legislation, he opined that the prevalent legal rules create complex multijurisdictional challenges that can cause a conflict of jurisdictions. He also highlighted key legal challenges in the maritime environmental domain.

Dr. Asif Inam underlined the significance of collaborative efforts by regional stakeholders toward the conservation of the Indian Ocean’s resources and the minimization of transboundary issues. He highlighted that the focus of cooperation and collaboration at the regional level must be to promote regional ocean governance to realize the global oceans agenda, respond to emerging challenges, and deliver new policies and initiatives such as blue economy.

He presented a detailed explanation of SDG 14, its targets, and the status of its achievements in the Indian Ocean and concluded that the region, Indian Ocean, and its resources are faced with multidimensional challenges from climate change and its various aspects, which then, in turn, causes decreased economic productivity and disturbances in the distribution of marine species and community structures.

Dr. Maliha discussed how the discourse of security has changed from traditional to non-traditional. While states possess better operational preparedness for traditional threats, non-traditional threats, including most maritime threats, still lack serious consideration by states. She said that the role which must be played by international organizations in governing and managing the oceans is largely missing. She also highlighted the absence of rules on the high seas which accentuate the challenges for law enforcement.

She stated that all of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are relevant to oceans and, in this domain, there is a lacking of national practices, regional responses, and international actions, which must be strengthened to ensure improvement.

For more information, contact:
Outreach and Publications,
Institute of Policy Studies (IPS)
1, Street 8, F-6/3, Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-8438391-3 (Ext: 122)
Fax: +92-51-8438390
Website: www.ips.org.pk

Islamabad, June 06, 2022 (PPI-OT):The Constitution of Pakistan has not only been the embodiment of national consensus since the time of its inception but has also served as a binding factor during times of political instability and turmoil. The vision, comprehensiveness, and balance of power provided in the Constitution have enabled it to steer the nation through military rules and political challenges.

These observations were made by speakers at a seminar titled ‘75 years of Pakistan: Constitution, Public Representation and Governance System’, which was organized by the Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad in collaboration with the Department of Law, Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU) at the latter’s campus in Rawalpindi on May 31, 2022.

The seminar was co-chaired by Khalid Rahman, chairman IPS, and Prof Dr Azra Yasmin, dean Faculty of Law, Commerce Management and Administrative Sciences FJWU and moderated by Dr Nadia Khadam, assistant professor/in-charge, Department of Law.

The speakers included Dr. Ijaz Shafi Gillani, chairman Gallup Pakistan and Gillani Research Foundation Pakistan, Dr. Aziz Ur Rahman, director, School of Law, Quaid-e-Azam University, and Dr. Shahzad Iqbal Sham, senior research fellow at IPS and author of recently published book Aa’een-e-Pakistan 1973 aur Islam: Martial Law, Adaliya aur Parliman ka Kirdar.

Another recently published work based on the Senate speeches and academic writings of IPS’ founder Professor Khurshid Ahmad, Aa’een – Ikhtiyarat ka Tawazun aur Tarz-e-Hukmrani was also screened on the occasion and was introduced to the audience by the IPS Chairman.

The speakers observed that Pakistan is making constant progress in ensuring supremacy of the Constitution and the crises that sometimes hamper smooth movement on this path are temporary obstructions faced by all nations of the world at one time or another. This should not be a matter of apprehension, however, introspection is essential in order to pinpoint where the nation has gone wrong and a system needs to be put in place to respond to the issue in an appropriate manner. It was suggested that a part of this initiative could be in the form of a center for study of constitutional issues that would help in generating expert opinions and fulfil the need for unbiased debate and research on the Constitution.

Pakistan is nearing the milestone of 75 years of its existence. The common thread during these years regarding the Constitution, public representation and governance system is a constant struggle, right from the creation of Pakistan to the formulation of the Constitution. The Constitution of 1973 has undergone various changes in the form of amendments which have, in fact, improved its subject matter.

The speakers said that the Parliament upheld and restored the original spirit of the Constitution with another act of national consensus through the 18th constitutional amendment and keeps on emphasizing it through important amendments. Most of the unpopular changes brought about in the Constitution by military regimes have been done away with. The role of the higher judiciary, however, needs careful calibration as it has evidently expanded its reach beyond its desired responsibility through its powers to interpret the supreme law. A constitutionalism debate is vital to review the role of the judiciary, they added.

They were of the view that political instability has been the root cause of all the issues that the country has been facing. The country can progress unhindered if stability is brought into this domain. In this regard, they suggested striking a balance among the legislative, executive and judiciary. The Constitution has been suspended and amended many times but it faces no threat as long as trust is placed in the Parliament to fulfil its role.

The concept of Riasat-e-Madinah was part of the recent political debate though how sincere were the motivators of this deliberation is a moot point. However, this can be a reference point for a detailed guidance for the system of governance for the country, they said.

Martial laws have been imposed on the country a number of times, however, all of the initiators had to seek some form of public representation after some years. Ayub Khan had to resort to local democracy, Zia-ul-Haq had to conduct a referendum to provide the impression that he was a representative of the people, even Pervez Musharraf had to turn to local bodies elections and a referendum.

For more information, contact:

Outreach and Publications,

Institute of Policy Studies (IPS)

1, Street 8, F-6/3, Islamabad, Pakistan

Tel: +92-51-8438391-3 (Ext: 122)

Fax: +92-51-8438390

Website: www.ips.org.pk