Education

Economic Situation Of Pakistan:

This article is for the students of sociology and economic studies.

Pakistan’s economic success is being told more frequently and widely. A spate of recent articles in the Western media has rightfully heralded the country’s significant progress, finally giving Pakistan some good press.

This is a fortunate turn and may be the ascent towards a new ‘normal’.

The megatrends of the international economy are in Pakistan’s favour. Three of the world’s four largest economies by 2050 will be in Asia—with China and India neighbouring Pakistan and the third Muslim-majority Indonesia, a geographic stone’s throw away—marking a civilisational shift of economic activity, a return to the pre-colonial historical and natural economic order right at Pakistan’s doorstep.

As Beijing seeks to project its economic dominance towards the growing markets of Africa and the Arab world—in the form of a ‘new silk road’—Pakistani geography is indispensable.

In shortening China’s path westwards, providing it with a rapid overland route into the strategic Arabian Sea and towards the 400 million people living in East Africa, Pakistan will sit at the heart of international business for the foreseeable future.

However, any Pakistani prosperity is dependent on the favourable fates of geography being coupled by a domestic reform process.

So while Pakistan must seize Asia’s geopolitical dividend and embrace it, this must not dilute a simple truth: Pakistan can only become prosperous if it changes from within.

After all, is steady 5% growth the objective, or is Pakistan in pursuit of an economic miracle, tripling its GDP in a decade and lifting tens of millions out of poverty in a single generation?

If the latter isn’t the objective, it certainly should be; Pakistan must ultimately see itself as the destination of the next economic miracle, not just a conduit of others’ prosperity.

So as growth slows in China, as India struggles with a lack of federal-state cohesion, and as Mexico wrestles with the Trump Administration, there is an opportunity for Pakistan to seize the moment and grind its way into becoming a major industrial power – by tapping into its people.

Pakistan needs to have a genuine belief in its people and enable them to be the drivers of the nation’s prosperity—not merely vassals of foreign companies planting sweatshops to fill the lowest rung of the global value chain. Awakening a nascent Pakistani industry ought to be the country’s pathway into the future, providing goods for both a growing domestic market and tapping into the markets of Central Asia, the Middle East and a burgeoning Africa.

For example, the country’s automotive and truck industries are growing, but nowhere near their potential, considering Pakistan’s size and strategic location.

Protections for existing Japanese carmakers must be lifted. They must be willing to compete by innovating and ramping up quality if they are to survive the competition. The Auto Industry Development Policy’s early fruits of bringing Hyundai, Kia, Renault and MAN SE are a sign that industry is responsive to bold Pakistani reform when it happens.

If supported by further competition and innovation, more efficient production lines and favourable policy conditions, Pakistan will have a productive ecosystem that can splinter off broader and deeper gains across the industrial economy.

Just as the Asian Tigers did in the 70s, Brazil did in the 80s, China did in the 90s, and Turkey did in the 2000s, such ‘miracles’ necessitate bold moves to align the country’s standards with global expectations.

The first place where Pakistan needs to lift its game is skilled labour and education. Without them, the requisite know-how for innovation and development is limited and rapid industrialisation is impossible.

And due to decades of meagre budgets and abundant mismanagement, the results show: Pakistan lacks a single university in the world’s top 500 (QS World University Rankings 2016-2017) and ranks 124th, out of 138 countries, for its higher education and training quality according to the World Economic Forum (WEF).

This weakness is systemic and starts from the earliest years: Pakistan has 46.5 pupils per teacher, the worst ratio of any country in Asia (UNESCAP, 2014). For comparison, Indonesia has 16.5 pupils per teacher while Sri Lanka is at 23.6.

With such poor outcomes and indicators, the upside is that low-hanging fruits abound.

Government investment in education and private sector solutions must be encouraged. A consortium recently formed to undertake applied research in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’s industrial zones, combined with a memorandum of understanding between edX and the Information Technology University, are small but promising moves.

If replicated on a larger level, space can be created for universities to spin off the IT, advanced electronic and manufacturing companies and champions of the future that can underpin an economic ‘miracle’.

Beyond the human capital, Pakistan’s current infrastructure ‘obsession’ also needs to be pushed even further. In tying the country together with CPEC and adding up to 12,000 megawatts towards rectifying Pakistan’s energy woes—which has perhaps been the country’s biggest drag on growth over the past decade—recent progress has been impressive.

But more is needed. In particular, the country’s massive gaps in digital infrastructure need immediate prioritisation. With an internet penetration rate of just 18%, and an average internet speed of 2.5 Mbps, Pakistan lags a generation behind the rest of the world.

Facilitating e-commerce and online education would go a long way to dealing with Pakistan’s legacy problems. If the country is to witness an industrial surge and nimble entrepreneurial business activity, quality internet access must be a top priority.

Finally, Pakistan must seek socio-political maturity. The country cannot afford reckless politics if it wants to put itself on the global economic map. If terrorism and security concerns were not enough of an economic obstacle, then shambolic political stunts and personalised dog-whistle politics only compound the challenge.

Voters and media need to prioritise national development as the primary issue and punish elected officials who show neither economic competence nor interest. Furthermore, instead of fostering a loyalty to a party and leader, the Pakistani electorate should develop a hawkish fixation with economic data and outcomes.

Much as China puts targets for its provinces and local governments; thus, setting a reference standard by which success and failure is measured, Pakistan must develop a culture of accountability and reward for economic performance.

Simply put, an obsessive culture of economic excellence and accountability must be revived right across the country if Pakistan is to unleash its full potential.

Pakistan, certainly, can seize the moment.
Edited by: Educators-inn.blogspot.com

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History Of Indo Pak Relations:

This article is for the students of Pak Studies and History.

The conflict between India and Pakistan originated as a clash between Indian and Muslim nationalism during British colonial rule. The relations between Pakistan and India are characterizes by periodic ups and downs.

Throughout 1949-51, there was no direct military conflict between two dominions and several meetings, conferences and agreements were signed on different questions which were prevailing in the initial important years of independence.

 Major crisis between Pakistan and India in 1949-51 were legitimate and were under consideration throughout these years.

 There are number of conflicting issues between India and Pakistan but Kashmir is the core issue that has decisively led to the worsening of their relationship. The disputed Kashmir State has assumed much strategic importance for both countries and has become the cause of arms race between them. Throughout these three years, a number of series of direct and indirect talks have been held between India and Pakistan to normalize the relationship for seeking a just solution of Kashmir dispute but every attempt has failed primarily due to Indian indifferent approach towards the issue.

 The war on Kashmir which had started earlier, ended on 1 January 1949, with the establishment of a ceasefire line through a resolution by Security Council. The status of the territory remained in dispute because an agreed referendum to confirm the accession was never held. The cease-fire has remained in existence since 1949. No plebiscite has been held and thus the Kashmir issue still remains disputed and unresolved.

At the time of independence, many communal riots broke out in different areas of India and Pakistan. These riots had a great impact on the status of minorities in the two nations. Due to brutal killings by the majority community, a huge number of Muslims migrated from India, and Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan. Yet, the mass migration failed to solve the minority problem. Even after the migration, almost half of the Muslims living in the Sub-continent were left in India and a great number of Hindus in Pakistan. Those who were left behind were unable to become an integral part of the societies they were living in. The people and government of their countries looked upon them as suspects. In this critical situation, Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan urged to reach a solution to the problem. He also proposed a meeting with his Indian counterpart to determine how to put an end to the communal riots and the fear of war.

The two Prime Ministers met in Delhi on April 2, 1950, and discussed the matter in detail. On April 8, the two leaders signed an agreement, which was later entitled as Liaquat-Nehru Pact. This pact provided a ‘bill of rights’ for the minorities of India and Pakistan. Its aim was to address the following three issues:
1. To alleviate the fears of the religious minorities on both sides.
2. To promote communal peace.
3. To create an atmosphere in which the two countries could resolve their other differences.

The most important of Indo-Pakistan disputes was the question of sharing the waters of the Indus basin.  On April 1, 1948, India cut off the supply of water from the two headwork’s under her control. This dispute was existing till a solution acceptable to both governments was agreed upon in 1960 at the Indus Basin Development Fund Agreement at Karachi. This treaty is commonly known as the “Indus Water Treaty”.

 Despite the 1947-1948 war in Kashmir, propaganda campaigns against each other and non resolution of bilateral problems that led India and Pakistan to oppose each other at the regional and international levels on a number of issues.

Time period between1949-51 was consisted of diplomatic constrains and both the countries had tried to resolve their differences by avoiding any military conflicts but the relations over Kashmir question remained less flexible and  stiff.

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Water Reserves And Pakistan:

The article is for the students of MSc Mass Communication.

Pakistan requires construction of more than one mega water reservoirs to meet rapidly increasing demand of electricity and to have sufficient water available for its agriculture sector.

This was stated by WAPDA Member Water Muhammad Mushtaq Chaudhry while talking to a delegation of the Second Senior Management Course of National Management College Lahore at WAPDA House here Wednesday. Member (Finance) Chaudhry Abdul Qadeer and other senior officers of WAPDA were also present on the occasion.

Addressing the delegation, Member (Water) said that increasing population and depleting storage capacity of the water reservoirs in Pakistan call for constructing more than one mega dams. He said that another 22.5 million acres of virgin land can be brought under irrigated agriculture in the country if new mega dams are constructed.

He said Pakistan has already lost water storage capacity by 28%, which has now come down to 13.17 million acre feet MAF from 18.37 MAF.

He said that an average of 32.81 MAF of water escapes downstream Kotri Barrage annually since 1976. Mushtaq Chaudhry apprised the audience that Pakistan is heading towards a situation of being water short country as per capita meter availability has already reduced to an alarming figure of 1100 cubic meter in the year 2006.

It is pertinent to mention that a country, according to the universally accepted parameters, is declared water scarce country if per capita availability of water reduces to 1000 cubic meters.

Referring to the development projects being executed by WAPDA in water sector, Member water said that water filling in the raised Mangla Dam would start by April 2008. On completion of raising, additional 2.9 MAF of water would be made available to the country. He expressed the hope that Phase-I of Greater Thal Canal and Kachhi Canal projects would be completed by December 2008.

Responding to a question, he said that WAPDA is vigorously carrying out studies of as many as 11 mega hydropower projects with a total capacity of more than 10,000 MW of electricity. He said that contract for construction of 969-MW Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project has been awarded while Kohala and Golen Gol Hydropowers Projects with the generation capacity of 1100 MW and 106 MW, respectively will soon be available for implementation.

Briefing about the development projects of the Power Wing, Mushtaq Chaudhry said that a number of projects worth Rs 21.228 billion have been completed during 2004-07 to strengthen the transmission system while various projects with an amount of Rs 36.679 billion are being implemented for the purpose.

He said that WAPDA electrified more than 51,000 villages during the last five years, which, he said, is a great national service.

                     Institute for Policy Reforms (IPR) in its fact sheet on “water crisis” here on Tuesday stressed the need for building a larger dam in order to meet energy requirements and  ensure water availability for agriculture sector for socio-economic development of the country.

It may be mentioned here that IPR is an independent and non- partisan think tank established under Section 42 of the Companies Ordinance.

The IPR mission is to work for stability and prosperity of Pakistan and global peace and security while its operations are supported by guarantees from the corporate sector.

According to its facts sheet, despite incentives by Government the total agriculture production fell by 0.19%.

The IPR said that many issues affect agriculture, these included seed quality and virus as well as input and offtake prices adding that equally, water availability in canals and its proper use were key concerns.

The research institution said that the water sector in Pakistan needs urgent reforms in policy and practice.

“Agriculture has a share of 21% in our GDP. About half the country’s population earns its livelihood from agriculture while  available water was 138.6 MAF in 2014-15. It fell to 133 MAF in 2015-16. Actual flows to canals is 114 MAF and reducing,” it said.

The IPR added that area irrigated by canals has been in long- term decline since the 1990s while total gross storage capacity of under 19 MAF is just 14% of available water resource and has not changed from 1980.

The IPR was of the view that per capita dam capacity was 320 cubic meters in 1980. It is 150 now.

“We have discussed, but not built a single large dam since Tarbela completed in 1974. Kalabagh has been in terminal debate. No dispute accompanies Diamer-Bhasha, but it has been a permanent work in progress. During this time, net water storage has come down by 30%. Pakistan is among the most water stressed countries in the world. With silting of dams and a growing population, this will only become worse, ” the IPR facts sheet revealed.

We can conclude that for survival, Pakistan needs a lot of big water reserves.

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Causes Of Terrorism In Pakistan:

This Article is for the students of MSc Mass Communication AIOU

The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary describes extremism as “political, religious etc. ideas or actions that are extreme and not normal, reasonable or acceptable to most people. In other words, extremism is a term used to describe the actions or ideologies of individuals or groups outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common standards of ethics and reciprocity. It is typically used in reference to political and social ideologies seen as irrational, counterproductive, unjustifiable, or otherwise unacceptable to a civil society. The term indicates the illegitimacy of certain ideas or methods. According to Merriam Webster dictionary, Extremism is a quality or state of being extreme, especially advocacy of extreme political measures .It can also be described as a, “political theory favoring immoderate, uncompromising policies.

Extremism is closely associated with terrorism, as the rise of extremism can also lead to increase in terrorist agendas. It is not a religion. It is not Islam. . It may be better defined as a “political agenda seeking justification in religion”. Normally extremism and terrorism are considered exchangeable words. In reality they are not. Terrorism is a physical act, whereas extremism is a state of mind. Terrorists resort to violence in order to achieve their objectives. Extremist preach and convince others to follow their thoughts.

There exists a clear linkage between the lack of human security and the phenomenon of extremism. Rise in extremism can lead to human insecurity and vice versa. The governments of South Asian states have not been able to provide their people with the basic, minimum human security since these states became independent. Governments and ruling classes, instead of focusing on dealing with the issues of human survival and development, embarked upon perpetuating their power and influence. Subsequently, no South Asian country has been able to free itself from discriminatory and exploitative policies, which increased insecurity and led to the rising number of communal and terrorist outfits. Despite the problems these outfits have created, no serious efforts were made by the governments or the civil society to curtail the rise in extremist trends at the initial stages. All of the regional states are facing the menace of extremism and terrorism in one or other form.

The South Asian region currently faces grave security threats due to the increasing extremism and terrorism. There are various factors that have led towards this situation.

The politics of violence and extremism in South Asia is mainly the result of faulty national policies and interference of external powers. The region’s vast potential is hostage to unresolved inter-state and intra-state conflicts. In most of the states, the governments (either democratic or military) have failed in providing good governance and solving social problems such as unemployment, social injustice, and poverty. The political culture in these states was unable to meet the imperatives of globalization. In addition, instead of promoting unity and integration (both at national and regional levels) it led to ethnic solidarities and identification with religion and culture. The main causes of Extremism are appended below: Extra-regional actors are primarily responsible for the ongoing wave of terrorism and rising extremism. To counter Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in 1979, the United States supported and sponsored the Pakistani government and also the Jihadi groups during the period 1979-1989, which in post-1990 period became a threat for the security and stability of Pakistan. After Soviet withdrawal and diminishing of US interests in the region, Pakistan was left in a complete lurch for dealing with the menace of terrorism and extremism spread over the decade of its war against Soviets. With the 9/11 incident, Pakistan once again became a frontline state in the war against terrorism. The renewed interference by US in Pakistan, and Pakistan’s support against Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan once again aggravated the extremist and anti-US elements, having extensive implications on internal security situation. The extremist trends have been boosted in the South Asian countries due to the interference by the by neighboring and extra-regional countries in the internal affairs of the states. The separatist and ethnic movements have also been supported from across the border, by the governments or any particular group, for its interests. Like the Tamil rebels group in Sri Lanka, is known to have links and has received support and been sponsored by the Indian government and the ethnic Tamil population in India. Similarly the Maoist in Nepal is known to have collaboration and sponsorship from India. The Kashmiri separatist movement in India has received support from the Pakistan. And the Bangla national movement, which, resulted in partition of Pakistan and formation of Bangladesh, was also strongly aided by Indian government.

Poor economic growth along with high population growth has led to the problems of mass unemployment, hunger and income inequality. The economic inequalities and deprivation has created frustration and insecurity among the masses, leading to an increasing criminalization of society in which there are available targets for exploitation by the extremist elements in and outside the governments. Along with the deteriorating economies of South Asia, governmental policies have accentuated the extremist trend in all these states. Governments, in these countries, whether civil or military, have used the religion and ethnic card, in order to prolong and strengthen their rule, further strengthening the fundamentalists and extremists in the society.

There were several factors and events that have led to extremism, sectarianism and terrorism in Pakistan. These factors include : First the impact of regional events like Iranian revolution, Afghan Jihad and emergence of Taliban; second Islamisation process by general Zia-ul-Haq in the late 70s and 80s; third impact of Freedom Struggle in Kashmir and Palestine issue; fourth 9/11 and events thereafter like US war on terror including Pakistan’s u-turn on its policy towards Taliban and joining Coalition/US forces as a Frontline state in war on terrorism; fifth Pakistan’s Arms Forces operations in FATA and US strikes in these areas including Lal Masid Operation and backlash in terms of increased number of suicide attacks on Armed Forces, Police and VIPs, extensions of Taliban infiltration and influence in settled areas-Swat in NWFP and sectarian crisis in Parachinar.

Short term and long term strategies have been put in place to control extremism. The short term measures include: first, eviction of foreign elements brought by USA and other countries to fight USSR and pacification of local supporters, of then the mujahiddin , and now referred to as militants; second ban on militant organizations, third, ban on hate material and check on misuse of mosque and loudspeaker. The long term strategy focuses on Madrassah reforms, revision of curriculum to bring it in line with the values of Islam and national discourse on real essence of Islam. Pakistan needs to adjust her policies regarding extremism and terrorism keeping in view current realities. Perhaps minimum use of force with more focus on political and economic components would be an appropriate strategy. The action –reaction and reaction-action kind of activities will never end until the strategy of fighting terror does not change. Closing down madrassas will not prevent extremism. It would only trigger more hatred and furious reaction. The best solution would be to bring madrassas back into the mainstream, where students are allowed to get both religious education as well as a modern education.

The way out of the current impasse as suggested by President Musharraf is “Enlightened Moderation” which is essentially a strategy of social reforms. On the one hand, Muslim countries should assume the responsibility for internal reforms, avoid extremism and confrontation and ensure economic and social development, through ensuring respect for human right and paying special attention to human resource development programmes. The West particularly the United States on the other hand should seek to resolve all political disputes that become breeding grounds of terrorism, reject equating Islam with terrorism and assist the Muslim world in poverty alleviation and socio-economic development.

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