Friday 30 March 2018

Prime Minister of Pakistan, thank you. Dr Shabir Choudhry


Prime Minister of Pakistan, thank you.
Dr Shabir Choudhry

While clarifying policy of Pakistan on Kashmir, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi unambiguously stated, and rejected the idea of an "independent Kashmir".

However, in a reply to a question, he further said the idea of an "independent Kashmir is often floated around but has no reality. There is no support for the demand for independent Kashmir".

Prime Minister Abbasi was addressing a conference on 'Future of Pakistan 2017' held at the London School of Economics' South Asia Centre in London. His statement angered many young citizens of Jammu and Kashmir; and some even used harsh words against him, which I personally do not approve.

I don’t know why these young citizens of Jammu and Kashmir expressed their anger against Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. What he said has always been official policy of State of Pakistan. They have always opposed concept of an independent Jammu and Kashmir. Their policy of opposing an independent Jammu and Kashmir was clearly reflected in the UN Security Council; and on Pakistani suggestion, our right to independence was changed to a right of accession to India or Pakistan in the UNCIP Resolution of 5 January 1949.

Pakistani secret agencies and various government officials and members of establishment take pride in the fact that they opposed ‘conspiracy’ of the independent Kashmir; and ‘successfully sabotaged the movement for an independent Jammu and Kashmir’.

If people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially Muslims do not have sufficient knowledge or sense to understand what Pakistan has done to Jammu and Kashmir dispute, and how they continue to manipulate sentiments of people and the situation to advance a Pakistani agenda then that is not fault of Pakistan.

The Pakistani establishment knows that religion is a powerful weapon. It is this weapon which helped to divide India and establish Pakistan. Religion continues to play a crucial role in politics of the Indian Sub - Continent. This weapon of religion has helped the establishment to widen the gulf between India and Pakistan; and ensure there is no peace and stability in the region.

The establishment has mastered the art of using religion to divide people, fool them and advance their agenda. They know how they have fooled people of Jammu and Kashmir for the past 70 years. If anyone tells the people that Pakistani establishment is not sincere with the cause of Jammu and Kashmir, and that their policy on Jammu and Kashmir is imperialistic in nature, they activate their brigade of foot soldiers
File image of Pakistan prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. Reuters
Pakistan’s hypocrisy

I appreciate honesty of Mr Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on issue of Jammu and Kashmir dispute. He has openly acknowledged that Pakistan will not accept an independent Kashmir. This also is an acknowledgment that Pakistani governments are fooling people in name of self-determination, because we people of Jammu and Kashmir do not have a right of self-determination available under the UN Resolutions.

What we have is a right of accession. People of Jammu and Kashmir can decide, when and if, plebiscite take place, if they want to become part of India or part of Pakistan. This right of accession was presented to the people of Jammu and Kashmir as a ‘right of self-determination’; and sadly, many people accepted what was presented by the government of Pakistan.

On the other hand, in November 2017, Pakistan presented a resolution on self - determination in the General Assembly, which was accepted unanimously, ‘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’. 1

At the time of introducing the resolution in the third Committee of the General Assembly, Ms Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s Ambassador said, ‘self-determination had provided hope to people in their struggle against foreign occupation, a right that had been upheld by all major summits of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)’. 2
If you read carefully Pakistani government seems to be very concerned about fundamental rights of the oppressed people, and against their struggle against foreign occupation; but boldly deny the same rights to the people of Gilgit Baltistan and Pakistani Administered Jammu and Kashmir.

A Pakistani Professor Moonis Ahmar seems to be more honest and understanding. In his article, published in Pakistan, he writes:

Kashmiris are the real stakeholders in the age-old conflict between India and Pakistan because of the two main reasons. First, millions of Kashmiris on both sides of the fence have enormously suffered in the last seven decades because of armed conflict between India and Pakistan and the ruthlessness of the Indian security forces particularly since 1990. Since they are the sufferers of the conflict, it is their legitimate right to be included in any process which aims to seek normalcy and restore peace in the region of J&K…The identity of Jammu & Kashmir requires that it should have a separate state managed fairly by the representatives of the five regions of J&K while having peaceful relations with their neighbours — India, Pakistan and China. 3

References:
1.    Dawn, November 18th, 2017
2.   Ibid
3.   Kashmiris are the real stakeholders, Moonis Ahmar, Professor of International Relations at the University of Karachi. Published in Daily Times, November 24th 2017.

Writer is a renowned writer and author of many books. He is also a senior leader of UKPNP and Chairman South Asia Watch, London.
Email: Drshabirchoudhry@gmail.com       Twitter:  @Drshabir


Wednesday 28 March 2018

Water scarcity in Pakistan, Raheel Hassan


Water scarcity in Pakistan
Raheel Hassan - March 26, 2018

Pakistan has been facing a magnitude of problems since its inception. There is an immediate need to work towards those problems in various sectors. Pakistan has a very fragile condition; it lacks a proper plan for its political, economical, foreign, health and environmental fronts, except the defense and strategic. The culture of proper policy making does not find anywhere else. Nations progress to pursue their priorities and policy planning.

There are hundreds of thousands of articles being written on the political and economical conditions today. We will take a look at the feeble environmental condition which required a comprehensive policy making. We have just neglected the grim environmental changes that have occurred in the recent past. Rivers and dams are running short of water..

Pakistan could face severe drought by 2025, this estimation is not new, the Pakistan council of research in water resources (PCRWR) and metrology department have warned several times before. Rainfall has steadily declined due to climate change therefore the groundwater level is decreasing gradually. If groundwater depletion continues at its current rate, the country is surely headed for widespread water poverty in next few years.

People should also manage the consumption of water in their individual capacity. This is a major task all of us need to accomplish together responsibly so as to avoid water-related problems. Government should focus on “greener” policies to improve the situation of water and climate change.

The rapidly excelling population and urbanization are key players behind this snag. Karachi and Lahore have been facing water shortage since the last two decades, and the residents are being exploited by the tanker mafia. Islamabad, recently, has been thrown in the ring against the water tank mafia as well. The two dams, “Rawal and Simly”, have scarce levels of water due to which ground water in Islamabad is also diminishing and the residents suffering.

It seems the government lacks a proper policy to accommodate people with water. Due to the lack of political will, Pakistan has not made new dams since 1960s and this is also a violation of Indus water treaty. The treaty was signed in 1960s is about the possession of water of the western and eastern rivers between Pakistan and India. The conflict emerged when India built the Kishenganga and Ratle hydro-electric power plants within the framework of Indus Water Treaty.

However, the dispute is yet to be resolved through arbitration of the World Bank, which is a signatory to the water sharing treaty between the two adversaries. Water crisis is not just confined to Pakistan; it is becoming a global issue. According to report published annually by the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London, The next big wars might be fought over water; clashes are still or could soon occur over access to water. The UN World Water Develop¬ment Report 2018 calculated that an estimate of 3.6 billion people, nearly half of the global population, live in areas where water levels are decreasing.

And this number could rise to 5.7 billion by 2050. The countries currently facing with extreme water scarcity are Yemen, Libya, Jordan, Djibouti, Cape Town and some other African countries. According to ISRA (Indus river system authority), due to the less capacity of water storage, Pakistan wastes 30 million acre-feet water worth $21bn annually in the sea. Storage capacity of this country is just 15.75 million acre feet, which is equivalent to 30 days of consumption. Glaciers are also affected by the climate change, dams are necessary to be built to conserve the amount of water that goes to sea.

It lacks a proper plan for its political, economical, foreign, health and environmental fronts, except the defense and strategic. The culture of proper policy making does not find anywhere else. Nations progress to pursue their priorities and policy planning.

The current daunting condition can lead a severe drought and the impact could be worse for an agricultural country like Pakistan. It is in need of a large amount of water supply for agricultural production; approximately seventy percent of the world’s usable water is consumed in agriculture.

In Pakistan, particularly, small farmers use sewage water for cultivation of vegetables which is causing a number of diseases and deaths. Water contamination is also a serious problem, those areas which have easily availability have contaminated water. Due to rapid industrialization, drinking water quality is deteriorating day by day. According to a report the water of world’s leading brands of bottled mineral water are contaminated.
Government has nothing to do with this issue even the issue is not a part of any political party’s manifesto except Imran Khan, his promises regarding the cleaning of rivers and building dams yet to be fulfilled Any delay in reforms would thrive the severe challenges because water needs  are expected to rise significantly due to the rapid population growth, economic development and changing consumption patterns.

People should also manage the consumption of water in their individual capacity. This is a major task all of us need to accomplish together responsibly so as to avoid water-related problems. Government should focus on “greener” policies to improve the situation of water and climate change.

Raheel Hassan studies journalism at National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Islamabad. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Global Village Space’s editorial policy.