a) Pakistan And Afghanistan: Relations, Diplomacy, And Security Challenges
Pakistan and Afghanistan: Relations, Diplomacy, and Security Challenges June 19, 2017
A discussion featuring the Pakistan and Afghanistan ambassadors to the United States
INDUS-Mobilizing People’s Power, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, hosted a dialogue on June 19, 2017, between the Ambassadors of Afghanistan and Pakistan to discuss common interests and challenges to their nations’ important bilateral relationship.
INDUS President Athar Javaid welcomed the guests and introduced INDUS. Mr. Shezad Habib, INDUS Special Advisor and sponsor of the event, welcomed the two ambassadors. Dr. Marvin Weinbaum, a member of the INDUS Academic Panel, introduced the ambassadors and moderated the session.
Pakistan Ambassador Aizaz Chaudhary expressed Pakistan’s view that its relationship with Afghanistan is significant, that peace and stability in Pakistan are impossible without peace and stability in Afghanistan, and that it is in Pakistan’s strong interest to see a prosperous, stable, sovereign, and independent Afghanistan. Amb. Chaudhary also noted that Afghanistan cannot blame Pakistan for all its problems and encouraged Afghanistan to act against the terrorists that are attacking it from within.
Afghanistan Ambassador Hamdullah Mohib stated that terrorism is a threat to both Afghanistan and Pakistan. He also noted the statement of his country’s president that Pakistan has imposed an undeclared war on Afghanistan and that Afghanistan and other neighboring states blame Pakistan for exporting terrorism to their frontiers. Amb. Mohib warned of taking Pakistan to the United Nations for sponsoring terrorism in Afghanistan. In response, Amb. Chaudhary cited a recent report from the U.S. Department of Defense that deemed Afghanistan to have the greatest concentration of militants and terrorist groups in the world, noting that such a volatile situation in Afghanistan is worrying for Pakistan.
Amb. Chaudhary then highlighted the need for dialogue to find a solution to all the outstanding issues between Pakistan and Afghanistan, expressing his hope to restore the quadrilateral peace process and cordially solve the problem.
Amb. Mohib stated that Afghanistan does not know with which Pakistan it should engage—the one controlled by the military or the civilian government. He accused the Pakistani military of policies that use extremism as a foreign policy tool. Amb. Chaudhry said that such statements by the Afghan ambassador clearly violate diplomatic norms and interfere in Pakistan’s internal affairs.
Amb. Chaudhary noted that Pakistan is overcoming security issues, eradicating the Afghan militants that crossed into Pakistan after the bombing of Tora Bora, and improving the national economy. Still, Pakistan’s recent gains and achievements are at risk if Afghanistan fails to increase its internal stability. He stated that the government in Kabul, far from enjoying full control over the entire country, must deal with a vacuum in governance and a lack of administrative units at the district level. He said that terrorist groups, like ISIS, are exploiting this weakness.
Amb. Chaudhry said Pakistan is willing to play its role in bringing peace in Afghanistan in any possible way, and instead of blaming Pakistan, Afghanistan should address its weak governance, corruption, drug trade, and economic stress. Rather, both states should show the friendly spirit on display recently in Astana between the Afghan President and Pakistan Prime Minister. There is a dire need for both countries to devise a strategy to coordinate efforts to defeat terrorism.
b) Issues and Perils in the Kashmir Crisis, October 01, 2019
A discussion with the President of Azad Kashmir
When
Tuesday, October 1
12:30-2:00 PM
A light lunch will be served
at 12:15 PM.
Where
The Middle East Institute
1763 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Please note our new location.
On August 5, 2019, India stripped Kashmir of its special status and absorbed the state into the Indian Union. Prime Minister Modi’s decision and the imposition of a communications blackout and strict curfew were denounced in Pakistan and questioned elsewhere. For decades, Pakistan has been trying to draw international attention to legal and human rights issues in Kashmir. The actions of the prime minister have now forced Kashmir onto the world stage and India into a defensive role. Thus far, however, the reactions of major regional and global powers have been muted. Pakistan remains determined to sustain Kashmir’s high profile by pointing out new humanitarian concerns and the growing danger of armed, possibly nuclear, conflict.
The Middle East Institute (MEI) is pleased to host a discussion with AJK President Masood Khan and well-known Pakistani journalist Raza Rumi, president of INDUS. President Khan will address recent developments and suggest how Pakistan’s efforts on behalf of Kashmiri self-determination may now be pursued. Marvin G. Weinbaum, director of MEI’s Afghanistan and Pakistan Studies, will moderate the discussion.
Speakers
Masood Khan
President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir
Masood Khan is a Pakistani diplomat who serves as the 27th President of Pakistan and administers Kashmir. Masood Khan joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1980 and went on to serve in various diplomatic positions. From August 2003 to March 2005, he served as the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations and International Organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, from 2005 to 2008, Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, and Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, New York, between 2012 – 2015.
Raza Rumi
President, INDUS-Mobilizing People’s Power
Raza Rumi is the president of INDUS—Moblizing People’s Power, a Washington, D.C. non-profit research organization. He is a policy analyst and journalist who has been the editor of Pakistan’s English-language Daily Times. He has been a development practitioner for more than two decades. He is a visiting faculty member at the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs and has taught at Ithaca College, New York University. Rumi has been a fellow at New America Foundation (2014), the United States Institute of Peace (Sept 2014–March 2015) and a visiting fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy. He is also a member of a think tank at the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.
Marvin Weinbaum (moderator)
Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan studies, MEI
Marvin Weinbaum (moderator) is the director of Afghanistan and Pakistan Studies at MEI. Marvin G. Weinbaum is a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and served as an analyst for Pakistan and Afghanistan in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research from 1999 to 2003. His research, teaching, and consulting have focused on the issues of national security, state building, democratization, and political economy in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
c) Peer-to-Peer (P2P) VTC Dialogue October 28, 2017
Sponsors: INDUS—mobilizing people’s Power, AdvoPak in Washington D.C.
Islamabad University Islamabad. Pakistan
Time: 10:00 A.M. Washington, D.C. and 7:00 PM Islamabad
Medium of discussion: Video Conferencing Number of participants on each side: 15-20
Duration: 90 minutes Date: October 28, 2017
Concept note for the discussion
For the last several decades, Pakistan’s social fabric has been a target of extremism and intolerance. Extremists are using various means and ways to extend their agenda. Out of 200 million people, 63 percent of Pakistan’s population comprises youth. Of these, 58.5 million are 20- to 24-year-olds while 69 million are aged under 15. This naturally makes youth the main target of extremist outfits who exploit young impressionable minds in the name of religion. By keeping in mind the threat spectrum it is prime time to cultivate awareness of the menace among young Pakistanis. It is believed that some students of natural sciences are a soft targets of religious orthodoxy and there is a dire need to educate them about social conflict management so that they can resist extremist ideologies. In general other students are aware of religious orthodoxy and extremist ideologies none less, and they are also a target of these threats. Therefore, a comprehensive approach is required to address growing threat of extremism and intolerance at the university campuses.
Proposed Steps: Besides cultivating greater awareness, educational campuses perhaps need to provide diverse set of extracurricular and social activities on the campus such as Science Club, Debates Forum, Fine Arts, Student Government & Leadership Association, etc. Besides providing these outlets, there is a definite need to block student access to extremist’ social media sites. Following recommendations:
1) Academic institution’s faculty inter-communication aimed at sharing student issues and discussing the resolution of these issues,
2) Building parent-teacher relationships to discuss student focus periodically to maintain a positive and healthy outlook to combat influence of extremist organizations and agents of intolerance.
3) The issue of extremism, intolerance, and religious orthodoxy must be discussed by the board of each academic institution, and a uniform policy of maintaining focus on education and learning is adopted with rules of implementation to be observed by all faculty members and imparted to the student body.
4) The focus should be on providing avenues for student activities on the campus for evolving passionate and committed leadership for a stronger and stable Pakistan
5) There is a need to rationalize the courses, academic programs, and teaching the notion of citizenship, being a Pakistani first and awareness of the rights of individual. This cannot be addressed by sharing student data with intelligence agencies or by asking them to get a character certificate from the police. These are non-starters. Students violating university rules must be subject to strict disciplinary actions
Important Points
- Medium of discussion: Video Conferencing Number of participants on each side: 15-20
- Time: 10:00 A.M. Washington D.C. and 7:00 PM Islamabad
- Duration: 90 minutes Date: October 28, 2017