Water Management in Pakistan: Roots of Interprovincial Conflicts

Increasing water scarcity over the years since independence has caused numerous controversies about water distribution mechanism in Pakistan among its federating units. Pakistan being a predominantly agrarian economy relies heavily on Indus River System where all its units share water of this system for irrigation purpose. Environmental changes, population increase and increase in industrial use of water has led to water scarcity on one hand, while this scarcity has contributed to increase of mutual distrust among the provinces on the question of Water Management System in Pakistan. This paper analyses the present Water Management System in Pakistan in the context of growing conflicts over water distribution mechanism and water apportionment formulae. It has been argued that the present water apportionment practices have failed to resolve issues and controversies surrounding water distribution and management and the situation demands fresh policy initiatives to control further damage in future

Role of Education in Social Inclusion of Muslims of Nepal

This study examines the social exclusion situation among the Muslim communities and the role of education in their social inclusion in Nepal. In Nepal, the concept of social exclusion and inclusion has gained prominence in public and development policy discourse following its inclusion as one of four pillars of the Tenth Plan (2002-2007). In recent years, the inclusion has become a policy agenda and the most populist political agenda for development and social change among various groups in the country. Muslims are one of the highly disadvantaged, marginalized and excluded minority groups with distinct religious and cultural identities in Nepal. They have been excluded from social, economic, educational and political institutions; which, is reflected in their low literacy and high poverty rates and low representation in the civil service, police, military and other decision-making levels of the state. Historically, they have been ignored by the state and excluded from mainstream development processes due to their origin, religious minority status and territorial/regional identity. Though, Muslims in general have themselves to blame for their low literacy rate and the consequent exclusion from mainstream yet, it is a fact that the state has substantially remained oblivious to the demands and requirements of the Muslim communities. Nepal’s social structure (i.e. Caste system), social discrimination, social inequality, the government’s melting pot policy and non-recognition of Madrasa education has become the most crucial impediments against inclusion. More importantly, the nature of centralized state governance structures and other discriminatory practices in the country have contributed to the exclusion of these communities in the past. During the Rana regime (1848-1951), only family members and loyal supporters were entitled to socio-economic opportunities; their power was further strengthened by social exclusion in Nepal. During this feudal regime, any dissent, in the form of alternative ‘institutions’ or ideologies, was brutally suppressed, and the privileges of the dominant group were further reinforced by the state. After major political changes in 1951 there has been a centralization of power largely within three caste/ethnic groups (hill Brahmins, Chhetris and Newars) who constitute iv only 35 percent of the population in Nepal. The minority Muslims have largely been excluded from decision and policy making levels in the government. Therefore, they have been deprived of the opportunity to articulate their needs and priorities through forming government policy in their favor. Thus, due to their exclusion from decisionmaking and policy making frameworks, they have remained poor, illiterate and exploited in Nepal. The adverse effects of unequal opportunities and political power, on development, are even more damaging because the educational, economic, social and political disadvantages are reinforced repeatedly over generations. Muslims have lower values in all the indicators of the Human Development Index (HDI). The lower HDI for Muslims derives largely from their very low educational attainment compared to other components of the HDI. Their low human development or capability hinders their representation and participation, which, in turn, perpetuates their low level of human development. In the Muslim communities, women have higher illiteracy rate and lesser access to higher education. Discriminatory attitudes or evident when we consider the rate of attendance of boys and girls in the various schools. The majority of Muslim children attends Madrasas rather than the government schools. In schools, the girl’s dropout rate is higher than the boys. The main reasons of low literacy, high dropout and low attainment of higher education among Muslims and particularly among girls is the prevalence of poverty, religious orthodoxy, early marriage, lack of awareness, conservative feelings and a general abhorrence towards mainstream education, lack of accommodative syllabus and textual material on cultural aspects of the Muslims in schools, lack of Muslim-friendly environment, lack of mother tongue education, lack of incentives and scholarships in schools and lack of employment opportunities for Muslims in the country. In Nepal, Muslim children facing the cumulative impact of poverty, social discrimination and social exclusion are severely restricted from enjoying their basic rights including education. Poverty has pulled out many Muslim students from school to work and/or compelled them never to enroll. Social exclusion has pushed them out of their classrooms because of the culturally built-in caste or other types of taboos. v In this context, the education system is unable to address the multiple challenges that children bring to school. Many Muslim parents and children are not finding the current education, curriculum, school environment relevant for them as per their needs. There is no inclusive education system, no feeding provisions for hungry children, no social exclusionary issue discussion forums in the school, no pedagogical practice to promote the morals of the socially excluded children and no Muslim culture-friendly environment in the school. There is no provision in the local government to support the runaway and marginalized children. In this situation, children themselves are responsible for their own and their family’s survival. Poor quality and rigid education in this situation has no meaning. If by chance these children enter education, they either end up in resource-poor schools or Madrasas which still have not been fully recognized as an educational institution in Nepal. In the modern world, education is the basic source of knowledge and one of the main agents/vehicles for social change and social inclusion in society. Educational attainment influences other indicators of human development and opportunities in many ways. It has been perceived as a force of enhancing the capability of the people in terms of enhancing appropriate life skills, knowledge and experiential wisdom to acquire economic and social prosperity. Realizing that fact, the Government of Nepal has made a commitment to Education for All and Millennium Development Goals. Social inclusion of Muslims and other minority groups is the major issue in the present context of Nepal. However, the issues and problems of Muslims are still relatively unheard and remain unresolved. In the given context, this study helps to understand the socio-economic, political and educational situation of Muslims from the perspective of social exclusion and inclusion. The study provides insight into the mindset of minorities and the majority who have to deal with them directly or indirectly. The study will also provide an opportunity for the minorities to reach out to the public creating an atmosphere of goodwill and better understanding. Similarly, the study also helps policy makers to formulate inclusive policies regarding education, government employment and politics, which ultimately help to bring Muslims into the nation building and mainstream development process of the country

Baloch Resistance during Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's Era: Causes and Consequences

Rising insurgency in Balochistan is one of the most serious threats to the federation of Pakistan. The Baloch tribal homeland is a vast area of desert and mountains. Geographically the province of Balochistan is considered the largest province of Pakistan while demographically it is smallest. Balochistan is the most underdeveloped province of Pakistan and this under-development reveals the alarming situation .Since 1947 Baloch have been facing different forms of deprivations and this sense of deprivation amongst Baloch has become one of the major reasons to give birth a number of uprisings against the federal government. Political arrangements under long military rules added doubts in the minds of Baloch people who had a scant representation in military and civil services of Pakistan. This situation has become a major source to strengthen sense of nationalism among the people of Balochistan. This study will highlight various causes of third Baloch insurgency during Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's era and its impacts on Pakistan. &nbsp

Politics of Ethnicity: A Theoretical Perspective

Ethnicity and Ethnic Politics is an important Phenomenon of Plural Societies. In developing world, ethnic politics is one of the main reasons of internal instability. Ethnic conflict leads towards ethnic politics which is often conceived as a conflict among ethnic groups. This study has focused on the theoretical frame work of ethnic politics, and the main argument is that state has a central role in developing, escalating and diffusing ethnic conflict that is why ethnic conflict does not only mean conflict among ethnic groups but group’s conflict with state is also the part of ethnic politics. The study highlights various steps towards the development of politics of ethnicity. A life cycle model of ethnic conflict is also drawn to analyze various stages of conflict, and how the intensity of ethnic conflict with state gradually gain momentum. The debate also focuses that ethnic conflict with state should be handled on priority basis. If state fails to resolve conflict, the reformation of nationality of a particular ethnic group creates serious unrest and threat to the process of nation buildin

Indus Water Treaty: A Geo Political Study

South Asian sub-continent is a geographical unit sharing three major river basins viz. the Indus, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, buttressing the social, cultural, economic and political fabric of the lives of some 1.6 billion people. Complex orientations of the rivers and competition for water have however construed grave disputes among the riparian states of the region. Albeit many Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and treaties such as, the Indus Water Treaty the Mahakali Treaty and the Ganges Treaty were signed to resolve the water disputes. However the recent years have witnessed a fierce competition over water resources that has emerged as a medium for articulating perilous territorial, political, economic and Hydrological disputes. The present study Indus Water Treaty: A Geo Political Study, deals with the comprehensive analysis of Indus Water Treaty through its historical, geographical, political and economic perspective qualitatively. The present work endeavours to locate the water dispute between India and Pakistan, in the aftermath of partition, in its history, and tries to understand the relevance and strength of the major arguments put forward by the parties concerned in their defence. Water has almost always been a bone of contention among the shareholders. The examination of the genesis of the dispute leads us to the British colonial interests to develop Punjab as the food bowl of India and creating a canal system to boost agricultural sector. But the difference in the supply of water which the riparian received, created disputes over share of water. Most of the conflicts were resolved through mutual understanding, but in 1947, the partition of canals created the international water dispute between India and Pakistan. To resolve this issue, numbers of agreements were signed, meeting the claims of the countries involved, to share water, which in turn provided some basis for dealing with the issue; but the issue remained unresolved for some time and attracted the attention of the international community. In 1951, David Lilienthal visited the sub-continent and offered a negotiation through the donor agencies to resolve the conflict. Subsequently, negotiations were carried through the good office of the World Bank. Finally, after 9 years of discussions and conciliatory approach by the parties concerned, a landmark agreement—the Indus Water Treaty—was signed in 1960 with the help of the World Bank. The treaty sets out a framework to utilize the water of Indus Basin. As per the statutes of the treaty, Pakistan shall receive unrestricted use of water of the Western Rivers including the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum, while India shall use all the water of the Eastern Rivers—the Ravi, the Sutlej and the Beas. The Indus Water treaty is one of the exceptional treaties of the world signed under the aegis of the World Bank that provided financial and technical assistance for durable peace and harmony in sub-continent through donor countries. Any reflection on other transboundary water management principles shows that it is an exemplary water conflict agreement which provided an exemplary mechanism for transboundary water conflict management.The treaty worked reasonably well despite the strained political relationship between the two countries. But for the last two decades the treaty has fundamentally come under stress on water utilization. The treaty is in difficulty due to the simple reasons of uncertain climatic pattern, population growth and economic development, more and more energy needs, increase in irrigated areas and amidst calls for its modification. The present work has also incorporated the dissenting voices from both India and Pakistan, which depict the dissatisfaction with the Indus Water Treaty and demands for its modification. The study also highlights the presumed restrictions placed by the Indus Water Treaty on the Western Rivers which are supposed to deprive Jammu and Kashmir State of its genuine water benefits by way of hydroelectric power and irrigation as the upper riparian state

Lecturer, Department of Political Science University of the Punjab, Lahore.

In this paper an attempt is made to bring forth those strategies through which ethnic tension between ethnic identities can be minimized. For minimizing the ethnic tension between ethnic identities, it is necessary that blocs (social groups) should be properly placed together and there should be some force to hold them together securely. The existence of such a force is thus an essential of satisfactory integration. Blocs appear to be solid, beautiful if placed properly, attractive if roles are defined and committedly performed. Apparently developed societies look peaceful and coherent, but from inside, the erosion is there, destabilizing factors undermine structure and poisonous trees grow in the social soil. Developing societies like Pakistan are fraught with unbalance placing of blocs, ignored strengthening of settings; disordered behavior of pattern

Ethnicity and Ethnic Conflict in Pakistan

There is hardly any state in the world, which is not ethnically plural. Pakistan is also no exception in this regard. Pakistan is a country with unique ethnic diversity. This present study focuses on the concept of ethnicity and different variables such as religion, language, territory and caste, which have potential to give birth violent conflicts among different ethnic identities of Pakistan. Process of national integration can be secured only when ethnic identities would be given adequate representation according to the constitution to decide their future themselves and opportunities to flourish their specific cultural identity. Ethnic identities come into conflict when they face imbalance in the society. Economic resources should be judiciously distributed among different ethnic identities.Political system should have capability to articulate social capital on the proper place according to their intellectual level. System should have capability to generate resources and to utilize these resources in the best interest of various segment of society. Political system should initiate various economic, social and political measures to curb ethnic conflict

Issues of Shia Hazara Community of Quetta, Balochistan: An Overview

The issue of Hazara community living in Quetta has become vulnerable in thecontemporary era. It has been observed that a major number of people from Shia Hazara community have been killed in different suicide attacks, particularly in Quetta and generally in other areas of the province. The contribution of Hazara community has remained positive in the development of Balochistan particularly and overall in the development of country. They did contribute in Bureaucracy, military, education, health and in different other administrative departments. Economically this community is perceived as a prosperous community but during past many years they have faced different sectarian incidents which have created a negative impact on the development of this community. They have been facing different problems in the field of education, health and in earning their livelihood. In this article researcher will critically evaluate various problems of this community and provide recommendations to address their actual grievances

Ethnicity and Conflict: A Theoretical Perspective

Ethnicity has been the most significant phenomenon of the modern world. Stratification and diversification with variegated dimensions and context is an inbound mechanism of a social fabric of a society and state. Different scholars, intellectuals and men of letters studied the phenomenon of ethnicity in differentways. Some intellectuals call it as a minority, insiders, outsiders, others and nationalities. Ethnicity can be defined as a group of individuals identified on the basis of race, colour, language and territory. These groups have been existing almost in every part of the world. In reality the states are plural societies with many national, sub-national, religious, professional, racial, linguistic and geographic identities. In some states these identities live side by side, while in others they conflict with each other and undermine political edifice of the society. Ethnic identities live peacefully without conflicting with each other until and unless they are triggered to do so. The apparent and pre-dominant cause of conflict among different ethnic identities is politicoeconomic imbalance and these identities, if in conflict have potential to destabilize or disintegrate the political system of any country. There is hard need to initiate various measures, thoughwhich will not eliminate the possibilities of ethnic conflicts, but definitely minimize them

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor: Significance and Challenges

CPEC is a part of Chinese mega project namely “Belt and Road Initiative" anda bilateral project between Pakistan and China. This project demonstrates the all-weather and time tested friendship between China and Pakistan. CPEC will be helpful not only to change the fate of whole South Asian region but it will also facilitate other regions like Middle East, Europe and African nations. Connected through the railways, highways and pipelines, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is about 3000 Kilometers long that will connect China’s western region of Xinjiang to rest of the world through Gwadar Port of Pakistan. CPEC Project can be seen through three aspects, i.e. economic, political & strategic. Regarding economic considerations, which are indeed with primary focus, poses the issue of Pakistan’s fiscal and balance of payment issue, which does mean to justify the full – scale version of its financial viability. This projectalso has Political significance, it is initially considered a Project of Pakistan Muslim League (N) and was not rooted in a broader national consensus. There were however, many reservations from the part of military establishment along with opposition political parties, business community. This project also enjoys strategic significance, India is critical toward this project because of its disputedterritorial border issue of Gilgit – Baltistan as well as Dokhlam crisis in 2017 with China. In this perspective, CPEC has been trapped in geo politicalcontroversies between India – China. The role of America is also not positiveregarding this project. The result of all these controversies can be seen in slowing down the pace of project