Experts for practical steps to root out communalism in SA
The Statesman Peshawar
December 13, 2007
By Statesman Report
The experts underlined the need for practical measures to tackle the menace of communalism, militarization and growing military expenditures at South Asian level. They urged South Asian governments to soften their visa restrictions, to ensure free movement of people, provide equal opportunities, benefits of employment, special initiatives for vulnerable groups, health to both men and women and conduct regular participatory, open-ended and transparent consultations with stakeholders for domestic preparedness in services sectors in South Asia.
On the concluding day of tenth sustainable development conference titled sustainable solutions: a spotlight on South Asian research organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), more than 34 panelists presented their research-based insights and recommend several practical measures to tackle the issues posing challenges to the vast majority of South Asians.
In the plenary session on communalism in India and Pakistan in the present context, Visalakshi Menon of University of Delhi, India warned that communalism in India was a serious threat that could tear apart the secular fabric of Indian society. Prof. Menon remarked that contrary to the perception that communalism was only rampant in Northern India, the phenomenon was taking roots in the Southern parts of India that were considered more secular.
She also lamented that academic research on communalism was not sufficiently done. Karamat Ali of Pakistan Institute of Labour Education, termed communalism as a legacy of colonialism in the sub-continent and said that Muslim League and Congress were elite parties that used religion to polarize the' society in order to protect their economic interests. He also opined that in South Asian region, where four out of five nations had religious foundations, it was bound to have its impacts on secular India that saw a rise in communalism in recent times.
Syed Babar Ali of World Wildlife Fund, Pakistan in his talk on business, corporate social responsibility and environment highlighted the negative and positive trends in Pakistani corporate sector linked to the environment and nature conservation.
He urged that the role of industry associations such as chambers of commerce, manufacturers associations needed to be enhanced through active partnerships with nature conservation organizations to support the important conservation work," he added.
Panelists Deshal de Mel from Sri Lanka, Rojan Bajracharya from Nepal and Mehnaz Ajmal Paracha of SDPI in the session on domestic preparedness: the challenges of liberalization of trade in services in South Asia, recommended that the region needed to address the issues of regulation, governance, trade facilitation and infrastructure, implementation capacity and skills along with liberalization of visa regime in the services sectors like telecom and tourism.
They added that domestic service providers should be taken into confidence and also protected in the process of international negotiations and foreign-service providers competition. The national governments should conduct open ended and transparent consultations with stakeholders, they demanded.
Experts want soft visa policy in South Asia
Dawn Islamabad
December 13, 2007
By Mubarak Zeb Khan
South Asian countries will have to take practical steps to control the menace of communalism and militarisation, particularly curtailing the rising military expenditure, so that the lifestyle of poverty-stricken people of the region is uplifted.
This was the consensus of experts speaking at the conclusion of the 10th sustainable development conference - Sustainable solutions: a spotlight on South Asian research - organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).
More than 34 panelists presented their research-based insights and recommended several practical measures to tackle issues posing challenges to the vast majority of the region.
They proposed that South Asian countries should soften their visa restrictions to ensure free movement of people. "Provide equal opportunities, benefits of employment, special initiatives for vulnerable groups, health facilities to people and conduct regular participatory, open-ended and transparent consultations with stakeholders for domestic preparedness in services sectors in South Asia," they added.
Prof Visalakshi Menon, University of Delhi, warned that communalism in India was a serious threat that could tear apart the secular fabric of Indian society. Contrary to the perception that communalism was only rampant in northern India; she remarked that the phenomenon was also taking roots in the southern parts of the country, which were considered more secular.
Karamat Ali, Pakistan Institute of Labour Education, termed communalism as a legacy of colonialism in the subcontinent and said the Muslim League and Congress were elite parties that used religion to polarise the society in order to protect their economic interests.
Meanwhile, at another panel, Syed Babar Ali of the World Wildlife Fund urged industry associations, chambers of commerce and manufacturers associations, to enhance active partnership with nature conservation organisations to support conservation work in the region.
During a session on gender and migration in South Asia, the panelists called for effectual migration policies addressing issues of human rights of migrants and their leftover families.
Dr Karin Astrid Siegmann of the SDPI provided a thorough analysis of impact of migration on the leftover families specially on females of migrant households in order to highlight the gender dimensions visible in the migration process.
Aneela Sultana of the Quaid-i-Azam University pointed out that poor economic and declining socio-cultural values coupled with absence of any preventive state measures were resulting in sexual exploitation of Pakistani female migrants.
Dr " Rukhsana Hasan of Fatima Jinnah Women University talked about the plight of Cholistani women and said restrictions on movement beyond home and concept of purdah had important implications for women in their exposure to information, development of interpersonal skills and opportunities to take independent action.
Najma Sadeque, Shirkat Gah, deplored that despite coverage in Tenancy Act 1997, no government had paid attention to restoring the land and its entitlement to women adding that incentives should be given to women in order to change their situation in all spheres of life.
POLITICAL HISTORY NEED TO BE REWRITTEN: Speakers at a conference on Tuesday called for rewriting the political history of South Asia saying the existing one being taught in educational institutions was promoting sectarian fanaticism.
According to a press release issued by SDPI, over 25 researchers from across the world presented their deliberations on the second day of the 10th sustainable development conference "Sustainable solutions: a spotlight on South Asia research."
Visalakshi Menon of University of Delhi pointed out that uncomfortable fact of history should be faced rather than concealed. Dr Aneela Z. Babar of Monash University, Australia, while discussing the Khudai Khitmatgar Movement, said any literature on partition history of South Asia had been a narration of losses.
Dr Nathalene Reynolds from Geneva, speaking on Indo-Pakistan antagonism, also stressed the need for rewriting history while keeping Kashmiryat a central concept.
Dr Faqir Hussain, secretary Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan, said the law of inheritance was the most ignored in the country and its non-enforcement was a major hurdle in the way of women's empowerment.
Sanaullah Rustamani from Hyderabad discussed disaster management policies for Khirthar range of Sindh and Balochistan in South Asian context and recommended stone pitching of flood protection barrages, release of timely funds for repair and maintenance of barrages, issuing warnings to people before the floods, regular monitoring and repair of embankments before monsoon.
Adam Poulter and Abdul Khaliq from ActionAid Pakistan called for formation of citizen commissions and making activists aware of appropriate advocacy strategies for disaster preparedness.
S Asian govts urged to soften visa curbs
The Nation Islamabad
December 13, 2007
By Maqsood Tirmizi
The experts Wednesday urged the South Asian governments to soften their visa restrictions to ensure free movement of people, provide equal opportunities, benefits of employment and transparent consultations with stakeholders for domestic preparedness in services sectors in South Asia.
On the concluding day of tenth sustainable development conference titled sustainable solutions: a spotlight on South Asian research organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), more than 34 panelists presented their research-based insights and recommended several practical measures to tackle the issues posing challenges to the vast majority of South Asians.
In the plenary session on communalism in India and Pakistan in the present context, Visalakshi Menon of University of Delhi, India warned that communalism in India was a serious threat that could tear apart the secular fabric of Indian society.
Prof. Menon remarked that contrary to the perception that communalism was only rampant in Northern India, the phenomenon was taking roots in the Southern parts of India that were considered more secular. She also lamented that academic research on communalism was not sufficiently done.
Syed Babar Ali of World Wildlife Fund, Pakistan in his talk on business, corporate social responsibility and environment highlighted the negative and positive trends in Pakistani corporate sector linked to the environment and nature conservation. He urged that the role of industry associations such as chambers of commerce, manufacturers associations needed to be enhanced through active partnerships with nature conservation organisations to support the important conservation work," he added.
Panelists Deshal de Mel from Sri Lanka, Rojan Bajracharya from Nepal and Mehnaz Ajmal Paracha of SDPI in the session on domestic preparedness: the challenges of liberalization of trade in services in South Asia, recommended that the region needed to address the issues of regulation, governance, trade facilitation and infrastructure, implementation capacity and skills along with liberalisation of visa regime in the services sectors like telecom and tourism.
During the session on gender and migration in south Asia, the panelists called for effectual migration policies addressing the issues of human rights of migrant and their left over families. Dr. Karin Astrid Siegmann of SDPI provided a thorough analysis of impact of migration on the left over families especially on females of migrant households in order to highlight the gender dimensions visible in the migration process.
For sustainable solutions in the health sector, Dr Talib Lashari of The Network conducted analysis of implementation on national health policy 2001, while Fayyaz Ahmad Khan of John Hopkins Center for Communication provided a comprehensive over-view of Pakistan's family planning communication strategies saying that Pakistan has achieved little success in its efforts to control the high population growth rate despite a long history of family planning communication campaigns.
In the session on re-governing markets: sharing innovative practices and policy lessons chaired by Ashraf Hayyat of ministry of commerce, speakers gave their opinions on the need for effective policy response for useful marketing and management of agriculture goods in the international markets.
Vijay Paul Sharma of Indian Institute of Management, said that agricultural growth was essential for achieving economic growth, poverty alleviation and government in this regard should act as facilitator, regulator and provider of safety nets to rural poor people.
Dr. Rukhsana Hasan of Fatima Jinnah Women University talking about the plight of Cholistani women added that restrictions on movement beyond the home and concept of purdah have important implications for women in their exposure to information, development of interpersonal skills and networks, and opportunities to take independent action.
Najma Sadeque from Shirkat Gah deplored that despite coverage in Tenancy Act 1997, no government has paid attention to restoring the land and its entitlement to women adding that incentives should be created for women in order to change the situation of women in all spheres of life. Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad from the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council chaired the panel.
South Asian states ‘should address governance issues’
The News Rawalpindi/Islamabad
December 13, 2007
By Rasheed Khalid
The South Asian region needs to address the issues of regulation, governance, trade facilitation and infrastructure, implementation capacity and skills along with liberalisation of visa regime and progress in services sectors like telecom and tourism.
These were recommended by the participants of 3-day 10th Sustainable Development Conference on ‘Sustainable solutions: a spotlight on South Asian research’ on the concluding day here Wednesday. The conference was organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute.
Prof Visalakshi Menon from the University of Delhi, India, warned that threat of communalism in her country could tear apart the secular fabric of Indian society. She said that contrary to the perception that communalism is only rampant in Northern India, the phenomenon is taking roots in the southern parts of India, considered more secular, as well. She lamented that academic research on communalism is not sufficiently done.
Syed Babar Ali said that the role of industry associations such as chambers of commerce and manufacturers associations needs to be enhanced.
He said that chambers of commerce often have environmental committees, which remain quite passive. He called the corporate sector in the country to become more active in partnering with nature conservation organisations to support the important conservation work.
Karamat Ali, Executive Director of Pakistan Institute of Labour Education, called communalism as a legacy of colonialism in the subcontinent and said that elite political parties used religion to polarise the society in order to protect their economic interests. He also opined that in South Asian region, where four out of five nations had religious foundations, it was bound to have its impacts on secular India that saw a rise in communalism in recent times. Najma Sadeque from Shirkat Gah, Karachi, said that despite coverage in Tenancy Act 1997, no government paid attention to restoring the land and ultimately giving its entitlement to women. In order to change the situation of women in all spheres of life, incentives should be created for them, she said.
Experts for steps to tackle communalism, militarisation in South Asia
Business Recorder Islamabad
December 13, 2007
By Reocrder Report
Experts underlined the need for practical measures to tackle the menace of communalism, militarisation and growing military expenditures in South Asian.
They urged South Asian governments to soften their visa restrictions to ensure free movement of people, provide equal opportunities, benefits of employment, special initiatives for vulnerable groups, health to both men and women and conduct regular participatory, open-ended and transparent consultations with stakeholders for domestic preparedness in services sectors in South Asia.
These views were expressed during the concluding day of 10th sustainable development conference titled as Sustainable Solutions: a Spotlight on South Asian research organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).
More than 34 panellists presented their research-based insight and recommended several practical measures to tackle the issues posing challenge to the vast majority of South Asians.
In the plenary session on communalism in India and Pakistan in the present context, Visalakshi Menon of University of Delhi, India warned that communalism in India was a serious threat that could tear apart the secular fabric of Indian society.
Professor Menon remarked that contrary to the perception that communalism was only rampant in Northern India, the phenomenon was taking roots in the Southern parts of India that were considered more secular.
She also lamented that academic research on communalism was not up to the mark.
Karamat Ali of Pakistan Institute of Labour Education, termed communalism as a legacy of colonialism in the sub-continent and said that Muslim League and Congress were elite parties that used religion to polarise the society and to protect their economic interests.
He also opined that in South Asian region, where four out of five nations had religious foundations, it was bound to have its impact on secular India that saw a rise in communalism in recent times.
Syed Babar Ali of World Wildlife Fund, Pakistan in his talk on business, corporate social responsibility and environment highlighted the negative and positive trends in Pakistani corporate sector linked to the environment and nature conservation.
He urged that the role of industrial associations such as chambers of commerce, manufacturers associations needed to be enhanced through active partnerships with nature conservation organisations to support the important conservation work.
Panellists Deshal de Mel from Sri Lanka, Rojan Bajracharya from Nepal and Mehnaz Ajmal Paracha of SDPI in the session on domestic preparedness: the challenges of liberalisation of trade in services in South Asia, recommended that the region needed to address the issues of regulation, governance, trade facilitation and infrastructure, implementation capacity and skills along with liberalisation of visa regime in the services sectors like telecom and tourism.
They added that domestic service providers should be taken into confidence and also protected in the process of international negotiations and foreign-service providers competition.
The national governments should conduct open ended and transparent consultations with stakeholders, they urged.
During the session on gender and migration in south Asia, the panellists called for effectual migration policies addressing the issues of human rights of migrant and their left over families.
Dr Karin Astrid Siegmann of SDPI provided a thorough analysis of impact of migration on the left over families especially on females of migrant households to highlight the gender dimensions visible in the migration process.
Another panellist, Aneela Sultana of Quaid-e-Azam university Islamabad pointed out that the poor economic and declining socio-cultural values coupled with absence of any preventive state measures were resulting in sexual exploitation of Pakistani female migrants.
For sustainable solutions in the health sector, Dr Talib Lashari of The Network conducted analysis of implementation on national health policy 2001, while Fayyaz Ahmad Khan of John Hopkins Center for Communications provided a comprehensive overview of Pakistan's family planning communication strategies, saying that Pakistan has achieved little success in its efforts to control the high population growth rate despite a long history of family planning communication campaigns. He suggested linking of communication with supply side, different media strategies for provinces, active role of civil servants, policy makers, and religious leaders for the success of family planning campaigns. M. Sabir, senior principal economist from SPDC, Karachi, discussed gender and public spending on health in Pakistan.
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