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Seventh Sustainable Development Conference
8-10 December, 2004, Holiday Inn, Islamabad
Troubled Times: Sustainable Development and Governance in the Age of Extremes
Media Coverage December 10, 2004
December
6-7, 2004
December 9,
2004
December 10,
2004
December 11,
2004
Call to Remove Hurdles in Philanthropic Activities
Dawn, Islamabad
December 10, 2004
By Khawar Ghumman
Mistrust between politicians and non-government
organizations is the major stumbling block yet to be removed for
the effective functioning of social welfare sector in South Asia.
This was the consensus reached at a session on “Philanthropy
and Law in South Asia", during the second day of three-day
7th Sustainable Development Conference organized by the Sustainable
Development Policy Institute here on Thursday.
On the occasion, a book titled Philanthropy and
Law in South Asia was also launched. The book has been published
by the Asia Pacific Philanthropy Consortium. Speaking on the occasion,
Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy Executive Director Shahnaz Wazir
Ali talked about the role of philanthropy in the social welfare
sector of the South Asian countries. She said there were legal and
regulatory obstac1es in the smooth functioning of philanthropic
organizations. In this connection, South Asian countries need to
pay more attention.
Sumaiya Khair, associate professor, Department
of Law, University of Dhaka, talked about registration and regulatory
laws for NGOs in her country. She said there was a plethora of laws
for registration of an NGO in Bangladesh, which created problems
instead of facilitating this sector.
In another discussion on “Exploring the
South Asian Security Dimension: illiteracy, Economic and Human”,
Senator Mushahid Hussain said: “Pakistan has moved away from
its historic stance on threat perception and there is a need to
redefine national security in a much broader context.” He
said military security had been overemphasized, and there was a
pressing need to focus on economic arid human security also.
Ejaz Haider, another speaker, said Pakistan's
security culture had developed structural problems because of an
overemphasis on military security'. He said civil-military imbalance
and inconsistent political system had shaped Pakistan's security
culture.
Talking about human security, Dr Adil Najam from
the Fletcher School of Diplomacy, US, said the insecurities of the
two countries (India, Pakistan) were far more profound at the human
level than at the state level. He said the state as well as inter-state
insecurities were likely to be dealt with through tackling human
dimensions of insecurity than military dimensions.
Fatima Jinnah Women University Vice-Chancellor
Dr Najma Najam said study of psychological dynamics of depression,
helplessness and apathy could help understand the increase in violence.
In the panel on “Women and Media:
Problems and Prospects”, Presided over by parliamentarian
Sherry Rehman, panelists cal1ed for a self-regulatory non-governmental
media ethics commission to monitor insensitive reporting and ensure
implementation of a gender sensitive code of ethics.
Pakistan has Moved Away from Historic Threat Perception: Mushahid
Hussain
Daily Times Lahore
December 10, 2004
Pakistan has moved away from its historic stance
on threat perception and there is a need for Pakistan to redefine
national security in a much broader context than at present, Senator
Mushahid Hussain, secretary general of the Pakistan Muslim League,
said on Thursday.
Hussain said this at a panel discussion on Exploring the South Asian
Security Dimension: Military, Economic and Human” at the second
day of the three-day 7th Sustainable Development Conference (SDC),
organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), here
on Thursday. Hussain said Pakistan had moved away from its historic
stance on India-specific threat perception to a realisation that
the most significant threat was internal. He also argued that there
was a need for Pakistan to redefine national security in a much
broader context than at present. He suggested that military security
was overemphasized and there was a need to focus on economic and
human security as well.
Moeed Yusuf from SDPI analysed various academic
and policy proposals on Kashmir presented between 1949-50 and 2004
and said that in order to arrive at a sustainable solution of the
Kashmir problem, five issues must be part of the Indo-Pak negotiating
agenda. These included autonomy to the entire Jammu Kashmir, softening
of the Kashmir boundary, reduction of the military in the state,
granting a formal role to Kashmiris in any negotiations and involvement
of international actors besides the UN in the efforts to attain
peace, he explained.
On human security, Dr Adil Najam from the Fletcher
School of Diplomacy, USA, argued that the insecurities of the two
countries were far more profound at human level than at state level.
He said that the state was well, as inter-state insecurities were
likely to be dealt with much better by tackling the human dimensions
of insecurity rather than the military dimensions.
Dr Najma Najam from Fatimah Jinnah Women’s
University pointed out that the psychological dynamics of depression,
learned helplessness and apathy could be effective tools to analyse
and understand the increasing violence exhibited in the absence
of tolerance for differences in opinion, religion, caste, creed
and gender.
In the panel on “Women and Media: Problems
and Prospects”, which was chaired by Sherry Rehman, a member
of the National Assembly, panelists strongly called for a self-regulatory
non-government media ethics commission along the lines of those
in Sweden and UK to monitor both insensitive reporting and ensure
implementation of a gender sensitive code of ethics.
Hussain Ahmed Khan in the session on “Violence,
Displacement and the Issue of Identity –Post Partition Pakistan”
said that feudal lords in southern Punjab had used Sufism and Islam
to strengthen their control over the region. Dr Saba Gul Khattak
form SDPI stressed that the Wana operation had given rise to issues
like identity, citizenship, displacement and loss of homes and livelihoods
that were not finding a place in public discourse.
Pakistan Needs to Redefine Security Concepts
The Nation, Islamabad
December 10, 2004
By Lamia Zia
Pakistan has moved away from its historic stance
on threat perception and there is a need to redefine national security
concepts in a much broader context. Senator Mushahid Hussain stated
this here at a panel discussion on 'Exploring the South Asian Security
Dimension: Military, Economic and Human', on the second day of three-day
7th Sustainable Development Conference (SDC), organised by a Sustainable
Development Policy Institute (SDPI), here on Thursday.
Mushahid Hussain stated that Pakistan has moved
away from its historic stance on threat perception, which was India
centric to realising that the most significant threat is internal.He
also argued that there was a need for Pakistan to redefine national
security in a much broader context than at present. He suggested
that military security was over emphasised and there was a need
to focus on economic and human security also.
Moeed Yusuf from SDPI analyzed various academic
and policy proposals on Kashmir presented between 1949-50 and 2004
and highlighted that an analysis of expert opinion suggests that
in order to arrive at a sustainable solution of the Kashmir problem
five issues must be part of the Indo-Pak negotiating agenda.
Taking on the aspect of human security, Dr Adil
Najam from the Fletcher School of Diplomacy, USA, argued that the
securities of the two countries were far more profound at the human
level than the state level. He shared that the state as well as
interstate insecurities were likely to be dealt with much better
through tackling human dimensions of insecurity than the military
dimensions.
Dr. Najma Najam from Fatimah Jinnah Women University
pointed that the psychological dynamics of depression, learned helplessness
and apathy can be effective tools to analyze and understand the
increasing violence exhibited in the absence of tolerance for differences
of opinion, religion, caste, creed and gender.
Panelist Swarna Rajgopalan from India suggested
reinterpreting religious texts and secularising them. Rehan Ansari
said that both the states, Pakistan and India, had created fear
to legitimise their actions and use of force against their own people.
E. Sridharan from India focused on the relationship between democracy
and the Hindu-Muslim conflict in India and examined the pattern
of representation of Muslims in the Lok Sabha. He shared that there
was no clear link between representation and communal violence and
that it depended on the extent to which the civil society was polarized.
Dr Farzana Bari talked about gender quotas and
democracy in Pakistan and looked into the extent to which these
quotas have really empowered women. The panel on 'Women and Media:
Problems and Prospects' was chaired by parliamentarian Sherry Rehman
and the panelists strongly called for a self-regulatory, non-governmental
media ethics commission along the lines of Sweden and UK to monitor
both insensitive reporting and ensure implementation of a gender
sensitive code of ethics. Ayesha Haroon, Resident Editor, The Nation,
also took part in the discussion.
Tasneem Ahmar from Uks stated that the code had
received little attention from the government and major press councils.
Beena Sarwar said that in Pakistan, women journalists have specifically
contributed to an increase in the reporting of issues relating to
violence, particularly karokari besides education, health, sports,
entertainment and economics.
Hussain Ahmed Khan in the session on 'Violence,
Displacement 'and the Issue of Identity Post Partition Pakistan'
said that the feudal lords in south Punjab have used Sufism and
Islam to strengthen their control over the region. Dr Saba"Gul
Khattak form SDPI stressed that the Wana operations had given rise
to issues like identity, citizenship, displacement" and loss
of homes and livelihoods that were not finding a place in the public
discourse.
In the session on 'Communal Harmony in South Asia:
Success Stories' Dr Ashis Nandy from India said that 27 per cent
of the people survived due to unconditional help and protection
extended by the enemy party during the communal riots at the time
of partition in 1947.
Pakistan Needs to Redefine National Security
The News, Rawalpindi/Islamabad
December 10, 2004
Pakistan has moved away from its historic stance
on threat perception and there was a need for Pakistan to redefine
national security in a much broader context than at present. Senator
Mushahid Hussain stated this at a panel on 'Exploring the South
Asian Security Dimension: Military, Economic and Human' on the second
day of 7th Sustainable Development Conference (SDC) organised by
the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here on Thursday.
He said Pakistan has moved away from its historic stance on threat
perception, which was India centric, realising that the most significant
threat is internal. He also argued that there was a need for Pakistan
to redefine national security in a much broader context than at
present. He suggested that military security was overemphasised
and there was a need to focus on economic and human security also.
Ejaz Haider from the Friday Times said that Pakistan's
security culture had developed structural problems because of an
over emphasis on 'military security.' He said the civil-military
imbalance and the inconsistent political system had shaped Pakistan's
security culture. Moeed Yusuf from SDPI analysed various academic
and policy proposals on Kashmir presented between 1949-50 and 2004
and high-lighted that an analysis of expert opinion suggests that
in order to arrive at a sustainable solution of the Kashmir problem
five issues must be part of the Indo-Pak negotiating' agenda. These
included autonomy to the entire Jammu Kashmir, softening of the
Kashmiri boundary, force reduction in the state, granting a formal
role to Kashmiris in any negotiations, and involving international
actors besides UN in the efforts to attain peace.
Talking on the aspect of human security, Dr. Adil
Najam from the Fletcher School of Diplomacy, USA argued that the
insecurities of the two countries were far more pro-found at the
human level than the state level. He shared that the state as well
as inter-state insecurities were likely to be dealt with much better
through tackling the human dimensions of insecurity than the military
dimensions. Dr. Najma Najam from Fatima Jinnah Women University
pointed that the psychological dynamics of depression, learned helplessness,
and apathy can be effective tools to analyse and understand the
increasing violence exhibited in the absence of tolerance for differences
of opinion, religion, caste, creed and gender.
Swarna Rajgopalan from India on the panel ‘The
experience of democracy in the Subcontinent’ suggested reinterpreting
religious texts and secularising them. Rehan Ansari said that both
the states, Pakistan and India had created fear to legitimise their
actions and use of force against their own people. E. Sridharan
from India focused on the relationship between democracy and the
Hindu-Muslim conflict in India and examined the pattern of representation
of Muslims in the Lok Sabha. He shared that there was no clear link
between representation and communal violence and that it depended
on the extent to which the civil society was polarised. Dr. Farzana
Bari talked about gender quotas and democracy in Pakistan and looked
into the extent to which these quotas have really empowered women.
In the panel on ‘Women and media: problems
and prospects,’ which was chaired by parliamentarian Sherry
Rehman, panellists strongly called for a self regulatory non-governmental
media ethics commission like those along the lines of Sweden and
the UK to monitor both insensitive reporting and ensure implementation
of a gender sensitive code of ethics. Tasneem Ahmar from Uks expressed
concern that the code had received little attention from the government
and major press councils. Beena Sarwar shared that in Pakistan,
woman journalists have specifically contributed to an increase in
the reporting of issues relating to violence, particularly ‘Karo-Kari’
(so-called honour killings), besides education, health, sports,
entertainment and economics. Hussain Ahmed Khan in the session on
'Violence, displacement and the issue of identity - post-partition
Pakistan said that the feudal lords in-south Punjab have used Sufism
and Islam to strengthen their control over the region.
Dr. Saba Gul Khattak from SDPI stressed that the
Wana operations had given rise to issues like identity, citizenship,
displacement and loss of homes and livelihoods that were not finding
a place in the public discourse. She said there was need to debate
the Wana operations in Pakistan in view of the larger masculinity
policy background.
National Security must be Redefined: Mushahid
The Statesman, Peshawar
December 10, 2004
Senator Mushahid Hussain has said Pakistan has
moved away from its historic stance on threat perception and there
was a need for Pakistan to redefine national security in a much
broader context than at present. He stated this at a panel “Exploring
the South Asian Security Dimension: Military, Economic and Human”
at the second day of three-day 7th Sustainable Development Conference
(SDC), organized by a Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI)
here on Thursday.
Mushahid said that Pakistan has moved away from
its historic stance on threat perception, which was India centric
to realizining that the most significant threat is internal. He
also argued that there was a need for Pakistan to redefine national
security in a much broader context than at present. He suggested
that military security was overemphasized and there was a need to
focus on economic and human security also.
Ejaz Haider from the Friday Times, said that Pakistan's
security culture had developed structural problems because of an
over emphasis on “military security. Moeed Yusuf from SDPI
analyzed various academic and policy proposals on Kashmir presented
between 1949-50 and 2004 and highlighted that an analysis of expert
opinion suggests that in order to arrive at a sustainable solution
of the Kashmir problem five issues must be part of the Indo-Pak
negotiating agenda.
In the panel on "Women and Media: Problems
and Prospects", which was chaired by parliamentarian Sherry
Rehman, panelists strongly called for a self regulatory non-governmental
media ethics commission like those along the lines of Sweden and
UK to monitor both insensitive reporting and ensure implementation
of a gender sensitive code of ethics. Hussain Ahmed Khan in the
session on "Violence, Displacement and the Issue of Identity
"Post Partition Pakistan" said that the feudal lords in
south Punjab have used Sufism and Islam to strengthen their control
over the region.
During the session on "Health' Care Finance
and Delivery: International Perspective", Paul Rueckert from
Germany, Peter Coyote from Canada, Hasbullah Thaprany from "Indoesia
and Siripen Supakankunti from Thiland, shard the comparative analysis
of their national health care services and said that the provision
of health services should be the prime responsibility of all governments.
During the session on "Human Trafficking
in South Asia", Tristan Burnett from International Organization
on Migration, Afghanistan, highlighted lack of reporting, inability
of women to access the judicial system and insecurity as some of
the major obstacles in countering trafficking in the country. Ewen
Macleod of UNHCR Pakistan in a session "Afghan Refugees/DPs
in Pakistan" suggested that future management of population
movements should more appropriately be lodged within normalized
regional and bilateral cooperation arrangements.
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December
10, 2004