Pakistan

One of the clear messages of the international community to the Afghan administration in the recently-held Bonn conference on Afghanistan was that the world is commited to support Afghanistan even after 2014. However, the question of what these commitments will look like, remains unanswered. 

The Pashtuns are the ethnic majority in the border area of Afghanistan and Pakistan, but the Pakistani government is not caring about their issues. In the war on terror they often feel like cannon fodder.

The second Bonn Conference which took place on December 5th in Germany, is an attempt to correct the various mistakes of the past. At least formally, all parties agree that the Afghan conflict cannot be settled my military means. By boycotting the conference, Pakistan is taking a step in the wrong direction.

After Germany lost World War II it had to acknowledge that it is a middle power that cannot dominate Europe. It therefore focused on rebuilding relations with former enemies through confidence building measures, economic cooperation and total restraint from military adventurism. Could this strategy be a role model for India and Pakistan as well?

Afghanistans development is heavily dependend on the role of its neighboring country Pakistan. A new report examines the perceptions of Pakistan’s Foreign Policy Elite on the situation in Afghanistan, their interests and strategies. The results are uncomforting.

It is young people at the heart of the Arab revolt who are rebelling not for jihad but for freedom and democracy. Nevertheless, bin Laden's death opens up huge opportunities worldwide. President Barack Obama needs to follow up on the promise he made in Cairo, two years ago, when he pledged to build bridges to the Muslim world. 

Very recently, an Indian peace delegation visited Pakistan from 17-26th March 2011, primarily to see the dialogue between the two countries become a reality. The delegation included activists, intellectuals, writers, artists, educationists, politicians and parliamentarians.

An extremist takeover of Pakistan is probably no further than five to 10 years away. Even today, some radical Islamists are advocating war against America.

Muhammad Idrees Kamal, the Executive Director of Citizen Rights and Sustainable Development Peshawar, about his organization, its issues, and how the advocacy organization did charity collection and relief operations after the flood in Pakistan.

Shagufta Malik (ANP), Member of the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, about her experiences as a woman politician, her impressions of the flood affected areas and the political situation after the flood.

Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa, Independent political scientist and writer, Islamabad, about gender struggles in the Pakistani elite, her 2007 book “Military Inc.” and why there will be greater conflict in the Pakistani society. This is an interview with her on the occasion of our conference.

Dr. Abid Suleri, Executive Director Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Islamabad, on Food Insecurity in Pakistan, consequences of the flood and suggestions to politics.

In July, Pakistan was hit by a flood crisis of unexpected dimension. Against this background, the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung initiated a dialog with Pakistani and German representatives from politics, academics and the NGO sector on political and economic impacts of the flood and on current needs and challenges.

Heinrich Böll Stiftung supports a joint seminar of Indian and Pakistani experts on "Climate Change and Energy Security: Cooperation between Pakistan and India"

On 11th February 2010, the Heinrich Boell Foundation organised an expert round table discussion to inaugurate the release of their new publication “Pakistan – Reality, Denial and the Complexity of its State”. Two authors who published articles in the book were invited from Pakistan to Berlin to present and discuss their work.

There are factors that persuade Pakistan to fight against the terrorist organisations located on its soil. There is an equal number of factors militating against Pakistan’s campaign to fight terrorism.

Distrust, suspicion and hostility has kept relations between India and Pakistan simmering even in the best of times. In the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, the so far made progress in the bilateral peace process came to a complete standstill. An initiative to bring the dialogue back on track was started by civil society, conducting a three day conference in New Delhi, co-organized by Heinrich-Böll-Foundation.

Recently, the power of the Taliban in connection with the attitude of the society was widely discussed, but once again gender and women issues were not highlighted. Durre Ahmed, chairperson and senior research fellow at the Centre for the Study of Gender and Culture in Lahore, about the current situation and development of the gender discourse in Pakistan.

Pakistan is a war zone facing serious threats from militants and terrorists besides a number of other problems and difficulties that urgently demand the establishment of democratic structures as well as rule of law. In the light of the current crisis, high-ranking guests from Pakistan and various German experts discussed structures and deficits of rule of law as well as the current state of affairs.

Although they may not be racing each other, India and Pakistan are in a full-fledged nuclear arms race. Today, they are the world’s only countries that are openly increasing their fissile material stocks.