Pakistan

For three years, Pakistan has single-handedly – and successfully – blocked the Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva from discussing an effort that would put a cap on fissile materials.

Moeed Yusuf is director of the South Asia programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace and have been engaged in expanding the institute’s work on Pakistan/South Asia since 2010. In this interview he talks about his publication "Getting it Right in Afghanistan" and the difficult relationship between Afghanistan und Pakistan.

Global climate change and its possible impact on water availability in the Indus river system are matters of vital concern, on which India and Pakistan must work on together. However the ongoing cooperation between them must go beyond the limited issue of emission reductions.

After 20 years in Lahore, we are opening a new chapter of our work here in the capital and we are glad to have all of you with us. The motto of this evening, as you can see on the banner here behind me, is “The journey continues”. It’s a very appropriate motto because it shows that the Heinrich Böll Foundation is – like Pakistan – on the move without forgetting its roots.  

Pakistan is among the most-affected countries by climate change worldwide. At the same time, it has been crippled by a raging energy crisis for the last few years. What needs to be done in order to support and pressurize the government to implement a meaningful policy on climate change and energy?
  

The definition of "good life" depends mostly on political, economical and cultural circumstances, but due to the effects of climate change and global warming, it also depends on issues of nature and environment. Georg Koessler investigates the relationship between climate change and living conditions.

What has always struck me about Pakistan and the Pakistani people is their ability to generate political passion despite so many disappointments. In other places, hope is a marathon runner who drops dead the moment she reaches her goal - although the real test begins much later. In Pakistan, despite the fact that no politician seems to have ever delivered on the promises he or she made, hope refuses to die. 

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.