Journal of humanities, social and management sciences, Jun 30, 2022
Pakistan and Afghanistan share the contiguity of neighbourhood and bonds of Islam. Despite lingui... more Pakistan and Afghanistan share the contiguity of neighbourhood and bonds of Islam. Despite linguistic, cultural and traditional similarities, their relations have remained in a spin. Pakistan and Afghanistan are geographically so dependent on each other that the effects of war and peace could be felt on both sides of the borders. Many factors are involved in upsetting these relations: the hostility of Afghan rulers and their tilt towards India since Pakistan's independence; Durand Line and Pakhtunistan issues and Pakistan's role during the Soviet-Afghan war (1979-1989) in supporting the Afghan Jihadists. Pak-Afghan relations remained exemplary during the Taliban rule (1996-2001). The paper explores: a) Pak-Afghan relations during President Hamid Karzai's rule; b) the relations under President Ashraf Ghani; c) India's role in sabotaging the relations; and d) Pakistan's efforts in Afghanistan's rebuilding and reconstruction process. The study finds that the dynamics of relations in the post-9/11 era were not cordial and there was a great trust deficit between the two countries during different US-led regimes. The paper is based on historical legacies and an analytical understanding of them. The previous research on the subject did not fully explore the era between 2001-2018, which this study aims to fulfil.
The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors that influenced Pakistani policy in re... more The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors that influenced Pakistani policy in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. This development had far-reaching implications for the entire region, and more so for Pakistan. Pakistan was already facing an existential threat from a hostile India on its eastern border. With Soviet forces on its western border, this threat has increased manifold. Both India and the Soviet Union were strategic allies and had already played a key role in the disintegration of Pakistan in 1971 besides sponsoring various separatist movements in West Pakistan since the inception of the country in 1947. Soviet military intervention was viewed as a grave threat to national security and the territorial integrity of Pakistan. This paper also explores the causes of Soviet interventions in Afghanistan. According to the study, the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan was a continuation of the Soviet expansionist course that saw it annex Central Asian Khanates in the nineteenth century. It could also help realize long Russian desire to access to the warms water. Apparently, it seemed that Pakistan would be a logical next target of expansionist Russia, and several factors made the former vulnerable to Soviet designs. The study uses both historical and analytical methods. Most of the information comes from secondary sources like books and articles, which are looked at using the thematic analysis method.
Regional cooperation is considered a panacea for several problems faced by the developing states,... more Regional cooperation is considered a panacea for several problems faced by the developing states, such as underdevelopment, poverty, unemployment, social and economic backwardness, natural disasters, and environmental changes among others (Naazer, 2018a). It can also serve as a harbinger of peace, stability, progress, and prosperity through creating economic interdependence, trade linkages, socio-cultural exchanges, integration of infrastructure and projects, promoting trust, understanding, amity, cooperation, and friendship among regional states. There can be diverse models of regional and interregional cooperation in various fields, including functional cooperation, integration by projects and market integration, etc. (Ahmad, 2013). South Asia has vast potential for regional cooperation among members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) as well as countries of adjoining areas such as Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia. However, these countries have so far not been able to exploit the full potential of regional cooperation for several reasons. The factors that impede regional cooperation in South Asia are diverse and include both regional and extra-regional (Naazer, 2018b). South Asian states owing to their rapidly growing developing needs, swelling population, and dwindling indigenous energy resources are increasingly becoming energy-deficient nations. This problem also provides them an opportunity for regional cooperation with energy-rich states of adjoining regions, such as Central Asia and West Asia (Elahi, 2016). The regional states considered several proposals to import gas through pipelines from other countries but none of them could be materialized. One of such proposal included Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline which was also termed
Liberal arts & social sciences international journal, Dec 31, 2020
Pakistan has been on the 'Grey List' of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)the international m... more Pakistan has been on the 'Grey List' of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)the international money laundering and terror-financing watchdog. Pakistan's engagement with the task force is not new, the country faced FATF indictments during 2008 and 2012 to 2015. Despite Pakistan's efforts to curb AML for CFT and huge diplomatic commitments, the task force retained Pakistan on the 'Grey List' on account of its Risk Profile. Though other countries get clearance after fulfilling 80 percent compliance, but Pakistan has been pressurized for a hundred percent compliance with the action plan. There are severe drawbacks for being remained in the grey list for banking system, export and imports, remittances, international lending and foreign investments but the most severe would be its dropping into blacklist. The September 2020 Legislation would help gathering diplomatic support in the forthcoming settings. The supportive role-played so for by China, Turkey, Malaysia at the task force has worked in averting Pakistan from blacklisting. Therefore, the study suggests that powerful diplomacy can break the FATF clutches and get Pakistan out of the 'strategic deficiencies list' or grey list. Explorative, historical and analytical conclusions have been brought in content analysis format.
Pakistan faced severe challenges of violent extremism and terrorism after US invasion of Afghanis... more Pakistan faced severe challenges of violent extremism and terrorism after US invasion of Afghanistan. The successive governments pursued both political and military means to bring an end to this problem but to no avail. The war against terrorism was highly unpopular among the people and it was the main cause of failure to combat terrorism. In 2013, the newly formed government led by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif decided to give peace a chance after a decision of an All Parties Conference (APC). Consequently, the dialogue process, through the committee members nominated by the government and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), ensued that kindled the hope of peace and stability in the country. However, the process was crippled after a few months and government launched a military operation against TTP and other militant outfits in the country. The paper explores the factors that lead the government to start peace talks with TTP and analyzes the challenges that dialogue process faced and ultimately caused its failure. Finally, it highlights the benefits, particularly the national consensus to combat terrorism that dialogue process produced despite its failure to bring peace in the country.
Liberal arts & social sciences international journal, Feb 14, 2020
The Afghan people suffered a lot from war on terror, security issues, and political and economic ... more The Afghan people suffered a lot from war on terror, security issues, and political and economic instability since US invasion in 2001. Pakistan being an important neighbouring country of Afghanistan can play a vital role in bringing amity and stability through facilitating peace process. Both the US administration and Afghan government demand Pakistan to influence and bring the Taliban to the table talks. In this context, this study aims to explore Pakistan's role in the ongoing peace process that has so far created an understanding among the stakeholders that a peaceful and stable Afghanistan is in the interest of the region. The study finds that there are greater issues to be dealt with carefully e.g., the governance system of the country, the constitution, and a viable powersharing formula to be acceptable to all the stakeholders. Any successful peace deal needs a strong commitment on the part of all the stakeholders. Peace is the need of the hour not only for Afghanistan but for the whole region as well. Pakistan needs to continue her support to the Afghanistan's stability and play its due role in the peace negotiations in the greater regional interests.
Liberal arts & social sciences international journal, Dec 31, 2019
The paper aims to highlight some drawbacks in the approach of a section of Muslims leaders, schol... more The paper aims to highlight some drawbacks in the approach of a section of Muslims leaders, scholars, and masses towards the idea of nationalism. They view it as a Western concept implanted in the Muslim world as a conspiracy to divide and subjugate them as well as to undermine Islamic teachings. The paper elucidates the existence of the socioeconomic conditions and political situation in the Muslim world that offered apt milieu to the growth of nationalism. Rise of nationalism has not been exclusively responsible for fragmentation of Ottoman Empire. Instead, the religious elements in the Arab world and oppressive rule and suppressive measures of the Turk rulers also contributed to the process. Fairly, nationalism served as a driving force against the imperial rule and helped gain Muslims emancipation from the West. The study also illuminates the difference between territorial and Muslim nationalisms and that how Islam replaced the secularism. The study is qualitative and employs historical and content analysis methods to collect and scrutinise the data.
Liberal arts & social sciences international journal, Dec 31, 2018
This study explores the legitimacy of nation-states in the light of Islamic teachings, and though... more This study explores the legitimacy of nation-states in the light of Islamic teachings, and thoughts of prominent Muslims jurists. It focuses on these questions: does Islam prescribe a specific form of government; if a single unified state is required as per injunctions of Islam; does Islam outlaws the nationalism; does Islam commend a unitary or a federal state. The research investigates the stateformation process in the light of teachings of Quran and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) as well as writings of Muslim theologians and jurists. The nature of the state practiced in the Muslim world, the importance of Caliph and its actual role, place of tribalism and nationalism in Islam, are the main points of discussion. The study employs historical and descriptive methods and relies on secondary sources mainly books and articles covering writings of Muslim scholars from later generations.
Liberal arts & social sciences international journal, Apr 24, 2020
Pakistan is an ethnically diverse country. Therefore, a federal system has been introduced after ... more Pakistan is an ethnically diverse country. Therefore, a federal system has been introduced after the independence. However, powers may not be fully decentralised to the federating units which created sense of deprivation particularly among the people of smaller provinces and less developed areas. To alleviate their concerns and grievances, the 18 th Constitutional Amendment has been brought about and more autonomy has been given to the provinces. However, the amendment could not address the problems of ethnic minorities living in different provinces. This article explores the prospects of creation of a Saraiki or South Punjab Province. The article uses a qualitative research technique employing historical and descriptive methods. The data has been collected mostly from secondary sources. The findings show that Punjab is the largest province in terms of population, and it is difficult to manage its affairs efficiently from the Capital, Lahore. The provincial government faces difficulty to address the grievances of the people living in far-flung regions such as South Punjab. The growing inequalities led to the revival and intensification of the movement for the creation of Saraiki Province.
Liberal arts & social sciences international journal, Jun 22, 2021
Challenges to globalization have grave implications for the worldwide liberal order that emerged ... more Challenges to globalization have grave implications for the worldwide liberal order that emerged with the end of the cold war. These challenges began to ascend from the West. The occasions like Brexit, ascent of radical rightist political groups in Europe, recognition of isolationist policies, choice of former US President Donald Trump (Originator of isolationist policies), and the strive towards confinement of manufacture and services have altered the contours of global liberal order. The objective of this study is to find the factors that prepared ground for anti-globalization accounts as well as to discover its effect on the global liberal order by applying the content analysis method. This study used qualitative methodology utilizing both primary and secondary data i.e., government documents, annual reports, speeches of leaders, books, journal articles and newspapers etc. Findings of the study concludes that anti-globalization narratives are translating into the electoral processes, progressing hyper-nationalism over liberal order; multi-polarity above Uni-polarity; and Isolationism above free market economy. All such changes have critical repercussions for the global liberal order, hence, should be observed cautiously. If the pattern proceeds, the world pioneers ought to think about modifying the worldwide associations, alliances, as well as national security procedures.
Journal of Humanities, Social and Management Sciences (JHSMS)
Right to Information regime is considered a strong commitment towards good governance. This commi... more Right to Information regime is considered a strong commitment towards good governance. This commitment supports fairness in laws, rules and regulations. In Pakistan, the best RTI laws are of the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; hence KP RTI Act 2013 and Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013 have taken as a case for this paper. This paper aims to analyze how far certain Right to Information laws remained successful in terms of proactive disclosure of information and institutional measures. Categorically two dimensions are examined (a) proactive disclosure of information by the public bodies and (b) Institutional Measures under clause 5 and 4 of Right to Information laws in both provinces respectively. Based on desk review and telephonic discussion a comparative assessment has taken randomly selected departments such as Elementary and Secondary Education, Health and Local Government Department. Comparatively, in Punjab public bodies are more actively engage with respect ...
This paper elucidates the significance of the role and behavior of a core member - occupying a ce... more This paper elucidates the significance of the role and behavior of a core member - occupying a central position and politically, militarily, and economically superior to others – and the outside great or superpower for the success of the process of regional cooperation especially in the developing world. The core state plays a vital role in either success or failure of any regional cooperative arrangement. Outside powers, especially the great or superpowers can also affect the fate of regional schemes. Moreover, the nature of relations between the core member state and an outside great or superpower also affects in diverse ways the process of regionalism. Under this theoretical framework, this paper investigates why the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline proposal could not materialize. The paper explores internal and external factors that halted the progress of the project with special reference to the role and behavior of India and the United States. It illuminates how the Indo-US st...
Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), Dec 31, 2017
The mechanism created by South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) excludes the di... more The mechanism created by South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) excludes the discussions on bilateral and contentious issues which is said to be the main hurdle in the SAARC to take off. Despite similarities in the South Asian member countries, e.g. cultural, linguistic, and historical, they have not yet been able to evolve cooperative environment and their relations are characterised by varying conflicts. Keeping with the background nominal progress that has been made by SAARC, it will be wise to review the interstate conflicts which are halting the ways of the South Asian progress. The present study surveys the nature of interstate conflict among SAARC members and their impact on regional cooperation. It also explores various modes of conflict management and conflict resolution. It offers conflict management and multi-track diplomacy as keys to peace in the South Asian region and progress for SAARC.
The paper explores the progress of regional cooperation in various functional areas as identified... more The paper explores the progress of regional cooperation in various functional areas as identified by South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) since its inception in 1985. It also examines whether and to what extent SAARC has been successful in accomplishing the goals enshrined in its charter. SAARC was formed: to promote peace, amity, stability and progress in the region; to promote the welfare and quality of life of people; to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development, and; to attain collective and national self-reliance through joint efforts. SAARC made significant progress in several areas, such as: agriculture and rural development; environment; science and technology; human resource development including education, arts, culture and sports; transport; telecommunications, and information and communication technology; tourism, and energy. It has concluded several agreements and conventions besides setting up a few regional centres to rea...
The paper provides an account of Arab Spring origin, ideology and demands of civil society. The p... more The paper provides an account of Arab Spring origin, ideology and demands of civil society. The political turmoil in the Arab world challenged the political status quo of Middle East and North Africa. Arab Spring is the fundamental event in the Arab world history. It also describes the role of well educated youth and power of social media in Arab Spring. It further explains the demonstrations at Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Syria in details. Specifically, the paper spotlights on the relative deprivation theory of Ted Robert Gurr to illustrate why Arab Spring emerged. Relative deprivation theory has been used to clarify how socio-economic shortages (unemployment, education and poverty) and political inefficiencies lead to collective turmoil. The answer provides a clue to resolve the current problem.
Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), 2019
The idea of Eurasian integration has come up as a strategic goal of major powers in recent years.... more The idea of Eurasian integration has come up as a strategic goal of major powers in recent years. Russia’s Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the European Union’s (EU) Eastern Partnership Program (EPP) with the objective of expanding a sphere of influence and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to create economic integration through transportation infrastructure and trade are three major strategies for this purpose. This study highlights that China’s growing presence in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is a clear indicator of its growing influence. Therefore, the article aims to appraise China’s rise in Eastern Europe through its BRI and Eurasian integration strategy. Secondly, it presents a comparative analysis of multiple Eurasian integration strategies. Through a prism of “New Regionalism Theory,” this study delves into exploring the factors behind China’s effort to create regional integration in the whole Eurasia. The findings of the study show that the Belt and Road Initiati...
Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), 2020
The Afghan people suffered a lot from war on terror, security issues, and political and economic ... more The Afghan people suffered a lot from war on terror, security issues, and political and economic instability since US invasion in 2001. Pakistan being an important neighbouring country of Afghanistan can play a vital role in bringing amity and stability through facilitating peace process. Both the US administration and Afghan government demand Pakistan to influence and bring the Taliban to the table talks. In this context, this study aims to explore Pakistan’s role in the ongoing peace process that has so far created an understanding among the stakeholders that a peaceful and stable Afghanistan is in the interest of the region. The study finds that there are greater issues to be dealt with carefully e.g., the governance system of the country, the constitution, and a viable power-sharing formula to be acceptable to all the stakeholders. Any successful peace deal needs a strong commitment on the part of all the stakeholders. Peace is the need of the hour not only for Afghanistan but f...
Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), 2017
The paper scrutinizes the political rights situation during the first five years (1999-2004) of P... more The paper scrutinizes the political rights situation during the first five years (1999-2004) of Pervaiz Musharraf era. Musharraf had come into power after army had revolted over his dismissal as army chief by the prime minister. He strove to project soft image of his government to get legitimacy within the country and recognition from the outside world, particularly the West. He portrayed himself as a liberal leader and later also propagated his idea of “enlightened moderation” as a panacea for the miseries of the Muslim world. Despite his overtures, the political rights situation became bleak during his military rule and no meaningful change took place even during the first two years after country returned to “democratic rule.” Musharraf government denied people of their political rights to prolong his authoritarian rule. His rule was characterized by: arbitrary arrests and imprisonments of political leaders; repression of political activities; imposition of forced exile; political...
Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), 2020
Pakistan is an ethnically diverse country. Therefore, a federal system has been introduced after ... more Pakistan is an ethnically diverse country. Therefore, a federal system has been introduced after the independence. However, powers may not be fully decentralised to the federating units which created sense of deprivation particularly among the people of smaller provinces and less developed areas. To alleviate their concerns and grievances, the 18th Constitutional Amendment has been brought about and more autonomy has been given to the provinces. However, the amendment could not address the problems of ethnic minorities living in different provinces. This article explores the prospects of creation of a Saraiki or South Punjab Province. The article uses a qualitative research technique employing historical and descriptive methods. The data has been collected mostly from secondary sources. The findings show that Punjab is the largest province in terms of population, and it is difficult to manage its affairs efficiently from the Capital, Lahore. The provincial government faces difficult...
Journal of humanities, social and management sciences, Jun 30, 2022
Pakistan and Afghanistan share the contiguity of neighbourhood and bonds of Islam. Despite lingui... more Pakistan and Afghanistan share the contiguity of neighbourhood and bonds of Islam. Despite linguistic, cultural and traditional similarities, their relations have remained in a spin. Pakistan and Afghanistan are geographically so dependent on each other that the effects of war and peace could be felt on both sides of the borders. Many factors are involved in upsetting these relations: the hostility of Afghan rulers and their tilt towards India since Pakistan's independence; Durand Line and Pakhtunistan issues and Pakistan's role during the Soviet-Afghan war (1979-1989) in supporting the Afghan Jihadists. Pak-Afghan relations remained exemplary during the Taliban rule (1996-2001). The paper explores: a) Pak-Afghan relations during President Hamid Karzai's rule; b) the relations under President Ashraf Ghani; c) India's role in sabotaging the relations; and d) Pakistan's efforts in Afghanistan's rebuilding and reconstruction process. The study finds that the dynamics of relations in the post-9/11 era were not cordial and there was a great trust deficit between the two countries during different US-led regimes. The paper is based on historical legacies and an analytical understanding of them. The previous research on the subject did not fully explore the era between 2001-2018, which this study aims to fulfil.
The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors that influenced Pakistani policy in re... more The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors that influenced Pakistani policy in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. This development had far-reaching implications for the entire region, and more so for Pakistan. Pakistan was already facing an existential threat from a hostile India on its eastern border. With Soviet forces on its western border, this threat has increased manifold. Both India and the Soviet Union were strategic allies and had already played a key role in the disintegration of Pakistan in 1971 besides sponsoring various separatist movements in West Pakistan since the inception of the country in 1947. Soviet military intervention was viewed as a grave threat to national security and the territorial integrity of Pakistan. This paper also explores the causes of Soviet interventions in Afghanistan. According to the study, the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan was a continuation of the Soviet expansionist course that saw it annex Central Asian Khanates in the nineteenth century. It could also help realize long Russian desire to access to the warms water. Apparently, it seemed that Pakistan would be a logical next target of expansionist Russia, and several factors made the former vulnerable to Soviet designs. The study uses both historical and analytical methods. Most of the information comes from secondary sources like books and articles, which are looked at using the thematic analysis method.
Regional cooperation is considered a panacea for several problems faced by the developing states,... more Regional cooperation is considered a panacea for several problems faced by the developing states, such as underdevelopment, poverty, unemployment, social and economic backwardness, natural disasters, and environmental changes among others (Naazer, 2018a). It can also serve as a harbinger of peace, stability, progress, and prosperity through creating economic interdependence, trade linkages, socio-cultural exchanges, integration of infrastructure and projects, promoting trust, understanding, amity, cooperation, and friendship among regional states. There can be diverse models of regional and interregional cooperation in various fields, including functional cooperation, integration by projects and market integration, etc. (Ahmad, 2013). South Asia has vast potential for regional cooperation among members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) as well as countries of adjoining areas such as Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia. However, these countries have so far not been able to exploit the full potential of regional cooperation for several reasons. The factors that impede regional cooperation in South Asia are diverse and include both regional and extra-regional (Naazer, 2018b). South Asian states owing to their rapidly growing developing needs, swelling population, and dwindling indigenous energy resources are increasingly becoming energy-deficient nations. This problem also provides them an opportunity for regional cooperation with energy-rich states of adjoining regions, such as Central Asia and West Asia (Elahi, 2016). The regional states considered several proposals to import gas through pipelines from other countries but none of them could be materialized. One of such proposal included Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline which was also termed
Liberal arts & social sciences international journal, Dec 31, 2020
Pakistan has been on the 'Grey List' of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)the international m... more Pakistan has been on the 'Grey List' of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)the international money laundering and terror-financing watchdog. Pakistan's engagement with the task force is not new, the country faced FATF indictments during 2008 and 2012 to 2015. Despite Pakistan's efforts to curb AML for CFT and huge diplomatic commitments, the task force retained Pakistan on the 'Grey List' on account of its Risk Profile. Though other countries get clearance after fulfilling 80 percent compliance, but Pakistan has been pressurized for a hundred percent compliance with the action plan. There are severe drawbacks for being remained in the grey list for banking system, export and imports, remittances, international lending and foreign investments but the most severe would be its dropping into blacklist. The September 2020 Legislation would help gathering diplomatic support in the forthcoming settings. The supportive role-played so for by China, Turkey, Malaysia at the task force has worked in averting Pakistan from blacklisting. Therefore, the study suggests that powerful diplomacy can break the FATF clutches and get Pakistan out of the 'strategic deficiencies list' or grey list. Explorative, historical and analytical conclusions have been brought in content analysis format.
Pakistan faced severe challenges of violent extremism and terrorism after US invasion of Afghanis... more Pakistan faced severe challenges of violent extremism and terrorism after US invasion of Afghanistan. The successive governments pursued both political and military means to bring an end to this problem but to no avail. The war against terrorism was highly unpopular among the people and it was the main cause of failure to combat terrorism. In 2013, the newly formed government led by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif decided to give peace a chance after a decision of an All Parties Conference (APC). Consequently, the dialogue process, through the committee members nominated by the government and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), ensued that kindled the hope of peace and stability in the country. However, the process was crippled after a few months and government launched a military operation against TTP and other militant outfits in the country. The paper explores the factors that lead the government to start peace talks with TTP and analyzes the challenges that dialogue process faced and ultimately caused its failure. Finally, it highlights the benefits, particularly the national consensus to combat terrorism that dialogue process produced despite its failure to bring peace in the country.
Liberal arts & social sciences international journal, Feb 14, 2020
The Afghan people suffered a lot from war on terror, security issues, and political and economic ... more The Afghan people suffered a lot from war on terror, security issues, and political and economic instability since US invasion in 2001. Pakistan being an important neighbouring country of Afghanistan can play a vital role in bringing amity and stability through facilitating peace process. Both the US administration and Afghan government demand Pakistan to influence and bring the Taliban to the table talks. In this context, this study aims to explore Pakistan's role in the ongoing peace process that has so far created an understanding among the stakeholders that a peaceful and stable Afghanistan is in the interest of the region. The study finds that there are greater issues to be dealt with carefully e.g., the governance system of the country, the constitution, and a viable powersharing formula to be acceptable to all the stakeholders. Any successful peace deal needs a strong commitment on the part of all the stakeholders. Peace is the need of the hour not only for Afghanistan but for the whole region as well. Pakistan needs to continue her support to the Afghanistan's stability and play its due role in the peace negotiations in the greater regional interests.
Liberal arts & social sciences international journal, Dec 31, 2019
The paper aims to highlight some drawbacks in the approach of a section of Muslims leaders, schol... more The paper aims to highlight some drawbacks in the approach of a section of Muslims leaders, scholars, and masses towards the idea of nationalism. They view it as a Western concept implanted in the Muslim world as a conspiracy to divide and subjugate them as well as to undermine Islamic teachings. The paper elucidates the existence of the socioeconomic conditions and political situation in the Muslim world that offered apt milieu to the growth of nationalism. Rise of nationalism has not been exclusively responsible for fragmentation of Ottoman Empire. Instead, the religious elements in the Arab world and oppressive rule and suppressive measures of the Turk rulers also contributed to the process. Fairly, nationalism served as a driving force against the imperial rule and helped gain Muslims emancipation from the West. The study also illuminates the difference between territorial and Muslim nationalisms and that how Islam replaced the secularism. The study is qualitative and employs historical and content analysis methods to collect and scrutinise the data.
Liberal arts & social sciences international journal, Dec 31, 2018
This study explores the legitimacy of nation-states in the light of Islamic teachings, and though... more This study explores the legitimacy of nation-states in the light of Islamic teachings, and thoughts of prominent Muslims jurists. It focuses on these questions: does Islam prescribe a specific form of government; if a single unified state is required as per injunctions of Islam; does Islam outlaws the nationalism; does Islam commend a unitary or a federal state. The research investigates the stateformation process in the light of teachings of Quran and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) as well as writings of Muslim theologians and jurists. The nature of the state practiced in the Muslim world, the importance of Caliph and its actual role, place of tribalism and nationalism in Islam, are the main points of discussion. The study employs historical and descriptive methods and relies on secondary sources mainly books and articles covering writings of Muslim scholars from later generations.
Liberal arts & social sciences international journal, Apr 24, 2020
Pakistan is an ethnically diverse country. Therefore, a federal system has been introduced after ... more Pakistan is an ethnically diverse country. Therefore, a federal system has been introduced after the independence. However, powers may not be fully decentralised to the federating units which created sense of deprivation particularly among the people of smaller provinces and less developed areas. To alleviate their concerns and grievances, the 18 th Constitutional Amendment has been brought about and more autonomy has been given to the provinces. However, the amendment could not address the problems of ethnic minorities living in different provinces. This article explores the prospects of creation of a Saraiki or South Punjab Province. The article uses a qualitative research technique employing historical and descriptive methods. The data has been collected mostly from secondary sources. The findings show that Punjab is the largest province in terms of population, and it is difficult to manage its affairs efficiently from the Capital, Lahore. The provincial government faces difficulty to address the grievances of the people living in far-flung regions such as South Punjab. The growing inequalities led to the revival and intensification of the movement for the creation of Saraiki Province.
Liberal arts & social sciences international journal, Jun 22, 2021
Challenges to globalization have grave implications for the worldwide liberal order that emerged ... more Challenges to globalization have grave implications for the worldwide liberal order that emerged with the end of the cold war. These challenges began to ascend from the West. The occasions like Brexit, ascent of radical rightist political groups in Europe, recognition of isolationist policies, choice of former US President Donald Trump (Originator of isolationist policies), and the strive towards confinement of manufacture and services have altered the contours of global liberal order. The objective of this study is to find the factors that prepared ground for anti-globalization accounts as well as to discover its effect on the global liberal order by applying the content analysis method. This study used qualitative methodology utilizing both primary and secondary data i.e., government documents, annual reports, speeches of leaders, books, journal articles and newspapers etc. Findings of the study concludes that anti-globalization narratives are translating into the electoral processes, progressing hyper-nationalism over liberal order; multi-polarity above Uni-polarity; and Isolationism above free market economy. All such changes have critical repercussions for the global liberal order, hence, should be observed cautiously. If the pattern proceeds, the world pioneers ought to think about modifying the worldwide associations, alliances, as well as national security procedures.
Journal of Humanities, Social and Management Sciences (JHSMS)
Right to Information regime is considered a strong commitment towards good governance. This commi... more Right to Information regime is considered a strong commitment towards good governance. This commitment supports fairness in laws, rules and regulations. In Pakistan, the best RTI laws are of the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; hence KP RTI Act 2013 and Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013 have taken as a case for this paper. This paper aims to analyze how far certain Right to Information laws remained successful in terms of proactive disclosure of information and institutional measures. Categorically two dimensions are examined (a) proactive disclosure of information by the public bodies and (b) Institutional Measures under clause 5 and 4 of Right to Information laws in both provinces respectively. Based on desk review and telephonic discussion a comparative assessment has taken randomly selected departments such as Elementary and Secondary Education, Health and Local Government Department. Comparatively, in Punjab public bodies are more actively engage with respect ...
This paper elucidates the significance of the role and behavior of a core member - occupying a ce... more This paper elucidates the significance of the role and behavior of a core member - occupying a central position and politically, militarily, and economically superior to others – and the outside great or superpower for the success of the process of regional cooperation especially in the developing world. The core state plays a vital role in either success or failure of any regional cooperative arrangement. Outside powers, especially the great or superpowers can also affect the fate of regional schemes. Moreover, the nature of relations between the core member state and an outside great or superpower also affects in diverse ways the process of regionalism. Under this theoretical framework, this paper investigates why the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline proposal could not materialize. The paper explores internal and external factors that halted the progress of the project with special reference to the role and behavior of India and the United States. It illuminates how the Indo-US st...
Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), Dec 31, 2017
The mechanism created by South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) excludes the di... more The mechanism created by South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) excludes the discussions on bilateral and contentious issues which is said to be the main hurdle in the SAARC to take off. Despite similarities in the South Asian member countries, e.g. cultural, linguistic, and historical, they have not yet been able to evolve cooperative environment and their relations are characterised by varying conflicts. Keeping with the background nominal progress that has been made by SAARC, it will be wise to review the interstate conflicts which are halting the ways of the South Asian progress. The present study surveys the nature of interstate conflict among SAARC members and their impact on regional cooperation. It also explores various modes of conflict management and conflict resolution. It offers conflict management and multi-track diplomacy as keys to peace in the South Asian region and progress for SAARC.
The paper explores the progress of regional cooperation in various functional areas as identified... more The paper explores the progress of regional cooperation in various functional areas as identified by South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) since its inception in 1985. It also examines whether and to what extent SAARC has been successful in accomplishing the goals enshrined in its charter. SAARC was formed: to promote peace, amity, stability and progress in the region; to promote the welfare and quality of life of people; to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development, and; to attain collective and national self-reliance through joint efforts. SAARC made significant progress in several areas, such as: agriculture and rural development; environment; science and technology; human resource development including education, arts, culture and sports; transport; telecommunications, and information and communication technology; tourism, and energy. It has concluded several agreements and conventions besides setting up a few regional centres to rea...
The paper provides an account of Arab Spring origin, ideology and demands of civil society. The p... more The paper provides an account of Arab Spring origin, ideology and demands of civil society. The political turmoil in the Arab world challenged the political status quo of Middle East and North Africa. Arab Spring is the fundamental event in the Arab world history. It also describes the role of well educated youth and power of social media in Arab Spring. It further explains the demonstrations at Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Syria in details. Specifically, the paper spotlights on the relative deprivation theory of Ted Robert Gurr to illustrate why Arab Spring emerged. Relative deprivation theory has been used to clarify how socio-economic shortages (unemployment, education and poverty) and political inefficiencies lead to collective turmoil. The answer provides a clue to resolve the current problem.
Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), 2019
The idea of Eurasian integration has come up as a strategic goal of major powers in recent years.... more The idea of Eurasian integration has come up as a strategic goal of major powers in recent years. Russia’s Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the European Union’s (EU) Eastern Partnership Program (EPP) with the objective of expanding a sphere of influence and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to create economic integration through transportation infrastructure and trade are three major strategies for this purpose. This study highlights that China’s growing presence in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is a clear indicator of its growing influence. Therefore, the article aims to appraise China’s rise in Eastern Europe through its BRI and Eurasian integration strategy. Secondly, it presents a comparative analysis of multiple Eurasian integration strategies. Through a prism of “New Regionalism Theory,” this study delves into exploring the factors behind China’s effort to create regional integration in the whole Eurasia. The findings of the study show that the Belt and Road Initiati...
Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), 2020
The Afghan people suffered a lot from war on terror, security issues, and political and economic ... more The Afghan people suffered a lot from war on terror, security issues, and political and economic instability since US invasion in 2001. Pakistan being an important neighbouring country of Afghanistan can play a vital role in bringing amity and stability through facilitating peace process. Both the US administration and Afghan government demand Pakistan to influence and bring the Taliban to the table talks. In this context, this study aims to explore Pakistan’s role in the ongoing peace process that has so far created an understanding among the stakeholders that a peaceful and stable Afghanistan is in the interest of the region. The study finds that there are greater issues to be dealt with carefully e.g., the governance system of the country, the constitution, and a viable power-sharing formula to be acceptable to all the stakeholders. Any successful peace deal needs a strong commitment on the part of all the stakeholders. Peace is the need of the hour not only for Afghanistan but f...
Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), 2017
The paper scrutinizes the political rights situation during the first five years (1999-2004) of P... more The paper scrutinizes the political rights situation during the first five years (1999-2004) of Pervaiz Musharraf era. Musharraf had come into power after army had revolted over his dismissal as army chief by the prime minister. He strove to project soft image of his government to get legitimacy within the country and recognition from the outside world, particularly the West. He portrayed himself as a liberal leader and later also propagated his idea of “enlightened moderation” as a panacea for the miseries of the Muslim world. Despite his overtures, the political rights situation became bleak during his military rule and no meaningful change took place even during the first two years after country returned to “democratic rule.” Musharraf government denied people of their political rights to prolong his authoritarian rule. His rule was characterized by: arbitrary arrests and imprisonments of political leaders; repression of political activities; imposition of forced exile; political...
Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), 2020
Pakistan is an ethnically diverse country. Therefore, a federal system has been introduced after ... more Pakistan is an ethnically diverse country. Therefore, a federal system has been introduced after the independence. However, powers may not be fully decentralised to the federating units which created sense of deprivation particularly among the people of smaller provinces and less developed areas. To alleviate their concerns and grievances, the 18th Constitutional Amendment has been brought about and more autonomy has been given to the provinces. However, the amendment could not address the problems of ethnic minorities living in different provinces. This article explores the prospects of creation of a Saraiki or South Punjab Province. The article uses a qualitative research technique employing historical and descriptive methods. The data has been collected mostly from secondary sources. The findings show that Punjab is the largest province in terms of population, and it is difficult to manage its affairs efficiently from the Capital, Lahore. The provincial government faces difficult...
Trade cooperation and liberalisation has been a controversial issue in South Asia in general and ... more Trade cooperation and liberalisation has been a controversial issue in South Asia in general and for India and Pakistan, in particular. Scholars, economic experts and leaders of South Asian Countries have generally been divided on the issue. This paper provides a brief overview of why this is the case, explores Pakistan"s apprehensions towards enhancing trade ties with India and offers prospects of bilateral trade looking at its potential effects and challenges for the region.
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Papers by Manzoor Naazer