Archive for the ‘Pakistan’ Category
Monday, January 25th, 2010
Posted in Afghanistan, Business and economics, Energy, Government and politics, Health and healthcare, International Relations, Labor, Middle East, National security, Pakistan, Taxation | No Comments »
Friday, August 14th, 2009
Direct Overt U.S. Aid and Military Reimbursements to Pakistan, FY2002-FY2010 (PDF; 51 KB)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Secrecy News/Federation of American Scientists)
Chart
Posted in Congressional Research Service, Government and politics, Pakistan | No Comments »
Thursday, June 11th, 2009
British Citizenship Statistics United Kingdom, 2008 (PDF; 423 KB)
Source: Home Office
Main Points:
- Applications for British citizenship fell by 1 per cent in 2008 to 156,015.
- The total number of decisions made in 2008 fell by 23 per cent to 138,465.
- The number of persons granted British citizenship in the United Kingdom fell by 21 per cent to 129,375 in 2008.
- Refusals, withdrawals and applicants found to be British already made up 7 per cent of all decisions in 2008, 2 percentage points less than in 2007.
- 51 per cent of grants were on the basis of residence, 22 per cent marriage, and 24 per cent minor children.
- The main nationalities granted British citizenship were Indian, Pakistani, Iraqi, Somali and Zimbabwean.
- The number of persons attending a British citizenship ceremony fell by 24 per cent to 91,450 in 2008.
- Almost half of all ceremonies in 2008, 41,605 (45 per cent), were held within Greater London.
Posted in Africa, Asia, Education, Ethnic, Europe, Immigration, International, Middle East, Pakistan, Social and cultural issues, United Kingdom | No Comments »
Monday, June 1st, 2009
Changes in Fertility Rates Among Muslims in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh
Source: Population Reference Bureau
The number of Muslims worldwide is projected to grow over the next decade to reach one-quarter of the world’s population, largely because of higher fertility among Muslim populations. Yet, it is simplistic to argue that there is a specifically Islamic pattern of fertility due solely to religious influence, argues Mehtab Karim, a senior research adviser and senior fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion and World Affairs. Karim visited PRB as part of its ongoing Policy Seminar series and presented findings based on the latest Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
In the 1960s and 1970s, a large body of research among Western demographers argued that cultural and religious factors caused high fertility in the developing world. Muslims tended to have higher fertility rates than those in other religious groups. But starting in the mid-1980s, fertility declined in many Muslim countries. Effective family planning programs caused fertility transitions, debunking the previous belief in religion’s role in population growth, according to Karim. Socioeconomic conditions and policies have far more impact on the average family size than religion, according to Karim’s research on the demographics of Muslims in South Asia. With 450 million Muslims, the region has the highest concentration of Muslims worldwide. The total fertility rate (TFR), or average number of lifetime births per woman, has fallen in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh since the mid-1980s, following the same trend as many countries with large Muslim populations, with the exception of western Africa.
Posted in Asia, Children and families, International, Pakistan, Religion and spirituality, Social and cultural issues | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
Comparing the U.S. and Soviet Experiences in Afghanistan
Source: Brookings Institution
A country rarely fights the same war twice in one generation, especially from opposite sides. Yet that in many ways describes the U.S. role in Afghanistan today. In the 1980s, the Central Intelligence Agency, working from a safe haven in Pakistan, engineered the largest covert operation in its history to help defeat the Soviet 40th Red Army in Afghanistan. Today, the United States is fighting a Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan that operates from a safe haven in Pakistan. Many suggest that the outcome will be the same for the United States as it was for the Soviet Union—ultimate defeat at the hands of the insurgency. Pakistan’s role as a safe haven is remarkably consistent in both conflicts, but focusing exclusively on that similarity misses the fundamental differences between the two wars. This article will address those differences, and will also assess how Pakistan’s role is impacting the United States’ possibilities for success today.
+ Full Document (PDF; 628 KB)
Posted in Afghanistan, Asia, Military and defense, Pakistan, Russia | No Comments »
Monday, March 30th, 2009
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Hearing on Religious Extremism in Pakistan, March 2009
Source: Commission on International Religious Freedom (via Council on Foreign Relations)
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom held this hearing on March 17, 2009. Chair Felice Gaer’s opening comments described the subject of the hearing: “the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom will examine the threat that religious extremism poses to security, human rights, and religious freedom in Pakistan. The domestic political crisis in Pakistan this past weekend, and the restriction of human rights and freedoms during it, underline the difficulties U.S. policymakers face in dealing with that strategic country. The Commission has been concerned about a rising threat of religious extremism that promotes violence in Pakistan and South Asia, one of the world’s most troubled regions.
This is the third in the U.S. Commission’s series of hearings exploring the nexus of religious extremism and security, and the impact of religious extremism on freedom of thought, conscience and religion and other human rights.
+ Full Transcript (PDF; 171 KB)
Posted in International Relations, Pakistan, Religion and spirituality | No Comments »
Saturday, March 7th, 2009
Progress Toward Poliomyelitis Eradication — Afghanistan and Pakistan, 2008
Source: Morbidity and Mortality Review (CDC)
During 2008, despite continued intensive polio eradication activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan, WPV1 and WPV3 continued to circulate in the two shared transmission zones of both countries. In addition, WPV1 was reintroduced into previously polio-free areas of northern Punjab Province, Pakistan. However, most of Afghanistan continues to be free of endemic WPV transmission. Similarly, after efforts to improve strategy implementation in Sindh Province, Pakistan, no WPV1 cases have been reported there since August 2008.
Two critical factors hamper efforts to interrupt WPV transmission in both countries: conflicts affecting increasingly large parts of the border area between the countries, and operational and management issues impeding the quality of SIAs in Pakistan. In the northern transmission zone, large areas of NWFP and FATA in Pakistan and the East region of Afghanistan often were too dangerous to conduct SIAs. Access in the South Region of Afghanistan decreased further during 2008, after some improvements in late 2007. In Sindh and Balochistan provinces, which did not have serious security problems, political and managerial issues adversely affected supervision and accountability, resulting in failure to fully and properly implement SIAs and continued WPV transmission.
Maintaining high levels of immunity in areas where WPV transmission has been interrupted also remains a priority, to prevent recurrence of outbreaks such as the one in Punjab. In addition to continued support from the international polio eradication partnership, interruption of WPV transmission in Afghanistan and Pakistan will require overcoming one of the most important remaining challenges in polio eradication globally: the barriers to access and vaccination of children in large, remote, and security-compromised areas. Efforts to engage political and tribal leaders will need to be enhanced to secure access and safe passage of vaccination teams to these areas. In the interim, critical improvements are needed in the quality of SIAs and delivery of routine immunization in both countries.
Posted in Afghanistan, Diseases and conditions, Health and healthcare, Pakistan | No Comments »
Monday, February 23rd, 2009
New GAO Report (PDF)
Source: Government Accountability Office
1. Securing, Stabilizing, and Developing Pakistan’s Border Area with Afghanistan: Key Issues for Congressional Oversight
Posted in Afghanistan, GAO, Government and politics, Pakistan | No Comments »
Monday, November 17th, 2008
Partnership for Progress: Advancing a New Strategy for Prosperity and Stability in Pakistan and the Region
Source: Center for American Progress
Pakistan lies at the nexus of one the world’s most complicated geopolitical regions— one plagued by poverty, nuclear proliferation, and global terrorism. With a growing population of more than 165 million people, Pakistan is a vital link between South and Central Asia and the broader Middle East. Pakistan’s multiple internal challenges extend beyond its borders and have a wide-ranging impact on regional and global stability. Just as conditions in Afghanistan, India, Iran, and Central Asian countries affect Pakistan, events in Pakistan shape its neighbors.
There are positive signs and opportunities for Pakistan’s democracy and, ultimately, stability. In February 2008, a democratic transition occurred in Pakistan, ushering in a civilian government and leading to the resignation of military strongman Pervez Musharraf from the presidency. Despite a history of interference in the political process, the Pakistani military has intentionally provided space to Pakistani’s civilian leaders to find their footing since the election.
Pakistan will pose one of the greatest foreign policy challenges for the incoming Obama administration. How Pakistan addresses its militancy, weak governance, and economic dif- ficulties will directly influence the security of the United States and its people. The Obama administration must seize these opportunities and work with Pakistan, its friends, and neighbors to create a new strategy for enhancing security in Pakistan. But first U.S. policymakers must understand the key challenges facing Pakistan and the region, as well as the critical opportunities the Obama administration can leverage over the next four years.
+ Full Report (PDF; 3.9 MB)
Posted in Government and politics, International Relations, Pakistan, Terrorism | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 24th, 2008
New GAO Report and Testimony (PDFs)
Source: Government Accountability Office
24 June 2008
+ Report
1. Combating Terrorism: Increased Oversight and Accountability Needed over Pakistan Reimbursement Claims for Coalition Support Funds
–
+ Testimony
1. Combating Terrorism: U.S. Oversight of Pakistan Reimbursement Claims for Coalition Support Funds, by Charles Michael Johnson, Jr., director, international affairs and trade, before the Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Posted in GAO, Government and politics, Pakistan, Terrorism | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
Taliban’s Sanctuary Bases in Pakistan Must Be Eliminated
Source: RAND Corporation
If Taliban sanctuary bases in Pakistan are not eliminated, the United States and its NATO allies will face crippling long-term consequences in their effort to stabilize and rebuild Afghanistan, according to a RAND Corporation study issued today.
The study, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, finds that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate and Frontier Corps have failed to root out Afghan insurgent groups based in Pakistan and, in some cases, individuals from these Pakistani organizations have provided direct assistance to such groups as the Taliban and Haqqani network.
+ Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan: RAND Counterinsurgency Study — Volume 4
Posted in Afghanistan, Military and defense, Pakistan, Terrorism | No Comments »
Friday, May 16th, 2008
A New Course for Pakistan
Source: Center for Strategic & International Studies
During a two week research trip to Pakistan in mid-April 2008, the PCR team interviewed more than 200 Pakistanis and several dozen expatriates in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Peshawar, Attock, Quetta and Karachi. The team met with the newly elected leadership, former generals, journalists, economists, nationalist leaders, trade unionists, diplomats, university professors, bloggers, ulema, aid workers, security analysts, leaders of the lawyers’ movement, and students at an elementary school, a madrassa, an Afghan refugee primary school, and a university.
The post-election visit focused on the major issues affecting the country and examined ways in which the United States can be most supportive of Pakistani-led initiatives during this critical transition period.
+ Full Report (PDF; 1.6 MB)
Posted in Pakistan | No Comments »
Friday, May 16th, 2008
The Afghan-Pakistan War: A Status Report
Source: Center for Strategic & International Studies
The Afghan War is not an unreported war in the media, but it is a largely unreported war in terms of useful, unclassified reporting by governments and NATO/ISAF. Only the UN has provided consistent analytic reporting on the progress of the war, and its reporting only goes into significant detail in the area of counternarcotics.
The US government has cut back on its reporting over time, and its web pages now do little more that report on current events. Unlike the Iraq War, there is no Department of Defense quarterly report on the progress of the war, and on efforts to create effective Afghan security, governance, and development. There is no equivalent to the State Department weekly status report. Testimony to Congress, while useful, does not provide detailed statements or back up slide with maps, graphs, and other data on the course of the war.
The same is true of virtually all of the other governments providing NATO/ISAF forces, and of NATO/ISAF itself. There are some useful data on the reasons for deploying forces, casualties, and the units actually deployed, but no real analysis of the course of the fighting, threat developments, and relative success.
Most NGO and governmental reporting on aid is equally uninformative. There is largely anecdotal reporting on projects and successes, but little reporting on actual spending, the overall aid effort, and measures of requirements or effectiveness.
The Afghan government provides little or no useful data.
+ Full Report (PDF; 6.2 MB)
Posted in Afghanistan, Military and defense, Pakistan | No Comments »
Friday, May 9th, 2008
Illicit drug trends reports
Source: UN Office for Drugs and Crime (via UN Pulse)
The UN Office for Drugs and Crime has issued four reports on Ilicit drug trends in Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and Central Asia. The reports were produced within the framework of the Paris Pact, an initiative launched in 2003 to promote coordinated measures to counter narcotic-trafficking in and from Afghanistan. Afghanistan (PDF; 1.8 MB) is virtually the world’s sole producer of opium, yielding at least 93 per cent of the global annual output. In Pakistan, (PDF; 2.9 MB) the estimated number of opiate users has reached a plateau. In 2006, approximately 628,000 opiate users were recorded, of which 77 per cent were chronic heroin abusers. In Central Asia (PDF; 1.3 MB), drug use between 2002-2006 increased annually, although at a slower rate than during the previous five year period (1996-2001). In Russia (PDF: 2.8 MB), the proportion of heroin and opium seizures has increased every year since 1999. In 2006, Russian law enforcement officers were able to seize almost 3,000kg of opiates.
Posted in Afghanistan, Asia, Crime, Mental health and substance abuse, Pakistan, Russia | No Comments »
Friday, April 25th, 2008
Major U.S. Arms Sales and Grants to Pakistan Since 2001 (updated April 23, 2008) (PDF; 38 KB)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)
Major government-to-government arms sales and grants to Pakistan since 2001 have included items useful for counterterrorism operations, along with a number of “big ticket” platforms more suited to conventional warfare. In dollar value terms, the bulk of purchases are made with Pakistani national funds: the Pentagon reports total Foreign Military Sales agreements with Pakistan worth $4.55 billion for FY2002-FY2007 (in-process sales of F-16 combat aircraft and related equipment account for about three-quarters of this). The United States also has provided Pakistan with nearly $1.6 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) since 2001 (including scheduled FY2008 funds), with a “base program” of $300 million per year beginning in FY2005. These funds are used to purchase U.S. military equipment. Pakistan also has been granted U.S. defense supplies as Excess Defense Articles (EDA).
Posted in International Relations, Military and defense, Pakistan | No Comments »
Sunday, February 10th, 2008
Bad News Makes Headlines: Security challenges posed by Pakistan
Source: Institute for Public Policy Research
Pakistan does not often make international headlines, but on the occasions in which it does it is portrayed extremely negatively and as a failing state. Variously, Pakistan is blamed in the press for harbouring al-Qaeda terrorists, tensions with India, the training of fighters in Afghanistan, and for exporting nuclear technology. Although often grounded in fact, most reports are written in unnecessarily alarmist fashion, as demonstrated in the aftermath of terrorist attacks.
Pakistan is too important, especially in the wake of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, for alarmist views of the situation to distort a more sober understanding of the dynamics of the country’s politics and their implications for Western policy. This background briefing paper attempts to redress the balance.
+ Full Paper (PDF; 96 KB)
Posted in Pakistan | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008
Pakistan and the War on Terror: Conflicted Goals, Compromised Performance
Source: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The United States must shift its counterterrorism policy towards Pakistan away from a reciprocal approach—requiring Islamabad to perform desirable actions to receive support—towards one encouraging Pakistan to enact effective counterterrorism policies, not for an immediate payoff, but to strengthen institutionalized trust with the U.S. over time, according to a new report from the Carnegie Endowment.
In Pakistan and the War on Terror: Conflicted Goals, Compromised Performance, Carnegie Senior Associate Ashley J. Tellis points to growing dissatisfaction in the United States with the Musharraf regime’s commitment to counterterrorism operations, given the influx of U.S. aid. But while Pakistan’s performance in the “war on terror†has fallen short of expectations, Islamabad’s inability to defeat terrorist groups cannot simply be explained by neglect or lack of motivation. U.S. policy makers must take into account the specific and complex counterterrorism challenges facing Pakistan and move away from their current unsustainable policies.
+ Full Document (PDF; 3.1 MB)
Posted in International Relations, Pakistan, Terrorism | No Comments »
Friday, January 18th, 2008
Pakistan’s Nuclear Future: Worries Beyond War
Source: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College
This book, completed just before Pakistani President Musharraf imposed a state of emergency in November 2007, reflects research that the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center commissioned over the last 2 years. It tries to characterize specific nuclear problems that the ruling Pakistani government faces with the aim of establishing a base line set of challenges for remedial action. Its point of departure is to consider what nuclear challenges Pakistan will face if moderate forces remain in control of the government and no hot war breaks out against India.
+ Full Document (PDF; 1.9 MB)
Posted in International Relations, Pakistan | No Comments »
Thursday, January 10th, 2008
Pakistanis Want Larger Role for Both Islam and Democracy
Source: World Public Opinion/U.S. Institute of Peace
An in-depth survey of Pakistani public opinion reveals majority support for a moderate and democratic Islamic state, though a small but significant minority shows sympathy for Islamist militant groups.
Most Pakistanis want Islam to play a larger role in Pakistani society. However, a majority also favors a more democratic political system, rejects ‘Talibanization,†and supports recent government efforts to reform the madrassah system by focusing more on science and mathematics. Majorities have little sympathy for Islamist military groups and most would like to see the Federally Administered Tribal Areas integrated into Pakistan.
The survey also found that Pakistani attitudes toward the United States are negative and that there is a growing perception that the United States is hostile toward Islam.
The survey was conducted from Sept. 12-18, just before President Pervez Musharraf declared a six-week state of emergency and before the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The sample included 907 Pakistani urban adults, selected using multi-stage probability sampling, who were interviewed at home in 19 cities. The margin of error is +/- 3.3 percent.
+ Full Report (PDF; 247 KB)
+ Questionnaire / Methodology (PDF; 133 KB)
Posted in Pakistan | No Comments »
Friday, December 28th, 2007
Pakistan’s Institutions and Civil Society
Source: Council on Foreign Relations
Pakistan’s army and its intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), have long been on top of the power structure in the country. Through coups, support of militants, and interference in their neighboring countries’ affairs, they have directly or indirectly held onto power and been at the center of major decision making in the country since its creation in August 1947. Militant Islamic groups are the other powerful players, sometimes standing on the same side as the government, as in the case of jihadis trained and recruited to fight wars in Kashmir and Afghanistan, and sometimes against the government—as with those challenging Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s rule today.
As Pakistan’s president and its army chief, Musharraf has targeted the country’s judiciary as specifically as he has extremists in his justification of the imposition of emergency rule in November 2007. One of the first steps Musharraf took under emergency rule was to replace Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who he had initially tried to dismiss in March 2007. Musharraf then moved to crack down on the media, lawyers, social activists, and secular and religious political opponents. Who are these emerging players in Pakistani society and how do they fit in the power dynamics of a state dominated by the military?
Posted in Pakistan | No Comments »
