Role of Education in the Development of Pakistan

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Human Development report of this month has ranked Singapore as 38th in the list of 189 countries, a highly human developed country. But Pakistan has been placed at the 150th position which is, even, lower rank than that of other south Asian countries like Bangladesh, India, and Nepal. This clearly shows that why Pakistan is in slow progress condition. Human development is the key to be listed in developed countries. This is what Singapore did for its people through education. The education system of Singapore is being replicated in other countries of the world due to its high efficiency, a report in The Economist noted in this month. But the education system of Pakistan has been facing a lot of challenges which cannot support the proper human development. Political will and lack of quality education are the two most important hurdles in this case. However, with some strict measures, these problems can be handled easily.

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Education and other human development programs, from the day first, has not been the first priority of any government in Pakistan. After Quad-e-Azam, not a single leader of this country could recognize the value of education in the development of the country. That is why, still, our children spend an average of 8 years in school without desired output due to lack of quality education. Resultantly, the skilled and professional labor force is in shortage in our country which slows down the progress. In other countries like Singapore, education is their first priority and the students of the 5th standard are highly trained in basic mathematics skills. It is said that the students of Singapore are 2 to 3 years ahead mentally as compared to the students of the same age as the western countries. Therefore, Singapore has progressed economically at lightning speed in the last decades.

This is the first time in the history of Pakistan that the incumbent government has ranked the human development at the top of the list. The PM of Pakistan has stressed the importance of health and education. The government has pledged to launch the same education system all over the country. Although, it is a welcome step towards the improvement of the education system but policy-makers should be realistic and not be just ambitious. All institutions require a slow and stepwise overhaul. An impulsive approach may harm the existing system. So, first of all, the education system should be studied thoroughly and, after pointing out defects, a careful step should be taken to improve it which could help Pakistan to produce highly skilled professionals in every field of life to run the economy of the country efficiently.

Food Security and Climate Change

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Food security has become a serious issue in this century. Recently, the United Nations annual report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World shows that malnutrition affected more than 151 million children with stunted growth under the age of five. And 821 million people living under the acute poverty level. Moreover, the number of food insecure people have raised to about 60% and more than 80% of babes lacked nutritious food. So, it has left 44% of children with stunted growth. Although, there are various reasons for such deportable situation of food insecurity but one of the most important is climate change.

Climate is the major environmental factor which has the greatest impact on the pattern of agricultural production and its nutrition. A smaller disturbance in climate may cause the total loss of crops. Today, this is the climate change which affected all over the world and agricultural production patterns. Changing in rainfall patterns and increasing environmental temperature, and, resultantly, floods have given a serious setback to the production of different crops in the world. Nowadays, the United States is facing Hurricane Florence. Pakistan came across with the destructive flood in 2010 and "Thar" region of Pakistan has been facing a severe drought condition and malnutrition consistently from the previous few years. These all are the results of Climate change. If this situation goes unchecked, this world would be unable to feed more than 9.6 billion population in 2050. So, policymakers will have to think and give a sustainable solution to these two problems which are interlinked with each other.

United Nations' body of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) floated the idea of " Climate Smart Agriculture" in 2010 which, now, has become the main strategy to counter these two issues. This is an integrated agricultural management approach in which  all available resources are used and engaged in such a way that, on the one hand, the production efficiency of crops through environmental stress-resistant varieties development and by using new technologies to improve the nutrition and shelf life of food are increased and, on the other hand, government policies are made environment friendly. In this way, government, researchers, technologists, and farmers are engaged to increase food security and reduce climate change. So, if this system is adopted fully, this world can be saved from malnutrition and food insecurity.

The Israel-Palestine Conflict and Donald Trump

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Recently, the Trump administration has decided to close the Palestine Liberation Organization mission in the Washington D.C. This decision came after the Palestinian move against Israel to open the case of human rights violation in the International Court of Criminal. Prior to this, the USA cut off more than $200 million of aid for the Palestinian refugees in Gaza, West Bank, and Jordan. And in 2017, the recognized the Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel and moved its embassy there. It is being said that these all policies would further destabilize the Middle East region.

After the Palestinian threat to go into the ICC against Israeli officials, the decision of PLO mission closure shows that the USA and its allies are above the law and they can do whatever they think is in their interests through suppressive tactics like this. This action of the USA would give two messages to the world. First, the USA is not sincere in the peaceful resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Second, these international institutes like ICC are just for the protection of interests of the USA and its allies. So, it's not good both for the stability of the Middle East region and for the image of the USA as a supporter of International Law.

The USA aid cut off for the Palestinian refugees would further escalate the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza and other regions where Palestinian refugees are living. In 1949, the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for the Palestinian people was created to provide protection for more than 700,000 refugees. But the Arab-Israel wars further increased the number of destitute people who fled to Jordan, Gaza, Lebanon, and West Bank whom this agency is supporting through social works like giving education to children and providing health-care facilities to more than 5 million people. And the USA is the biggest donor of this agency with $350 million annual aid which is the quarter of this agency's total budget $ 1.2 billion per year. So, the cut off more than $200 million would give a severe blow to the social activities of this agency and chances are there for the Palestinian people to go into the fold of terrorist organizations which is also not in the interest of America.

The USA recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel angered the foes and allies alike due to its negative implications on the stability of the Middle East region as well as to the peace process of the Palestine-Israel conflict. The reaction from the Arab world and of European was against the USA action. The Turk President said, " the US is plunging the region and the world into a fire with no end in sight”. This city is important for both the Israelis and Palestinians due to their religious sites. So, the unilateral action towards this city would never be helpful for the peaceful resolution of Palestine issue and destabilize this region forever.

Hence, the role of the USA in this issue is biased. That is why the people of Palestine say that they have no trust in the Trump administration to solve this issue on the equality basis which is not good for this region as well as for the American interests. As all know that the Middle East could never be a peaceful region unless the people of Israel and Palestine are satisfied politically. That is why America should act like a superpower and a "Just" mediator which is the real demand of this region to see the rays of peace on its soil and this is only possible when all stakeholders of this issue come to terms which give them to their proper rights.

Clash of Democracies

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The modern concept of democracy emerged like a sun in the darkest period of European history when people were being oppressed in the hands of Catholic popes. It gave voice to the destitute people to determine their own political future on their own terms and helped them to choose their leaders. John Locke added the concept of human rights in it. After its test by history, it is now called Western Democracy. But, prior to this, Arabs developed and nurtured their own concept of democracy which made its way in the east through trade and preaching of Islam which is now termed as the Eastern Democracy. Both concepts are based on different ideologies and have their own cultures and civilizations. The essay of Clash of Civilizations by Samuel P Huntington, published in the Foreign Affairs magazine in 1996 is a clear proof of the distinction between them. Now, the question is, "How these two philosophies are different from each other and what is the basis of these concepts?' Although, they differ in many ways but three basic concepts are the most important of them.

      

        1-Concept of supreme authority

The concept of supreme authority is very crucial in determining the right use of power in the country. In a western democracy, the leaders, selected by the peoples, have supreme authority over the people and state and are only accountable to the people in case if they do not fulfill their duties. This supreme authority title, sometimes, goes wrong and leaders consider themselves they can do whatever they want. And the chances of power misuse increase. But in the easter democracy, Supreme leader is God and leaders are just His "Naib"(Vice) who are accountable to both, to God and the people. God supervises their personal actions as well as their duties according to their posts in this world. It makes leaders humble and stops them from crossing the limits during power.

         2-Concept of the Source of Law

Source of law determines the social, political and economic development of a country. In a western democracy, parliament is the lawmaking body on the basis of majority vote. Laws are formed on the wishes of the majority group which, sometimes, lead them to form rules totally against human nature. For example, the homosexual law in some western countries and recently in India has been passed. But in the easter democracy, laws have already been given in the form of The Holy Quran and The Sunnah of Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him). Although, parliamentarians can make the rules but within the limits of Shariah. In this way, no law can be passed against human nature.

        3-Concept of Moral Values

Moral values show the culture and civilization of any nation. In a western democracy, the concept of moral values is dynamic and can be changed with the passage of time on the basis of the wishes of the people. If something is bad today morally, it may be right and acceptable to society tomorrow. Many scientists of Europe were sentenced on the basis of their homosexual behavior and one of them was Alan Turing, the father of the theoretical computer and the Artificial Intelligence, who had to suicide to avoid the punishment of homosexuality. But, now, it is acceptable to western society and in those who follow them like India. But the eastern concept of moral values is static. It does not change the wishes of people. Its character is universal in nature and can never be changed because these moral values have been defined by God, not by the people. That is the reason why easter democratic countries have a vibrant social structure as compared to the western

Hence, Samuel P Huntington was right in his prophecy of the clash of the Islamic and the western civilization. The civil wars in the middle east and the suppression of Muslim movements in Palestine and Kashmir are the recent examples of the struggles to make the western concept dominant and to eliminate the Muslims. And the Muslims are very happy in buying of the billions of dollars of weapons from the west to destroy their own homeland. The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is a source of shame for the Muslim world. The Muslims should think of beyond their personal interests otherwise this clash of democracies would be a final war of the western philosophy to dominate the whole world and the Muslim civilization would be eliminated.

Role of Media in Politics

Role of Media in Politics

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Media is said to be the 'Fourth Estate' which works as a powerful tool to bridge the gap between the people and political leaders of a state. Political parties present their manifestoes during the election campaign and people give them mandate through the vote to be governed by them. It is the media which make people know about government policies. Media gives voice to a common man who can criticize government policies without any fear. In this way, government policies receive feedback from the people which help the political leaders to work in the interest of the country and the welfare of its people. But the media has some disadvantages too in case of its misuse. Most of the time, whenever the discussions of freedom of expression are encouraged, one thing is always missing there which is the "ethics of freedom of expression" That is the reason why it is called as a double-edged sword.

Article 19 of the constitution of Pakistan reads, "Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression and there shall be freedom of press, subject to any reasonable restriction imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court {commission of} or incitement to an offence”. From this article, it is understood that if any person thinks that the meaning of freedom of expression is that whatever he wants to say,  he does, regardless of the effects on the sensitive issues related to state security, is right, he is wrong then. Freedom comes with responsibilities. Whenever it is taken for granted along with irresponsible behavior, this freedom becomes subjugation for people which give freehand to the enemy to use it against the welfare of the state. Against this backdrop, The Social Responsibility Theory was proposed by Dr. Robert Maynard Hutchison, the head of the commission formed in 1942 to address the issue of state interventions in the media. The commission report was submitted in 1947 which is, now, considered the Magna Carta of the freedom of expression concept. According to this report, people should learn about the ethics and limits of freedom of expression which demand to criticize but in a constructive way and not to spread fake news which sometimes prove lethal for the prosperity of a country.

Recently, Pakistan is passing through a very critical phase. Media enjoys, somewhat, more freedom in its action after the Musharaf's media reforms. And it has played a very constructive role in educating the people about their political as well as social rights, especially, in the previous five years. Now it is the real test of media. On one side, Prime Minister Imran Khan is struggling hard to introduce " Naya Pakistan" which he promised during his election campaign and on the other hand, it is the media which if plays its positive role to propagate the authentic information to the people and encourages debates to help the government to get real-time feedback of its policies from analysts as well as from the people, Pakistan will make progress by leaps and bounds. 

Human rights and John Bolton

Human rights and John Bolton

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World War II gave a severe blow to human rights. Civilian deaths in millions alarmed the world leaders including of Americans. Although America is the only country who dropped the atomic bomb on Japan but its leader, Woodrow Wilson, became the first who initiated the idea of world peace and to avoid future devastations of wars in the form of League of Nations. United Nations Organization is considered the child of the League of Nations which was broadened in the terms of duties and rights of states and Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 was the biggest achievement of UNO. And the International Criminal Court was established in 2002 to punish the violators of human rights during the war. But surprisingly, the USA is among those 23 countries who never ratified it. And, recently, the remarks of John Bolton further disappointed the world who considered as the only torchbearer of human rights protection.

Bolton said in his speech, "We will not cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC). We will provide no assistance to the ICC. We will not join the ICC. We will let the ICC die on its own. After all, for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us."

There would be two consequences of such American's attitude towards the institutions of human rights protection. First, it will lose soft power which it exerts on the world stage as well as the trust of people in international institutions which declared itself the protector of human rights. African Union has already pointed fingers on the ICC in 2017 arguing that such institutions only protect the interests of the west. Secondly, it would give freehand to the rogue states to commit unchecked crimes against their own people. The use of biological weapons in Syria and Genocide of the Muslim community in Myanmar are the recent examples of such atrocities of the state's leaders.

Therefore, it is not in the interest of the world peace if world powers like the USA will go against the rules which they themselves set to maintain peace and security in this world and to protect human rights in all kinds of situations. The USA should revise its policies regarding human rights otherwise nobody would restrain this world form not indulging in World War III.

Civil-Military Relationships in Pakistan

Civil-Military Relationships in Pakistan

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Great nations balance their imbalanced institutions first to lead the world. America has done the same. So, it is the superpower today. Pakistan too dreamed to be the leader of the Muslim world. And no doubt, being one and only nuclear weapon country among the Muslim countries, it can do so. But its political instability due to its institutional imbalance barred it to fulfill its dream. Since its independence, military and bureaucracy have remained the most powerful institutions of this country due to their experience of government in British India. And political parties did not find any chance to produce mature and capable leadership to steer the country in the course of development. So, civil-military clashes became part of Pakistan history. 

The day of 6th September is being heralded as the start of ideal relations between the civilian and military leaders. In fact, it is a good gesture for the welfare of the country. It is the time to learn from the history which shows that civil-military relations have remained harsh due to the two reasons. First, the trust deficit between these prestigious institutes. Although, policy-making and implementation is the task of civilian government but it does not mean that the stakeholder of the security of the country (military) does not have any say in the formulation of policymaking. The perception of military opinion in the formulation of foreign policy as the intervention in civilian affairs by the political leaders shows the inflexible attitude towards institutional balance. Secondly, the weak party system and immature leadership. National interests have never been the agenda for the civilian government. It always fulfilled its own interests and supervised corruption and mismanaged the national resources which forced the military to intervene in the political affairs of the country.

Now, its time to fix up previous mistakes and not repeat in the future for the real development of the country. The mutual confidence-building measures between the triad(civil, military and judicial institutions), especially in civil-military leadership, is necessary. Both these institution work together in all security and foreign policy-making issues and benefit from each other's experience. Secondly, the civilian government should set its house in order and prefer national interests on the personal benefits of its own people. Government is for the welfare of the whole people of its country not for the protection of the family members of the leaders and political parties. The only strong and capable leadership can maintain balance among government institutions and enjoy power in their subjects.

Hence, balance in the government institutions is the first thing which makes the country great. Although, it is a very difficult job and, sometimes, well-developed countries cannot handle it effectively but it is not impossible. If all institutions, within their limits, exercise their power and civilian government make their interaction flexible in such a way that all important institutions work together to maximize the chance of acquiring national interests, it will, obviously, build trust among the institutions which provide the basis of good governance.

Clausewitzian's Great Trinity and War of Terror

Clausewitzian's Great Trinity and War of Terror

It is been 17 years since the citizens of the " city that never sleep" fell asleep forever. It has remained an unbelievable event for the people of America. the twin tower catastrophy led the leaders of the west to launch the war against terror which is globally known as "War on Terror". It started in 2001 and is still going on. This is the longest ever war of America on foreign soil without any decisive output. After dropping hundreds of thousands of bombs in Afghanistan along with the loss of 3,70,000 people and 5.6 trillion dollars, America, ultimately, has convinced itself to resolve this issue diplomatically. But the failure of America in this war floods the minds of the people of America and of the analysts with questions. One of the most important of them is "Why the biggest World Power could not win this war?" Clausewitzian's Great Trinity gives the answer to it.

The Great Trinity

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To go further, first try to understand about Clausewitzian's Great Trinity. Clausewitz said that war rests on triad factors (which are known as The Great Trinity), i.e Government, people, and military. Each plays a role in its own limitations. In the matters of war, the government tasks are to set clear objectives of the war, approve funding, set the duration of the war in which it must be accomplished, and publicize its agenda to know about the opinion of the people regarding war. Citizens have full right to approve or disapprove the government agenda as they pay tax and provide resources for war. And the military is tasked to fight. If the Government maintains balance in this Great Trinity, success becomes its destiny otherwise the War on Terror is a clear picture of imbalance in this triad. Prior to going for war, American policymakers did not set clear goals of war and its duration. This is the reason why America is losing this war despite spending a huge amount of money and time.

Hence, setting clear goals of war is necessary to win it easily. America did well in getting the approval of its people to fight this war and managed its military in an organized way. But lacking in concrete policymaking led it towards the diplomatic solution. And to solve this issue effectively, objectives of diplomatic discussions must be clear too!