Progressive Pakistan

Social Stratification is the socio-economic layering of people in a society according to wealth ,power and prestige.The system through which a society bifurcates masses into various categories in comparison with other group or individuals in a society.Class and caste system ,slavery and estates are the offshoots of social stratification. The political spectrum of Gilgit-Baltistan mimics other four provinces of Pakistan in one way or other.Fuedal lords ,elitists and industrialists have legacy of holding key roles in politics to quench the thirst of power and authority.Likewise the elite of Gilgit-Baltistan has been witnessed while playing cards in power corridors to decide the fate of down trodden and poor. Why we always elect the rich to represent the poor ? The popular opinion is poor lack resources and capital to garner votes.If someone pops up from lower or middle class to voice the voiceless, he is compelled to withdraw.This divide erodes the system from inside out.The poor and ...

Pakistan' s Position on Kulbhushan Jhadav : Kulbhushan Jhadav was arrested in March 2016 from Mushkal area of Baluchistan, Pakistan when he orchestrated to meet Baloch militants of Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA).Probably he was betrayed and apprehended by security forces of Pakistan. When he was taken into custody he had two identities. One was Kulbhushan Jhadav,the name he was recruited to Indian Army with in 1987. Later he joined Research Analysis Wing (RAW) as Commander Indian Navy. He also had held a passport with another name Hussain Mubarak Patel , found during his detention. He was not only an agent of Research Analysis Wing (RAW) and naval officer but a despicable tool to fuel anti-state elements and terrorist attacks to sabotage national security of Pakistan. He was in direct contact with Alok Joshi ,the Ex-Head of RAW  and Ajeet Doval National Security Adviser of India. This was the position Pakistan maintained in it's Military courts and International Court of Jus...

Everyone of us need to align and streamline our facts instead of fallacies. First of all there is a misconception that we will invite private companies like Witribe,Nayatel,Multi-net and other ISPs to provide their internet services in Gilgit-Baltistan. Not a single company is authorized to operate in Gilgit-Baltistan except SCO under clause 40 of Pakistan Telecommunication Regulatory Authority Ordinance 1996 and adaptation of Gilgit-Baltistan governance Order 2009-2018 article 71 which states that any citizenry and company can go to court against illegal operation and execution in Gilgit-Baltistan. Clause 40 Pakistan Telecom Regulatory Authority Ordinance 1996 This is totally a political issue.Imagine Gilgit-Baltistan Council that is the supreme body of GB ,PTA ,telco giant of Pakistan and Frequency Allocation Board failed to stand before SCO in Court in 2018 due to Clause 40. Article 71 Governance Order 2009 Our diplomats were at relentless sleep.Therfore they failed to amend this la...

Historic Perspective: The Sino-Indian War between the two South Asian powers  China  and  India  started in 1962.The disputed Himalaya Ladakh,Tibet and Thagla resorted to be the bone of contention that led to war. Mcmahon line was the border line of British India and China but China did not identify this line as legitimate border line and it considered these areas as part of it's own territory. Therefore it deployed troops on border, evidently it was a border violation so India took the issue to international community in response.  Meanwhile a revolt took place in Tibet in defiance of Chinese occupation and People's Liberation Army (PLA) in 1959. The most powerful spiritual leader of Tibet Dalai Lama was evacuated to India. The rebellion eventually intensified the dispute between China and India. India retaliated to China’s hostility on border and adopted a Forward policy under the premiership of Jawaher Lal Nehru and moved its heavy troops on bo...

Online lectures and exams amid Corona pandemic sparked a raucous debate about digital divide and poor data services in the country ,especially in the peripheral and difficult terrain Gilgit-Baltistan. The LTE and broadband internet in Gilgit-Baltistan is solely dependent upon an army owned Telecommunication operator named as Special Communication Organization (SCO). The telecom giant SCO has failed so far to live up to the expectations of the populace. The students of GB in dismay staged protests against SCO in various districts of Gilgit-Baltistan. It is said that other telecom operators are restrained to provide LTE services in the region due to monopoly of SCO. The popular narrative of students is to allow other telecom companies to step into the spectrum to provide LTE services. Though they only provide voice services. To unearth the truth about SCO's monopoly one has to unveil the history .In 1976,SCO was given the sole responsibility of managing telecommunication in Gilgit-Ba...

Introduction The term democracy is originated from two Greek words - Demos and Kratos-. Demos means People and Kratos means Rule. Therefore democracy is the “Rule of People”. It is a primitive concept of consensus, when people would gather in a group and select one of the representatives of the clan to voice whole group or society. Aryan-Panchiat system also manifested this mechanism. Democracy was also exercised through citizen’s assemblies in Greek City States. Interestingly Greek Philosopher disdained democracy as Aristotle said, "this is a Mobocracy -rule of the crowd- instead of democracy". Abraham Lincoln anticipated democracy as the government of the People, by the People and for the People. In other words democracy is the people centered government that is responsive and could be held accountable. Legacy of Polarized Democracy in Pakistan British introduced Colonialism in India via direct and indirect rule. It was made possible with the help of Political Parties, Trad...

Background There has been a misconception about Fascism that it is mindless ,uncultured and a criminal political movement purely based on brute force ,that might be a half-truth because fascists loved and promoted art and philosophy. For instance Hitler was an artist. He loved to paint. The National Socialist German workers Party ; the Nazis were inspired by the political thought and philosophy of German Philosopher Frederick Nietzsche. Furthermore during  1920 and 1930 Nazis gathered an enormous electoral support being the largest party in the German Parliament. Though Fascism remained a popular movement yet it  is the naked authoritarianism. The word "Fascism" is of Latin language ,spoken in ancient Rome that means bundle of rods or sticks, this word was created by Benito Mussolini of Italy. The bundle of rods and sticks in the times of Rome were used to punish people to maintain law and order. At times the rod had blades on it to execute people. The bundle of rods wh...

Introduction Financial Action Task force (FATF) is an intergovernmental organization  established by G-7 summit ,held in Paris in 1989.After terrorist attacks in United States on December  11,2001 ,the organization added countering terrorism financing to it's mandate.  It was founded to combat the threats posed to the banking system and financial institutions. The G-7  Heads of state and President European Union convened the task force from G-7 members ,European Commission and eight other countries. The FATF decision making body ; the FATF plenary meets three times a year. Mandate of FATF To set standards and promote effective implementation of legal ,regulatory and optional measures for combating   Money Laundering Terrorist Financing Other threats posed to International Financial System (IFS) Financing of proliferation of nuclear weapons for mass destruction Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Both money lau...

Background The liaison between civilians -the people without arms- ,the society at large and the military-the people with arms is termed as Civil-Military Relation. The Civil-Military relations in Pakistan are considered inextricable and intact when there is civilian rule earned through vote and will of the people; democracy. When civilian rule or democracy is disrupted through Military coup and despotism, civil-military relations remain in shambles. Since the inception of Pakistan   1947,the country has experienced more than 30 years of military rule. The ideological and ethnic division, crippled institutionalization, political and constitutional crisis between center and provinces paved the way for Military to maintain a superior position in power corridors. The Era of Praetorianism started when General Ayub Khan   (1958-1971) justified the military coup to protect the country from chaos and financial debacle. Though GDP and other economic indicators soared, even indus...