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Zahid Hussain // DAWN: 26 February 2025
THE widespread protests across Sindh against the controversial canal projecton the Indus has put the province on the boil.
The Save River Indus drive is fast turning into a mass movement, bringing together diverse political forces. The issue has put the PPP, which has ruled the province without interruption for the past 16 years, in a precarious position.
Although the PPP has lately distanced itself from the federal government’s decision to build six canals to irrigate desert land in Punjab, the matter has nevertheless placed the party at the centre of the storm. For many, the canal project means turning a large part of the province into barren land. And the PPP being a part of the ruling coalition at the centre cannot escape the blame for the looming disaster.
While the distribution of water from the Indus has long been a politically sensitive matterfor Sindh, the latest controversy over the new canals has turned the situation in the province extremely volatile.
It has given a huge impetus to Sindhi nationalism, which had been largely dormant for a long time, with the PPP dominating the provincial political landscape.
Thousands of people, mostly the youth and women, are joining the protests organised by disparate Sindhi nationalist groups across the province. Many mainstream political parties and members of civil society have also come out to oppose the canal project that they believe would undermine the unity of the federation.
Growing public anger has also forced the provincial administration to challenge the federal government’s divisive canal project. But there is still a lot of scepticism over the PPP’s position. The party leadership remained quiet for a long time while work on the project had already started. Some allege that President Asif Zardari had assented to the project last year. It is also alleged by the opposition that the provincial government has granted thousands of acres of agricultural land to the Green Pakistan Initiative launched by the federal government and backed by the establishment. The army chief and Punjab chief minister recently inaugurated a GPI project in the southern Punjab region of Cholistan that is to be irrigated by the new canals on the Indus.
For many provincial leaders, the proposed canals echo the controversy over the long-dead Kalabagh dam project that had united the entire province in protest. A major concern is that the canals would further reduce the flow of water to Sindh. Thousands of acres of land are devoured by the sea each year with the depleting level of water flows in the Indus.
Federal Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal’s reassurance that no water will be diverted from Sindh’s share has been met with scepticism. There is no surplus water available from its quota that Punjab could spare for the Cholistan canal project. How will it have the quantity needed to fill the capacity of the canals?
What is most shocking is that such a sensitive issue pertaining to the federation was never discussed and approved by the Council of Common Interests. It’s also surprising that the PPP did not demand a CCI meeting earlier when the canal plan was starting to take shape, and only woke up to the disturbing issue after the opposition took to the streets. It has been several months since the protests started, but there seems to be no clear policy yet to deal with the issue that directly affects people’s lives. The Sindh government has denied the allegation of failing to raise the issue with the federal government more effectively. Yet, it’s lacklustre approach in dealing with a highly serious issue raises questions.
It’s not just about standing up to the federal government but also the security leadership which is backing the GPI. With its huge stakes in the present hybrid system, it’s not surprising that the PPP would try to avoid any direct confrontation on the issue.
PPP leaders maintain that the party will adopt constitutional and democratic methods to fight Sindh’s case. That may be a wise thing to do but it would require much more to deal with an issue that is threatening the federal structure. There is a need to resolve the dispute over the canal project sooner than later as the prevailing public unrest in the province can take a more violent turn. It’s a serious crisis that could destabilise the province. With KP and Balochistan already in turmoil the growing unrest in the country’s second most populated province would be disastrous for the federation.
There is a growing demand that the canal project, which nationalist leaders say is a life and death issue for Sindh, be shelved. While these leaders’ words sound extreme, the people’s concerns about the project are not unfounded. The major responsibility lies with the federal government and the establishment to heed those concerns. The people of Sindh are seething and their voice needs to be heard.
There exists a comprehensive constitutional mechanism for resolving water disputes among the provinces but it is hardly followed. The Sindh government accuses the federal government of failing to fully implement the Water Apportionment Accord of 1991. The unilateral decision to build the canals is a violation of the Constitution. It seems that those in power have not learnt any lesson from our history.
The ongoing public protests on the canal issue also reflect the growing distrust between the federating unit and the federation. It will only strengthen extremist nationalist forces. The widespread protest is just one indicator of the growing public discontent, particularly among the youth, against an elite-dominated system.
It’s also a message for the PPP which has ruled the province for decades. It seems that the party, which claims to champion the struggle for people’s democratic rights, is now only interested in protecting its own power. It seems to have lost touch with the fast-changing social and political landscape in the province. The latest wave of protests must come as a wake-up call for the party leadership.
The writer is an author and journalist.
zhussain100@yahoo.com
X: @hidhussain
Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2025
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As freedom declined around the world last year, Pakistan was ranked “partly free” by Freedom House and declined three points in conditions for political rights and civil liberties in the organisation’s annual report published on Wednesday.
Global freedom declined for the 19th consecutive year in 2024, according to Freedom House, a Washington DC-based organisation that tracks democracy and threats to freedom around the world.
People experienced deterioration in their political rights and civil liberties in 60 countries, and secured improvements in only 34 countries, the Freedom House report said.
“In settings where conditions worsened, key factors driving the degradation in rights and liberties included violence and the repression of political opponents during elections, ongoing armed conflicts, and the spread of authoritarian practices,” it said.
Pakistan was ranked “partly free” and declined three points from the year prior. The points reflected conditions for political and civil liberties in a country.
Pakistan was also ranked among the countries with the largest 10-year declines in freedom and declined by 10 points. The country with the greatest 10-year decline was Nicaragua (40 points), Tunisia (35 points) and El Salvador (28 points).
The organisation noted that 2024 was marred by violence and repression around elections, ongoing armed conflicts, and the spread of authoritarian practices, all of which contributed to the decline of global freedom.
South Asian bright spots amid global freedom decline
The Washington-based pro-democracy research group elevated two countries to the status of “free” — Senegal, where the opposition triumphed after the outgoing president’s attempt to delay elections was defeated, and Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom which consolidated a transition to democracy with competitive polls.
Tiny Bhutan gained the distinction of being the only South Asian country classified as free.
But others in the region made strong gains in the index without changing categories — Bangladesh, where iron-fisted leader Sheikh Hasina fled in the face of a revolt, and Sri Lanka, where Anura Kumara Dissanayake was elected president on an anti-corruption platform after breaking the stranglehold of the two long-dominant parties.
The largest score improvement in the index, which tracks both countries and territories, was in Indian-held Kashmir, which held elections for the first time since the Hindu nationalist government in New Delhi revoked the Muslim-majority region’s special status in 2019.
But Freedom House said India as a whole saw further deterioration as it pointed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to gain influence over judicial appointments. The group downgraded the world’s largest democracy from “free” to “partly free” in 2021.
Yana Gorokhovskaia, the co-author of the report, said it was the 19th consecutive year that freedom fell on a global level, but that 2024 was especially volatile due to the high number of elections.
“The big picture is that this was another year of the same trajectory of a global decline in freedom but because of all the elections, it was more dynamic than previous years,” she said.
She said that both Bangladesh and Syria, where rebel fighters toppled longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad in December, saw immediate improvements in civil liberties — but that it would be a longer road to see gains in political representation.
Political rights largely “depend on institutions. And those are easy to destroy but very hard to build up,” she said.
Four countries become ‘not free’
A rare bright spot in the Middle East was Jordan, which was upgraded from “not free” to “partly free.” Freedom House pointed to reforms that allowed more competitive elections in the kingdom.
On the other hand, four countries were downgraded from “partly free” to “not free” — Kuwait, Niger, Tanzania, and Thailand.
Thailand — which has repeatedly shifted in the Freedom House categories — saw a court disband the party which won the most votes in elections and then dismiss the prime minister from the second-ranking party after an ethics complaint by senators backed by the powerful military.
Kuwait’s emir disbanded parliament after elections, while in Tanzania, Freedom House pointed to a crackdown on protesters under President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Niger came under the full grip of the military after a 2023 coup ousted elected president Mohamed Bazoum.
Tunisia, El Salvador and Haiti also saw steep declines. The only country given a perfect 100 score on freedom was Finland, with New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden all right behind at 99.
Freedom House, founded in 1941 with bipartisan US support, receives US government funding but is independently administered. The non-profit group has planned layoffs after President Donald Trump froze money aimed at democracy promotion.
Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2025
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Modi-Trump deal exposes India's strategic dilemma
Developments that took place during recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US have affirmed my doubts.
Dr Shazia Anwer Cheema // Tribune: 26 February 2025
In recent years India has extensively propagated the 'Made in India' narrative based on its doctrine of self-reliance. While an independent foreign policy is a pre-requisite for that, I doubt India enjoys one.
Developments that took place during the recent visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to the US have affirmed my doubts. The outcome of these visits shows that India is still facing difficulties in abandoning its neo-liberal inclinations mainly because of its ever-pervasive Atlanticist elite. Jaishankar has visited the US twice in recent times - first in December 2024 to meet the Trump team and more specifically NSA Michael Waltz; and then to attend Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20 when he also met Secretary of State Marco Rubio. During the second visit, Jaishankar held a presser at the Indian Embassy in Washington and gave a clear message that India wanted the bilateral relationship with the US to go to a higher level, meaning that, India offered its strategic loyalty voluntarily.
To further consolidate that, PM Modi had a meeting with President Trump on February 13. Trump described it as a "good meeting" that discussed "two-way tariffs", but called India the biggest tariff abuser. India accepted a comprehensive strategic partnership, albeit claiming a victory out of it. Let's decipher the joint statement issued after the meeting. The statement has three main points - related to trade, energy, and defence.
1) Trade and reciprocal tariffs: the agreement means that the preferential treatment, which India enjoys as a developing country under WTO, is all out of the window. India has accepted that because it wants to dilute the $45 billion trade deficit which is understandable. Not just that, it has also accepted to raise the bilateral trade with the US to $500 billion by 2030. The same was $190 billion in 2023. This means in the next five years, India will be flooded with American products which will lead to high inflation and devaluation of the Indian rupee. But the most astonishing point is that India has also agreed to only trade in USD even with BRICS members. BRICS's prime function is to safeguard the world economy from trade, more precisely the dollar monopoly, and India is already doing trade with Russia in national currencies and by some other improvised methods. However, Modi desperately agreed with Trump to an unequal trade relationship compromising Atmanirbhar Bharat.
2) Energy: Trump has stated on multiple occasions that the US wants to sell more oil and gas to India. Currently, India is fulfilling 40% of its crude oil needs from Russia and the remaining 60% from Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The US comes fifth, meaning minimalistic energy dependence on the US. According to Modi's recent 'triumphant' visit, this is going to be reversed. And this reversal is about energy as a whole, not just crude oil, because the Modi government has removed the liability clause on the nuclear reactor based on the Civil Nuclear Agreement 123 signed between the US and India. India is already buying small modular nuclear reactors from France and Russia. India has made tons of cash by refining and selling Russian oil and is now willfully withdrawing from that win-win situation. Expensive energy purchases from the US will not only affect the livelihood of ordinary Indians but will have regional diplomatic and trade implications also.
3) Defence: Rubio, when serving as senator, had proposed a US-India comprehensive defense cooperation bill. Apparently, a 10-year defence partnership has either been prepared or is in the works. India has to buy defence equipment from the US which is running short of buyers. Based on the hints dropped by the US, the EU also finds itself left with two choices: either manufacture on their own or buy from the US. India, meanwhile, has to buy F-35, Javelin, Striker combat vehicles and 404 and 414 engines. Leaving aside the peculiarities and looking at the holistic picture, India is savouring its all-season goodwill for Russia in the hope of becoming a regional hegemon. India must not forget that if the US is a bad enemy, it is an even worse ally. If history is no guide, India must contact Ukraine and the EU.
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Post-Assad Syria lays out priorities
Sharaa vows state 'monopoly' on weapons at national conference
Published in Express Tribune // 26 February 2025
DAMASCUS:
Syria's national dialogue conference, held on Tuesday in Damascus, called for transitional justice, freedom and a state monopoly on arms to be among the cornerstones of the country's reconstruction after Bashar al-Assad's overthrow.
Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, in a speech earlier to the hundreds of attendees, said the country was at a "new historic phase" after more than a decade of civil war.
The closing statement, which is expected to be advisory rather than binding, included 18 points that "will serve as a basis" for the reform of state institutions and touch on Syria's political life, economy, defence policy and rights.
The statement read out by Houda Atassi, a member of the conference's preparatory committee, called for "a monopoly on weapons by the state" and a new professional national army.
Any "armed formations outside the official institutions" would be "outlawed", according to the statement -- an implicit reference to Kurdish-led forces and other factions that have refused to lay down their arms since Assad's toppling.
The statement also rejected "provocative statements" by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said his country "will not allow" Syrian armed forces to be deployed south of Damascus, and condemned "the Israeli incursion into Syrian territory".
It also rejected "all forms of discrimination based on race, religion or sect and the achievement of the principle of equal opportunities."
Civil society, religious communities, opposition figures and artists are represented at the hastily organised conference -- an initiative unheard of under Assad.
However, officials from the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration that controls swathes of the country's north and northeast criticised being shut out of the event, decrying "token representation" for minority groups.
The Kurdish administration said in a statement that it will "not be a part" of implementing the recommendations of the conference which "does not represent the Syria people".
Addressing the conference earlier, Sharaa said: "Syria has invited all of you today... to consult with each other on the future of your country." "Syria is indivisible; it is a complete whole, and its strength lies in its unity," the interim president declared, adding that "the unity of arms and their monopoly by the state is not a luxury but a duty and an obligation."
Sharaa also said authorities would "work on forming a transitional justice body to restore people's rights, ensure justice and, God willing, bring criminals to justice".
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Tariq Khosa // DAWN 26 February 2025
[Good read to learn some lessons of life]
A SINGLE piece of advice can change a life, says Richard Reed, a writer who embarked on a project to seek the most valuable advice through interviews and encounters with some remarkable people from all walks of life.
His efforts resulted in the book If I could tell you just one thing…. “Good advice,” he says, “is like a nutrient-rich broth, made from boiling down the bones of life.” He means what he says by capturing the insights gained from someone else’s “hard years of experience, thereby allowing us all to benefit from them”. I can’t resist sharing some pearls of wisdom collected through a global pool of advice.
Terry Waite — the Church of England’s envoy to negotiate the release of prisoners — was himself held hostage for five years in Lebanon in the late 1980s. His objective was to achieve reconciliation. Having empathy was a fundamental tenet of his approach to life which helped him to set three rules for himself: “no regrets, no self-pity and no sentimentality”. He said: “We are all members of the same human family. We all have fears and hopes and aspirations.” According to him, every disaster, or seeming disaster, in life can be mostly turned around and something creative can emerge from it. “It’s the way you approach it, and the way you approach life after.” This kind of empathy is the need of the hour in Pakistan today. Let’s embark upon the path of reconciliation after a phase of terrible persecution and brutality perpetrated by various elements of national power.
Stephen Fry, a British self-confessed techno-geek, with a love of traditions and cultures, believes it is better to put yourself in the shoes of others. “It is the secret of art, and it is the secret of life: the more time you spend imagining what it’s like to be someone else, the more you develop empathy for others, the easier it is to know yourself and to be yourself.” Let our ruling elite imagine themselves behind bars on false charges to satisfy the perverse egos of haughty minds. Will they abandon the course of resentment, which destroys everything but itself?
Esther Perel, renowned relationship therapist and the daughter of Holocaust survivors, advises: “The quality of your life ultimately depends on the quality of your relationships. Not on your achievements, not on how smart you are, not on how rich you are, but on the quality of your relationships, which are basically a reflection of your sense of decency, your ability to think of others, your generosity.”
She adds that ultimately at the end of your life, you are remembered for “how you treated the people around you and how you made them feel”. In the present-day environment of acrimony, can we sincerely consider adopting the course of forgiveness and reconciliation?
Patrisse Khan-Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, wants the oppressed to get organised if they seek change. “It is too easy to become demoralised, to say this is awful and terrible, we’re not going to get out of this. But we will. This too shall pass. It will be a blip in history.” To fundamentally overhaul the system, people need to get organised, understand their goals and prepare for a long fight. And to win against authoritarian forces, we need to stay strong as defenders of true democracy. That’s what matters.
Harry Belafonte, titan of the US Civil Rights Movement, has this piece of advice to offer: “Discover the joy of embracing diversity. When people become more open to the strange, to the unusual, to the radical, to the ‘other’, we become more nourished as a species. Currently, our ability to do that is being manipulated, diversity is being looked upon as a source of evil rather than as a source of joy and development. We must recapture the profound benefits of seeing the joy in our collective diversity, not the fear.”
In Pakistan’s context, diversity is our strength. The state must seek unity in diversity by engaging constructively with the disillusioned Baloch youth and the politically disempowered segments of society who are crying out for inclusivity and fair play. The radical ‘others’ need to be understood and embraced rather than condemned and killed.
Dr Maki Mandela, a daughter of Nelson Mandela believes “all strength and power comes from within”. One must deal with inner demons, bitterness, anger and live one’s own life by walking one’s own path. Her father was living proof as he walked down his own path to freedom.
Criminal defence attorney Nancy Hollander knows that the law is bigger than the government. She stands resolute, taking on opponents much bigger than herself. “Whatever you do, do it with intent … Do not say something unless you mean it, do not do something unless you are committed.” This is the dilemma we face today; we must insist that the institutions of the state shall follow the Constitution and prosecute people fairly.
There are few better symbols of the fight for justice than two of Nelson Mandela’s fellow freedom fighters: Ahmed Kathrada and Denis Goldberg who were also imprisoned for three decades by the apartheid regime. Denis quotes John Stuart Mill: “To be free, it is not sufficient to cast off your chains; you must so live that you respect and enhance the freedom of others.” Kathrada states his truth: “And ultimately, the fight for justice will inevitably lead to success. No matter what the sacrifices are.”
Archbishop Desmond Tutu proclaimed: “I am who I am only through others in society. We’re humans in the end, and that’s what it’s all about.” And finally, the Dalai Lama’s advice in a single word: “Oneness.” That one word contains a lifetime of wisdom. He says: “We are all part of humankind… We are all interdependent… We need to place less emphasis on our secondary differences, our religions, our nation states, and more emphasis on the fact that ultimately, we are the same. That is how we can live much more peacefully.”
The writer is a former IG police. His book Walking a Tightrope was published recently.
Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2025
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