cruuent affair pdfsecure site reliefweb.int/.../pakistan_current_affairs_briefing_manual.pdf ·...

Open Minds

Role of Islamin an

EffectiveState

Democracyand

Rule of Law

EconomicDevelopment

HumanRights

Causes &Consequencesof Extremism

andSolutions

Briefing Manual onCurrent Affairs

iwpr.net

Institute for War & Peace Reporting IWPR ( ) is an independent, non-profitorganization focused on building peace and democracy though free and fair media. Withnearly 20 years' experience, IWPR works on the ground in more than 20 transitionalcountries building local capacity, establishing local institutions, and supporting practicaltraining and information programmes to build civil society and the rule of law. IWPR iswell-known for forging mutually beneficial partnerships between local media and NGOsand for building reliable and sustainable networks across state and ethnic lines. IWPRundertakes practical journalist training projects.

IWPR is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom; in the United States as a not-for-profit organization; and as a charitable foundation in The Netherlands

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

Published: October 2011Islamabad, Pakistan

www.iwpr.net

.

Copyright:

No. 5, BLOCK 16, PHA APARTMENTS, G-7/1ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN.

Tel: +92 (0)51 220 4236: www.iwpr.net

Published by:

4. Rule of Law and Good Governance

Conclusion

Questions for discussion

1. Evolution and Development of Human Rights

2. Distinction and Classification of Human Rights

3. Treaties and Conventions

4. Status of Human Rights in Pakistan

1. What is a state?

2. Major Principles of Islamic Governance

3. Fundamental Rights of Citizens in Islam

4. Islam and Democracy

27

29

29

31

33

33

35

38

41

43

45

47

47

48

51

53

Rule of law 27Essential characteristics of rule of law 27Good Governance 28Outcomes of Good Governance 29

What are human rights? 33Evolution of Human Rights 33

Distinction of Nature of Rights 35Classification of human rights 35Minority rights 36

Universal Declaration of Human Rights 38Treaties 38Original Geneva Convention in 1864. 38International organizations 38Non-governmental Organizations 40

Status of Pakistan on Human Rights Laws & Treaties 41State of Human Rights in Pakistan 41

Defining State 47Types of states 47The state and government 47

Islam and a state 48Principles of Islamic Governance 48

Islamic State of Medina 53Consultation by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) with his companions 53The Concept of Electoral College 53Political Diversity in Islam 54

Chapter 3: Human Rights

Chapter 4: Role of Islam in an Effective State

Introduction

Introduction


Briefing Manual on Current Affairs

Conclusion


Feedback exercise

55

55

57

59

59

61

63

66

69

71

10

10

24

24

25

Chapter 5: Causes & Consequences of Extremism and Solutions

Bibliography

Tables

Introduction

1. What is extremism?

2. History and evolution of extremism in Pakistan

3. Causes of extremism and its implications on Pakistani society

4. Possible Solutions toAddressing extremism and Role of Media

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Defining extremism 59Sources of Extremism 59Consequences of Extremism 60

Evolution of Extremism 61Extremism in other countries Sri Lanka's example 61

Causes of extremism in Pakistan 63Socio-economicAspect 63Religio-politicalAspect 63

Solutions to Extremism 66Role of media 67

Missing facilities in the government schools

Rural-urban divide of population in relation to education

Allocation of seats in the National Assembly of Pakistan

Allocation of seats in the senate of Pakistan

Acts passed by government of Pakistan since 2008


Open Minds project is the first such initiative of IWPR in Pakistan that directly addresses the extremistpropaganda that fosters discord and negative impressions of the West, by offering a fact-based,analytical approach to discussing and disseminating information on critical societal issues.

Only around 50% of Pakistani students graduate from primary schools into middle and higher secondaryschools, but these young people are the primary group for terrorist organisations' recruiting efforts. Thetarget age groups (16-19) that are the focus of this project are also susceptible to the influence of thosewho wish to spread violent, extremist propaganda, and thus are in need of the kinds of interventions thatwill help them to develop independent thinking skills and a greater ability to analytically judge the'information' they receive from others.

It is in this context that a briefing manual on current affairs has been designed for the vulnerable groups ofadolescents in Pakistani public and private schools and madaris (religious schools) to offer them adifferent perspective from their conventional mode of learning. This briefing manual intends to build theircapacity to demonstrate an improved skill in articulating their views on issues known to counterradicalization.

This briefing manual has been developed around five contemporary issues such as economicdevelopment; democracy & rule of law; human rights; role of Islam in an effective state and; causes &consequences of extremism and solutions.

The first chapter of this manual introduces the concept of economic development and offers a basicunderstanding of the economic development indicators; where Pakistan stands internationally and; howother countries achieved economic growth.

The next chapter attempts to elaborate the different aspects of democracy and rule of law and gives aquick overview of the state of democracy in Pakistan while the importance of rule of law and goodgovernance has also been touched upon in this section.

The third chapter focuses on the evolution and development of human rights and lists down the keytreaties and conventions adopted by the UN. It also highlights the state of human rights in Pakistan and itsposition on the human rights laws and treaties. A brief introduction of some prominent and activeinternational and local human rights organizations has also been given in this chapter.

In the fourth chapter an attempt has been made to underscore the role of Islam in effective state. Someexamples from the primeval history of Islamic governance have been referred to in this section to give thetrainees an opportunity to explore the relationship between the Islamic and modern forms of governance.

The last and final chapter aims to explain the concept and forms of extremism; how it evolved; itsimplications on a Pakistani society and; the possible solutions to address extremism.

The production of this briefing manual has been. IWPR is grateful to the Foundations for their support.

supported [in part] by a grant from the Open SocietyFoundations

ForewordForeword

1


Acknowledgements

Disclaimer

Miss Nimrah Zubair

Mr. Imran Gul

IWPR wishes to thank for developing the briefing papers on 'Economicdevelopment' and 'Causes & consequences of extremism and solutions'. Miss Zubair has co-authored abooklet on "Rebuilding Lives towards a Safer Pakistan" for UNDP Pakistan and worked for differentdevelopment sector organizations.

IWPR also wishes to acknowledge the valuable contribution of a freelance researcher, inthe research and compilation of the studies on 'Role of Islam in an effective state', 'Democracy and rule oflaw' and 'Human rights'.

IWPR is grateful to its project partners, Peace Education And Development Foundation and Swat YouthFront for their role in the selection of the themes for this briefing manual.

The views, analysis and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this briefing manual are those ofthe authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Institute for War & Peace Reporting or OpenSociety Foundations. IWPR has made every effort to ensure the correctness of the contents of thisbriefing manual and does not accept responsibility for any error or omission as it is not deliberate.

,


2

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Introduction

The first section of this manual introduces theconcept of economic development and what itentails. It then elaborates on the various indicatorsused internationally to gauge the economicprosperity of a country in terms of growth andhuman development. This is followed by a sessionon the state of economic development in Pakistanand where we stand internationally. The lastsession emphasizes on other countries'experiences in the Asian region to attain goodeconomic development indicators and how wecan benefit from their example.

By the end of the discussion under this topic, theparticipants will be able to understand:

The concept of economic development

The concept of economic growth

The difference between economic growth

and development

The primary objectives of attaining

economic development

Economic development of a country hastraditionally been considered as synonymous toan annual and sustained increase of a country'snational income or gross domestic product(GDP) . In the past, therefore, the development ofa country has been measured solely on the basisof its economic growth. Since the attainment ofdevelopment was perceived as a purely economicphenomenon, the past witnessed a drasticshift from agricultural production to rapidindustrialization as a guaranteed developmentstrategy adopted by most developing nations .This strategy to attain development through anoverall increase in a country's GDP was

envisioned to be uniformly distributed among thecommon masses in the form of employmentopportunities as well as widespread economicand social benefits of growth .

The industrial revolution in the 1970s, although didcontribute to economic growth of developingcountries, did not change the standard of living ofthe common masses significantly . Whenincrease in economic growth of these countriesdid not lead to a subsequent improvement in theliving standards of the people, the economicgrowth strategy was widely criticized. Measures ofeconomic growth to determine the level ofdevelopment in a country often becomemisleading. This is because the level of incomethat a country generates does not take intoaccount the percentage of population that reapsits benefits. A small proportion of the totalpopulation might own a large proportion of wealthin the country, hence limiting the level of overallwelfare of the majority of the population.

Lessons learned from the industrial revolutionpaved the way for a broader, all encompassingdefinition of the concept of development, insteadof merely focusing on achieving economic growthas an end in itself . While economic growth isindeed an essential component in the attainmentof developmental goals of any country, it shouldnot be given exclusive focus at the expense ofother important determinants.

The United Nations Declaration on the Right toDevelopment defines the concept of developmentas:

1. What is Economic Development?

Economic development - A historicalperspective

Defining development

�

�

�

�

1

2

3

4

5

“…development is a comprehensiveeconomic, social, cultural and politicalprocess, which aims at the constant

improvement of the well-being of the entirepopulation and of all individuals on the

basis of their active, free and meaningfulparticipation in development and in the fair

distribution of benefits resultingtherefrom .”

6


1. Sen, Amartya. 1983. “Development: Which way now?” The Economic Journal, Vol. 93, No. 372. p.754

2. Todaro, Michael. 2002. Economic Development. p. 15


4. ibid


6. Http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/41/a41r128.htm

Chapter 1: Economic Development

5

In other words, the concept of development is amulti dimensional one, where economicdevelopment initiatives aim at raising the standardof living of people through policy interventionsrather than a mere increase in the national incomeof a country . These policy interventions includeboth economic and social interventions.Therefore, economic growth is one narrow aspectof the broader concept that economicdevelopment entails. The process of developmentultimately results in equal access to opportunitiesfor the common masses.

The concept of development incorporates threemain objectives:

i. To increase the availability of basichuman needs such as food, shelter,health, etc .

ii. To raise the standard of living includinghigher incomes, more employmentopportunities, better education, as well asthe preservation of cultural values, whichare not limited to the enhancement ofmaterial well-being, but also focus onimproving self-esteem of individuals andnations .

iii. To expand the range of economic andsocial choices available to individuals andnations .

The whole idea of economic development is toexpand the range of available options for people.For example, whether they can live long, escapeavoidable morbidity, be well nourished, be able toread and write and communicate, take part inliterary pursuits, and so forth .

7

8

9

10

11

Objectives of development


7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_development


9. ibid

10. ibid

11. Sen, Amartya. 1983. “Development: Which way now?” The Economic Journal, Vol. 93, No. 372. p.754

6


2. Economic DevelopmentIndicators

This section will enable the participants to:

Understand what indicators are used tomeasure economic growth of a countryComprehend how countries of the worldare classified based on their nationalincomesGrasp the concept of HumanDevelopment Index (HDI) as anindicator for measuring economicdevelopment of the countryDevelop a basic understanding aboutthe components that constitute the HDIUnderstand the various determinantsthat lead to economic development of acountry

There are numerous indicators which are used tomeasure the economic performance or growth ofa country. The ones most commonly used are asfollows:

i. TheGDP of a country is an aggregatemeasure of the total economic productionof a country. More specifically, GDPrepresents the market value of all goodsand services produced by a country for agiven period of time . Examples of goodsinclude agricultural produce, industrialproduction etc, whereas services areoffered for skills in return for a sum ofmoney, such as carpentry, teaching,doctor, etc.

ii. TheGNP of a country is also an aggregatemeasure of the total goods and servicesproduced in a country during a particularyear. GNP differs from GDP because italso includes income earned by the

citizens of a country, whether they residewithin the country or outside. However,earning of those who reside in the countrybut are not citizens of the country is notpart of the GNP. In other words, GNPmeasures the value of goods andservices that citizens of a countryproduce, regardless of their location .

iii. The per capitaincome of a country is defined as theaverage income per person of the totalpopulation .

All three indicators discussed above arecommonly used to determine the standard of livingof countries. Countries with higher GDP/GNP/percapita income are considered as developedcountries, whereas ones with lower nationalincomes are categorized as under developedcountries. It is due to this reason that countries, intheir pursuit of attaining high levels of'development' focused solely on economic growthin the past. It is also essential to mention here thatthe above three methods to measure economicgrowth, although depict a picture of the aggregatenational income of a country, are unable to reflecton the income inequality or disparity presentwithin the population.

As has been mentioned above, a very commonway of categorizing countries' level of economicgrowth is through their national incomes. TheWorld Bank, for example, classifies countries intothe following :

�

�

�

�

�

Indicators of economic growth

Income-based classification ofcountries

Gross Domestic Product (GDP):

Gross National Product (GNP):

Per capita income:

12

13

14

15

i. Low income countries

ii. Lower middle income countries

iii. Upper middle income countries

iv. High income countries

are defined as having aper capita gross national income of $755 or less inyear 2000.

Low income countries

12. http://www.investopedia.com/university/releases/gdp.asp#axzz1Z8iaGzoC

13. http://www.investorwords.com/2186/GNP.html

14. Http://www.investorwords.com/5939/per_capita_income.html


7



Lower middle income countries

Upper middle income countries

High income countries

are defined ashaving per capita gross national income between$756 and $2995.

are defined ashaving per capita gross national income between$2996 and $9265.

are defined as havingincomes of $9266 or more.

Pakistan's per capita income for 2010-11 is$1254 . Therefore, according to World Bank'sincome classification, Pakistan is a lower middleincome country.

As has been discussed in our previous session,economic growth is one component of overalleconomic development. Past experiencesrevealed that a mere increase in countries'national incomes did little to enhance the lives ofthe common masses in most under developednations. The 1990 saw the emergence of a newindex of measuring development, also known asthe Human Development Index (HDI). The HDIassesses levels of development by taking intoaccount the measures of health, education andincomes of a country . Although the indexencapsulates only a small component of whatdevelopment entails in reality, it is a shift from thetraditional concept of measuring national incomesalone.

The HDI is a composite measure of three indices:health, education and living standards. Eachindex is measured by certain indicators. Theseare:

16

17

The emergence of the HumanDevelopment Index (HDI)

The HDI ranks all countries on a scale of 0 to 1,where 0 signifies lowest human development and1 the highest level of human development .Pakistan ranks 125 out of a total of 169 countriesin the HDI for the year 2010. It has scored an HDIof 0.523, hence falling into the medium humandevelopment category .

With the introduction of HDI as a measure for thecategorization of countries, rankings of countrieschanged considerably. Countries with highernational incomes did not necessarily haveadequate levels of literacy or health care, whilesome countries with relatively lower per capitaincomes still managed to have high literacy ratesand better life expectancy. There is no doubt thatcountries with higher annual earnings had goodhuman development indicators too, but this wasnot universally true for all countries. Since then,there have been concerted efforts by policymakers to shift their focus from attaining economicgrowth to monitoring the progress of humandevelopment indicators that should be achievedas a consequence of this growth.

18

19

8

16. Economic Survey of Pakistan. 2011. Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan. p. 13

17. The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathway to Human Development. 2010. United Nations Development Programme. P.13


19. The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathway to Human Development. 2010. United Nations Development Programme. P.142,143

Human Development Index (HDI)

LivingHealthStandards

Education

i. Mean years ofschooling

ii. Expected years ofschooling

I. Life Expectancyat Birth Income

I. Gross NationalProduct

ii. Per capitaIncome



3. State of EconomicDevelopment in Pakistan

This section is intended for the participants to beable to:

Comprehend the concept of GDP growthrate of a countryUnderstand the various factors that haveled to a low GDP growth rate in PakistanDevelop a basic know how about thehealth and literacy statistics in Pakistan

In the year 2010, the GDP growth rate of Pakistanwas a mere 2.4 percent . The annual growth rateof GDP determines the increase or decrease in thevalue of goods and services produced within thecountry . It is conventionally measured in percentrate of increase in GDP .

There have been various contributing factors thathave slowed the pace of economic growth in thepast year.Among them are:

i. The security challenges that Pakistan hashad to face since 2001, from suicidebombings and target killings, claiminginnocent lives .

ii. The unprecedented calamity of floods inPakistan that inflicted a damage of $10billion and lowered the GDP growth rateby two percent. Around 20 million peoplewere displaced by the floods when 50,000square kilometers of land was submergedunder water. Apart from displacement ofpeople, both the agricultural produce andindustry suffered adversely in theaftermath of the floods. The destruction ofrice and cotton crops and negligible

output in the textile and petroleumindustry led to negative economicgrowth .

iii. An increase in oil prices as well as theunexpected expenditures for the floodrelief in the past year led to rising inflation(or an continuous rise in prices of goodsand services), that also adverselyaffected the rate of economic growth .

iv. The manufacturing sector remainedvictim of electricity shortages and rise inelectricity tariffs, another determinant forslow economic growth .

Interestingly, Pakistan's per capita income,despite the economic instability, rose from $ 1073last year to $ 1254 this year . The per capitaincome is a very superficial way of assessingoverall economic growth as it is unable to gaugehow evenly economic gains are distributed.

In terms of literacy, Pakistan's overall literacy rate(for age 10 years and above) is a mere 57.7percent. Out of this, 69.5 percent males and 44.7percent females are literate . Ask participantswhat their opinion is about the educationalfacilities presently available in their region.Responses may

�

�

�

Pakistan's GDP Growth Rate

Factors contributing to a low GDPGrowth Rate in Pakistan

Pakistan's per capita income

Literacy in Pakistan

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

include inadequate physicalinfrastructure, unavailability of teachers, lack ofquality education, etc.

20. Economic Survey of Pakistan. 2011. Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan p. i

21. http://www.tradingeconomics.com/pakistan/gdp-growth

22. ibid

23. Economic Survey of Pakistan. 2011. Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan p. i

24. ibid

25. Economic Survey of Pakistan. 2011. Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan p. ii

26. ibid

27. Economic Survey of Pakistan. Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan. p. ix

28. Economic Survey of Pakistan. Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan. p. 133

9



The following table indicates the number ofmissing facilities in government schools in 2009-10 :

Similarly, the literacy remains higher in urbanareas in comparison to rural areas. Statisticsreveal that literacy in urban areas of Pakistan is73.2 percent, whereas it is a mere 49.2 percent inrural areas .

The table below signifies the rural-urban divide ofthe population in relation to attainment ofeducation :

The government allocated only 0.23 percent of itsentire GDP on health expenditures in the year2010-11 . This needs to be increasedsubstantially in order to enhance the healthindicators in the country. The average lifeexpectancy for 2010 is estimated to be 67.2years .

29

30

31

32

33

The state of health in Pakistan

10



31. Ibid


33. Ibid

Province/Area

WithoutBuilding

WithoutBoundary

Wall

WithoutDrinking

Water

WithoutLatrine

WithoutElectricity

PunjabSindhKhyberPakhtunkhwaBalochistanAJKGilgit-BaltistanFATAICTTotalIn %age

1,061

10,722

430

760

2,596

202

225

0

15,996

9.8%

11,665

24,001

8,327

1,436

5,061

1,053

1,834

12

53,389

32.7%

7,529

24,559

9,280

5,520

3,906

975

3,095

9

54,873

33.6%

12,125

21,664

7,291

8,449

4,212

934

3,050

9

57,734

35.4%

23,685

41,230

13,134

9,821

4,443

1,065

2,839

6

96,223

59%

Province/ Area

PakistanRuralUrbanPunjabRuralUrbanSindhRuralUrbanKPKRuralUrbanBalochistanRuralUrban

57.7

49.2

73.2

59.6

52.2

73.35

58.2

41

74.9

50.9

48.4

62.7

51.5

45.7

69.6

69.5

63.6

80.2

69.1

64.0

78.9

70.2

58.2

82.2

70.1

68.3

77.8

69.2

64.2

85.0

45.2

34.2

65.5

49.8

40.7

67.8

44.3

20.3

66.8

32.3

29.1

47.4

29.3

22.5

50.6

2009-10

Total Male Female

Table 1

Table 2



4. Achieving economicdevelopment- A comparativeanalysis with other countries

After the end of the discussion the participants areexpected to:

Develop a basic understanding ofChina and Malaysia's journey towardseconomic development postindependenceCompare and contrast Pakistan'sexperience with China's and Malaysia'sComprehend the various factors that ledto China and Malaysia's success

The last session takes a glance at examples ofother countries' economic developmentindicators, in order to compare why we lag behind.There are many countries in Asia that took a newstart around the same time as Pakistan, but haveprospered tremendously in comparison.

The People's Republic of China was formallyestablished in 1949, two years after Pakistan'sbirth. With a burgeoning population, China's mostpressing need after establishment was to fulfill thedemand for food as well as to invest in capitalequipment . China capitalized on its largepopulation and used it to its advantage. The secretto its high economic growth and subsequentdevelopment can be attributed to its highproportion of exports throughout the world .China has captured the global market like no other

country in the world in such a short span of time.With an enviable GDP growth rate of 9.5 percentthis year, Pakistan has a lot to learn from her nextdoor neighbor. In terms of human developmentindicators, China's HDI for 2011 is 0.707 with anaverage life expectancy of 73.5 years andliteracy rate of 92.2 percent . It is pertinent tohighlight that before it was established, more than80 percent of the Chinese population wasilliterate .

After gaining independence from Britain in 1957(10 years after Pakistan's independence),Malaysia comes under the category of an upper-middle income country in terms of economicgrowth . At independence, Malaysia was a lower-middle income country . Malaysia has reliedextensively on the export of its natural resourcesfor the attainment of economic prosperity . Theseincluded rubber, tin and palm oil. Despite its richnatural resource base, Malaysia did not remainsolely dependent on its natural resource base anddiversified its revenue generating activities byinvesting in the construction and manufacturingsector as well . This helped increase its volume ofexports from mere raw produce to manufacturedproducts as well . Today Malaysia comes underthe High Human Development ranking with a HDIof 0.775 . Malaysia spends eight percent of itstotal GDP on health expenditure and enjoys anaverage life expectancy age of 74.7 years .Similarly, it spends 4.1 percent of its total GDP oneducation and hence enjoys an overall literacyrate of 88.7 percent .

�

�

�

China's secret of success

Economic development in Malaysia

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

34. http://www-chaos.umd.edu/history/prc.html

35. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/aug/18/china-economic-growth

36. http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/07/chinas-gdp-update.html

37. The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathway to Human Development. 2010. United Nations Development Programme. p. 144

38. ibid

39. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html

40. http://www.china-mike.com/facts-about-china/facts-chinese-education/

41. Yusof, Zainal and Deepak Bhattasali. 2008. “Economic Growth and Development in Malaysia”, Working Paper No. 27. The International Bank for

Reconstruction and Development/ The World Bank. P. 1

42. ibid

43. ibid

44.

45. Yusof, Zainal and Deepak Bhattasali. 2008. “Economic Growth and Development in Malaysia”, Working Paper No. 27. The International Bank for

Reconstruction and Development/ The World Bank. P. 7

46 The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathway to Human Development. 2010. United Nations Development Programme.. p. 144

47 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/my.html

48 The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathway to Human Development. 2010. United Nations Development Programme.. p. 144

49 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/my.html

Yusof, Zainal and Deepak Bhattasali. 2008. “Economic Growth and Development in Malaysia”, Working Paper No. 27. The International Bank for

Reconstruction and Development/ The World Bank. P. 4-5-6

11



Despite being an agrarian economy endowed witha rich natural resource base, our country has beenunable to make efficient use of these resourceslike Malaysia. Similarly, government expenditureon education and health-two of the most importantdeterminants of human development has neverbeen a priority. These factors have contributedtowards a low level of economic growth anddevelopment.

Both China and Malaysia have attained a certainlevel of economic development by making thebest use of their available resources. China hasmade use of its large human resource base, andMalaysia its natural resource base. Secondly, inboth countries, utmost effort has been made bythe government to enhance the efficacy of itshuman resource base by making sure that qualityhealth and education services are made availableto the common masses. Our country is deprived ofboth these aspects that are vital for the attainmentof economic development.

12



Feedback exercise

1:

2:

3:

4:

5:

6:

7:

8:

9:

10:

Can you differentiate between economic growth and economic development?

Is economic growth essential for attaining economic development in a country?

What is the significance of attaining economic development? What does it aim to achieve?

Can you name some of the basic indicators that are used to measure the economic growth of acountry?

Why are indicators of economic growth such as GDP or per capita income not adequate tomeasure the level of economic development in a country?

What is the HDI? What indicators of development does it incorporate?

What are the various contributing factors that lead to a nominal rise in GDP the past year?

What, in your opinion, led countries like China and Malaysia to achieve high levels of economicgrowth and development in comparison to Pakistan? Why does Pakistan lag behind?

What kind of educational facilities are available in your area? How can they be enhanced?

What kind of health facilities are available in your area?Are you satisfied with them? What kind ofimprovements do you suggest?



13

DEMOCRACY

AND

RULE OF LAW

DEMOCRACY

AND

RULE OF LAW

17

Introduction:

1. What is Democracy?

This section of the manual will begin withexplaining the concept, forms and characteristicsof democracy. This will be followed by listing downthe institutions or elements of democracy and theproblems facing democracy in Pakistan. The nextsection will focus on the state of democracy inPakistan and how the parliament of Pakistan hasperformed during the past few years with a quickcomparison of the constitutional legacy ofPakistan and India. While the last part of thischapter will underscore the importance of rule oflaw and good governance in the social andeconomic development of a country.

This session has been designed for theparticipants to be able to understand:

The concept of democracy

A brief history of democracy and how it

evolved

The most common forms of democracy

and its features.

Democracy is a form of government in which allpeople have an equal say in the decisions thataffect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal (andmore or less direct) participation in the proposal,development and passage of legislation into law. Itcan also encompass social, economic and culturalconditions that enable the free and equal practiceof political self-determination. The term comesfrom the Greek: ( ) "rule of the people”,which was coined from ( ) "people" and( ) "power".

The term Democracy first appeared in ancientGreek political and philosophical thought. TheGreek city state of Athens, led by Cleisthenes,established what is generally held as the first

in . Cleisthenes is referred toas "the father of Athenian democracy”. TheAthenian phi losopher Plato contrasteddemocracy, the system of "rule by the governed",with the alternative systems of monarchy (rule byone individual), oligarchy (rule by a small éliteclass) and timocracy (ruling class of propertyowners). Today Classical Athenian democracy isconsidered by many to have been a directdemocracy. Originally it had two distinguishingfeatures: first the allotment (selection by lot) ofordinary citizens to the few government officesand the courts, and second the assembly of all thecitizens. All citizens were eligible to speak andvote in the assembly, which set the laws of the citystate. However, Athenian citizens were all-male,born from parents who were born in Athens, andexcluded women, slaves, foreigners and malesunder 20 years old.

Even though the Roman Republic contributedsignificantly to certain aspects of democracy, onlya minority of Romans were citizens with votes inelections for representatives. The votes of thepowerful were given more weight through asystem of Gerrymandering, so most high officials,including members of the Senate, came from afew wealthy and noble families.

From there onward, democracy has gone throughdifferent transition phases while continuous effortshave been to modernize and improve the oldforms of democracy. During these transitionphases many countries who were being ruledunder the non-democratic system of governancesuch as military dictatorship, monarchy, oligarchy,etc. have transformed to democracy.

Democracy has taken a number of forms, both intheory and practice. Following are some of thepopular and common forms of democracy:

Representative democracy involves theselection of government officials by thepeople being represented. If the head ofstate is also democratically elected then itis called a democratic republic. The most

�

�

�

Defining Democracy

Origin of the concept of Democracy

Forms of Democracy

dēmokratíadêmos

Kratos

democracy 507 BCE

1. Representative


Chapter 2: Democracy and Rule of Law

18

common mechanisms involve election ofthe candidate with a majority or a pluralityof the votes.

Representatives may be elected by aparticular district (or constituency),or represent the entire electorateproportionally proportional systems, withsome using a combination of the two.

Par l i amen ta ry democracy i s arepresentative democracy whereg o v e r n m e n t i s a p p o i n t e d b yparliamentary representatives asopposed to a 'presidential rule' whereinthe President is both head of state and thehead of government and is electedby the voters. Under a parliamentarydemocracy, government is exercised bydelegation to an executive ministry andsubject to ongoing review, checks andbalances by the legislative parliamentelected by the people. Parliamentarysystems have the right to dismiss a PrimeMinister at any point in time that they feelhe or she is not doing their job to theexpectations of the legislature. This isdone through a Vote of No Confidencewhere the legislature decides whether ornot to remove the Prime Minister fromoffice by a majority support for his or herdismissal. The Prime Minister can alsocall an election whenever he or she sochooses.

Presidential Democracy is a systemwhere the public elects the presidentthrough free and fair elections. Thepresident serves as both the head of stateand head of government controlling mostof the executive powers. The presidentserves for a specific term and cannotexceed that amount of time. By beingelected by the people, the president cansay that he is the choice of the people andfor the people. Elections typically have afixed date and aren't easily changed.

Combining head of state and head ofgovernment makes the president not onlythe face of the people but as the head ofpolicy as well. The president has directcontrol over the cabinet, which isspecifically appointed by the presidenthimself.

A semi-presidential system is a system ofdemocracy where the governmentcontains both a Prime Minister and aPresident. This form of democracy is evenless common than a presidential system.This system has both a Prime Ministerwith no fixed term and a President with afixed term. Depending on the country, theseparation of powers between the primeminister and president varies. In oneinstance, the president can hold morepower than the prime minister making theprime minister accountable to both thelegislature and president. On the otherhand, the Prime Minister can hold morepower than the president.

A Liberal democracy is a representativedemocracy in which the ability of theelected representatives to exercisedecision-making power is subject to therule of law, and usually moderated by aconstitution that emphasizes theprotection of the rights and freedoms ofindividuals, and which places constraintson the leaders and on the extent to whichthe will of the majority can be exercisedagainst the rights of minorities. In a liberaldemocracy, it is possible for some large-scale decisions to emerge from the manyindividual decisions that citizens are freeto make. In other words, citizens can "votewith their feet" or "vote with their dollars",resul t ing in signi f icant informalgovernment -by - the-masses tha texercises many "powers" associated withformal government elsewhere.

2. Parliamentary

3. Presidential

4. Semi-Presidential

5. Liberal



19

Characteristics of Democracy

i. In a democraticsystem, no class or group has claim topolitical power on permanent basis.Tenure of government is fixed and afterthe completion of that period, people inauthority have to go to the people for re-election.

ii. Democracy ensures everycitizen' social and political rights.

iii. Another hallmark of ademocra t i c sys tem is po l i t i ca laccountability of elected representatives.Al l e lected representat ives areaccountable to their electorates.

iv. Free expressionof opinion is regarded as a major hallmark of a democra t ic sys tem.Constructive criticism on official policies isconsidered essential for a successfuldemocracy.

v. A democratic systemrevolves around the concept of majorityrule.

vi Political diversity is anessential ingredient of a democraticsystem. Political groups or parties formpublic opinion, educate masses andmake efforts for political power withinconstitutional limits.

Change in government:

Civil Rights:

Accountability:

Freedom of expression:

Majority Rule:

Political Parties:



20

2. Institutions of Democracyand its Problems

This section will guide the participants to:

Develop a clear understanding of theimportant institutions of democracy andhow they functionUnderstand the major predicaments andunderlying factors that did not letdemocracy to flourish in Pakistan.

First and foremost ingredient of ademocratic system is the political diversityin the society. There are political partieswho educate masses, shape their opinionand make efforts to gain political powerwithin the constitutional framework of thestate. They hold elections within theirparties and elect top officials to run thebusiness affairs of the party. Theseparties contest elections and theirnominated candidates are electedthrough people's votes. These parties,a f t e r s e c u r i n g v i c t o r y , f o r mgovernments.

Legislature or the legislative assembliesare the ones who enact laws regardingprocedural matters in the light ofconstitutional framework. Assemblieshave fixed tenures. At the end of thetenure the elected representatives haveto contest elections for another term.Since legislature comprises of electedmembers of masses therefore theseassemblies are considered to be themirror of the society.

The executive is the part of thedemocratic government which executesthe laws and it includes all departmentsand institutions that are involved in state

administration such as President,ministers, administrative officials etc. Theterm “executive” strictly from politicalstand point refers to those office bearerswho hold key positions and are primarilyresponsible for executing the publicpolicy.

The judiciary (also known as the judicialsystem or judicature) is the system ofcourts that interprets and applies the lawin the name of the state. The judiciary alsoprovides a mechanism for the resolutionof disputes. Under the doctrine of theseparation of powers, the judiciarygenerally does not make law (that is,In a plenary fashion, which is theresponsibility of the legislature) or enforcelaw (which is the responsibility of theexecutive), but rather interprets law andapplies it to the facts of each case. Thisbranch of government is often tasked withensuring equal justice under law. Itusually consists of a court of final appeal(cal led the "supreme court" or"constitutional court"), together with lowercourts.

In many jurisdictions the judicial branchhas the power to change laws through theprocess of judicial review. Courts withjudicial review power may annul the lawsand rules of the state when it finds themincompatible with a higher norm, such asprimary legislation, the provisions of theconstitution or international law.

Free press and electronic mediaconstitute a critical part of a democracy. Ifexercised responsibly, media can play animmense role in educating the massesand shaping the public opinion. Mediacan help create awareness amongpeople to make prudent choices i n t h eelection of their representatives.

Another important aspect of free mediais that it can keep a check on the

�

�

Institutions or elements of Democracy

i. Political Parties

ii. The Legislature

iii. The Executive

iv. The Judiciary

v. Free Media



government and its functionaries andunfold the issues wherein there is even alittle doubt of corruption and malpractices.Both elected representatives andappointed officials, therefore, abstainfrom any moral, social or ethical breach.

Democracy in Pakistan has had a troubled journeywith several disruptions. The major features of thePakistani polity show serious problems ofdemocracy.At times, democracy and participatorygovernance are either totally non-existent or theirquality is poor.

Pakistan inherited institutional imbalanceat the time of independence in August1947. The state apparatus, i.e. thebureaucracy, the military and theintel l igence services, was moreorganized and developed than thepolitical and democratic institutions.Further, the first Interim Constitution,1947, also strengthened bureaucracyand authoritarian governance. Thisimbalance was reinforced by two inter-related trends in the political domain.

First, the process of political decay anddegeneration was set in motion soon afterindependence. The Muslim League thatled the independence movement, lackedsufficient organization and capacity forstate and nation building. A good numberof Muslim League leaders had feudal orsemi-feudal background, and weremotivated by personal or power ambitionrather than building the party as a viableorganization capable of standing on itsown feet. Other political parties alsosuffered from similar problems of internaldisharmony and conflict, indiscipline anda lack of direction.

Second, the bureaucracy and the militarymaintained their professional dispositionmarked by hierarchy; discipline etc. Theserious administrative problems in the

early years of independence led thecivilian government to seek the support ofthe military and the bureaucracy.Pakistan's security problems with India,especially the first Kashmir war, alsohelped to strengthen the military'sposition in the polity. All Pakistani civiliangovernments supported a strong defenseposture and allocated a substantialportion of the national budget to defenseand security.

These developments accentuatedinstitutional imbalance and worked to thedisadvantage of the civilian leaders. Theweak and fragmented political forcesfound it difficult to sustain themselveswithout the support and cooperation ofthe bureaucracy and the military. Thisenabled the bureaucracy and the militaryto enhance their role in policy making andmanagement and they began to dominatepolitics. In October 1958, the militaryswept aside the fragile polit icalinstitutions and established its direct rule,with the bureaucracy as the junior partner.

The democratic process cannot becomefunctional without a minimum consensuson the operational norms of the polity. Theminimum consensus is the beginningpoint. As the political process functionsover time and it offers opportunities forsharing power and political advancement,it evokes more support from amongdifferent sections of the society and thepolity. The scope of consensus widenswhen more groups and individuals enterthe political mainstream through thedemocratic norms as set out in theconstitution and law. This makes thepolitical institutions and processes viable.

The Pakistani polity has been unable tofully develop a consensus on theoperational political norms. Whateverunderstanding developed among thecompeting interests at one point of time

Problems of Democracy

i. Institutional Imbalance

ii. Political Consensus-building

21



22

was allowed to die down with the passageo f t i m e b e c a u s e o f t h e n o n -accommodating disposition of thecompeting interests and an opendefianceof constitutionalism and norms ofdemocracy.

A low level of tolerance of dissent and apoor tradition of open debate on importantnational issues has hindered the growthof a broadly shared consensus on theframework for political action.

Political harmony and democraticevolution is facilitated primarily by politicalparties and leaders. These are importantinstruments of interest articulation andaggregation and serve as vehicles ofpolitical mobilization. In Pakistan, politicalparties have traditionally been weak andunable to perform their main function in aneffective and meaningful manner.

The role of the political parties hassuffered due to; inter alia, periodicrestrictions on political activities undermilitary rule, infrequent elections, weakorganizational structure and poordiscipline among the members, absenceo f a t t r a c t i v e s o c i o - e c o n o m i cprogrammes, and a paucity of financialresources. Political parties also sufferfrom factionalism based on personality,region and ideology. Most Pakistanipolitical parties lack resources andtrained human-power to undertakedispassionate and scientific study of thesocio-political and economic problems.

A predominant majority of Pakistanisagree that the Pakistani political systemmust have some relationship with Islam.However, there are strong differences onthe precise nature of relationshipbetween Islam and the polity. There is alack of consensus on the institutions andprocesses to be set up under the rubric of

Islamic state. Some sections of thesociety want to establish a puritanicalIslamic state with an emphasis on thepunitive, regulative and extractive role ofthe Islamic state. Others emphasize theegalitarian norms of Islam and underlinethe principles of equality, socioeconomicjustice and the modern notions of thestate, civil and political rights andparticipatory governance. To them, Islamis a source of guidance and provides theethical foundations of the polity ratherthan offering a specific political structureor a legal code for the modern times

The repeated assumption of power by themilitary and its desire to shape thePakistani polity in accordance with itspo l i t i ca l p re fe rences has a l soundermined the steady growth andsustainability of democratic institutionsand processes. The military rulers eitherabolished the constitution or suspended itto acquire supreme legislative andadministrative powers.

iii. Political Parties and Leadership

iv. Islam and Politics

v. Military Rule and Constitutional andPolitical Engineering:



3. Pakistan and Democracy

This session is intended for the participants to beable to:

Develop an understanding about thedifferent phases of democracy and polityin PakistanLearn about and distinguish between theupper (the Senate) and lower (theNational Assembly) houses of thePakistani parliamentary system.Gain an insight into the performance ofthe present government over the past fewyearsMake a quick comparison of theconstitutional history of Pakistan & India.

In Pakistan, the rulers, political parties and leadersand the civil society groups support democracy atthe normative or conceptual level. The politicallyactive circles demand representative governanceand participatory decision making in the politicaland economic fields. They highlight fair and freeelectoral process, the rule of law, socio-economicjustice and accountability of those exercising statepower as the pre-requisites for a political system.

However, there are serious problems with theseprinciples at the operational level in Pakistan.Power structure and style of governance oftennegated these principles. Most rulers, civilian andmilitary, pursued personalization of power andauthoritarian style of governance, assigning ahigh premium to personal loyalty and uncriticalacceptance of what the ruler or the party chiefdecides. This was coupled with partisan use ofstate apparatus and resources, and an elitist andexploitative socio-economic system.

A good number of voters maintain that their votedoes not matter much in the selection of the rulers.Invariably they express negative views about therulers as well as those opposing them. Despite allthis, the people have not given up on democracy.While talking about their 'helplessness' with

reference to changing the rulers, they continue tosubscribe to the norms of democracy andparticipatory governance and emphasize theaccountability of the rulers. They are thereforevulnerable to mobilization for realization of thesenorms and values.

Pakistan's political history can be divided intodifferent phases with reference to the dominantstyle of governance and political management:

Pakistan has a bi-cameral parliamentary systemconsisting of the lower house which is called theNational Assembly and the upper house termedas the Senate.

The Parliament of Pakistan, according to the

�

�

�

�

State of Democracy in Pakistan

The NationalAssembly

Composition

August 1947-October 1958December 1971-July 1977

October 1958-June 1962March 1969-December1971July 1977-December 1985October 1999-November 2002

June 1962-March 1969March 1985-November 1988

December 1988-October 1999

November 2002-March 2008

April 2002 to date.

1. Civilian politicalgovernment

2. Direct Military Rule

3. Selective use ofDemocracy by theMilitary (Post-military rule)

4. Military's influencefrom the sidelineson policy makingunder civiliangovernments

5. Military's directinvolvement inpowermanagement afterthe end of military rule;constitutional & legalrole for military

6. Civilian politicalgovernment

23



24

Constitution of 1973, is bicameral. Article 50 of theConstitution clearly states that the Parliament ofPakistan consists of the President and twoHouses known as the National Assembly and theSenate.

The National Assembly has a total of 342members, including 60 seats reserved for womenand 10 for non-Muslims, as per Article 51. Theseats in the National Assembly are allocated toeach Province, the Federally Administered TribalAreas (FATA) and the Federal Capital on the basisof population, as officially published in the lastpreceding census. The present allocation of seatsis as under:

The 1970 Assembly framed the 1973 Constitutionwhich was passed on 12th April and promulgatedon 14th August 1973. The 1973 Constitutionprovides for a parliamentary form of Governmentwith a bicameral legislature, comprising of theNational Assembly and the Senate. Themembership of the Senate, which was originally45, was raised to 63 in 1977 and to 87 in 1985. Thegovernment of Gen. Pervez Musharraf raised themembership of the Senate from 87 to 100 in 2002.

The Senate consists of 100 members that is:

i. F o u r P r o v i n c e s ( B a l o c h i s t a n ,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh)Twenty-two from each province (fourteengeneral, four technocrats/Ulema and fourwomen).

ii. Federal CapitalFour (two general, one technocrat/aalimand one woman)

iii. Federally Administered Tribal Areas(FATA)

Even though seventeen seats have beenallocated to women, there is no bar on women toseek elections on other seats. The presentallocation of seats is as under:

The Parliament since its inception despite a lot ofproblems has been able to enact a number oflaws. There has been a general impression thatthe house has exhibited a below par performance.Let's have a cursory look of the performance of theparliament sinceApril 2008.

According to the official website of the NationalAssembly following laws have been passed by thehouse during the past four years (approximately):

The Senate

Senate History & Introduction

Composition

Performance of present parliament from 2008to date

Category Punjab Sindh KhyberPakhtun

Khwa

Baloch-istan

FATA FederalCapital

Total

General

Women

Non-Muslims

Total

148

35

-

183

61

14

-

75

35

8

-

43

14

3

-

17

12

0

-

12

2

0

-

2

272

60

10

342

Punjab Sindh KhyberPakhtun

Khwa

Baloch-istan

FATA FederalCapital

Total

General

Women

Technocrats/Ulema

Total

14

4

4

22

14

4

4

22

8

-

-

8

14

4

4

22

14

4

4

22

2

1

1

4

66

17

17

100

Table 3

Table 4



Acts of Parliament

48.

47.

46.

45.

44.

43.

42.

41.

40.

39.

38.

37.

36.

35.

34.

33.

32.

Friday, 15th July, 2011

Wednesday, 29th June, 2011

Saturday, 25th June, 2011

Saturday, 28th May, 2011

Saturday, 14th May, 2011

Tuesday, 10th May, 2011

Tuesday, 3rd May, 2011

Friday, 29th April, 2011

Thursday, 28th April, 2011

Monday, 18th April, 2011

Tuesday, 29th March, 2011


Wednesday, 9th March, 2011

Thursday, 17th February, 2011

Thursday, 10th February, 2011

Thursday, 20th January, 2011

Saturday, 1st January, 2011

The Recognition and Enforcement (Arbitration Agreements and

Foreign Arbitral Awards) Act, 2011

The Finance Act, 2011

The National Vocational and Technical Training Commission Act, 2011

The General Statistics (Reorganization) Act, 2011

The National Defence University Act, 2011

The Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan (Reorganization and

Conversion) Act, 2011

The Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2011

The Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design Act, 2011

The Arbitration (International Investment Disputes) Act, 2011

The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2011

The Federal Board of Revenue (Amendment) Act, 2011

The Banking Companies (Amendment) Act, 2011

The Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority Act, 2011

The West Pakistan Regulation and Control of Loudspeakers and

Sound Amplifiers (Amendment) Act, 2011

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Act, 2011

The Pakistan Engineering Council (Amendment) Act, 2011

The Constitution (Nineteenth Amendment) Act, 2010

Sr.No2011

Date Act Title

31.

30.

29.

28.

27.

26.

25.

24.

23.

22.

21.

20.

19.

18.

17.

16.

15.

2010

Wednesday, 8th December, 2010

Wednesday, 8th December, 2010

Monday, 6th December, 2010

Tuesday, 30th November, 2010

Wednesday, 6th October, 2010

Friday, 30th July, 2010

Thursday, 1st July, 2010

Monday, 21st June, 2010

Friday, 21st May, 2010

Tuesday, 20th April, 2010






Friday, 26th March, 2010


The National Disaster Management Act, 2010

The Degree Awarding Status to Dawood College of Engineering and

Technology, Karachi, Act, 2010

The Sacked Employees (Re-instatement) Act, 2010

The Federal Employees Benevolent Fund and Group Insurance

(Amendment) Act, 2010

The Competition Act, 2010

Islamabad High Court Act, 2010

Finance Act, 2010

The Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Act, 2010

The Alternative Energy Development Board Act, 2010

The National School of Public Policy (Amendment) Act, 2010

The Pakistan Naval Academy (Award of Degrees) (Amendment)

Act, 2010

The Institute of Space Technology Act, 2010

The Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010

The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics Act, 2010

The Patents (Amendment) Act, 2010

The Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010

The Pakistan Trade Control of Wild Fauna And Flora Act, 2010

25



26

The number of acts passed since 2008 is fortyeight which apparently seems on the lower side.But given the social, economic and politicalsituation of Pakistan the number may not seemthat bad. Pakistan has been facing the threat ofterrorism for the past many years. To add to themisery the nation had to suffer due to massivefloods in 2010 and even in 2011 the monsoonrains have caused immense devastation in theprovinces of Sindh and Balochistan.

India and Pakistan started with sameconstitutional heritage but after independence,they embarked on remarkably different directionsof political and constitutional development. Indianexperience represents constitutional continuityand stability since the introduction of itsConstitution in January1950. Pakistan has gonethrough many ups and downs. It has experiencedfour constitutions; its existing Constitution (1973)has also under gone various changes, altering thevery nature of it. A comparative study of the Indianand Pakistani Constitutions in five areas:provincial autonomy, president's relations with thecabinet, supremacy of the Parliament, civil-military relations and constitutional amendmentsshows that Indian political system has beenestablished on the basis of democratic

Parliamentary norms. President's office is strictly'constitutional' and real executive powers arevested in the council of ministers headed by theprime minister. The issue of provincial autonomy,due to democratic and participatory institutionsand processes did not pose serious threat tonational solidarity. Whatever problems arose,these are settled within the framework of theconstitution. The civil-military relations havedeveloped in a way that ensures civilian primacyover military establishment and Parliament'sauthority in brining amendments to theconstitution is an established rule.

Pakistan's constitutional history on the otherhand shows constitutional breakdown andinconsistencies. Under the 1973 Constitution, aparliamentary form of government was envisagedbut different amendments introduced in theconstitution changed its substance and spirit,tilting the balance in favor of the president. Theissue of provincial autonomy is becoming serious,partly due to centralizing trends introduced by theConstitution but mainly because of frequentdisruptions of democratic and participatoryprocesses and institutions. Military establishmenthas expanded its influence in the society and ismajor determinant of national policies.

Acomparison between India and Pakistan

8.

7.

6.

5.

14.

13.

12.

11.

10.

9.

Sr. No2009

Date Act Title

Wednesday, 17th March, 2010





Saturday, 30th January, 2010

Thursday, 29th October, 2009

Monday, 19th October, 2009

Monday, 19th October, 2009

Tuesday, 30th June, 2009

The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 2010

The Protection Against Harassment of Women at the

Workplace Act, 2010

The National Command Authority Act, 2010

The Removal from Service (Special Powers)(Repeal)Act, 2010

The Service Tribunals (Amendment) Act, 2010

The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2010

The Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2009

The Cotton Standardization (Amendment) Act, 2009

The Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2009

Finance Act, 2009

4.

3.

2.

1.

2008

Monday, 15th December, 2008

Saturday, 6th December, 2008

Saturday, 30th August, 2008

Sunday, 22nd June, 2008

The Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services Act, 2008

The Industrial Relations Act, 2008

Pakistan International Airline Corporation (Suspension of Trade Unions

and Existing Agreements) Order

Finance Act, 2008



4. Rule of Law and GoodGovernance

At the end of this session the participants areexpected to:

Understand the significance of the rule oflaw and how important it is for a state torespect the supremacy of law to ensuredisposition of equitable justice to thepeople.Understand the concept of goodgovernance and its importance in aneffective state.

The rule of law, also called supremacy of law is afeatured characteristic of a constitutionaldemocracy. According to this principle no one isabove the law. This means that the Law is the Kingthat rules. It is a general legal saying according towhich decisions should be made by applyingknown principles or laws, without the use ofdiscretion in their application or any act of will.

The most important application of the rule of law isthe principle that governmental authority islegitimately exercised only in accordance withwritten, publicly disclosed laws adopted andenforced in accordance with establishedprocedural steps that are referred to as dueprocess. The principle is intended to be asafeguard against arbitrary governance, whetherby a totalitarian or a democratic leader.

In a society where it functions, the rights ofindividuals are determined by legal rules and notthe arbitrary behaviour of authorities. There canbe no punishment unless a court decides thatthere has been a breach of law. Everyone,regardless of his/her position in society, is subjectto the law in fairness and with no favour. Anothercritical feature of the rule of Law is that individualliberties depend on it. Its success depends on therole of impartiality of judiciary. It also depends onPrerogative Orders in which a case is taken upfrom an inferior court to a superior one to ensurejustice is done.

There is no rule of law: where there is selectivejustice, where the government chooses which lawto obey and which one to disobey, where there arehuman rights abuses like extrajudicial killing,where there is no care for human life andhappiness but their destruction, where there is afailure of budget implementation - suffice to knowthat a budget is an enacted law, where governorsand other representatives cross to other partieswithout relinquishing their offices, where theGovernment operates excess crude accountwithout any constitutional provision for it, wherevotes don't count and no free and fair election;where some are above the law etc. Even thoughdemocracy does not guarantee equality ofconditions, it guarantees equality of opportunitywhere there is rule of law.

The supremacy of law, which means thatall persons (individuals and government)are subject to law.A concept of justice which emphasizesinterpersonal adjudication, law based onstandards and the importance ofprocedures.Restr ict ions on the exercise ofdiscretionary power.The doctrine of judicial precedent.Legislation should be prospective and notretrospective.An independent judiciary.The exercise by Parliament of thelegislative power and restrictions onexercise of legislative power by theexecutive.An underlying moral basis for all law."Adherence to the rule of law is whatguides us in our everyday social and legalinteractions, prevents anarchy, and holdus together as a people." ( )All are equal in the eyes of the law( )Equality in the law as well as before thelaw ( )That people should be ruled by the lawand obey it ( )

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

Rule of law

Essential characteristic of rule of law

Frens

References re French Language

References re French Language

Rossiter

27




28

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

The law should be such that people willbe able to be guided by it ( )"Constitutionalism and the rule of law arecornerstones of the Constitution andreflect our country's commitment to anorderly and civil society in which all arebound by the enduring rules, principles,and values of our Constitution as thesupreme source of law and authority."(Lalonde)

First of all, let's try to understand the concept ofgovernance.

is the act of governing. It relates todecisions that define expectations, grant power, orverify performance. It consists of either a separateprocess or part of management or leadershipprocesses. These processes and systems aretypically administered by a government.

Following are some of the dimensions of goodgovernance

Thisdimension pertains to ensuring allfundamental rights of citizens. Peopleshould have full security, they shouldenjoy easy access to livelihood, justiceshould be speedy and accessible etc.

Howa government controls/regulates themarkets. What are rules and regulationswhich affect performance or output ofmarkets? Are there any monopolies?How competition is regulated in thecountry?

What are the policies of thegovernment about the private sector?Does government encourage privatesector to flourish?

What is the nature of relationshipbetween the elected representatives andthe bureaucrats. What are the boundarylines between the two and how these are

determined?

What is the nature of localinstitutions such as Tehsil Council orUnion Council? How do these institutionsplay their role in the lives of ordinarycitizens.

Legislature is supposed toenact laws for the country whereasexecutive's job is to execute laws of theland. What are authorities/responsibilitiesof both towards each other etc.?

How do nations conduct themselvesinternationally? What is the nature of theirrelationship with their neighbours?

To distinguish the term governance fromgovernment ; "governance" is what a"government" does. It might be a geo-politicalgovernment (nation-state), a corporategovernment (business entity), a socio-politicalgovernment (tribe, family etc.), or any number ofdifferent kinds of government, but governance isthe physical exercise of management power andpolicy, while government is the instrument (usuallycollective) that does it.

is an indeterminate term usedto describe how public institutions conduct publicaffairs and manage public resources in order toguarantee the realization of human rights.Governance describes "the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions areimplemented (or not implemented)". The termgovernance can apply to corporate, international,national, local governance or to the interactionsbetween other sectors of society.

The concept of "good governance" often emergesas a model to compare ineffective political bodieswith viable political bodies. The term goodgovernance can be focused on any one form ofgovernance, aid organizations and the authoritiesof developed countries often will focus themeaning of good governance to a set ofrequirement that conform to the organizationsagenda, making "good governance" imply many

Rossiter

Between governments and citizens:

Between governments and markets:

Between governments and the privatesector:

Between elected officials and appointedofficials:

Between local institutions and urban andrural dwellers:

Between legislature and executivebranches:

Between nation states and institutions:

Good Governance

Governance

Good governance


Outcomes of Good Governance:In relation to a government there are a number ofmanifestations of good governance which can bedescribed as a follows:

Improved law and order situationEasy access to justiceBetter health conditions in the countryHigh literacy rate and high educationalstandards in the societyReduction in corruptionInter-faith harmonyAcross the board accountability both forthe elected representatives andappointed officials

Democracy and rule of law in Pakistan have beenfacing a lot of problems due to the reasonsmentioned earlier. However, the people ofPakistan have not given up hope and they still areof the opinion that the real solution lies inestablishing a truly democratic society in thecountry. The presence of progressive and activecivil society and free media is graduallyempowering people to demand more and moretransparency and accountability both for theelected members as well as the appointedgovernment officials

The latest example was the general elections of2008 which witnessed a lot of surprises and verystrong candidates were voted out of the house bytheir respective constituencies because theyfailed to live up to people's expectations.

Another positive development has been the activerole of Judiciary which despite its limitations istrying to create a system of check and balance.

The heartening fact about the Pakistani society isthat it has never accepted any dictatorial rule astheir ultimate fate. The civil society has alwaysmaintained a view that Pakistan was meant to be ademocratically run country.

1. How can democracy help in maintaining ruleof law?

2. What are the advantages of a parliamentarysystem?

3. What can we do to strengthen democracy inPakistan?

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

Conclusion:

Questions for discussion:

29



HUMAN RIGHTSHUMAN RIGHTS



Introduction:

This paper on human rights has been divided in tofour sections. The first section begins withexplaining the concept and evolution of humanrights and how and when these rights havechanged over time. This will be followed byillustrating the distinction and classification ofhuman rights including minority rights . The thirdsection of this paper will list down the treaties andconventions adopted by the United Nations whilesome prominent international and nationalorganizations working for human rights will also bediscussed in this section. While the last section willshed light on the state of human rights in Pakistanand where Pakistan stands on human rightstreaties and conventions.

The following section of this chapter is designedfor the participants to be able to understand:

The concept of human rightsThe evolution and historical developmentof human rightsHow and when these rights wererecognized and changed over time.

Human rights are "basic rights and freedoms thatall people are entitled to regardless of nationality,sex, age, national or ethnic origin, race, religion,language, or other status. Human rights areconceived as universal and egalitarian, with allpeople having equal rights by virtue of beinghuman. These rights may exist as natural rights oras legal rights, in both national and internationallaw.

Many of the basic ideas that animated themovement developed in the aftermath of theSecond World War and, culminating in theadoption of the

in Paris by the United Nations GeneralAssembly in 1948.

The modern human rights movement emergedover the latter half of the twentieth century. Gellingas social activism and political rhetoric in manynations put it high on the world agenda.

Article 1 of the United Nations UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states;

There are various historical developments whichhave supported the evolution of human rights.Major among the developments are given anddiscussed as under.

Magna Carta (the Great Charter ofFreedoms), is an English legal charter,originally issued in the year 1215. MagnaCarta required King John of England toproclaim certain rights (pertaining tofreemen), respect certain legalprocedures, and accept that his will couldbe bound by the law.

It explicitly protected certain rights of theKing's subjects, whether free or fetteredand implicitly supported what became thewrit of habeas corpus, allowing appealagainst unlawful imprisonment

The Bill of Rights is an act of theParliament of England, whose title is AnAct Declaring the Rights and Liberties ofthe Subject and Settling the Successionof the Crown.

The Bill of Rights was passed byParliament in December 1689. Itenumerates certain rights to whichsubjects and permanent residents of aconstitutional monarchy were thought tobe entitled in the late 17th century,asserting subjects' right to petition

1. Evolution and Development ofHuman Rights

What are Human rights?

Evolution of Human Rights

�

�

�

Universal Declaration of HumanRights

i. Magna Carta

ii. Bill of Rights

All human beings are born free and equal indignity and rights. They are endowed withreason and conscience and should acttowards one another in a spirit ofbrotherhood.

33

the monarch, as well as to have arms indefence. It also sets out certainconstitutional requirements of the Crownto seek the consent of the people, asrepresented in parliament.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man andof the Citizen is a fundamentaldocument of the French Revolution,defining the individual and collectiverights of all the estates of the realm asuniversal. Influenced by the doctrine ofnatural rights, the rights of Man areuniversal: valid at all times and in everyplace, pertaining to human nature itself.Although it establishes fundamentalrights for French citizens and all menwithout exception, it addresses neitherthe status of women nor slavery; despitethat, it is a precursor document tointernational human rights instruments.

Bill of Rights is actually the collection often amendments made in theconstitutionof USA. By these:

Powers of center were curtailed andstate were made more sovereign; Basicrights of citizen were given constitutionalprotection and; Freedom of Expression,Association,Assembly, Faith, to submitpetitions were guaranteed.

The establishment of the InternationalCommittee of the Red Cross, the 1864Lieber Code and the first of the GenevaConventions in 1864 laid the foundationsof International humanitarian law.

The World Wars, and the huge losses oflife and gross abuses of human rights thattook place during the wars, were a drivingforce behind the development of modern

Human rights instruments. The League ofNations was established in 1919 a t t henegotiations over the Treaty of Versaillesfollowing the end of World War 1. TheLeague's goals included disarmament,preventing war through collectivesecurity, settling disputes betweencountries through negotiation anddiplomacy, and improving global welfare.

At the 1945 Yalta Conference, the AlliedPowers agreed to create a new body tosupplant the League's role; this was to bethe United Nations. The United Nationshas played an important role ininternational human-rights law since itscreation. Following the World Wars, theUnited Nations and its membersdeveloped much of the discourse and thebodies of law that now make upinternational humanitarian law andinternational human rights law.

iii. Declaration of the Rights of Man andof the Citizen

iv. Bill of Rights (USA)

v. International Committee of the RedCross

vi. The Creation of the United Nations

34



2. Distinction and Classificationof Human Rights

This chapter guides the participants to:

Develop a clear understanding of thedifferent categories of human rightsBe able to distinguish them from eachanother

There are two types of r ightstheoretically distinct according tophilosophers and political scientists.

, also called, are considered to be self-evident

and universal. They are not contingentupon the laws, customs, or beliefs of anyparticular culture or government.

, such as constitutional rights,common law rights, and statutory rights,are bestowed under a particular politicaland legal system; they are relative tospecific cultures and governments. Legalrights are enumerated in constitutions, instatutes (by a legislative body), in caselaw (especially in countries with acommon law tradition), in treaties, and inadministrative regulations

Some philosophers and polit icalscientists make a distinction betweenclaim rights and liberty rights.Aclaim rightis a right which entails responsibilities,duties, or obligations on other partiesregarding the right-holder. In contrast, aliberty right is a right which does not entailobligations on other parties, but r a t h e ronly freedom or permission for the right-holder.

Liberty rights and claim rights are theinverse of one another: a person has aliberty right permitting him to dosomething only if there is no other person

who has a claim right forbidding him fromdoing so; and likewise, if a person has aclaim right against someone else, thatother person's liberty is thus limited.

Philosophers and political scientistsmake a distinction between negative andpositive rights. According to this view,positive rights permit or oblige action,whereas negative rights permit or obligeinaction.

Negative rights may include civil andpolitical rights such as freedom ofspeech,private property, and freedomfrom violent crime, freedom of worship, afair trial, freedom from slavery and theright to bear arms. While positiverights may include other civil and politicalrights such as police protection of personand property and the right to counsel, aswell as economic, social and culturalrights such as public education, nationalsecurity, military, health care, socialsecurity, and a minimum standard ofliving.

Group rights are rights held by a grouprather than by its members separately, orrights held only by individuals within thespecified group; in contrast, individualrights are rights held by individual peopleregardless of their group membership orlack thereof. Group rights havehistorically been used both to infringeupon and to facilitate individual rights, andthe concept remains controversial. Grouprights are not straightforwardly humanrights because they are group-differentiated rather than universal to allpeople just by virtue of being human.

Human rights can be classified and organised in anumber of different ways. At an international levelthe most common categorisation of human rightshas been to split them into civil and political rights,and economic, social and cultural rights.

�

�

Distinction of Nature of Rights

Classification of human rights

i. Natural and legal rights

Natural rights inalienablerights

Legalrights

ii. Claim rights and liberty rights

iii. Negative and positive rights

iv. Individual and group rights

35



Civil and political rights are enshrined in articles 3to 21 of the Universal Declaration of HumanRights (UDHR) and in the International Covenanton Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Economic, social and cultural rights are enshrinedin articles 22 to 28 of the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights (UDHR) and in the InternationalCovenant on Economic, Social and Cultural

Rights (ICESCR

Civil and political rights are a class ofrights that protect individuals' freedomfrom unwarranted infringement bygovernments and private organizations,and ensure one's ability to participate inthe civil and political life of the statewithout discrimination or repression.

Civil rights include the ensuring ofpeoples' physical integrity and safety;protection from discrimination on groundssuch as physical or mental disability,gender, religion, race, national origin,age, sexual orientation, or genderidentity; and individual rights such as thefreedoms of thought and conscience,speech and expression, religion, thepress, and movement.

Political rights include natural justice(procedural fairness) in law, such as therights of the accused, including the rightto a fair trial; due process; the right to seekredress or a legal remedy; and rights ofparticipation in civil society and politicssuch as freedom of association, the rightto assemble, the right to petition, and theright to vote.

Civil and political rights form the originaland main part of international humanrights. They comprise the first portion ofthe 1948 Universal Declaration of HumanRights (with economic, social and culturalrights comprising the second portion).

Economic, social and cultural rights aresocio-economic human rights, such asthe right to education, the right to housing,and the right to health. Economic, socialand cultural rights are recognised andprotected in international and regionalhuman rights instruments.

The term Minority Rights embodies two separateconcepts: first, normal individual rights as appliedto members of racial, ethnic, class, religious,linguistic or sexual minorities, and second,collective rights accorded to minority groups. Theterm may also apply simply to individual rights ofanyone who is not part of a majority decision.

The first minority rights were created by therevolutionary Parliament of Hungary in 1849.Minority rights were codified in Austrian law in1867. Minority rights, as applying to ethnic,religious or linguistic minorities and indigenouspeoples, are an integral part of internationalhuman rights law. Like children's rights, women'srights and refugee rights, minority rights are alegal framework designed to ensure that a specificgroup which is in a vulnerable, disadvantaged ormarginalised position in society, is able to achieveequality and is protected from persecution. Thefirst post-war international treaty to protectminorities, designed to protect them from thegreatest threat to their existence, was the U.N.Convention on the Prevention and Punishment ofthe Crime of Genocide.

Subsequent human rights standards that codifyminority rights include the International Covenanton civil and Political Rights (Article 27), the UnitedNations Declaration on the Rights of PersonsBelonging to National or Ethnic, Religious andLinguistic Minorities, two Council of Europetreaties (the Framework Convention for theProtection of National Minorities and theEuropean Charter for Regional or MinorityLanguages, and the OSCE Copenhagen

).

i. Civil and political rights

ii. Economic, social and cultural rights

Minority rights

Minority Rights in National andInternational Law

36



document of 1990.

Minority rights cover protection of existence,protection from discrimination and persecution,protection and promotion of identity, andparticipation in political life.

To protect minority rights, many countries havespecific laws and/or commissions or ombudsmaninstitutions (for example the HungarianParliamentary Commissioner for National andEthnic Minorities Rights). While initially, the UnitedNations treated indigenous peoples as a sub-category of minorities, there is an expanding bodyof international law specifically devoted to them, inparticular Convention 169 of the InternationalLabour Organization and the UN Declaration onthe Rights of Indigenous Peoples (adopted 14September 2007).

37



3. Treaties and Conventions

International organizations

At the end of this session the participants areexpected to:

Understand the treaties and conventionsadopted by the United NationsLearn about the international and localo r g a n i z a t i o n s w o r k i n g f o r t h edevelopment of human rights

Thewas adopted by the United Nations

General Assembly in 1948, partly in response tothe atrocities of World War II. Although the UDHRwas a non-binding resolution, it is now consideredby some to have acquired the force of internationalcustomary law which may be invoked inappropriate circumstances by national and otherjudiciaries. The UDHR urges member nations topromote a number of human, civil, economic andsocial rights, asserting these rights as part of the"foundation of freedom, justice and peace in theworld." The declaration was the first internationallegal effort to limit the behaviour of states andpress upon them duties to their citizens followingthe model of the rights-duty duality.

In 1966, the International Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights ( ) and the InternationalCovenant on Economic, Social and CulturalRights ( ) were adopted by the UnitedNations, between them making the rightscontained in the UDHR binding on all states thathave signed this treaty, creating human-rights law.

Since then numerous other treaties (pieces oflegislation) have been offered at the internationallevel. They are generally known as

. Some of the most significant,referred to (with ICCPR and ICESCR) as "theseven core treaties", are:

Convention on the Elimination of All

Forms of Racial Discrimination ( )(adopted 1966, entry into force: 1969)Convention on the Elimination of AllForms of Discrimination Against Women( ) (adopted 1979, entry intoforce: 1981)United Nations Convention AgainstTorture ( ) (adopted 1984, entry intoforce: 1984)Convention on the Rights of the Child( ) (adopted 1989, entry into force:1989)Convention on the Rights of Persons withDisabilities ( ) (adopted 2006, entryinto force: 2008)International Convention on theProtection of the Rights of All MigrantWorkers and Members of their Families( or more often ) (adopted1990, entry into force: 2003)

The came into beingbetween 1864 and 1949 as a result of efforts byHenry Dunant, the founder of the InternationalCommittee of the Red Cross. The conventionssafeguard the human rights of individuals involvedin armed conflict, and build on the 1899 and 1907Hague Convent ions, the internat ionalcommunity's first attempt to formalize the laws ofwar and war crimes in the nascent body of secularinternational law. The conventions were revisedas a result of World War II and readopted by theinternational community in 1949.

The United Nations (UN) as an intergovernmentalbody seeks to apply international jurisdiction foruniversal human-rights legislation. Within the UNmachinery, human-rights issues are primarily theconcern of the United Nations Security Counciland the United Nations Human Rights Council,and there are numerous committees within the UNwith responsibilities for safeguarding different

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

Universal Declaration of HumanRights

Treaties

Universal Declaration of Human Rights(UDHR)

ICCPR

ICESCR

CERD

CEDAW

CAT

CRC

CRPD

ICRMW MWC

Geneva Conventions

United Nations

human rightsinstruments

Original Geneva Convention in1864.



human-rights treaties. The most senior body of theUN in the sphere of human rights is the Office ofthe High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The United Nations ,created at the 2005 World Summit to replace theUnited Nations Commission on Human Rights,has a mandate to investigate violations of humanrights. The Human Rights Council is a subsidiarybody of the General Assembly and reports directlyto it. It ranks below the Security Council, which isthe final authority for the interpretation of theUnited Nations Charter. Forty-seven of the onehundred ninety-one member states sit on thecouncil, elected by simple majority in a secretballot of the United Nations General Assembly.Members serve a maximum of six years and mayhave their membership suspended for grosshuman rights abuses. The Council is based inGeneva, and meets three times a year; withadditional meetings to respond to urgentsituations. Independent experts are retained bythe Council to investigate alleged human rightsabuses and to provide the Council with reports.

The UN has set up a number ofbodies to monitor and study human rights, to besupported by the UN High Commissioner forHuman Rights (UNHCHR). The bodies arecommittees of independent experts that monitorimplementation of the core international humanrights treaties. They are created by the treaty thatthey monitor, except CESCR.

Thepromotes participation with the standardsof the ICCPR. The eighteen members ofthe committee express opinions onmember countries and make judgmentson individual complaints againstcountries which have ratified an OptionalProtocol to the treaty. The judgments,termed "views", are not legally binding.

Themonitors the ICESCR

and makes general comments on

ratifying countries performance. It willhave the power to receive complaintsagainst the countries that opted into theOptional Protocol once it has come intoforce.

Themonitors the CERD

and conducts regular reviews ofcountries' performance. It can makejudgments on complaints againstmember states allowing it, but these arenot legally binding. It issues warnings toattempt to prevent serious contraventionsof the convention.

Themonitors

the CEDAW. It receives states' reports ontheir performance and comments onthem, and can make judgments oncomplaints against countries which haveopted into the 1999 Optional Protocol.

The monitorsthe CAT and receives states' reports ontheir performance every four years andcomments on them. Its subcommitteemay visit and inspect countries whichhave opted into the Optional Protocol.

Themonitors the CRC and makes commentson reports submitted by states every fiveyears. It does not have the power toreceive complaints.

The wasestablished in 2004 and monitors theICRMW and makes comments on reportssubmitted by states every five years. It willhave the power to receive complaints ofspecific violations only once ten memberstates allow it.

Thewas established in 200 to

monitor the Convention on the Rights ofPersons with Disabilities. It has the power

United Nations Human Rights CouncilHuman Rights Council

Other UN Treaty Bodiestreaty-based

Human Righ ts Commi t tee

Committee on Economic, Social andCultural Rights

Committee on the Elimination ofRacial Discrimination

Committee on the Elimination ofDiscrimination against Women

Committee Against Torture

Committee on the Rights of the Child

Committee on Migrant Workers

Committee on the Rights of Personswith Disabilities

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

39



to receive complaints against the countries whichhave opted into the Optional Protocol.

There is a large number of International andnational non-governmental organizations workingfor the development of human rights. Some of theprominent NGOs are;

is aglobal movement of more than 3 millionsupporters, members and activists in more than150 countries and territories who campaign to endgrave abuses of human rights. Its vision is forevery person to enjoy all the rights enshrined inthe Universal Declaration of Human Rights andother international human rights standards.

an independent,international organization, has been working forthe past over 30 years and is dedicated todefending and protecting human rights by givingvoice to the oppressed and hold oppressorsaccountable for their crimes.

having its head office in Lahore andworking since 1987, is an independent nationalNGO which aims to provide a highly informed andindependent voice in the struggle for the humanrights and democratic development in Pakistan.

Established in 1980 by Ansar Burney, Advocate inthe Pakistani port city of Karachi; the

is a non-polit ical, non-governmental and non-profitable organization. Itworks to fight against all forms of injustices, cruelinhuman and degrading treatment, child abuse,cruelty to women and other more subtle forms ofhuman and civil rights violations without anydiscrimination or affiliation.

was established in 1999as an independent non-profit, non-political andnon-governmental Organization. PIHROendeavors to serve humanity, work for humanwelfare and help the downtrodden and thedeprived.

Non-governmental Organizations

Established in 1961, Amnesty International

Human Rights Watch,

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan(HRCP)

AnsarBurney Trust

Pakistan International Human RightsOrganization (PIHRO)

40



4. Status of Human Rights inPakistan

This chapter is intended for the participants to beable to;

Get a quick overview of the laws andtreaties to which Pakistan is a signatoryKeep themselves abreast of the state ofhuman rights in Pakistan

Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a signatory to allmajor treaties pertaining to human rights. Islambeing the ideology behind creation of Pakistanalready provides a source of guidance forprotecting and upholding human rights in thecountry. Pakistan is a signatory to the followingtreaties;

. fundamental rights, including equality of status,of opportunity and before law, social, economic

and political justice, and freedom of thought,expression, belief, faith, worship and association,subject to the law and public morality, [shall beguaranteed] ... the independence of the judiciaryshall be fully secured.

The state of human rights has never been steadyin Pakistan and we continue to see grossviolations of human rights year after year.However, the emergence of very vocal electronicmedia, the activism shown by the civil societyorganizations and the independence of judiciaryhas given a new hope to the oppressed in thecountry. People are gradually becoming aware oftheir fundamental rights and they now know howto make their voices heard.

The Parilament has made some progress in therecent years and acknowledged the rights, toeducation, information and fair trial while two newlaws to deal with sexual harassment have alsobeen enacted. However, the growing militancy,extremism and intolerance has not only increasedthreats to the people's rights in the country but hasalso severely affected the state's ability to dealwith such and many other challenges.

While the government has failed to provide a safeenvironment to the people and mitigate theirsufferings, the most vulnerable were members ofminority communities and women. Journalists andhuman rights activists encountered hazards inhighlighting the troubles of ordinary citizens andmany paid the price for their mission with theirlives. It is difficult to remember a year when thepicture was particularly rosy for women's rights in

�

�

Status of Pakistan on Human RightsLaws & Treaties:

State of Human Rights in Pakistan

i.Signed onApril 1 7 ,

2008ii.

Ratified onApril 17, 2008

iii.

Ratified on Sept. 21, 1966iv.

Signed onApril 17, 2008v.

Ratifiedon March 12, 1996

vi.Ratified on Nov. 12, 1990

vii.

Pakistan is not contracting party)viii.

Signed on Sept. 25, 2008ix.

ICCPR International Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights 1966-76 (

)ICESCR International Covenant on Economic,Social and Cultural Rights 1966-76 (

)ICERD International Convention on theElimination of all forms of Racial D i sc r im ina t i on1966-69 ( )CAT Convention against Torture and otherCruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment1984-87 ( )CEDAW Convention on the Elimination ofDiscriminationAgainst Women 1979-8 (

)CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child1989-90 ( )ICMW International Convention on theProtection of the Rights of all Migrant Workersand Members of Their Families 1990-03(CRPD Convention on the Rights of Persons withDisabilities 2006-08 ( )ICPPED-International Convention for theProtection of All Persons from EnforcedDisappearance 2006-

According to the constitution of Pakistan..

To enjoy the protection of law and to be treated inaccordance with law is the inalienable right ofevery citizen, wherever he may be, and of everyother person for the time being within Pakistan.Article 4

Any law, or any customer usage having the forceof law, insofar as it is inconsistent with the rightsconferred by this chapter [on Fundamental Rights]shall, to the extent of such inconsistency, be void.Article 8(1)

41



Pakistan as there have been incidents of womenbeing killed in the name of honour. Despite thecase of the missing persons being heard in theSupreme Court of Pakistan, more people seemedto have been picked up by those entrusted withtheir security and protection. The government asusual has been ineffective in terms of dealing withthe growing incidents of abductions. On top of thisthe deteriorating economic conditions took a tollon the people's ability to access basic needs andmeasures to improve the situation did not seem tobe a priority.

The recent flooding in Pakistan which affected anddisplaced millions of people aggravated themiseries of the government. These floods havenot only left millions of people without food andshelter but these have also deprived them of theirright to education, health and basic needs. Thegovernment and the humanitarian organizationsare working to mitigate the sufferings of the flood-affected people, however, a majority of the peopleis still in a state of distress and despair.

As in the past, the prison population substantiallyexceeded the holding capacity of jails. The statedid not have the funds to provide healthcare andother facilities to the prisoners and yet alternativesto imprisonment were not considered. Torture injails and police stations continued. The police,criminals, and the United States through itsdrones strikes, retained their penchant forextralegal killings without any accountability. Theneed for special mechanisms for implementing allinternational human rights treaties continued to beoverlooked. It may be difficult to address them allstraightaway but at least a start can be made.Granted that the government faces an uphill battlein tough economic and political conditions, yetmuch that is required to confront thoseresponsible for obstructing the rights of thepeople needs only a little more than commitment.

Pakistan's media remained a vocal critic of thegovernment and experienced less interferencefrom the elected government than in previousyears. However, in October the ruling PakistanPeoples Party announced a boycott of Geo TVand affiliated newspapers by designating

them as anti-government institutions. When thegovernment's former information minister SherryRehman appeared on the channel, President AsifAli Zardari in retaliation ordered PPP activists tobesiege Rehman's Karachi home for severalhours, threatening her and her family.

However, despite all adversities, media (print,electronic and web-based) in Pakistan is thrivingto create a mechanism of check and balance in thesociety by bringing the issues of public interest tothe fore.

42



43


1- Why is it important to know about our rights?

2- What happens if people are denied of their basic rights?

3- Can a society flourish without ensuring basic human rights?



ROLE OF ISLAM IN

AN EFFECTIVE STATE

ROLE OF ISLAM IN

AN EFFECTIVE STATE

47

Introduction

1. What is a state?

This section of the manual introduces the conceptof state, its types and its relationship with theconcept of government. It then elaborates on theconcept of Islam and the basic principles ofIslamic governance. The next section aims atgiving an understanding to the participants of thefundamental rights of the citizens in Islam. Whilethe last section attempts to explain the concept ofdemocracy in Islam with some examples from theprimeval history of Islamic governance.

The following session is intended for theparticipants to be able to understand:

The concept of state

Types of states andThe relationship between a state and agovernment

There is currently no academic consensus on themost appropriate definition of the state. The term"state" refers to a set of different, but interrelatedand often overlapping, theories about a certainrange of political phenomena. The mostcommonly used definition is Max Weber's, whichdefines the state as a compulsory politicalorganization with a centralized government thatmaintains a monopoly of the legitimate use offorce within a certain territory.

General categories of state institutions includeadministrative bureaucracies, legal systems, andmilitary or religious organizations.

States may be classified as follows:

i. Sovereign if they enjoy a monopoly of thelegitimate use of force and are notdependent on, or subject to any otherpower or state.

ii. In case of Islamic concept of state, it issubject to external sovereignty orhegemony where ultimate sovereigntylies withAllah.

iii. Many states are federated states whichparticipate in a federal union. A federatedstate is a territorial and constitutionalcommunity forming part of a federation.Such states differ from sovereign states,in that they have transferred a portion oftheir sovereign powers to a federalgovernment.

The concept of the state can be distinguished fromthe concept of government. The government is theparticular group of people, the administrativebureaucracy that controls the state apparatus at agiven time. That is, governments are the meansthrough which state power is employed. Statesare served by a continuous succession of differentgovernments.

Each successive government is composed of aspecialized and privileged body of individuals,who monopolize political decision-making, andare separated by status and organization from thepopulation as a whole. Their function is to enforceexisting laws, legislate new ones, and arbitrateconflicts via their monopoly on violence. In somesocieties, this group is often a self-perpetuating orhereditary class. In other societies, such asdemocracies, the political roles remain, but thereis frequent turnover of the people actually fillingthe positions.

�

�

�

Defining State

Types of states

The state and government



2. Major Principles of IslamicGovernance

This session will enable the participants to:

Understand the concept of Islam in aneffective stateDevelop an understanding of the majorprinciples of Islamic governance andunderstand their importance in aneffective Islamic state

Islam is not merely a set of beliefs or rituals whichare to be performed while praying. It is indeed anall encompassing source of guidance which notonly governs individual's life but also providesguidelines for governance at a macro level.

In modern times, Islam's role in an effective stateis of paramount importance in order to providesocial justice and eliminate causes of extremismwhich has brought about a radical change in oursociety.

Generally, there is a widely held impressionamongst youth that Islamic teachings do notspecifically provide any guidelines regarding stateor governance which is a misplaced notion. In fact,Islam inspires into humankind the spirit of creationof a politically organized society and by creation ofthis society of a system of governance ensuringequality, justice, welfare, freedom and dignity forall. One such state was effectively established byProphet Muhammad (PBUH) at Medina in 622A.Dwhich clearly provided the framework of a statebeing run according to Islamic teachings.

Allah is Sovereign. Islamic political system isbased on its specific worldview that is essential toknow in any understanding of Islam. The Qurantells us that Allah is the Creator and Lord of thewhole universe including humankind and all that isassociated with them. He is overpowering and isirresistibly dominant over all His creation. Heknows all and governs all. Whatever He wills getsdone. It is Allah who possesses all the powers and

attributes of sovereignty and none else whateverpossesses any of these. Therefore, thesovereignty of the entire universe only belongs toAllah alone and none other than Him has a sharein it.

Similarly, sovereignty over all of humankindrightfully belongs to Allah and no human ornonhuman power could control or decide any ofthe human affairs. The Quran is very explicit onthis:

The position of humankind is that ofAllah's vicegerent (khilafah), or Allah’srepresentative on earth. The nature of thisVicegerency (khilafah) described in theQuran is as follows. Whatever capacitiesand abilities humans possess, they arebestowed upon them by Allah. Allahbestowed these gifts on humans so thatusing them and the will granted them byAllah they follow and establish His will intheir lives as His representatives and notas autonomous entities.

This khilafah has been entrusted on allthose who accept Allah as their Lord andSovereign. The concept is one of popularVicegerency, shared by all believersalike. This Vicegerency also means thatlimited authority has been delegated tothose who run the affairs of believers.Moreover, the authority is bestowed noton any chosen person, family, tribe,ethnicity, race or group of people but on allbelievers, men and women. The Quranstates:

�

�

Islam and a state

Principles of Islamic Governance

We have sent you the Book in Truththat you (O Prophet) might judge

between men, as guided by Allah (AlNisa, 4:105).

Allah has promised to those amongyou who believe and work righteousdeeds that He will assuredly makethem succeed (those who rule) andgrant them vicegerency in the landjust as He made those before them

succeed others (Al Nur, 24:55).

i. Popular Vicegerency



48

Therefore, the two cardinal principles ofgovernance as laid down by the Quranare: first, sovereignty belongs toAllah andsecond, the popular vicegerency belongsto all believers.

The whole system of Islamic State fromits inception to the selection of the head ofthe state and all those in positions poweras well as its dealings must be conductedby shura, whether it is carried out directlyor indirectly through selected or electedrepresentatives.

The Quran states:

Thus the practice of shura was themechanism followed at all levels in theselection of political leadership byMuhammad (s) and his followers. It wasthe Islamic community that selected thefirst four rightly guided khulafa, althoughthe method of selection and the processof approval differed. The essentialprinciple was consent and confidence ofthe community and the accountability ofthose selected before the community.

Islamic Law based on the Quran andSunnah is equally accessible to all andequally applicable on members of thesociety from the lowest to the highest,without any distinction or discrimination.

These quotations show an overridingconcern for justice in all its dimensions:legal, political, social, economic andinternational. Also, all the personal, civil,political, social, cultural and economic rightsof an individual are guaranteed underIslamic law.All people have equal rights andeach and everyone is equally responsiblebefore the law. It is the obligation of therulers to ensure that each member of thesociety particularly the weak, is given hisdue rights.

The above term literal ly meanscommanding what is right and forbiddingwhat is wrong and encompasses a wholegambit of duties and responsibilities. TheQuran makes it the mission of thebelievers:

"You are the best of Peoplesevolved for humankind,

enjoining what is right andforbidding what is wrong andbelieving in Allah" (Aal Imran,

3:110).

It means that every individual of thesociety has the right, nay the duty, to tellthe truth and stand for it, to further all thatis good and virtuous and do his utmost toremove the wrongs and vices whereverhe finds them.

ii. Shura or Common Consultation

iii. Dispensation of Equitable Justice

iv. Al-Amr bil Maruf wa Nahi an al-Munkar

"Their affairs are decided byconsultations between them”

(Al Shura, 42:38).

Even the Prophet although he was therecipient of direct guidance from theSupreme Allah, was commanded:

"Consult them in affairs (of moment)"(Al Imran, 3:159).

The Prophet (s) admonished: "The nationsbefore you were destroyed because they

would punish the lower class criminalsaccording to the law but would let go thosefrom the higher class." Then laying furtheremphasis, he continued: "I swear by the

Authority in whose control is Mohammad'slife, if Mohammad's daughter is guilty of

stealing, I would cut her hand off" (narratedby Bukhari, Kitab al Hudud,

Chapter 11-12).

The Prophet (pbuh) was asked todeclare that: "I have been

commanded to maintain justicebetween you" (Al Shura, 42:15).

49



50

The Prophet (s) tells us: "Whoever amongyou sees a vice (or wrong), he should changeit with his hands; if he is not able to do that,

then he should check it with his tongue; and ifhe cannot do that, then he should consider itbad in his heart (and wish for its removal) andthis is the sign of weakest in faith" (recorded

in Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Daud and IbnMajah).

Another famous Hadith says; "The best Jihadis to say what is just (or truth) in the face of a

tyrant" (Abu Daud, Tirmidhi, Nisai and IbnMajah).

Therefore, al-amr bil maruf wa nahi an al-munkar entails the freedom of expressionand cri t ic ism, transparency andaccountability and respect for humanrights and abiding by the contractualobligations in respect of all people andminorities in particular. It was because ofthis mission of the Ummah thatinstitutions of nasiha (advice), shura(consultation), ikhtilaf (disagreement anddifference of opinion), al-amr bil maruf(commanding right and virtue), al-nahi anal-munkar (forbidding wrong and vice)and hisbah (public accountability andombudsmanship) were establishedsystems of the Islamic rule and continuedto play their important role in various waysat all times of the Islamic history.



3. Fundamental Rights ofCitizens in Islam

This session will help participants to;

Develop an understanding about thefundamental rights of the citizens in IslamandUnderstand that Islam comprehensivelysafeguard the fundamental rights of thecitizens

Prophet Mohammad while addressing people onthe occasion of last Hajj said:

As regards liberty in Islam, it has been stated byAbu Dawood that in Medina, a person was takeninto custody on the basis of suspicion. One of thecompanions of the prophet (PBUH) rose during aFriday sermon and asked as to 'in which wronghas his neighbour been arrested?” the prophetkept quiet and after hearing the question twice,hoping that the custodian of the city shall rise andexplain if he has any genuine reason for this act.However, when the companion put the questionfor the third time and the custodian did not presentany reason, the Prophet ordered, “This man'sneighbour be released.”

There are other sayings of the Prophet in thisregard. Two of them are quoted:

The state is the helper and friend of theone who has none.If a person dies and is indebted(financially) or has left behind a helplessfamily, we (the state) will carry the burden.

Islam has made no distinction between a Muslimand a non-Muslim concerning civic right. OnceCaliph Omar saw a non-Muslim begging. Heimmediately exempted him from payment of tax,fixed stipend for him and wrote to the treasuryofficer thus:

“I swear we did not do justice to him. We utilized

his services during his youth and left him helplessin old age.”

It is interesting to note that besides Huqooq-ul-Ibad as briefly defined above, "Human Rights" aswe understand them today, were clearly laid downin the Quran and the Practice (Sunnah) of the HolyProphet. The citizens were familiar with them andthese were meticulously enforced during thisphase of the seventh century republican MuslimState. Following are the basic human rights whichcan be directly traced from the Quran and theSunnah (Practice) of the Holy Prophet:

Islamic state is duty bound to providejustice to all citizens irrespective of theirreligion, caste or creed. Every one isequal in the eyes of law.

A hall mark of Islamic governance is thatthere is no compulsion in following one'sreligion. According to Holy Quran: "Thereis no compulsion in the matter of religion".( 2: verse 256)

Islam accords immense sanctity tohuman life. The sanctity of a Muslim'sblood has been declared to equal to thatof a Muslim. "And slay not the life whichGod hath forbidden save for justice". ( 17:verse 33).

Islam clearly distinguishes the right toown property and to all personalbelongings. Lawfully acquired property orbelongings warrant protection by anIslamic state.

Islam recognises every citizen's right tolead their lives according to their will. Noone in an Islamic state can be detainedwithout due process of law.

Every citizen in an Islamic state is entitled

�

�

�

�

“Your lives, your property and your honour areas sacred as this day of Hajj.”

i. Right to justice

ii. Freedom of religion

iii. Right to life

iv. Right to property

v. Right of personal liberty

vi. Freedom of expression

51



52

to have his/her opinion and its expressionin a free manner. A citizen is free tocriticise even the policies of government.

In an Islamic state, every citizen is entitledto move freely and to establish residencewherever he likes. "It is He Who hasmade the earth manageable for you, sotravel through its tracts and enjoy thesustenance which He furnishes; but untoHim is the Resurrection". (67: verse 15).

Every person has a legal right to privacyand transgression against it is regardedas the highest guilt. "It is not proper thatye enter houses through the backsthereof...So enter houses by the doorsthereof". ( 2: verse 189) "O ye whobelieve! Enter not houses other than yourown without first announcing yourpresence and invoking peace (salam)upon the folk thereof. That is better foryou, that ye may be heedful". "And if youfind no one therein, still enter not untilpermission hath been given.

In an Islamic state every citizen enjoyseconomic security. It is the duty of thestate to provide employment and basicamenities of life. According to the HolyQuran "And in the wealth of the havesthere is due share of the have-nots". ( 51:verse 19).

Islam recognises the right of all to nameand against any defamation and slander.“Neither defame one another, nor insultone another by nicknames. Bad is thename of lewdness after faith". "O ye whobelieve! Shun much suspicion; for lo!Some suspicion is a crime". (49: verses11-12).

Islam lays great emphasis on seekingknowledge and education. An Islamicstate is supposed to provide educational

facilities to all the people without anydiscrimination.

Islam has bestowed special rights towomen. Women were given the right towon property and due share under the lawof inheritance. Legal and moral remedieshave been prescribed for marriage ofwidows.

The extent, to which the citizens were aware ofhuman rights laid down in the Quran, can be citedby an example. It is stated that one night Caliph'Omar, while crossing a street in Medina, heard thesound of debauchery of a drunkard coming frominside a house. Losing his temper, he attempted toenter the house. But no one answered his knock oropened the door. Still annoyed, he climbed on theroof, and from it shouted down to the owner in hiscourtyard thus: "Why are you breaking the law bypermitting such an abusive drunkard in yourhouse"? The owner replied: "No Muslim has theright to speak like that to another Muslim. May be Ihave committed one violation, but see how manyyou have committed. For instance: (1) spying,despite God's command - "Thou shalt not spy" (49: verse 12); (2) breaking and entering - youcame in over the roof, despite God's order: "Enterhouses by the door" (2: verse 189); (3) enteringwithout the owner's permission - in defiance ofGod's command, "Enter no house without theowner's permission" (24: verse 28); (4) omittingthe Salaam - though God orders, "Enter nothouses without first announcing your presenceand invoking peace on those within" (24: verse27). Feeling embarrassed, Caliph 'Omar said: "Allright, I forgive your violation of Law". The owner ofthe house retorted: "That is your fifth violation. Youc la im to be the executor o f Is lam'scommandments, then how can you say that youforgive what God has condemned as a crime"?

Everyone was free to express his own opinionconcerning the execution of Islamic injunctionsabout human rights and even the Caliph wasaccountable for his conduct and actions.Sometimes the attitude of the citizens towards theCaliph was uncouth and aggressive, and at othertimes it was improper and insulting; nevertheless itwas tolerated. On numerous occasions Caliph'Omar had to face such situations and to provideexplanations.

vii. Freedom of movement

viii.Right of privacy

ix. Right to economic security

x. Right to self respect

xi. Right to education

xii. Women's rights:



4. Islam and Democracy

By the end of this session the participants will beable to;

Understand the concept of democracyvis-à-vis the Islamic concept ofgovernanceDevelop a relationship between theIslamic concept of governance and thepresent forms of democracy

When the Prophet and his companionsfaced severe persecution in Makkah theymigrated to Medina. Medina was alsobasically a tribal city governed by triballaws. Like Makkah in Medina, too, therewas no state and only tribal customs andtraditions prevailed. In fact Medina wasworse in a way than Makkah. In Makkahinter-tribal wars were much in evidence asit was turning into a commercial societyand inter- tribal corporations for tradewere coming into existence. However,Medina being an oasis was a semi-agricultural society various tribes were atdaggers drawn. It was to get rid of theinter-tribal warfare that the people ofMedina invited the Holy Prophet as anarbitrator.

The Prophet, a great spiritual andreligious personality, commanded greatrespect and set out to establish a justsociety in Medina. First of all, he drew up apact between various tribal and religiousgroups known as Mithaq-e-medina (i.e.the Medinese treaty), which guaranteedfull autonomy to all tribes and religiousgroups like the Jews, the Muslims andother pagan tribes.

Thus all religious groups were free tofollow their own law and traditions withoutany coercion in such matters. The Mithaq-e-Medina was a sort of preliminary

constitution of the “state” of Medina thatwent beyond a tribal structure andtranscended the tribal boundaries inmatters of common governance.

During his life-time, Prophet (PBUH)always consulted his companions inimportant matters and acted upon theiradvice. Given his stature and immensefollower ship as a leader he could haveasserted his own opinion unopposed. Butbeing cognizant of the future implicationshe always demonstrated the principle ofconsultation. After his demise, Abu Bakrwas chosen as the first Caliph of Islambecause of his knowledge and piety.However Abu Bakr waited for six monthstill he received the consent of the peopleof Yemen also in order to ensure that hewas acceptable to all the Muslims underhis command.

During the period of the first four Caliphs(632 AD to 661 AD) different methodswere adopted for the appointment of theCaliph and in all the cases theappointment was confirmed by theMuslim community through its consent.Generally speaking, the methodsadopted during the period had a commonfeature i.e. the selection of the best manthrough initial election, nomination andelection through an electoral college. Thecourse adopted in all the cases wasrepublican in nature.

Reacting to the socio-political conditionsprevailing at the time, Omar before hisdeath, constituted an electoral college ofthe probable candidates in order to selectone from amongst them for being put upas the sole candidate for succession.Thus, council of six was formed

�

�

1. Islamic State of Medina

. Consultation by ProphetMuhammad (PBUH) with hiscompanions

3. The Concept of ElectoralCollege

2

53



consisting of Ali, Usman, Abdul Rahman,Saad, Zubair and Talha. He alsoappointed his own son Abdullah to give acasting vote in case of equal division. Thecouncil through a process of eliminationdeputed Abdul Rahman to make arecommendation as to who out of Ali andUsman should be the sole candidate. Amajority of people consulted expressedtheir view in favour of Usman. AbdulRahman even questioned both of themabout the manner in which they wouldconduct themselves if any of them wasselected as the successor. Eventually,Abdur Rahman supported Usman andfinally he was selected as the solecandidate. Later, the rest of thecommunity swore allegiance to him.

Interestingly, Islam does give space tovarious political groups and parties. Islamsecures the right of assembly and theQuran urges that groups may be formedto enjoin the doing of what is right andgood and forbid what is wrong, which isthe essence of politics. “And let there befrom among you a community (Ummah)that calls to good and enjoins the doing ofwhat is right and forbids the doing of whatis wrong” (3:104)

The word “Ummah” used in the verse maynot always mean the whole communitybut just a group of people, especially,when the word is connected with theproposition “from” as in the abovementioned verses, “from among you….”

Accordingly, Muslims can form severalIslamic political parties: all of them arecommitted to Islam, but each with its ownconcepts or methods of political activity orwith different programmes of reform whenthey rule.

4. Political Diversity in Islam



54

Conclusion

In the modern age the principles of IslamicGovernance if applied by a state can help buildbridges amongst peoples of different beliefs livingin a society. Islam accords equal respect to allreligious beliefs and does not confine its followersto a narrow mindset.

Another important hallmark of Islamic style ofgovernance is regarding choice of the rulers orrepresentatives. Generally, in a democracy anyperson based on his popularity or financialresources can announce candidature for an officeof authority through elections which might result inan inappropriate choice. Islam has clearly laiddown the parameters for choosing such people.The first and foremost criterion is piety andknowledge of the person to qualify as a candidatefor an office. This narrowed down eligibilitycriterion ensures that the majority of votes will becast in favour of only those individuals whodeserve to lead.

The Holy Prophet has clearly mentioned the stateas a helper which makes it binding for the state tohelp its citizens. According to him “If a person diesand is indebted (financially) or has left behind ahelpless family, we (the state) will carry theburden.

Islam goes deep down in probing the causes of acrime before awarding any punishment. Forexample, if a person is not getting a chance to earnhis livelihood and is facing starvation along withhis family is not liable for a harsh punishment ifhe/she commits a theft for food. This is really anideal solution towards removing social inequalitiesas well as ensuring social justice.

The Holy Quran also clearly instructs its followersin a way whereby the “haves” are required to bemindful of welfare of “have-nots”. This clearly laiddown commandment carr ies immenseimportance in creating a welfare state where theweak and down trodden are taken care of in aneffective manner.

Islam enjoins love for the entire humanrace. In Islam, superiority comes withrighteousness, active goodness, andjustice, irrespective of colour, caste orcreed. These should be the parametersfor choosing or electing the persons ofauthority.

There is no room for tyranny, oppressionand injustice to fellow beings on anypretext whatsoever.

The hallmark of a democratic polity inIslam is consultation and counsel throughchosen representatives

Women enjoy a special status in Islamand need to be treated in an equitablemanner.

Freedom in choosing religion is a keypoint in Islamic teachings. Every Muslimor non-Muslims can choose any religionaccording to his/her free will.

Fundamental rights of every citizen areguaranteed in Islam.

1. What possibly can be features of an idealState?

2. How does Islam guarantee rights of a citizen?

3. Are Democracy and Islamic teachings incontrast to each other?

4. In the light of the Islamic Governance, howcan we ensure interfaith harmony in oursociety?

In a nutshell:

�

�

�

�

�

�


55



CAUSES & CONSEQUENCES

OF EXTREMISM

AND SOLUTIONS

CAUSES & CONSEQUENCES

OF EXTREMISM

AND SOLUTIONS

59

Introduction

1. What is extremism?

This chapter starts off with introducing thecomplex concept of extremism in detail, followedby its various sources and consequences. It thenbriefly touches upon the history and evolution ofextremism in Pakistan and explains that howethnic extremism affected Sri Lanka. Next, itdiscusses the various causes that lead toextremism in Pakistan and its implication on thecommon masses. While the last session attemptsto identify and discuss different ways to tackleextremism which is followed by the role media canplay in that regard.

At the end of the session, participants will be ableto:

Understand the concept of extremismand what it entailsDevelop a know-how of the varioussources of extremismComprehend the consequences thatextremist acts can cause

The concept of extremism can be defined as:“…..activities (beliefs, attitudes, feelings, actions,strategies) of a character far removed from theordinary .”

Extremism is a complex phenomenon becausethe labeling of activities, people and groups as'extremist' and defining what 'ordinary' is in anysetting is a subjective and political matter.Therefore, any discussion on extremism has totake into account the following factors:

An extremist will be perceived by somepeople as ethical and just, and by othersas unethical and immoral, depending onthe person's values, politics, moral beliefsand nature of relationship with the actor.

In a conflict scenario, power differencesare also of crucial significance. The

activities of members of low power groupshave the tendency of being perceived asmore extreme than activities of a similarnature committed by members of groupswith greater power.

It is also important to highlight here thatextreme acts are more likely to becommitted by marginalized people orgroups, who view more normative formsof engagement as blocked or biased forthem. However, dominant groups are alsoknown to engage in extremist activities.

Extremists acts often employ violentmeans. However, different extremistgroups differ in their choice of tacticsused, level of violence employed andpreferred targets of their violence (suchas infrastructure, military, civilians,children etc). Here too, low power groupslike to use direct and periodic forms ofviolence, such as suicide bombings.Whereas, dominant groups tend toemploy more institutionalized forms ofviolence, such as the covert use of tortureor the unspoken permissibility of policebrutality.

Most extremists who are perceived as eviland dangerous are infact psychologicallyunstable and confused. Therefore, theclosed, inflexible and intolerant nature oftheir extremist attitude is problematic anddisastrous.

Among the various sources of extremism, themost common ones are as follows:

i Extremism is nurtured in conditions wherethe normative channels for attaining basicneeds are blocked. Adverse conditionssuch as poverty, inadequate access tohealth care, nutrition, education andemployment; a denial of basic humanneeds such as security, dignity andpolitical participation; and continuousexperiences of humiliation fosterextremist acts.

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

Defining extremism

Sources of Extremism

51

52

51 Coleman, Peter and Bartoli, Andrea. Year. International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution.

52 Coleman, Peter and Bartoli, Andrea. Year. International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution.





60

ii. Extremism is also constructed bydominant groups. Political leaders, forexample, take advantage of the adverseconditions of the masses and incentivizeextremist acts for their personal gains ofattaining power by offering monetaryrewards to families or emphasizingbenefits to 'martyrs' in the afterlife.

iii. Extremist acts are also an intense,emotional outlet of feelings that havebeen built up over a period of time due toexperiences of oppression, insecurity,humiliation, resentment, loss and rage.These feelings lead individuals or groupsto use violent and destructive means ofgetting vengeance for their sufferings,rather than for the attainment of specificgoals.

iv. Extremist actions are also an effectivestrategy for gaining and maintainingpower in a hierarchical environment,where resources are scarce andcompetition for power is essential formeeting one's needs.

v. Extremism also emerges from themisinterpretation of religious beliefsconnected with the life hereafter. Adverseand unjust conditions create the notion offighting the 'evil' ruling powers bydestroying them and elevating the'righteous' group of sufferers. Therefore,the need for self-purification throughextreme acts of destruction and violenceare depicted as martyrdom, and instilledin the youth from a very young agethrough media, politicians, educationalsystems etc.

vi. Extremism is also viewed as apathological illness where people feelexcitement by invoking acts of violence onfellow human beings. The lack of identityassociated with extremists is the result ofself-destructive self-hatred that leads tofeelings of revenge towards life itself.

The consequences of extremist acts are varied innature, and depending on one's perspective, theycan be either positive or negative:

Extremist acts draw attention to one'sopponent, the general public as well asthe international community to one'shidden motives and agendas.

These acts can sometimes persuade amore powerful foe to consider negotiatingterms and conditions that are favorable totheir cause.

Extremist acts also attract other peoplewho believe in the same cause to joinhands against opposition.

Extreme acts of violence such asbombings, kidnappings etc enrage,traumatize and alienate the affectees,opponents and potential allies whomorally oppose such acts.

Extremist acts, even if committed by asmall minority within the group, are oftenattributed to the entire group and provokean escalated response from theoppositional forces, which is oftenintentional

Consequences of Extremism53

�

�

�

�

�

53. Coleman, Peter and Bartoli, Andrea. Year. International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution


2. History and evolution ofextremism in Pakistan

At the end of this session participants will be ableto:

Understand the circumstances underwhich extremism originated in Pakistan

Appreciate the various factors that lead to

the evolution of extremism in the countryUnderstand the history and context ofextremism in Sri LankaCompare and contrast the Sri Lankanexample with Pakistan

The origins of religious extremism in Pakistan dateback to the identity crisis faced by Muslims in thepre-partition era. Muslim revivalists in the era,such as Shah Walilullah felt that Indian Muslimsfelt that they had become socially and culturally'polluted' due to their close association withHindus. This perception translated into the needfor the creation of a separate homeland forMuslims of the sub continent in order to distancethemselves from the influence of Hindus andobserve an Islamic way of life without anyextraneous influences.

When Pakistan was established, there wasalways a clear division between religion andpolitics during its initial years, even though it is anIslamic Republic. However, only two years postindependence, the Constituent Assembly movedthe Objectives Resolution on 7 -March, 1949,pledging to draft an Islamic constitution. With thesecession of East Pakistan, the religio-politicalparties sought to strengthen the ideological basisfor Pakistan and incorporated Islamic injunctionsinto the 1973 Constitution.

The Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 provides for allexisting laws to be sanctioned in the light of theHoly Quran and Sunnah. These institutionalprovisions laid down in the Constitution have

made religion a politically potent force in thecountry. Hence, the use of religion as a basis forattaining political legitimacy and nationalintegration by the political and military leaders hasheightened religious antagonism, apart fromcreating space for religious militancy andextremism over the years.

The potentiality of an alliance between ulema andfundamentalist leaders was first demonstrated in1953, when serious rioting broke in Lahore overthe question of whether members of the Ahmadisect should officially be regarded as a non-Islamicminority.

In the late 1950s the Jamaat-e-Islami instigatedmore riots against the Ahmediyya sect andeventually succeeded in persuading the state todeclare them declaring non-Muslim. Theexpulsion of the Ahmediyya sect from the realm ofIslam set the tone for progressively moreintolerant politics. The Islamization process in thelate 1970s and 80s under the Zia regime depicteda commitment to the superficial performance ofreligious rites on the surface, while simultaneouslyundermining the real essence of Islam and thedeeper issue of morality.

Similarly, the army's redefined role, from merelydefending the country's borders from enemyforces, to that of being defenders of Pakistan'sideological frontiers was a significant factor in theIslamization process. The selection process ofrecruiting army officers involved religiousknowledge and commitment in the Zia era.

To this date, Pakistan remains witness to the dailyatrocities being caused at the hands of religiousextremists, fueled by political parties who opposethe present regime.

Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia with apre-dominant Buddhist population and Buddhismas its state religion. Apart from Buddists, theminority religions in the country include Islam,

�

�

�

�

Evolution of Extremism54

th

Extremism in other countries - Sri Lanka's

example

54. Hashmi, Arshi. 2009. “Pakistan Politics, Religion and Extremism.” Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi, India.

61


62

Christianity and Hinduism. The Sinhalesecommunity in Sri Lanka, who are Buddhists, formthe majority of the population in Sri Lanka.Whereas, the Tamil community concentrated inthe north and east of Sri Lanka constitute thelargest ethnic minority of the country. Althoughmost Tamils are Hindus, a considerable number ofthem are Christians and Hindus as well.

Sri Lanka was under the rule of the British beforegaining independence in 1948. During the Britishrule, the Tamil minority was favored by the Britishover the Sinhalese majority. The end of the Britishrule intensified the tensions between the twoethnic communities. Tamils suddenly became anethnic and political minority group posti n d e p e n d e n c e . I n r e s p o n s e t o t h i smarginalization, the Liberation Tigers of TamilEelam (LTTE) was founded in 1976, as aseparatist, liberationist group.

By 1983, the LTTE had begun armed action,embarking on a bloody campaign of violentextremism with the ultimate goal of creating aseparate Tamil homeland. What had beenrelatively low-level violence between separatistgroups and the government turned into a civil warafter the events of July 1983, when some 1000Tamils were killed in riots in the wake of an LTTEattack that killed over a dozen Sri Lankan soldiers.

The Sri Lankan government then employed themilitary forces to deal with the situation withoutany success. In their 25 year battle against theSinhalese, the LTTE has shown extra ordinarydiscipline and persistence, and have murdered ahost of senior government officials using suicidebombing. These include the assassination offormer Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, SriLankan president Ransingh Premadasa, a SriLankan defense minister (Ranjan Wijeratne), aformer national security minister (LalithAthlathmudali), Foreign Minister LakshmanKadirgamar, Navy Chief Clancy Fernando, and anumber of moderate Tamil politicians opposed tothe radical LTTE cause.

The civil war between the two ethnicities hasinvoked fear in the hearts of the masses in Sri

Lanka and spread a general feeling of insecurity.The Sri Lankan government can negotiate peacewith the LTTE only by offering them representationin the governance of Sri Lanka, by amending theconstitution.



3. Causes of extremism and itsimplications on Pakistanisociety

At the end of the session, participants will be ableto:

Comprehend the major causes that leadto extremism in PakistanAppreciate the significance of theimplication of extremist acts on Pakistanisociety

The following can be categorized as the mostsignificant causes of extremism prevalent inPakistan and their subsequent implications:

Pakistan has been engulfed by economicturmoil for the last nearly thirty years.While the inconsistent economic policiesof the successive governments havedecelerated the economic growth, theinternal security situation coupled withheavy spending on defence hasn't helpedtheir cause either. Lack of investment &employment opportunities, rampantcorruption, tax evasion and elite & feudaldomination of the economic resourceshave plagued the entire socio-economicsystem of the country. As a result the gapbetween the rich and the poor hasbecome immeasurable poverty is on therise, the poor have become poorer. Thiseconomic disparity has increased thelevel of frustration among the poor whichleads them to commit violent acts to meettheir basic needs. The growing incidentsof robberies, looting in the streets indicatea significant change in their behavioursdue to their poor economic conditions.

The government of Pakistan since its

inception has not paid any seriousattention to promote quality education inthe underprivileged areas of Pakistan.Everybody knows that extremism andpoverty could be either curtailed oreliminated only through promoting qualityeducation and establishing standardizededucational institutes. People whocannot read or write are easier to controland this provides part of the explanationfor the absence of a viable stateeducation system. Yet the illiterate arealso more vulnerable to the beguilingsimplicities of Islamic radicalism. IfPakistan has become the epicentre ofglobal extremism, the fact that basiceducation is not on offer to tens of millionsis a big part of the reason

The national unity of a state is based on thecitizens' perception of common heritage andaspirations. For this reason, the recognition offaith of a particular community as a country'sofficial religion is permitted internationally forfreedom of religion or belief. This right tofreedom of religion is unfortunately notimplemented in its true essence in mostcountries, and therefore, provides onecommunity an edge over others, leading toexploitation and even violence in the name ofreligion. When a particular religion isrecognized and adopted as a state religion, itusually establishes an inevitable inequalityamong the masses, and results indiscrimination. By excluding religiousminorities through this discrimination, thenational unity of a country is undermined.

The emergence of radical Islamic groupsin Pakistan was a consequence of thesupport provided by religious politicalparties backed by the state, for bothdomestic and external reasons. Theseextremist groups enjoyed privilegedstatus in the country due to their claims ofprotecting Pakistan's nuclear capability

�

�

Causes of extremism in Pakistan:

1. Socio-economicAspect2. Religio-politicalAspect

i. Economic Instability

ii. Lack of Education

i. Fear of losing status acquired over theyears

55

55. Hashmi, Arshi. 2009. “Pakistan Politics, Religion and Extremism.” Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi, India.

63



64

And for championing the national causeof securing Kashmir for Pakistan. Both thesecular ruling parties and the militaryundermined them and considered themtoo weak and dependent to confront thepower structure. Therefore, the civil-military oligarchy continued to assumeself righteousness in projecting itself asthe defender of the state's identity throughreligious and militaristic nationalism. Thisprocess resulted in a close alliancebetween the mosque and the military,hence discarding the notion that thesegroups would only serve the state's nation-building function without destabilizingPakistan or western countries. In the post-9/11 scenario, both domestic and externaldynamics of the state changed due tochange in policy at the highest level.

The sudden withdrawal of statepatronage to religious leaders, theirparties and madrassas, led to frustrationand anger within the Islamist groups.Neither the religious parties, nor theirradical offshoots are ready to give up thecommand and control they have enjoyedfor two decades. The prevailing situationthreatens their existence, and in order tosurvive, they are willing to go to anylength, even if it means drifting away fromthe ideological boundaries of Pakistanbecause for them, Pakistan matters onlytill its establishment supports the idea ofan Islamic state. Their biggest asset is theway in which years of religious rhetorichave influenced the young within themilitary, bureaucracy, intelligentsia andthe Pakistani society in general.

Due to the influence of al-Qaeda andTehrik Taliban Pakistan, Pakistan hasalso become an important ideologicalcentre of the global Islamist movement.The rising extremism, contrary to popularbelief, is not a part of state policy, but moreof a reactionary strategy on part of Islamicgroups. Their extremist activities proveand display the scope of their power andinfluence. As long as the confrontation

between the state and these groupscontinues, Pakistan will continue towitness acts of extremism against its ownpeople.

With the exception of Gen. Ayub Khan,there has always been collaborationbetween the military dictatorship andreligious parties in Pakistan. Jamat-e-Islami forged an alliance with Zia and theMMA with Musharraf in the initial phase ofhis regime. On the other hand, Pakistan'sdemocratic political parties and religiouspolitical parties have always beenantagonistic to each other. Pakistan'smilitary regime, which constituted a majorpart of its overall rule, tried to suppress allother identities, except either theoverarching Pakistani identity or Islamicidentity.

After the first general election held in 1969a number of ethnic identities emergedparticularly the Bengali identity whichsurfaced, after having found anopportunity to break away from the overarching Pakistani identity in the elections.The 1970s witnessed a very obviousopposition of Islamic parties to Bhutto.Since the Bhutto government carried theslogan of achieving economic and socialjustice (even though it remainedunfulfilled), instead of focusing onreligion, the landlords, military as well asreligious parties realized that they wouldnot benefit under the Bhutto regime.

The religious parties were well aware oftheir weakness and saw in the military theonly opportunity to achieve their goal, andtherefore, welcomed General Zia'smilitary regime whole heartedly. None ofthe two sides had a purely religious goalbut gaining legitimacy among the publicthan anything else. The escalation of theSunni-Shiite conflict helped General Ziakept the debate on the right and wrong

ii. Long period of undemocratic andunaccountable governments



interpretation of Islam alive. Religioncame out of people's homes onto thestreets and led to much violent conflict,denting the social fabric of the society.The use of Islam not only suited themilitary, but also the secular landlords andcapitalists because such deliberationstransformed the political debate inPakistan. The issue of land reformsremained incomplete and the feudalaristocracy secured its future within themilitary regime.

Jihad as a state policy in Pakistan gainedlegitimacy when religious parties were co-opted into the jihadi arm of Pakistan'sArmy to free Afghanistan from the Sovietinvasion. This strategy had the legitimatesupport of the West, particularly the US.The decade long war uprooted thecommunism though, it also propelledextremism in the region mainly becauseof the fact that these Jihadi outfits wereleft on their own by the allied countriesafter the end ofAfghan war in 1980s.

Also, funded by Arab oil money and zakatcollections, the new Islamists glorifiedjihad from public platforms, madrassasand military training centers to raisecadres of youth that were used to threatenPakistan's ruling establishment.

iii. Jihad as a state policy in Pakistan

65



6. Coleman, Peter and Bartoli, Andrea. Year. International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution.

66

4. Possible Solutions toaddressing extremism andRole of Media

By the end of this session, participants will be ableto:

Understand the various ways in whichextremism can be addressedThe positive and negative aspects ofmedia's role in tackling extremismThe significance of media in addressingextremism

Acts of extremism, if permitted to continue withoutquickly seeking a viable solution, leads to long-term devastation and destruction. Until and unlessthe underlying causes of extremism were notaddressed, superficial ways of fighting extremismwould not be effective. Some of the ways in whichextremism can be addressed is as follows:

Most extremists are raised to believe andfight for a certain cause since a veryyoung age. Young minds are easier tomold, and therefore, the role of educatingyoung minds becomes extremelyimportant. In order to address extremismeffectively, the school curriculum inPakistan should necessarily incorporatea proper interpretation of Islam as areligion, which strongly condemnsatrocious acts of extremism.

Since a substantive percentage of thePakistani population remains illiterate, itis very important to sensitize and educateImams in all areas as well, who have awide influence. Homogenizing the basictenets of Islam through learned religiousscholars, despite religious sectarianismin the country would help reach out to themasses at a micro level

It is very important for the Pakistani

government to standardize the quality ofreligious education being imparted inmadrassahs. The curr iculum ofmadrassahs should be thoroughlyreviewed and quality of education beingimparted should be monitored. Likewise,teachers imparting religious educationshould be monitored and trained.

The government of Pakistan shoulddevelop strategies to improve theeconomic condition of the country in orderto combat radicalization more effectively.The state should make efforts to curtailpoverty, improve the quality of educationand offer employment opportunities to theyouth. The government needs torecognize that actions are far moreeffective than rhetoric.

In addition to the above military experts,diplomats, third parties, and leaders use a varietyof approaches to address extremism. Some ofthese are as follows:

Elimination involves the use ofinformation, the law, and force to identify,locate, and apprehend (or destroy)extremists or key leaders of extremistgroups. Although elimination may work toremove key individuals and groups, it failsto address the underlying causes ofextremism. Such strategies also have thetendency to sacrifice certain civil libertiesand human rights, and invite criticismfrom sympathizers

This strategy is often used by moremoderate members of a community whodisagree with the tactics of their moreextreme members. It entails everythingfrom a public distancing of the mainGroup from extreme members and acondemnation of their actions to a moreprivate withdrawal of support and backingfrom moderates. On the downside, this

�

�

�

Solutions to Extremism

i. Sensitization through education

ii. Sensitizing Imams and influentials

iii. Monitoring madrassah curriculum

iv. Improving the socio-economiccondition:

i. Elimination

ii. Isolation



strategy can intensify the intragroupconflict (between moderates andextremists) and destabilize the group.Such a state of vulnerability might also beseen as an opportunity to be seized byhardliners in the intergroup conflict, thusfurther weakening the moderate'ssituation.

This strategy entails cooperationbetween the parties involved in theintergroup conflict. Essentially, bothgroups agree to frame extremism andterrorism as a mutual problem to besolved jointly by the parties. This can beparticularly effective on the heels of apeace agreement between the parties,where they attempt to anticipate andpublicly label extremist responses to theagreement, thereby heading off thespoiler effects of destructive reactions.Such strategies are built on the trust andassurances made of each of the opposingparties to isolate their own extremistgroups, trust which tends to be fragile atsuch an early stage of peace processes. Ifit fails it can jeopardize the entire peaceagreement.

It is politically damaging for the leaders ofone group to have any formal contact withmembers of extremist groups on eitherside. Such contact can alienate theopposing leadership as well as one's ownconstituents. Therefore, unofficial chainsof communication are sometimesestablished where the leadership of onegroup has contact with extreme membersof her/his own group, who in turn contactsympathizers in the opposing group, untila communication chain is formed with keymembers of extreme groups. Thus, someprogress may be made in covertnegotiations, while leaders maintainsome degree of political cover anddeniability. A shortcoming of this

technique is its politicall risky nature,which involves dependency on thetrustworthiness of several individualsfrom different segments of the conflict.Chains are also subject to unintended(and frequently well intentioned)mistakes. Due to the highly sensitivenature of the issues at stake, membersof cha ins may in tent iona l ly orunintentionally hide, modify, or censorrelevant information. Chains are also noteasy to maintain and sustain over time.

.This approach aims at addressing theunderlying conditions which fosterextremism, requires activities at twolevels. At the macrosocial-level it requireswork toward: a reduction of inequity andoppression; protection of human rights;weakening of extremist ideologies; areduction of militarism, racism, andsexism; systems that promote politicalempowerment, intergroup tolerance,cooperation, and non-violent conflictresolut ion; democrat izat ion andp a r t i c i p a t o r y g o v e r n a n c e ; a n dstrengthening of civil society. At themicrosocial-level it requires: a reductionof stereotypes and enemy images; thepromotion of empathy, caring, andintercultural understanding; and theprovision of economic and social supportfor young people.

Modern day extremism is exacerbated due to theadvanced media that has converted the world intoa global village. The media are attracted byextreme terrorist acts not only because it is theirduty to report on any major event but also becausethe dramatic and spectacular aspect of terrorismfascinates the general public. For this reason,extremists exploit this fact and act in a way whichwill attract maximum attention at a global scale.Since the media effectively spreads the news ofextremist acts, it can be considered assynonymous to transferring the message of

iii. Intergroup cooperation againstextremism

iv. Covert negotiation chains

v. Peacebuilding

Role of media

67



the globe. In other words, media publicity is theoxygen of terrorist and extremist acts. Likewise,without media coverage, an extremist act isconfined to the immediate victim of the attack,rather than reaching out to the wider targetaudience at whom the terrorists' violence isactually aimed.

Extremist groups use media as a tool for attainingthe following four major objectives:

Fear is sparked among the targetpopulation by gaining attention andraising awareness about extremistactivities for the purpose of intimidation.

In order to get their message across to awide audience and publicize the motivesbehind their actions, media is a veryeffective tool.

Apart from intimidating the target group ofpeople, media also sends across apowerful message to supporters orpotential supporters of the extremistactivities that they are able to delivereffectively. This invokes respect andsympathy from the supporters.

By regularly appearing in the media,terrorists are trying to become alegitimate representative of their owncause. The fact that they are treated bythe media much like regular, accepted,legitimate world leaders gives them thestatus equivalent to that of regularleaders.

Conversely, the media also uses extremism as atool for its own gains. Sensationalizing extremistacts helps increase viewer ratings for starters.More viewer ratings imply a higher incomegeneration for the channel, due to a highernumber of advertisements.

Since acts of extremism have far-reachingconsequences on the masses, both at local andglobal level, the melodrama and humandimension to the news is very well received. Thepresent day media, whether print, radio ortelevision competes fiercely for viewer ratings.The trend of 'breaking news' has become commonin order to dramatize extremist acts. Therefore,media in this era of globalization has a very criticalresponsibility of imparting news to the masses notfor the sake of sensationalizing atrocious acts, butto send the right message across. In other words,informing and educating the masses againstthese acts is important as media has an extensiveimpact.

There has always been extensive debate aboutrestricting media in providing full information to themasses as a way of safeguarding a country'ssecurity or not. However, freedom of informationand press is a basic human right. Well informedand well aware masses can cope better withextremist situations since they are knowledgeableof the causes and consequences leading to suchatrocities. The media, in such circumstances, isresponsible for presenting the true picture, insteadof distorting the facts in order to direct the mindsetof the public in a particular direction, benefittingthe government or specific groups.

i. Creating fear

ii. Recognition of motives

iii. Gaining respect and sympathy

iv. Gaining legitimacy

68



Feedback exercise

1. What factors make the phenomenon of extremism a complex one?

2. What factors, in your opinion, nurture extremism?

3. What do you think are the various consequences of extremism? Have you or anyone in your family

experienced such consequences?

4. Can you discuss how extremism in Pakistan has affected you and your family at a personal level?

5. How do you compare extremism in Sri Lanka with that of Pakistan? Point out similarities and

differences.

6. What is the role of media in addressing extremism? Is it positive or negative?

69



71

Bibliography

Economic Development

Democracy and Rule of Law

Role of Islam in an Effective State

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

Economic Survey of Pakistan. 2011. Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_development

http://www-chaos.umd.edu/history/prc.html

http://www.china-mike.com/facts-about-china/facts-chinese-education/

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/aug/18/china-economic-growth

http://www.investopedia.com/university/releases/gdp.asp#axzz1Z8iaGzoC

http://www.investorwords.com/2186/GNP.html

http://www.investorwords.com/5939/per_capita_income.html

http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/07/chinas-gdp-update.html

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/pakistan/gdp-growth

http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/41/a41r128.htm

Sen,Amartya. 1983. “Development: Which way now?” , Vol. 93, No. 372

The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development. 2010. United Nations DevelopmentProgramme.

Todaro, Michael. 2002.

Yusof, Zainal and Deepak Bhattasali. 2008. “Economic Growth and Development in Malaysia”, WorkingPaper No. 27. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/ The World Bank.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy

A comparative study of the constitutions of Pakistan and India by Dr. Muntazira Nazir PILDAT State ofDemocracy Report

State of Democracy in Pakistan by Dr. HasanAskari Rizvi PILDAT State of Democracy Report

The Concept of Islamic State by Mohammad Nasran Mohammad

Islam in a Modern State by Dr. Fathi Osman

The Concept of State in Islam by Justice Javed Iqbal

Major Principles of Islamic Governance by Siraj Islam Mufti

Islam and Governance by Muhammad Iqbal

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/my.html

The Economic Journal

Economic Development


Causes & Consequences of Extremism and Solutions

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

Coleman, Peter and Bartoli, Andrea. “Addressing Extremism,” International Center for Cooperation andConflict Resolution

Hashmi, Arshi. 2009. “Pakistan Politics, Religion and Extremism.” Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies,New Delhi, India.

Hassan,Azmat. 2009. “Countering Violent Extremism: The Fate of the Tamil Tigers.” East West Institute.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinhalese_people

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lanka

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamils

ParliamentaryAssembly, Council of Europe. Doc. 10557. 20 May, 2005.

“Terrorism and Media.” 2008. Transnational Terrorism, Security and Rule of Law.

th

72


No. 5, BLOCK 16PHA APARTMENTS, G-7/1

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN+92 (0)51 220 4236

48 GRAY’S INN ROADLONDONWC1X 8LT UK+44 (0)20 7831 1030

cruuent affair pdfsecure site reliefweb.int/.../pakistan_current_affairs_briefing_manual.pdf ·...

Documents