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LAHORE — PAKISTAN Securing Peace and Prosperity About the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) Acknowledgements Section I - A Panoramic View of Sustainable Development in South Asia 1 Setting the Scene 3 Abid Qaiyum Suleri 2 Reframing South Asian Cooperation with the 2030 Agenda: Benchmarking 7 the SDGs and a New Role for SAARC Debapriya Bhattacharya and Umme Shefa Rezbana 3 Human Development and Public Policy in Pakistan 35 Shakeel Ahmad 4 Role of Women Empowerment in Securing Peace and Prosperity for 41 Sustainable Development in South Asia Khawar Mumtaz 5 Leadership for Sustainable Development: Role of Private Sector 47 Majyd Aziz 6 Role of Fiscal Policies in Reducing Rising Inequality in Asia: A Perspective 51 from Bangladesh M. Syeduzzaman Section II - Securing Economic Sustainability 7 Recovering from War and Living in Hope: Fruit and Vegetable Markets in 59 Pakistan’s Swat Valley Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Babar Shahbaz and Qasim Ali Shah 8 90% Real: The Rise and Fall of a Rentier Economy (Stories from Kandahar, 85 Afghanistan) Adam Pain and Giulia Minoia 9 The Role of Competition Policy in Promoting Sustainable Development 107 Goals Pradeep S. Mehta, Cornelius Dube and Rijit Sengupta 10 Energy as the Motor for Sustainable Economic Development, Peace and 127 Security in South Asia Alias Wardak 11 Cotton Value Chain in Pakistan: A Preliminary Assessment of its Climate 135 Vulnerabilities Samavia Batool and Fahad Saeed Section III - Water Governance 12 Shared Water Resources: Indo-Nepal Conflict and Cooperation 151 Bishnu Raj Upreti and Gopikesh Acharya 13 Regional Cooperation on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in South Asia 169 Asish Subedi 14 Managing Shared Marine Waters of the Indian Ocean in South Asia 181 Muhammad Khurshid Section IV - Dynamics of Social Justice 15 Profit in the Name of Islam: The Bazaar-Mosque Relationship in Punjab, 191 Pakistan Umair Javed 16 The Terror that Minorities in Pakistan Face Today: Causes and the Road to 215 Peace Ayesha Salman 17 Measuring Voice, Determining Accountability in Select Districts of Pakistan: 229 A Proof of Method Paper Fauzia Y Butt, Shirin Gul, Minhaj-ul-Haque and Muhammad Jamal Janjua 18 Reparations to the Victims of US Drone Strikes: Youth Perspective from 245 Pakistan Gulnaz Anjum, Emanuele Castano and Mudassar Aziz Annexure 1: About the SDC Series 251 Annexure 2: SDC-SAES Agenda 259 About the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) Who we are The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) is one of South Asia’s leading non- partisan policy research organisations providing the global development community representation from Pakistan and the region as a whole with the mission ‘to catalyse the transition towards sustainable development, defined as the enhancement of peace, social justice and well-being, within and across generations.’ SDPI was recently awarded at the national level for its collective contribution in the fields of social service, social sciences, arts and humanities according to the Inter University Consortium for the Promotion of Social Sciences (IUCPSS), Pakistan in February 2016.1 Internationally, the Institute has also been ranked 15/95 in the category of ‘Top Think Tanks in Southeast Asia and the Pacific’; 65/95 in the ‘Top Environment Policy Think Tanks’; 38/80 on the list of ‘Best Trans-disciplinary Research Think Tanks’; 104/137 in the ‘Top Think Tanks Worldwide (non-US)’; and 40/100 as the ‘Think Tank to Watch’, according to the 2015 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.2 Where we come from The Institute’s genesis lies in the Pakistan National Conservation Strategy (also known as Pakistan’s Agenda 21), which approved by the Federal Cabinet in March 1992, outlined the need for an independent non-profit organisation in the country to serve as a source of expertise for policy analysis, evidence-based research and training services. The Institute, therefore, started its humble beginnings on 4 August 1992. What we do We function in an advisory capacity by carrying out robust research, policy advice and advocacy; and in an enabling capacity by strengthening other individuals and organis ations with resource materials and training. Specifically, our broad-based yet holistic mandate is to: • conduct evidence-based research, advocacy and trainings from a broad multi- disciplinary perspective; • promote the implementation of policies, programmes, laws and regulations based on sustainable development; • strengthen civil society and facilitate civil society-government interaction in collaboration with other organisations and activist networks; 1 The News International 2016, ‘IUCPSS announces awards for 9 personalities, 3 organisations’, 29 February, <https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/101654-IUCPSS-announces-awards-for-9- personalities-3-organisations>, accessed 29 Feb. 2016. 2 McGann, J.G. 2016, ‘2015 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report’, Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP), Lauder Institute, University of Pennsylvania, USA, <http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=think_tanks>, accessed 9 Feb. 2016. • disseminate research findings and public education through the media, conferences, seminars, lectures, publications and curricula development; and, • contribute to building national research capacity and infrastructure. How we do it The diverse array of projects and programmes, from inclusive economic growth to institutional governance, from energy economics to climate change, from food, water and human security to education, from sustainable industrial growth to hazardous waste management, from religious tolerance to peace and gender equity, that SDPI has been involved in over the past 24 years, outline the following core activities: • Providing policy advice to the government; • Facilitating and organising forums for policy dialogue; • Supporting in-house, local, regional and international academics, students and researchers; • Publishing critical research for public and private sector use; • Acting as a conduit for North-South and South-South dialogue; • Creating an environment for information dissemination and training; • Campaigning for regional advocacy and networking. Why we do it The Institute’s efforts remain unwavering in its vision to become a Centre of Excellence on sustainable development policy research, capacity development and advocacy in the country and South Asia by producing knowledge that not only enhances the capacity of the state to make informed policy decisions, but also engages civil society and academia on issues of public interest for the betterment of current and future generations. How we reach out Since its inception, the SDPI has organised innumerable seminars and national and international conferences. The Sustainable Development Conference (SDC) series has become a flagship event of the Institute that not only provides a forum for highlighting SDPI’s own research, but also offers space to other researchers and academics from South Asia in particular and across the globe in general, to share their work and engage in constructive dialogue with fellow intellectuals, movers and shakers from the public and private sector, students and the general public (see Annexure 1 for details about the previous SD Conferences). To date, SDPI has organised eighteen annual conferences. This book is a collection of working papers, speeches and policy briefs were presented at the Eighteenth SDC titled ‘Securing Peace and Prosperity’ and the Eighth South Asia Economic Summit (SAES) on ‘Regional Cooperation for Sustainable Development in South Asia’ held over a four- day period (7-10 December 2015) in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad (see Annexure 2 for detailed Conference Agenda). The Nineteenth SDC is planned from 6 – 8 December 2016 in Islamabad, Pakistan. Acknowledgements The Eighth South Asia Economic Summit (SAES) and SDPI’s Eighteenth Sustainable Development Conference were held simultaneously from 7-10 December 2015. The list of individuals and organisations who made these two events a success is long. Special thanks, however, goes to the following: Eighth South Asia Economic Summit (SAES) Organisers: • Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Pakistan, in partnership with the • Centre for Policy Dialogue, Bangladesh • Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries, India • South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment, Nepal • Institute of Policy Studies, Sri Lanka Donors and partners of the Eighth South Asia Economic Summit (SAES) 2015: • The World Bank, Pakistan • Commonwealth Foundation, UK • United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Pakistan • South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), Nepal • United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Thailand • SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Pakistan Donors and partners of SDPI’s Eighteenth Sustainable Development Conference 2015: • International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada • Heinrich Böll Stiftung (HBS), Pakistan • AAWAZ Voice and Accountability Programme, Pakistan • Overseas Development Institute (ODI), UK • World Food Programme (WFP), Pakistan • Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), Pakistan • HTSPE Limited (TEP) - Alif Ailaan • United States Institute of Peace (USIP), USA • Oxfam GB • South Asia Partnership Pakistan (SAP-PK) • South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE), Nepal • Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS), Pakistan • Nestle, Pakistan SDC-SAES Anthology
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