The Complete Magazine for the Region SEPTEMBER 2019 www.southasia.com.pk Afghanistan Afg. 50 Australia A$ 6 Bangladesh Taka 100 Bhutan NU 50 Brazil BRL 20 Canada C$ 6 China RMB 30 France EUR 45 Hong Kong HK$ 30 India Rs. 100 Japan ¥ 500 Korea Won 3000 Malaysia RM 6 Maldives Rf 45 Myanmar MMK10 Nepal NcRs. 75 New Zealand NZ$ 7 Pakistan Rs. 200 Philippines P 75 Saudi Arabia SR 15 Singapore S$ 8 Sri Lanka Rs. 100 Thailand B 100 Turkey Lira. 2 UAE AED 10 UK £ 3 USA $ 5 Who holds the Trump Card? Now that President Donald Trump has agreed to mediate on Kashmir, relations between India and Pakistan could move towards a thaw. INDIA BANGLADESH SRI LANKA MYANMAR Old Legacies Hobson’s Choice Liveable Cities Rohingya Massacre CONTENTS 18 Cover Story India has acted. It has revoked Articles 35-A and 370 of its Constitution. How will this impact the region's future? Karachi Dhaka Editor’s Desk 07 After the Devolution 33 Luxury of Choice 37 Readers’ Thoughts 08 New Delhi Chaghai Bad News for Democracy 34 Under the Earth 38 Who Said That! 10 Srinagar Assam Grapevine 11 Back to Square One 36 Old Legacies 40 News Buzz 12 Cover Story Beyond Mediation 18 Interview - Najmuddin Shaikh 20 The Trump Card 23 Roller Coaster 24 Breakthrough Undone 27 Region Islamabad - New Delhi The Middle Path 29 Islamabad Challenges and Opportunities 30 Adiala The Witch Hunt Route 32 30 4 SOUTHASIA • SEPTEMBER 2019 36 51 43 45 55 61 Malé Chennai Home-grown Terrorists 41 City Going Dry 51 Kabul New Delhi Exit for Peace 43 Decolonizing 52 Neighbour Colombo Making Cities Walkable 54 Tehran Lunana International Villain 44 Tourism in the Skies 55 Naypyidaw Dhaka The Rohingya Massacre 45 The Aesthetic Context 56 International Around Town Hong Kong Another Tianamen Square 47 Little By Little 58 Washington Piri Piri in Karachi 58 Back to Death Row 48 Reviews The Fix: Crimes Off the Field 60 Feature Books Films Islamabad The State During the British Raj: Crawl 61 Living Her Passion 50 Ways of the Raj 59 Super 30 62 SOUTHASIA • SEPTEMBER 2019 5 EDITor’s DESK Breaking the Shell India has been harping its ‘bilateral talks known to be making a very serious attempt to mediate between In- with Pakistan’ mantra and has been avoid- dia and Pakistan in finding a workable solution to the long-festering ing third party mediation on Kashmir like Kashmir dispute. On the face of it, India refuses to accept any sort the plague. At the same time, it has con- of mediation though Pakistan always welcomes it. There is a lot tradicted itself and has taken the unilateral of sabre-rattling between the two neighbours but President Trump decision of merging Jammu & Kashmir into is making an attempt nevertheless to find a solution because he its union territory. It has simply thrown the is aware that seven decades of eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation is Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declara- more than enough to drag India and Pakistan, not towards devel- tion into the dustbin. The country has also opment, but in the direction of mutual destruction. The upshot of showed signs that it would pursue its Hindutva narrative with more this is that all of South Asia is affected and one fifth of humanity aggression and make the Muslims of Kashmir a minority in their own that lives in the region is simply not showing any improvement in state. This is happening in one of the the social indicators by which the world world’s most militarized regions. There gauges human progress. are skirmishes between the armies of “Knowing that Kashmir is It is good that this time, despite the India and Pakistan day in and day out predominantly Musalman, it is one long-held adamant attitude of the Indian and the consequent death toll impacts day bound to become a Musalman leadership and a lot of foot-dragging by both military personnel and civilians on State.” other powers, the USA is taking a posi- the two sides. There is also the persis- – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi tive initiative in getting to the root of the tent fear that the border hostilities may in a May 5, 1934 letter to Kashmir dispute and forcing both India take an ugly turn and lead to the out- Pandit Prem Nath Bazaz, a Kashmiri historian and journalist. and Pakistan to discuss the matter. For break of a full-fledged war. the time being, they may be doing it in a War must always be avoided be- “The future of Kashmir is going to clandestine manner but there will come cause an armed clash between two na- be decided finally by the goodwill a time when they will agree on some tions invariably impacts the respective and pleasure of the people. The kind of middle path and address the is- socio-economic realities of both sides goodwill and pleasure of this sue in a practical and pragmatic way. It and has far-reaching effects. However, Parliament is of no importance is because of the Kashmir dispute that in the usual sense, this refers to a war in this matter, not because this both nations are spending so much on fought with conventional weapons. In Parliament does not have the strength to decide maintaining their armed forces which the case of India and Pakistan, if a war the question of Kashmir but because any kind of are always at battle-ready positions. erupts, both nations could resort to us- imposition would be against the principles that this In better conditions, these countries ing their nuclear capabilities to annihi- Parliament holds.” could spend their money more judi- late each other. If this happens, the en- – Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru ciously and greatly improve the lot of tire South Asian region would be wiped addressing the Indian Parliament on August 7, 1952. their teeming millions. South Asia could off the face of the earth. What more, be among the fastest growing regions as a corollary, most of the globe can in the world had it not been confronted start writing its requiem because a nuclear conflagration anywhere with issues that most other parts of the world have already tackled is not restricted to just one part of the world. It is for this reason and solved. This is an unfortunate part of the world that now needs that while the United States has faced the humiliation of defeat in to move ahead by exploiting its dormant potential in key areas. It Afghanistan for almost two decades, it has not dared to use nuclear must look at equitable economic growth, improve human develop- weapons there. In fact, after America’s use of its nuclear capability ment, end disparity between rural and urban populations, develop at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in 1945, no nuclear nation has livable and sustainable cities, improve education and health, attain ever dared to use such an arsenal. social progress, create better employment opportunities, promote Perhaps, this is why, while the UN Security Council recently entrepreneurship, develop human capital and bring about regional made a ruse of sitting down for less than an hour in New York to collaboration. For this to happen, it must emerge from its shell and discuss the Kashmir dispute, it is President Donald Trump who is start looking at long-term development prospects. Syed Jawaid Iqbal President & Editor in Chief SOUTHASIA • SEPTEMBER 2019 7 REAders’ THOUGHTS UN-ENDING SEPTEMBER 2019 VOL.23 ISSUE 9 STRUGGLE PRESIDENT & EDITOR IN CHIEF his is related to your story ‘The Great Syed Jawaid Iqbal TBetrayal’. Even after the partition in 1947, EDITOR both Pakistan and India are still struggling Javed Ansari for peace. The two nations have fought with each other for the past seventy-two years CONTRIBUTING EDITOR S. G. Jilanee and the political situation is worsening with ASSISTANT EDITORS each passing day. Is this why they both got Faizan Usmani independence from the colonials? According Syeda Areeba Rasheed to S.G. Jilanee, ‘We have seen a great betrayal from the promise to address the plight of the CONTRIBUTORS masses who had been ruled by the British as Aadil Nakhoda – Amjad Ali Siyal – Aneela Shahzad now our people are ruling them to keep them Atif Shamim Syed – Azhar Ali – Dr. Moonis Ahmar under the thumb in the name of independence.’ Dr. Raza Khan – Farooq Hassan – Hadiqa Iqbal Inamullah Marwat – Maryam Nazir – Meshal Sattar Muhammad Ali Khan – Muhammad Omar Iftikhar Farhan Ismail, Murtaza Talpur – Nadya Chishty-Mujahid Karachi, Pakistan Parvez Rahim – S. Qaisar Shareef S.G. Jilanee S.R.H. Hashmi – Sabria Chowdhury Balland Samia Shah – Shahid Javed Burki – Siraj M. Shawa Taha Kehar – Zainab Manzoor Remarkable Move What Solution? outhAsia Magazine has always he US has sought Pakistan’s help to GRAPHICS & LAYOUT Haroon Rasheed Smanaged to deliver the best. Tmediate between the Taliban and the Kamran Ghulam Nabi US-backed Afghan government. Their Riaz Masih agreement may end up harming the GENERAL MANAGER-MARKETING Afghan people if left at the mercy of the Syed Ovais Akhtar Taliban. How can we consider leaving PRODUCTION & COORDINATION the people of a nation to live under Aqam-ud-Din Khan sub-human conditions and a medieval CIRCULATION & DISTRIBUTION Shehryar Zulfiqar lifestyle that has no room in the 21st century? Would anyone consider living EDITORIAL & BUSINESS OFFICE under such circumstances where your 20-C, Lane 12, off Khayaban-e-Ittehad, Phase II honour, respect, self-esteem and basic Extension, DHA, Karachi - 75500, Pakistan human decency is left at the mercy Phones: 92-21- 35313821-24 Fax: 92-21-35313832 The interview of the European Union of a warlord who has no sense of the Website: www.southasia.com.pk Ambassador to Pakistan, H.E.