SPECIAL FEATURE HH Prince Karim Aga Khan 2017 Reg. ss-973 September INSIDE AFGHANISTAN PAKISTAN INDIA NEIGHBOUR Whither War? New Wine in New Bottles Birth of a New Axis Border Trouble Revolving Door The office of the Prime Minister in Pakistan seems to have a revolving door that prime ministers use to vacate their office before their term is up. Why does this happen? Contents 12 Mujhe KiyunNikala? No prime minister has completed his term in Pakistan. Afghanistan Whither War? A new U.S. policy to 28 end the war. Pakistan Sri Lanka 22 Back to Square One New Wine in Inviting the Tamils back. New Bottles 30 Trump is for loans, not aid. The Maldives Rabbit Hole of Dictatorship 32 Democratically elected president tries iron hand. 26 Bangladesh Limping Judiciary Legal tussle in a country where democracy is supposed to be supreme. 4 SOUTHASIA • SEPTEMBER 2017 REGULAR FEATURES Editor’s Mail 8 On Record 9 Briefs 10 COVER STORY Mujhe Kiyun Nikala? 12 Term Stinted 14 The Judiciary’s Role 16 Legacy of Failure 18 REGION India Birth of a New Axis 20 Pakistan New Wine in New Bottles 22 All In The Family 24 42 Bangladesh International Limping Judiciary 26 Canadian Politics Afghanistan The other side of Trudeau. Whither War? 28 Sri Lanka Back to Square One 30 The Maldives Rabbit Hole of Dictatorship 32 OPINION 54 Pakistan at 70 – A Personal Perspective 34 Crime SPECIAL FEATURE Wronged Women Bangladeshi women HH Prince Karim Aga Khan 37 need more security. INTERNATIONAL The Reluctant Prime Minister 42 NEIGHBOUR Forgotten People 44 Infrastructure FEATURES Bridge of Gender Equality Determination What’s in a Name! 48 The Padma Bridge is fast 50 nearing completion. Infrastructure Bridge of Determination 50 Social Evil Killing Fields 52 Crime Wronged Women 54 Human Trafficking Modern Slavery 56 44 Technology Neighbour New Frontier 58 The Forgotten Violence People Another Murder 60 The Uighur Muslims in China are having SOUTHASIA 15 Years Ago 62 a hard time. SOUTHASIA • SEPTEMBER 2017 5 COMMENT Pakistan Needs a Foreign Policy Reset resident Donald Trump’s charge sheet against Pakistan and his praise for SEPTEMBER 2017 VOL.21 ISSUE 9 India in America’s so-called new South Asia strategy has sent shock waves Pacross Pakistan and among its friends. Giving a clear warning to Pakistan, PRESIDENT & EDITOR IN CHIEF Trump said, “We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars, at Syed Jawaid Iqbal the same time they are housing the very terrorists that we are fighting. That will have to change and that will change immediately.” The more alarming fact is MANAGING EDITOR his enhancement of the role of India in Afghanistan's political and economic Zeba Jawaid growth. What would be the impact of this on Pakistan’s fight against terrorism? EDITOR The situation is pretty precarious and would give further impetus to the joint Javed Ansari CIA-RAW activities which would further aggravate things for Pakistan. ASSISTANT EDITORS Trump’s stance is a clear deviation from the policy followed by Bush and Obama and even earlier US presidents. Despite repeated frustration, they chose Faizan Usmani – Khawaja Amer Syeda Areeba Rasheed to use money and diplomacy to help Pakistan in its effort to root out terrorist sanctuaries from the country and earlier in resisting the spread of communism. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR In recent years, Pakistan received massive aid but repeated advice to ‘do more’. S. G. Jilanee In fact, a lot has been done and the successes of Operation Raddul Fasad bear testimony to the fact. As such, at a time when Pakistan has almost achieved the CONTRIBUTORS target of eliminating terrorists from its territory, Trump’s words have definitely Dr. Moonis Ahmar – Syed Zeeshan Ahmed – S. M. Hali come as a big shock. Trump administration’s preference for the stick rather Muhammad Ali Ehsan – Shakeel Farooqui than the carrot at this point is really frustrating. But then it shows Pakistan’s Muhammad Omar Iftikhar – Farhia Jabbar – S.G. Jilanee inability to compete with India on the diplomatic front. Modi’s meeting with Dr. Raza Khan – Zehra Khawaja – Taha Kehar Trump and his much publicized ‘Jadu ki Jhappi’ did work. While Modi was Dr. Syed Ali Madni – K. A. Naqshbandi busy lobbying in the US, Nawaz Sharif was busy defending the Panama case. S. Mubashir Noor – Iqbal F. Quadir Moreover, the unceremonious ouster of Tariq Fatmi, a career diplomat, left the foreign office without a real boss. In fact, the foreign office till recently was GRAPHICS & LAYOUT functioning without a foreign minister which very obviously affected Pakistan’s Kamran Ghulam Nabi diplomatic moves and lobbying in the US. Had Pakistan taken some time out Haroon Rasheed Riaz Masih from its internal political bickering and attended to its foreign relations and had taken actionable initiatives against terrorism, it could have avoided Trump’s GENERAL MANAGER MARKETING & SALES charge sheet. Syed Ovais Akhtar It is quite surprising that while the US President unfairly criticized Pakistan, in response the Pakistan government chief (namely, Prime Minister Shahid MARKETING MANAGER Hira Sarwar Khakkan Abbasi) did not utter anything and it was the army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa who responded to America and made it clear that Pakistan BRAND MANAGER Muhammad Aamir did not want any material or financial assistance from the US, but trust and respect and acknowledgement of the sacrifices the country had made. The army CIRCULATION & COORDINATOR chief added that such efforts were not to appease anyone but in line with the Aqam-ud-Din Khan country’s national interest and policy. It needs to be noted that the Pakistan economy has, over the past 16 years, suffered a loss amounting to over one EDITORIAL & BUSINESS OFFICE 20-C, Lane 12, off Khayaban-e-Ittehad, Phase II billion dollars and has lost more than 70,000 military and civilian lives. The Extension, DHA, Karachi - 75500, Pakistan COAS also informed the US ambassador who came calling on him, of Pakistan’s Phones: 92-21- 35313821-24 reservations over giving India an enhanced role in Afghanistan. It was good to Fax: 92-21-35313832 see Pakistan’s close friend China responding very strongly to Trump’s allegations Website: www.southasia.com.pk that Pakistan was not doing enough to shut down safe havens of terror groups in Email: [email protected] its territory. China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying categorically said, “Pakistan lies on the front line of the anti-terrorism struggle and has made MIDDLE EAST ‘great sacrifices’ in battling insurgents who pose a threat to the region and the REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE world.” The response from Russia and Iran was equally encouraging. Pirana Advertising JLT This is a wake-up call for Pakistan and the time has come to tell the US PO Box 486207, 1704, Level 17, HDS Tower, and the world very clearly and loudly about the achievements of Operation Jumeirah Lake Towers Cluster F, Dubai, UAE Raddul Fasad and, before that, Operation Zarb e Azb. A refusal on the part of Phone: +97-14- 4508309 Fax: +97-14-3688487 the U.S. to listen to Pakistan’s side of the story can be termed as a diplomatic Email: [email protected] failure and poor lobbying by the country’s foreign office. So far, despite its stand and constant actions against terrorism, Islamabad has failed to counter allegations against it with any encouraging results. The reasons may range from SouthAsia is published every month incompetent diplomacy in Washington and other world capitals to its failure to by Syed Jawaid Iqbal for and on behalf of successfully woo world media. Now that Khawaja Asif has taken over as a full- JAWZ Communications (Pvt.) Ltd. fledged foreign minister, his ministry must pull-up its socks and start projecting and printed by Union Graphics, Karachi. Pakistan as the pivotal country in the region and the war in Afghanistan rather than being unceremoniously pushed to the side and its many sacrifices Views expressed by the contributors are appearing as of no consequence. not necessarily shared by the editors. Published since 1977 as Thirdworld, the magazine was re-launched in 1997 as SouthAsia. Syed Jawaid Iqbal EDITOR’S MAIL rules and regulations are really needs it. Pointless applied. Someone needs Culture to be accountable for the Farzana Siddiqui, ongoing lota culture. Islamabad, Pakistan. Mohib Akhtar, “No Loo, No I Karachi, Pakistan. Do” A New Escape The women in India are It seems like the former refusing to marry in a family prime minister Nawaz that doesn’t have a toilet. Sharif could not hold It’s a movement nicknamed the defeat he sustained “No Loo, No I Do”. Many when the Supreme women have come forward Court announced his telling stories about how disqualification from they have to wake up at 4 Modi and Amit Shah mean holding public office in a.m. in the dark to go to by the slogan. Does it mean a landmark decision. the fields trying to squat in the end of the Congress in The so-called lion on a sari while holding a cup terms of being a political his journey home made of water and also looking entity? If this is the case, a last-ditch attempt out for rapists. Open then I must say that they to undo a devastating defecation is the biggest have been quite successful Supreme Court decision challenge India is facing in as the Congress has been that could land him and terms of sanitation. More reduced to just 44 Lok Sabha his family in jail. During than 53% of people in seats and their government the rally, from inside a India are defecating openly is only in a handful of states.