Internal Security
Kalam, Swat Valley, which was once a peacful tourist destination
INTRODUCTION
The internal situation of law and order and the security of its citizens has become the most dominant factor of Pakistani daily life. A number of factors have been attributive to the current instability and the challenged writ of governmental bodies not only in the North Western Frontier Province. We hereby offer some informative material like articles, opinion pieces and a dossier on the complexity of internal security issues the Republic of Pakistan is faced nowadays.

Insurgency in Baluchistan

Pakistan's Lawless Frontier: The Most Dangerous Place

Imtiaz Gul, head of our partner CRSS, Centre for Research and Security Studies in Islamabad, visited Washington, DC and New York City for lecturing and briefing on the current Pakistan political situation. He  also read from his book “The Most Dangerous Place: Pakistan's Lawless Frontier.” and participated in expert panel discussions hosted by Heinrich Böll Stiftung North America in cooperation with local stakeholders. more»

Is North Waziristan next?

 - The U.S. intelligence community has long viewed Pakistan's military with suspicion, due to its ties to the Afghan Taliban. But the arrest of nine Taliban militants in the Pakistani city of Karachi, including the Afghan Taliban's second in command Baradar may indicate a fundamental shift in Pakistan's relations with the United States. By Imtiaz Gul more»

The Waziristan wild card

 - Based on recent interviews with army and intelligence high commanders, officials believe that the dynamics of the Waziristans would change if they "take out the Uzbeks, because they represent the most dedicated al Qaeda ally in Waziristan." By Imtiaz Gul more»
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) calls for immediate demilitarisation of Balochistan as the first confidence-building measure to start a political dialogue in the province and warns if corrective actions are not taken immediately with the concurrence of Balochistan's people, the country may dearly regret the consequences. more»

Pakistan: The Forgotten Conflict in Balochistan

 - Violence continues unabated in Pakistan’s strategically important and resource-rich province of Balochistan, where militants demanding political and economic autonomy the military government is fighting Baloch. By International Crisis Group more»

Humanitarian Crisis

Internal Displacement an Ordeal

Pakistan is presently faced with a large-scale human displacement in the North Western part of the country. This is the largest in its history since the time of its creation in 1947. Under the circumstances, the country is witnessing an extraordinary political, social and economic situation that will have a serious impact on its longer-term social and economic development including increased incidence of chronic poverty in some areas. By Zubair Faisal Abbasi, SDPI more»

Inter-provincial Conflicts

WATER ISSUES

The distribution of water between the four provinces has been a serious conflict since the creation of Pakistan in 1947. The majority of Pakistan’s population is depended on agriculture for which reason access to water is essential. more»

Dossier

PEACE SONG

On the Occasion of "NEW YEAR 2011"

In order to unite different faiths, to promote provincial harmony and to bring gender equality in Pakistan, Heinrich Böll Stiftung and Giyan Foundation presents a Peace Song. more»

DOCUMENTARY

Pakistan’s Islamic School – A State within the State

 - “Pakistan’s Islamic School – A State within the State” provides an inside story of the Madaris in Pakistan and touches on the topics such as the genesis, growth over the years, students strength, sources of funding, role in afghan war against Soviet Union, role in sectarian warfare in Pakistan, curriculum and what is taught beyond that, attempts to reform and the way forward. more»

Radicalization of State and Society in Pakistan

 - Given the recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan in depth analysis on the phenomena referred to as ‘radicalization’ or ‘Talibanization’ is becoming increasingly urgent. This piece is an excerpt of the book of Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Head Office “Pakistan: Reality, denial and the complexity of its state”. By Rubina Saigol more»

REPORT

Gendered Perceptions and Impact of Terrorism / Talibanization in Pakistan

 - Dr Farzana Bari in collaboration with Heinrich-Boll- Stiftung carried out a research on  Gendered Perceptions and Impact of Terrorism/ Talibanization  in Pakistan. She points out that although radicalization of society has been going on since 1980s but the proportion of the political violence and brutality which is currently evident in suicide bombings  is a new phenomena. more»

Further Readings

Why Pakistan can’t fight terrorism

 - The recent terrorist attacks on the Mosques of Ahmadi Community in Lahore once more draw attention to the question why is Pakistan struggling so hard to fight the terrorism on its own soil? This burning issue had been elaborated in a an article exclusively written for HBS soon after the massive attacks in Lahore first weeks of March this year. by Khaled Ahmed more»

INTERVIEW

March 15, 2010 - After three months of “relative silence” the capital Lahore and its millions of inhabitants have been shaken again by a series of massive bomb blasts. These terrorists incidents are lasting for more than two years now. In this interview, Ms. Saima Jasam, staff member of HBS Lahore, is articulating the views of an ordinary citizen and is expressing demands to respective authorities and the Pakistan society. more»
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Societal perspectives on terrorism

 - The terrorist incidents of last week underline the fact that the Punjab provincial capital Lahore and state authorities there remain a militant target. Dr. Hasan Askari Rizvi argues that at least one generation in Pakistan has been socialised into a favorable disposition towards Islamic conservatism and militancy. They have a natural sympathy towards the political discourse of the militants even if they do not support their violent methods. By Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi more»

Pakistan's Summer of Chaos

 - As they gear up for a major fight in Waziristan, Pakistan's leaders had better learn from their mistakes -- or things could get ugly in a hurry. By Shuja Nawaz more»

Pakistan is fighting four wars at the moment

 - Pakistan is engaged in multi-theater wars; a total of four theaters that are all inter as well as intra connected (a single theater of war is defined as a “specific geographical area of conduct of armed conflict” that is separated from another theater by natural obstacles-a mountain range, river, desert etc.). more»