Monthly Archives: August 2007

Living with a big neighbour

Foreign Policy of Pakistan

By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn

THE Dawn News-The Indian Express-CNN-IBN opinion poll conducted in 30 major cities of India and Pakistan on the 60th anniversary of their independence has come under attack from cynics. How can 30,000 urbanites represent one billion plus and 160 million people, the majority of whom live in the countryside?

Without doubt, no pollster worth his salt would give this exercise serious credence. But if the poll is used as a pointer to show which way the wind is blowing it can be quite instructive.

It has exploded some myths perpetuated by the establishments on both sides of the borders. The perception of the other being an enemy country has been propagated every so often that India-Pakistan relations have come to be based on the false premise that their ties can only be of an adversarial nature. This has served the vested interests in both countries who have exploited this impression to create a crisis situation from time to time.
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Slippery base of foreign policy

Foreign Policy of Pakistan

By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn

WHEN Pakistan’s foreign policy came in the line of fire in the National Assembly last week, one wished that the level of the debate had been more informed and intelligent. But what can one expect from parliamentarians who are too busy with their own pursuits and have no time to even attend Assembly sessions regularly, let aside do their homework?
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A way out of the present crisis

Politics

By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn

PAKISTAN faces a serious constitutional crisis which has been compounded by the problems spawned by extremism and violence that threaten the country’s security, territorial integrity and social cohesion.

On the one hand, there is the question of who should govern the country. In the absence of a stable and generally accepted political system that provides a mechanism for a smooth transition to a new ruler periodically, a political vacuum looms large over the horizon.General Musharraf has exploited the situation cleverly to entrench himself in office even if this required him to distort the Constitution of 1973 beyond recognition and violate it blatantly. On the other hand are the jihadi and fanatic forces who feel they just have to give the final shove to see the country fall in their lap.
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The ordinance must be flawless

Health, Organ Trade and Donation

By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn

LAST week, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry directed the government to promulgate without delay the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Ordinance 2007. In the absence of a law to regulate organ transplantation, unscrupulous elements have reduced Pakistan to what is dubbed as a ‘gurda kundi’ where humans are auctioned for their organs.
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