Category Archives: Foreign Policy of Pakistan

Was the visit a success?

Foreign Policy of Pakistan, War and Peace

By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn

IT IS interesting and instructive to observe how President Pervez Musharraf’s recent odyssey to the West was assessed in this country. It speaks volumes about our national mindset and our exaggerated perception of the country’s standing in world affairs.

First the assessment. Depending on which side of the political/ideological divide they came from, many viewed the economic deals — especially the writing-off of the one billion dollar debt and the offer of three billion dollar aid in five years to Islamabad — as a major triumph of diplomacy. Others were critical of the quantum. They felt that this sum amounted to being peanuts in view of the support and cooperation Pakistan was extending to America in its war on terror — the sum of 10 billion dollars was bandied about as the right compensation for the losses suffered in the Afghan war.
Continue reading Was the visit a success? →

Will Pakistan sign tobacco treaty?

Foreign Policy of Pakistan, Health

By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn

HOW much is a human life worth? Why is it held to be invaluable in the developed democracies of the West but dirt cheap in a Third World country like Pakistan? This contradiction emerged clearly last month when the annual World Health Assembly of the WHO adopted the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) on May 21 in Geneva after four years of protracted negotiations interspersed with hot bargaining.
Continue reading Will Pakistan sign tobacco treaty? →

Joining hands across borders

Foreign Policy of Pakistan, War and Peace

By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn

TODAY as the world stands poised on the edge of war, a paradoxical phenomenon is emerging on the international scene. This is the worldwide peace movement which has been spawned by the growing thrust towards war. The massive turn-out at the rallies in Washington, London and other European capitals against an American attack on Iraq should leave no one in doubt about the strong pacifist sentiments the world over.
Continue reading Joining hands across borders →

Whither model university?

Foreign Policy of Pakistan

By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn

THE model university ordinance has generated a lot of heat on the campuses all over the country. Although the draft of the ordinance has not been released, the structure it proposes is believed to be based on the report of the steering committee on higher education, which has been under discussion for the past several months.

What comes as a matter of serious concern is that the two sides are locked in a confrontation, which will not take them very far. The government will find it impossible to enforce an ordinance, which does not enjoy the support of the faculty. The continuing agitation by the teachers will destroy the public sector universities by interrupting academic activities.
Continue reading Whither model university? →