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1. The US in Afghanistan: Consequences of an Untimely Withdrawal

Author:
Dayyab Gillani
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
South Asian Studies
Institution:
Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:
The following paper attempts to analyze the ongoing insurgency in Afghanistan by critically evaluating the insurgent ideology, its past, current and future relevance. The paper draws on lessons from the recent Afghanistan history and discusses the irrelevance for the future of Afghanistan. It traces the success of Taliban insurgency by highlighting the role of „mullahs‟ and „madrasas‟ in the Afghan society. It argues that the US policy in Afghanistan thus far has failed to isolate the public from the insurgents, which poses serious present and future challenges. By drawing parallels between the sudden Soviet withdrawal in the early 1990s and a potential US withdrawal in the near future. It also points out that an untimely US withdrawal from Afghanistan may entail an end of US engagement but it will not be an end of war for Afghanistan itself. The essay stresses the importance of a consistent long-term US policy aimed at addressing the very root causes of insurgency in the region.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, War, Military Strategy, Insurgency, Taliban, and Islamism
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, South Asia, Central Asia, Punjab, and United States of America

2. Issues and Challenges of Peace Building in South Asia

Author:
Syed Shahbaz Hussain, Ghulam Mustafa, Robina Khan, and Muhammad Azhar
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
South Asian Studies
Institution:
Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:
Peace building is the rehearsal of developing policies that strengthen the peace and re-establish order through social, political and economic reforms. Peace building has shifted its state-centric approach to regional focused agendas for more than a decade.South Asia is a diverse region with a unique geo-strategic significance, socio-political subtleties, and economic diversities. It faces distinct traditional and non-traditional challenges in the process of peace building. South Asia – the home to one third global population faces immense challenges due to weak state structure. The long and persistent influence of external powers in decision making process in South Asia has impacted the political evolution of the states included in the said region. The lack of fundamental necessities has increased the level of frustration and the sense of deprivation, which provides a fertile ground for the prospect of conflicts. The region is often labelled as one of the most dangerous regions on earth due to growing intolerance, extremism, terrorism, insurgencies and rise of various nuclear powers in South Asia. Kenneth Waltz claimed that the anarchic international system is a power that shapes the states behaviour, as the structure of the anarchic system compels states to adopt certain policies. In this exploratory research, an effort has been made to explore and analyze that how anarchic international structure influences and affects the peace building process in South Asia.
Topic:
Peace Studies, Insurgency, Peacekeeping, Conflict, and State
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, South Asia, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Punjab, Bhutan, Maldives, and Indian Ocean

3. Diagnosing the First Democratic Regime in Afghanistan: Human Rights Perspective

Author:
Satnam Singh Deol and Amandeep Kaur Sandhu
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
South Asian Studies
Institution:
Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:
The constant presence of undemocratic regimes, insurgencies and political instability in Afghanistan has continuously resulted into the miserable status of civil and political human rights. Furthermore, the heterogeneous nature of Afghan society and economic under development have deprived the people of social, cultural and economic rights. In 2004, democratic government had been established in Afghanistan under the presidentship of Hamid Karzai. Very obviously, the people at domestic level as well as the international community expected from the democratically elected regime to take concrete initiatives for the promotion and protection of human rights. The study observes that the pioneer democratically elected government of Afghanistan had taken all constitutional measures and legal provisions for the promotion and protection of human rights in Afghanistan which can be expected from a democratic nation. But several political, socio-ethnic and socio-economic circumstances such as frequent violence due to insurgency and counter-insurgency operations, dearth of popular legitimacy to the regime, challenges to political instability along with the orthodox and heterogeneous society, facing acute economic underdevelopment have hampered the actual process of the promotion and protection of human rights in Afghanistan.
Topic:
Human Rights, Insurgency, Counterinsurgency, Taliban, Military Intervention, Conflict, and Violence
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, South Asia, Central Asia, and Punjab

4. Baloch Resistance during Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's Era: Causes and Consequences

Author:
Gulshan Majeed and Rehana Saeed Hashmi
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
South Asian Studies
Institution:
Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:
Rising insurgency in Balochistan is one of the most serious threats to the federation of Pakistan. The Baloch tribal homeland is a vast area of desert and mountains. Geographically the province of Balochistan is considered the largest province of Pakistan while demographically it is smallest. Balochistan is the most underdeveloped province of Pakistan and this under-development reveals the alarming situation .Since 1947 Baloch have been facing different forms of deprivations and this sense of deprivation amongst Baloch has become one of the major reasons to give birth a number of uprisings against the federal government. Political arrangements under long military rules added doubts in the minds of Baloch people who had a scant representation in military and civil services of Pakistan. This situation has become a major source to strengthen sense of nationalism among the people of Balochistan. This study will highlight various causes of third Baloch insurgency during Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's era and its impacts on Pakistan.
Topic:
Nationalism, History, Insurgency, Deprivation, Coercion, and Confidence Building Measures
Political Geography:
Pakistan, South Asia, and Balochistan