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Articulate for CSS 2022

April 2021 (Volume - 8)

Hot Topics inside —

1. Pakistan, RCEP and an integrating Asia
2. Pakistan position in the geo-strategic game
3. China versus India: Divergent Strategic Concepts
4. Islamophobia in Europe & EU’s legal framework
5. Covid-19 vaccine - Developed & developing nations
6. The 2021 Global Gender Gap Report & Pakistan
7. China-USA conflict : The military-industrial complex
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8. The Inequality Quagmire — more fear & less hope

Compiled and Edited by Aamir Mahar

 Covid-19 vaccine -
Developed & developing nations
After a year of misery and distress inflicted by the
devastating Covid-19 pandemic, countries around the
globe are striving hard to get Covid-19 vaccines to
curb the spread of this deadly pandemic, prevent
further casualties and revive economies. This is made
possible by the introduction of a vaccine that has,
without any doubt, reduced the risk of transmission
of Covid-19. In fact, vaccinating the population is the
only way forward to restrict the spread of Covid-19.
However, the phenomenon of vaccine nationalism
has rung alarm bells for the developing nations of this
world, as the availability of vaccines remains
questionable for these countries.
According to a report published in Bloomberg
equality, the world’s wealthiest countries are getting
vaccinated twenty-five times faster. Economies with
the highest incomes have 40% of the world’s
vaccinations, but just 11% of the global population.
Rich nations are vaccinating one person every second
while the majority of the poorest nations are yet to
give a single dose. Countries making up the
least-wealthy 11% have gotten just 1.6% of Covid-19
vaccines administered so far, according to an analysis
of data collected by the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker.
Developing countries in danger? The clouds of
uncertainty loom over the developing countries as the
availability of vaccines for the developing countries
seems an insurmountable target. Just like other
diseases such as Polio, Malaria, and Dengue,
Covid-19 may survive for years to come and its
mutating character makes it the most lethal disease
humans have ever confronted with. This is horrifying
considering the capacity of the developing nations to
get rid of such pandemics. Having said that,
developing countries are still fighting to deal with the
decades’ old viruses and without an immediate
supply of the statCovid-19 vaccine, the future of
many developing nations looks bleak.
Moreover, according to an estimate, at current
global vaccination rates, it will take 4.6 years to
achieve worldwide herd immunity against COVID-19.
This lengthy time gap will likely allow variants of the
virus to develop and spread, potentially rendering
current vaccines ineffective. It will increase
inequality, poverty, and joblessness all over the globe.
It will also widen the chasm between the developed
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and the developing countries. Not only this, but it
will also decide trade and political relations among
the countries. It may also lead towards the formation
of a new world order in which developed countries
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will have more control over the developing countries.
This will be a doomsday scenario for those countries
that fail to vaccinate their population. On the other
hand, developed countries such as New Zealand,
Canada, the USA, and the UK are vaccinating their
population at a rapid pace. These countries have also
placed a travel ban on the entry of immigrants from
the developing countries of the world. It all indicates
the beginning of a new world in which vaccine
nationalism will overturn globalization.
Vaccines should be public goods The world can
never be a peaceful place without an equal and
justifiable supply and availability of the Covid-19
vaccine. The countries that have the capacity to
produce vaccines are taking orders from the highest
bidder only. It means that poor nations have no
chance to win an opportunity of getting doses of
Covid-19 vaccine for their population. This all
requires serious introspection and the world
community must devise some strategy to address this
growing concern of the developing nations. Parity in
vaccine distribution is the only way forward.
Treating vaccines as public goods rather than
market commodities is the way to improve vaccine
equity. This may involve scaling up existing
vaccination distribution programs, developing new
ones, and temporarily waiving vaccine patent
protections. This is the time to act fast keeping in
view the mutating nature of Covid-19, or the world
may encounter more lockdowns, more travel
restrictions, and more inequality among the
developed and the developing nations. (Global
Village Space, 24 April 2021)
Islamophobia in Europe & EU’s legal framework
Islamophobia is the negative representation of
irrational hostility, fear, or hatred of Islam, Muslims,
and Islamic culture, and active discrimination against
these groups or individuals within them. Today,
Islamophobia in Europe manifests itself through
individual attitudes and behaviours, and the policies
and practices of organizations and institutions. Many
European states have a tendency to prefer the
freedom of speech over religious freedom. Against
this backdrop, Pakistan has justifiably asked the
European Union to deter Islamophobia through
meaningful legislation. A horrendous rise of
Islamophobia in Europe: According to the
March-2021 report published by the United Nations
Rights Council (UNHCR), ’’suspicion,
discrimination and outright hatred towards Muslims
has risen to epidemic proportions”. : Conversely to
 the urge of multiculturalism manifested in the
European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the
rise of Islmophobia in the West is evident of the fact
that Professor Samuel Huntington’s theory of
civilizational clash holds leverage in Europe. Sadly,
in a climate of rapidly expanding diversity in Europe,
Muslim minorities have been portrayed as
non-belonging and wanting to separate themselves
from the rest of society. Government policies have
failed to ensure equal rights for all, forcing
significant sections of Muslim minorities to face
unemployment, poverty, and limited civic and
political participation, all of which aggravate
discrimination. There isn’t a single country in Europe
where Islamophobic attacks are not on the rise.
France saw a 52% increase from 2017 to 2018; in
Austria it was 74%. And in the same year, seven
pig’s heads were left threateningly around Dutch
mosques. The current rise of Islamophobia in
Europe can be gauged by the 2017 EU Minorities and
Discrimination Survey found that on average one in
three Muslim respondents faced discrimination and
prejudice, and 27 percent experienced a racist crime.
Also, Islamophobia seriously impacts women in
day to day life, as is highlighted in recent research by
the European Network Against Racism. EU’s double
standard approach on religious freedom: Undeniably,
for the last 70 years, the European community law
(acquis communautaire) is much active about
antisemitism, whereas, on 16 March 2021 in a
conversation with the President of Central Council of
Jewish Communities in Finland, Yaron Nadbornik,
the European Commission Coordinator on
Combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life,
Katharina von Schnurbein, addressed the question of
safety and ways to safeguard Jewish life in Europe.
Today, the European Union shows profound
concern regarding the protection of the Jewish rights
(the Holocaust laws in the European community law)
— while at the same time demonstrating its callous
disregard to the Islamic values or the fundamental
traditions of the Muslims– is a glaring example of the
European hypocrisy in terms of social equality,
harmony and justice guaranteed to the European
Muslim community by the European Convention on
Human Rights. Yet hardly deniable is the fact that the
EU should ever ignore the feelings of discomfiture
–of the Muslim community at large—regarding the
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blasphemous move against the Holy Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) as some extremist
European writers in Norway, Denmark, Netherlands
and France demonstrated their disdain for Islam and
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the Muslim culture. The credo of the European
Convention on Human Rights? The European
Convention on Human Rights protects the right to
hold religious or other beliefs People with a wide
range of different faiths have brought cases to the
European Court of Human Rights Judgments from
the Strasbourg court have protected people’s right to
practice their religion, and the right of organisations
to operate without government interference. At
European level, the Council of Europe swiftly
followed the United Nations in developing its
protection of individuals’ right to freedom of religion
and belief, set out in the 1950 European Convention
on Human Rights, specifically Article 9, which grants
freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and
Article 14, which prohibits discrimination based on,
inter alia, religion and opinions. Article 9 – Freedom
of thought, conscience and religion: 1. Everyone has
the right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion; this right includes freedom to change his
religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in
community with others and in public or private, to
manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching,
practice and observance. 2. Freedom to manifest
one’s religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such
limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary
in a democratic society in the interests of public
safety, for the protection of public order, health or
morals, or for the protection of the rights and
freedoms of others.
EU’s legal framework on Xenophobia/
Islamophobia? Objectively, the EU values are those
of equality, freedom and respect for human rights.
Freedom of religion and belief has significant
protections in the EU and under the international
legal framework. It is important to view the EU
measures aimed at addressing racism and xenophobia
in the context of the broader EU legislative
framework. Instruments aimed at supporting victims
of crime and antidiscrimination measures are of
particular relevance in this respect. These include
Directive 2012/29/EU 5 (Victims’ Support Directive)
and the EU’s equality and anti-discrimination
legislation (e.g. Directive 2000/43/EC6 (the Racial
Equality Directive)). In 2018, the European
Commission took the initiative to appoint a religious
coordinator on anti-Muslim hatred. This has been a
key opportunity to re-assess this role and ensure the
coordinator has a clear human rights based mandate
and meaningful resources to tackle racism and
discrimination against Muslim communities in
Europe, which have been lacking so far.
 Nevertheless, , the role of religion in the human
rights arena is sometimes perceived as challenging,
since some religious actors and some secular human
rights actors may not see eye-to-eye in some areas.
This existing ideological gap requires a congenial
balancing through novel legislation in the EU
parliament. Despite the commendable role played
by numerous European organizations combating
Islamophobia in Europe , particularly, Center for
Danish Muslim Relations, Denmark
(CEDAR);Collective against Islamophobia and
Discrimination, The Netherlands (CTID);Collective
against Islamophobia in Belgium (CCIB); and
Collective against Islamophobia in France, France
(CCIF, the challenge to deter Islamophobia remains
unaddressed because of the passive role of the
European institutions—the European Parliament, the
European Commission and European Council (the
intergovernmental and transnational hubs of the
European law reforms). EU institutions, the European
Parliament, the European Commission, the European
Council, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) all need to
adopt a mitigating approach on Blasphemy and
Islamophobia. The horizontal and transnational
application of the Blasphemy laws can be an
instrumental measure in this regard.
Freedom of expression is not absolute: William
Shakespeare said, “Conversation should be pleasant
without scurrility, witty without affectation, free
without indecency, learned without conceitedness,
novel without falsehood.” Is the world going to be a
better place if all speech or communication conforms
to this standard? Freedom of expression is a
fundamental international human right. It is
intrinsically valuable and necessary for the healthy
functioning of democracy and civil society. Although
freedom of expression is fundamental, it is not
absolute. Article 19 of the ICCPR allows for
restrictions on freedom of expression that are
necessary to protect the rights or reputations of others,
national security, public order, public health, or
public morals. Any such restriction must be provided
for by law and be proportionate. The literature on
freedom of expression as an international human
right tends to focus on cases and jurisprudence, with
some attention paid to the roles of international
human rights institutions.
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The past and the present Danish, Dutch and
French crafted caricatures are patently an expression
of hate against the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and Islam.
Intrinsically, these caricatures violate the
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International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) which
outlaws dissemination of ideas of racial superiority,
hate speech, and incitement to racial hatred. This
convention makes it obligatory for states to punish
those responsible. And yet, both the Venice
Commission and the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe in 2007-2010 recommended
abolishing the offences of blasphemy and of insult to
religious feelings, in view of Articles 10 (freedom of
expression) and 9 (freedom of thought, conscience
and religion) of the ECHR, which are also mirrored
in Articles 11 and 10 of the EU Charter of
Fundamental Right, Article 20(2) of the ICCPR
stipulates that ‘any advocacy of national, racial or
religious hatred that constitutes incitement to
discrimination, hostility or violence shall be
prohibited by law’.
The Human Rights Committee (HRC) which
monitors the implementation of ICCPR, has produced
voluminous jurisprudence on the interpretation of the
rules of law relating to human rights and fundamental
freedoms under the Covenant. It has endorsed the
judgment in Faurisson vs France that “restrictions
may be permitted on statements which are of a nature
as to raise or strengthen anti-Semitic feelings in order
to uphold the Jewish communities’ right to be
protected from religious hatred. Such restrictions also
derive support from principles reflected in Article
20(2) of the Covenant…” The exercise of the right to
freedom of expression carries with it special duties
and responsibilities…’’
In the early 2010s, the OIC began revising the
instrument and introduced the OIC Declaration on
Human Rights (ODHR) almost a decade later. The
document was scheduled to be approved at the
organization’s Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM)
meeting in April 2020. However, this was cancelled
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the
ODHR better reflects principles rooted in
international human rights law, it falls short on issues
related to family values, freedom of speech, and
political participation. EU states versus Blasphemy
laws: A blasphemy law is a law prohibiting
blasphemy, where blasphemy is the act of insulting or
showing contempt or lack of reverence to a deity, or
sacred things, or toward something considered sacred
or inviolable. In 2019, the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution,
which declared that the Cairo Declaration and Sharia
in general are incompatible with the European
Convention on Human Rights. In addition, the
 resolution asked three Council of Europe members
(Albania, Azerbaijan, and Turkey) — all a part of the
OIC — to distance themselves from the Muslim
world’s instrument. In the proceeding vote, Turkey
and Azerbaijan’s delegations rejected the resolution
while Albania’s did not participate. In Western
Europe, many countries retain blasphemy and related
laws. While in some countries they are never
enforced, there have been prosecutions in recent
years in Austria, Finland, Germany, Greece,
Switzerland, and Turkey. States also criminalize
blasphemous acts through the enforcement of other
criminal laws, such as apostasy laws, anti-conversion
laws, incitement to religious hatred laws (also often
referred to as “hate speech” laws), anti-Semitism
laws, and even anti-witchcraft laws. Not counting
repealed laws, researchers identified 84 countries
across the globe with criminal blasphemy laws on the
books as of 2020.16. ‘’Islamophobia as a form of
racism against Muslim people is not only manifested
in the labor market, education, public sphere, global
war against terrorism, or the global economy, but
also in the epistemological battleground about the
definition of the priorities in the world today”
(Grosfoguel and Mielants 2006).
Obviously, Islamophobia is a poster child of the
post-Cold War ideology to reorient a new Islamic
threat posed to the western world and bring about a
renewed purpose and crafting of the European and
American self. Islamophobia, or the threat of Islam is
a geopolitical ingredient postulated in “Clash of
Civilizations” thesis—affirming the Western
self-identify in the post -Cold War era.
What the EU needs to do? European democracies
have never needed a strong human rights institution
more than now. At a time when the European parties
using blatant islamophobic rhetoric have come to
power in a number of EU member states, the Muslim
world needs a clear signal from EU policy makers
that they are committed to ensuring equality and
inclusion for all members of European society. Given
the exigencies entailed by the cultural, political,
social and legal imperatives, it is incumbent upon the
European Union to legally protect the rights and the
religious sentiments of the Muslim community
(which shares a major part in retranslating the
European dream) beyond the rhetoric of any
geopolitical propaganda against the Muslims.
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While religious freedom is the civilized world’s
first freedom, it also is a core human right that
international law and the European Treaty recognize;
a necessary component of the European foreign
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policy is to defend democracy and freedom globally;
and a vital element of Brussels’ external policy is to
promote its soft power approach–ensuring a more
peaceful and stable world without cultural ghettos. In
this context, the EU policymakers should take drastic
measures to curb Islamophobia in Europe. Pakistan’s
current demand that the European Union should
criminalise Islamophobia seems highly justified since
the European community law seeks a pragmatic
balance between the International Human Rights Law
and itself. The very adoption of the resolution (on the
OIC recommendation ) by the UNGA in December,
2020 is a part of Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts inter
alia for raising awareness about Islamophobia and
countering the defamation of sacred religious
personalities and symbols”. (Daily Times, April 23,
2021)
Pakistan position in the geo-strategic game
In the post-Cold war era, while the US emerged as
the only world’s only superpower, Russia had quickly
consolidated its position as a leading military power.
While China focused on economic development
based on reforms initiated in 1979 — it also started
building economic and technological ties with the US
and the EU. Since 2001, the US has been fighting the
global War on Terror in Afghanistan while also
managing its military interventions in the civil war
conflicts in the Middle East. Meanwhile, China’s
economic advancement has been gathering rapid pace.
Hence, as of 2020, China was fast on it way to
becoming a global economic and technological hub,
second only to the US. Also, China has resolved its
major border dispute with Russia and signed
agreements of strategic partnership and major oil and
gas pipelines deals with Moscow. China has also
developed voluminous investment and trade relations
with Japan, India, and South Korea. Since 2014,
China has signed heavy infrastructure-related
investment agreements with the CARs (Central Asian
Republics), ASEAN (Association of South East
Asian Nations), South Asia, the Middle East, African
countries as well as Iran and Europe.
In 2014, China inked the CPEC (China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor) agreement with Pakistan, the
cornerstone of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
mega-project. Recently, China has vowed to build
close politico-economic relations with the Gulf
countries and recently signed a 25-year strategic
partnership agreement of with Iran, involving the
import of oil and gas and the construction of major
infrastructure projects.
 From 2000-2020, whereas Russia had
strengthened its oil- and gas-supported economy, it
had also resisted EU and NATO eastward expansion,
including the tilt towards the CARs, and defended its
interests in the Middle East, particularly in Syria
through military intervention. Simultaneously, Russia
has developed good relations with China, India,
Pakistan and also with EU countries by signing gas
pipeline construction deals with Germany and
Eastern European countries, as well as with Turkey
and Iran. While fighting in Afghanistan, whereas, the
US, in the initial years, praised Pakistan’s
performance as a non-NATO ally, later it repeatedly
asked the country to do more. Perceiving India as its
strategic ally for the 21st century to contain China’s
rise, Washington welcomed India’s economic
investment in Afghanistan, which New Delhi
exploited to sponsor terrorism in Pakistan.
To secure Indian support against China, the US
entered into the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement,
which came into force in 2008. Later in 2010, came
the broad spectrum strategic partnership pact. India
also became a part of the US Indo-Pacific strategy
and was declared a close defence partner of the US.
When President Trump declared China an enemy
country in 2020, India also joined the QUAD Group
(alongside the US, Japan and Australia), a potential
anti-China military alliance. But, despite these
agreements with the US, India has also maintained its
strategic partnership with Russia as well as heavy
trade relations with China. In the meantime, Pakistan
consolidated relations with China, Turkey, the Gulf
countries, Iran, Russia and the CARs. In 2014, while
Pakistan signed the CPEC agreement with China, it
also signed a gas pipeline construction deal with
Russia. Pakistan also continued to further strengthen
its economic and defence relations with the US and
EU powers. In 2020, Pakistan facilitated the
US-Taliban talks, to end the stalemated and long
Afghan war. This culminated in the US and the
Taliban signing an agreement on February 20, 2020;
under which US troops would withdraw from
Afghanistan by 1 May 202, though this deadline has
since been pushed forward. Seeing the Taliban’s
resilience in fighting the war and their ability to
defeat ISIS — Iran, Pakistan, the CARs, Russia and
China also accepted the group as major stakeholder
in Afghanistan and the broader region.
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In view of Pakistan’s expertise and success in
fighting terrorism, Iran, the CARs and Russia have
also started strengthening their relations with
Pakistan. And due to India’s negative role in the
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region, while the US has ignored it during talks with
the Taliban the world’s media condemned New
Delhi’s unilateral annexation of Occupied Kashmir in
August 2019 and the UNSC permanent members
asked India to resolve the Kashmir dispute with
Pakistan through talks. As President Biden has
announced on September 11, 2021 as the final date
for complete and unconditional US and NATO troop
withdrawal, to facilitate this and retain American
influence in Afghanistan in the future — US
Secretary of State Blinken has spoken to COAS, Gen
Qamar Javed Bajwa to seek Pakistan’s assistance.
Russia’s foreign minister also visited Pakistan at the
beginning of April to strengthen bilateral ties despite
India’s opposition. Also, based on China’s recent
consolidation of relations with Saudi Arabia, the
UAE and Iran, and Biden’s decision to rejoin the
2015 Iran nuclear deal, Saudi Arabia and the UAE
are seeking to further strengthen their relations with
Pakistan. Indeed, the Saudi crown prince has already
invited Prime Minister Imran Khan to visit Saudi
Arabia and Pakistan-UAE foreign ministers have
recently met frequently. The above discussed
geopolitical and economic scenario, suggests that
Pakistan has the following foreign policy options to
advance its relations with various countries without
any major constraints. Pakistan should endeavour to
make intra-Afghan dialogue a success to stabilise
Afghanistan and connect CPEC with the CARS.
While Pakistan should further cement its
CPEC-based strategic partnership with China, it
should also build economic, technological and
defence relations with Russia. Pakistan should also
advance its economic and defence ties with Turkey,
Gulf countries, Iran, Egypt, CARs, SAARC countries,
Malaysia and Indonesia. At the same time, as the US
and EU need Pakistan for peace and future influence
in Afghanistan and the Muslim world, Islamabad
should also strengthen s economic and defence
relations with these countries as well as Japan and
South Korea. And, Pakistan should also be ready to
develop good relations even with India, provided that
it reverse its policy in -held Kashmir and is willing to
resolve the Kashmir dispute, through a dialogue with
Pakistan, based on the UNSC resolutions on Kashmir.
(Daily Times, April 24, 2021)
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 China versus India: Divergent Strategic Concepts
China and India got independence within one year of
each other. India managed to get what it wanted from
the outgoing British Empire, except one-third of
Kashmir which was liberated by the locals with the
help of Pakistani Lashkars. On other hand, mainland
China was deprived of Macao, Hong Kong, and
Taiwan. Moreover, India got Arunachal Pradesh also
which is claimed by China. But where do they stand
after over seven decades since independence vis a vis
each other in terms of stature, development, and
prosperity. Reason: Divergent Strategic Concepts.
India adopted the strategy of confrontation with
Pakistan to snatch that one-third part of Kashmir
which was not with India, concurrently denied the
rights of self-determination to that two-third part of
Kashmir which it had occupied by force. For the
purpose, India had wars, conflicts, and crises with
Pakistan, but could not achieve its stated objectives.
China, on the other hand, decided to wait for an
opportune time to regain its lost territories through
peaceful rise. Today, Macao and Hong Kong are part
of China, under ‘One Country-Two Systems’ and it
believes that one day Taiwan and Arunachal Pradesh
will also be part of mainland China, without going to
war with any of its adversaries.
India’s strategy of confrontation with its five
times smaller neighbour has pulled it down to the
status of a mediocre state, which had at one time
aspired to be a regional power with eyes on the status
of a global power in future. Indian Ocean was to be
its zone of influence and Pakistan would be
converted into a pliant state, as has been the case with
Bangladesh and other smaller states in the South
Asian region. Shining India, and Rising India
narratives developed some two decades ago are being
questioned by sane Indian elements because the
hardline Hindutva philosophy adopted by India’s BJP
government has pushed it back from a secular state to
a Hindu state. India spent billions of dollars in its
hybrid over on Pakistan in last 15 years, as revealed
by European Union’s DisInfoLab through Indian
Chronicles. Today, India is vying for a meaningful
role in Afghanistan so that it can keep Pakistan
encircled and hence under pressure with the help of
outgoing US and NATO. However, India is failing in
its efforts because Afghans understand that their
problem can best be solved by regional states and not
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the extra-regional powers.
China, despite disputes with its neighbouring
countries over South China Sea, is marching on its
path of peaceful rise to the status of a global power.
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Long before, China had stopped considering India as
a competitor, lest a rival. China would overtake
United States as the world’s largest economy by 2028,
well before the earlier estimates. China’s defense
spending has been steadily rising and in 2021 would
cross over 200 billion USD, which is nearly 7% more
than the previous year. Most importantly, China’s
preparations are for the future challenges, because it
is not militarily occupied on any large front. China’s
venture in Ladakh with India is hardly considered a
military engagement in its larger canvass. India, on
the other hand, is permanently engaged with Pakistan
militarily along its 3320 km long border from
Siachen to Sir Creek. India must understand that it
cannot cow down Pakistan in any sector in land
warfare, and in the air warfare, Indian Air Force is
aware of Pakistan Air Force’s professional mastery.
Limited vision of successive Indian leaders has cost
India a legitimate leadership role in South Asia and
Indian Ocean region. Soon after independence, India
should have resolved its disputes with Pakistan and
concentrated on its development to challenge for
leadership role in the region. Instead of fighting wars
with Pakistan, India should have challenged China’s
rise. Now and in any foreseeable future, India can
only beat China in population figures. India does not
have much time now. If India wants to regain its lost
glory, it must resolve all its disputes with Pakistan,
including J&K, only then it will be able to
concentrate on its rise as a regional power.
My idea of hybrid peace is perhaps more suited
to India than any other state in the region. However,
my Indian friends take my quest for peace as a sign
of weakness and therefore do not pay due attention to
my advice. I have no issue with India continuing with
the strategy of confrontation with Pakistan and
remain a mediocre state and maintaining itself at a
level far below its true potential. However, I must say
‘Well Done China’ for following Sun Tzu’s dictum
of ‘winning the war without fighting.’ I must also say
‘Well Played Pakistan for keeping India Engaged and
giving a Free Hit to China.’ (Daily Times, April 26,
2021)
China-USA conflict and role of military-industrial
complex
President Trump came into power by championing
the anti-China rhetoric. Trump administration
launched a multifaceted war to squeeze and contain
China. They used all tools including human rights,
democracy and debt trap to achieve the objective.
Hong Kong and Xinjian were targeted, and a
 malevolent campaign was run. The sane voices
started to raise concerns, even within USA. They
warned the conflict between two biggest powers will
have negative consequences for everyone. In this
backdrop the election of Mr. Biden as president of
USA was cherished. World was expecting that
President Biden will try to mend the patches and
smoothen the relation and rational behavior will lead
the way instead of anti-China rhetoric. The statement
by President Biden that his administration will focus
on extreme competition, gave a hope and created a
wave of positivity. Alaska meeting was announced
which was seen as a step to mend the relationship.
Unfortunately, Alaska meeting could not deliver
according to the expectation rather it further
deepened the differences. Obama doctrine is back in
the business. President Bident went one step ahead
and also adopted the elements of Trump doctrine.
Hence, the Biden administration doctrine is being
dubbed as Trump-Obama Plus doctrine. It is trying to
create a new hysteria by using its own logic and
parameters. The new administration is clearly
posturing to ensure that China does not surpass the
United States and remains a junior partner. The
campaign is getting stronger and USA is urging its
allies to be part of it. In this context, one wonders;
why Republican and Democratic parties are
unanimous to oppose China, rather they are trying to
present themselves as greatest opponent of China.
One of the plausible answers is, the influence of
military-industrial complex of USA. The complex
has been ruling the world through hegemony in the
fields of economy, technology and power structure.
They have captured the political, societal, economic
and power spheres by weaving a nexus of influence.
The complex look at China as a threat to their
hegemony and is doing everything to undermine
China. Hence, it is necessary for China to understand
the industrial-military complex and its modus of
operandi which is very complicated and deep rooted.
The complex has engaged a good number of actors
and devised the role for each actor and for themselves
in a sequential manner. First layer of actions is
dominated by three players, think tanks, media and
political actors. The history of think tanks and media
tells us that they came into being to be voice of
voiceless and act as watch dog on the behalf of the
common citizens. There is no second opinion that
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think tanks and media played a positive role in
highlighting the issues of common people and also
contributed on the fronts of environment, climate
change, poverty etc. However, with the passage of
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time many think tanks and media outlets become the
tool to serve the purpose of military-industrial
complex. Although, some think tanks or media
outlets are still adhering to original philosophy, but
the complex has created enroot through funding.
They are also creating their own think tanks and
media outlets. They are trying to turn think tanks and
media into lobbying agents. They engage think tanks
and media to achieve the objectives; 1) create noise
through advocacy campaigns and 2) for lobbying
with the parliaments and ruling elite.
Second, the complex works with the political
leadership and help them to achieve their political
goals. They generously support their favorite
candidates and pour donation at one name or other.
There is no secret that money plays a determinantal
role in USA election and analysis shows that
candidates with more money has better probability to
win. The big business groups and empires capitalize
on the opportunity and negotiate good deals with
future rulers. The complex works with the favorite
parliamentarians and urge them to carry the message
of complex and try to negotiate the desired deals.
Third, military-industrial complex itself comes into
action. They keep backdoor linkages with multiple
stakeholders including the military, business
community and other interest groups by presenting
them what they need. The biggest incentive is being
offered in the form of the generous financial support
and safe havens for money through the shell
companies. They create linkages which are not under
the control of political government. The linkages are
being used to pressurize the governments, if
governments resist the pressure, then they use allies
to topple government. It is being done in a systematic
way. First, the government which does not fall in line
is targeted at the name of democracy and human
rights etc. Second, a smear campaign is being run to
isolate the government. Third, economic sanctions
are applied. Fourth and final step is to topple the
government by force. Libya, Iraq Afghanistan etc. are
classic examples on this front in recent times. The
practice is going on for a long time and the complex
always get the results by one way or other. The
famous book, “Confession of Economic Hitman”
strengthen the argument. Although, the complex has
a history to win but it has damaged the “American
Dream”. It has resulted in many problems but the
most prominent one is in-equality. COVID-19 further
highlighted the deep-rooted issues in USA. Instead of
learning from the past, now the complex is trying to
apply the same strategy on China. Although, it is not
 new and is going on since the inception of country,
but in recent times it has got accelerated. The first
intervention in China was at the name of democracy
and human right in 1989. They pushed people to
topple the government, but China sustained the shock
and controlled the riots. In modern days Hong Kong
is new home of democracy conspiracy. Xinjiang
human right and genocide are new recruits to
pressurize the China. However, the most prominent
action of the complex is harsh and baseless campaign
against the economic interventions and technology
companies of China like Belt and Route Initiative,
Huawei etc. They are trying to portray these
interventions as debt trap or spying trap etc.
However, this strategy is not working in the case
of China. The reasons are simple. First, China has its
own system. China measures the democracy by the
indicators of governance and prosperity of people
against Western democracy which hinges on voting.
Second, State-Owned enterprise are playing a good
role to support the state. China has struck a good
balance between SOEs and private sector. So, the
private sector is not in position to help the global
business. Third, military is one of the organs of the
Communist Party of China and under strict control of
Party and State. Thus, it leaves little or no room for
complex to build backdoor linkages with military
which they do usually in other countries. Fourth,
China is offering win-win cooperation to world, thus
debt trap conspiracy is dying down. However, China
needs to be careful in future, as the complex will
further accelerate its efforts. Thus, China needs to
take few steps to sustain the future shocks. First,
maintain the present structure of CPC, governance
and balance between private sector and SOEs.
Second, the Party should keep the industry and
military under the close observation. Third, China
needs to move from re-active to pro-active mode.
Lastly China should recognize that the real opponent
is military-industrial complex not the common
American or true political workers. Thus, future
action plans should be developed by keeping in mind
the military-industrial complex. (Daily Times, April
15, 2021)
The Inequality Quagmire — more fear and less
hope
There are some significant facts from the Pakistan
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Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey of
2018-19 which reveal that overall in Pakistan, 28
percent of the households own a one-room house, 23
percent of the households use wood/bamboo for the
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material of the roof, and 45 percent of the households
use wood/sticks as fuel used for cooking. Other than
this, 15.92 percent of the households experience
moderate or severe food insecurity, and 2.37 percent
of the households experience severe food insecurity.
There is another example from PDHS 2017-18,
which shows disparity in the country; the percent
distribution of the de jure population in the lowest
quintile in Punjab is 11.4, similarly it is 36.3 in Sindh,
16.9 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 28.8 in Balochistan,
0.4 in ICT Islamabad and 51.3 percent in FATA
respectively. Not everyone in Pakistan can afford
bottled water for health safety, and it is concerning to
note that according to the National Nutrition Survey
of 2018, 36.0 percent of households in Pakistan drink
water contaminated with E.Coli, which can lead to
many bacterial infections. The National Human
Development Report 2020 has created a ‘Pashum
Ratio’, which measures the extent of inequality
across the entire population distribution inclusive of
the middle income groups. This ratio equals 0.5 in the
case of Pakistan where 0 implies perfect equality. In
the same report, amongst other ratios, the Robin
Hood Ratio highlights that to achieve perfect income
equality in Pakistan, 23 percent of the income of two
richest quintiles must be redistributed among the
remaining three quintiles. Thus, to achieve significant
success on SDG 10, our policies need to be tailored
in accordance with the needs of the society. However,
for this purpose, our politics should be devoid of any
sort of clientelism. Our taxation system is one in
which tax is very conveniently collected but very
worryingly paid up—this is because of the burden of
indirect taxation. Fraudulent activities and loopholes
in the tax collection are improving the conditions of a
few at the cost of a million lives. It is a sad yet a very
harsh reality that a poor person is forced to pay sales
tax on necessary commodities when fulfilling basic
needs is already a daily dilemma for them. Tax
incentives in the form of exemptions, etc. are also
one of the contributors towards the dearth of
provision of public goods for people. Because we all
know, direct taxes fund governments and are
progressive. Sales taxes are regressive by nature and
heavy reliance on them exacerbates inequality.
Moreover, the role of institutional factors in the
whole ordeal is not a secret. It is suggested that the
government reconsider shifting the IMF debt burden
onto an already grief-stricken population succumbing
to the afflictions of coronavirus, and reevaluate the
areas where our current expenditures are consuming a
significant amount of GDP. Even the infrastructure
 development expenditures which somehow end up
benefiting the rich more than the poor in the long run,
need to be reevaluated. Progressive taxation should
be effectively implemented in the case of direct
taxation. Limited taxes on capital gains and the crux
falling on the manufacturing industries needs to be
corrected by correlating the size of a sector with its
associated levied taxation.
Land inequality is a major concern, especially
when it comes to poor, women and minorities. Land
inequality enables powerful landowners to suppress
the tenants. Moreover, it is difficult to envisage a
subsistence based, technologically constrained farmer
reaping any meaningful benefits except for ensuring
mere survival. Therefore, our land reforms need to be
revisited with everyone being given equal
opportunities. Digitization of land records is a step in
the right direction, but it is just one of a step.
Moreover, investment in human capital is much
needed as technology is already replacing manpower,
and machine learning and artificial intelligence is
becoming a major trend. If our population is not
equipped with the modern tools, how can we compete
with the demands of the future? We are a slave to
digital sovereignty in the current time, and it is
especially disheartening to note the technical divide
between students who could, or could not afford
electronic devices to attend online classes, as
highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Although in
the past, there were schemes to eradicate the digital
gap such as laptop distribution schemes, there should
be more policies geared towards digital literacy in an
attempt to stop perpetuating inequalities. Furthermore,
social protection schemes such as BISP, Bait ul Mall
and Ehsaas should be continued to provide a cushion
against glaring inequalities. Inequality and income
disparity are some of the significant issues which
presently ail Pakistan. The country is home to one of
the worst examples of a socio-economic divide.
Article 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan states that
all citizens are equal before the law. However, this
formal equality has not served us well in the past.
The government needs to introduce more affirmative
action programs and quota systems to eradicate, or at
least mitigate, the atrocious effects of inequality;
however, that should be preceded by measures taken
to eradicate inequality in the first place. Such
measures include good quality public education, a
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higher rate of minimum income, and social support
programs to supplement the income of low-wage
households. Pakistan also needs to modify its VAT
system, and introduce means of VAT refund for
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low-wage households in order to curb the unequitable
impact of VAT. It should also be kept in mind that
introducing new legislation and policies is not the end
goal, but rather only a means to the end of eradicating
inequality in Pakistan. Therefore, strong emphasis
should be placed on efficacious implementation of
these laws and policies. (Daily Times, April 25,
2021)
The 2021 Global Gender Gap Report & Pakistan
The 2021 Global Gender Gap Report disclosed by the
World Economic Forum (WEF) on March 31, 2021
has placed Pakistan as the fourth worst country in the
world in gender parity. The report put Pakistan at 153
out of 156 countries due to its gloomy performance in
bridging the gender gap, which currently stands at
55.6 percent. The fact is that the persistent gap
between women and men in their access to resources
and opportunities is a social and economic challenge.
This gap not only weakens the quality of women’s
life but also poses a substantial threat to the
long-term development and well-being of nations that
do not fully exploit the potential of one half of their
human resources; this compromises the competitive
potential of such countries. Shockingly, Pakistan’s
position on the gender gap index has been stagnant as
the country has not made any progress in improving
the gender gap. The 2006 Global Gender Gap report
had covered 115 countries that represented around 90
percent of the world population and ranked Pakistan
at 112, the fourth worst country in the world. In the
2021 report, out of 156 countries, Pakistan is
positioned at 152 in economic participation and
opportunity, 144 in educational attainment,153 in
health and survival, and 98 in political empowerment.
However, in the 2006 report, out of 115 countries, the
country was placed at 112 in economic participation
and opportunity, 110 in educational attainment, 112
in health and survival, and 37 in political
empowerment. After going through the two reports,
it is concluded that even after the passage of fifteen
years no improvement in Pakistan’s rankings in all
the four sub-indexes has taken place. However, the
country’s ranking in political empowerment has
deteriorated. The ranking in the sub-index was
comparatively higher in 2006 and is lower in 2021.
As per the 2021 report, with a woman having been
head of state, Pakistan stands among the top 33
countries in the world on this indicator. However,
women’s representation as parliamentarians is only
20.2 percent and as ministers stands at 10.7 percent.
 In reality, women’s participation is very low in the
country’s politics. According to the CountryMeters
website, Pakistan’s overall current population as of
Friday, April 9, 2021 stands at 224 million and of the
total population, men are 50.8 percent and women
make up 49.2 percent. The data released on October 2,
2020 by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)
shows that of the overall 115 million registered
voters in the country, 51 million are women.
Unfortunately, Pakistan executes an unfair,
unreasonable and prejudiced model of proportional
representation for the election of women. The
number of reserved seats for women to a party are
allocated in proportion to general seats won, which at
the moment stands at 17 percent. In this system,
women elected to the reserved seats are neither given
any power to influence the decision-making or
policy-forming process, nor are they allocated
development funds. The fact is that the lack of
women’s representation in the decision-making and
policymaking process is the main factor responsible
for the existence of gender disparity in our economic,
social and cultural life. This is why women’s issues
have been ignored in public policies and programmes.
There is an utmost need to empower women to
perform an influential role in decision-making and
policy formation in the country. To this end, they
need to be provided with political representation
directly proportional to women’s registered votes or
their votes polled in the elections.
Pakistan has to raise women’s participation in its
male-dominated politics as increased women’s
representation will enable them to speak up forcefully
and resolutely for their rights on both the provincial
and national political platforms. Pakistan’s
mainstream political parties – the PTI, the PPP and
the PML-N – can get the ball rolling for women’s
participation in politics. Moreover, women have to be
involved in the conventional political and electoral
process. This will enable them to set-up bilateral
relationships with the common citizens. The 2021
report says that the enrollment gender gap in
Pakistan’s overall education system stands at 13
percent. These gaps become widest at the lower
educational levels – 84.1 percent in primary, 84.7
percent in secondary and 87.1 percent in tertiary
levels. Further, only 46.5 percent of women are
literate, 61.6 percent attain primary school education,
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34.2 percent attend high school and 8.3 percent seek
tertiary education. In reality, Pakistani women face a
very dismal and disheartening situation when it
comes to their schooling. It is a fact that gender parity
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in education is a prerequisite to achieving the goal of
gender equality in all the other three sub-indexes.
Education enlightens a person about her/his rights.
How can a person ignorant of their rights even
demand them? Women who have been denied access
to education in the country have been deprived of
their fundamental rights to economic participation
and opportunity, educational attainment, health and
survival, and political empowerment. Because such
wide gender gaps in all the indicators is a serious and
threatening issue, Pakistan’s concerned authorities
should take immediate and productive initiatives
aimed at bridging these gaps. (The News, April 14,
2021)
Understanding the loopholes in Pakistan’s
education system
Pakistan’s education system is rife with flaws that
inhibit the potentials of creativity and analytical
thinking. Similarly, the defining role of teachers in
the suppression of the elements of analytical
education can not simply be overlooked. The
regressive, obsolete, and clumsy attitude of teachers
towards students leads to diminished creativity. In
fact, this is an imminent reason why our system
desperately fails to produce thinking minds.
Moreover, the constant discouragement of students
from their teachers suppresses the progressive and
analytical buds in them. As part of the system, I often
confront the regressive behaviors of my teachers. The
question which baffled me the most: Am I the only
student facing the wrath of teachers? The question
compelled me to conduct small-scale educational
research in various universities and colleges of the
province of Balochistan. At the end of my research, I
came across a conclusion that “No, I’m not the only
student suffering from the wrath of teachers.” I found
a reasonable number of students who are the victims
of the same thing: the regressive behavior of teachers.
Wittingly or unwittingly most of the teachers try to
put a veil on students’ natural abilities. During my
research, I too encountered many students who were
even dragged out of the classes upon asking questions
frequently.
Teachers hindering progress This is, however, not
only a condition of education in Balochistan, almost
all provinces paint the same color. Education
institutions across the country apply the same
regressive, obsolete, and non-inclusive tools to tape
off the critical thinking of students. However, the
semester system has further fueled the issue. For
 instance, the practice of harassing students in the
name of marks and papers is prevalent in the
institutions. Similarly, there are also teachers who
endeavor to create an atmosphere in the class which
hardly leaves any space for being creative and critical.
As the result, the poor students have no other
alternative but to remain fully obedient by not
questioning the teachers. Beyond the exams and
papers, they are bound to think nothing. Thus,
pushing down the probability of progressiveness and
inclusiveness. Apart from the teacher’s rude and
regressive behavior, the burden of assignments,
quizzes, and presentations compel them to go for
copying the materials. Simply in such conditions,
there remains no space for students to ask questions.
Most of the teachers consider ‘asking questions’ as
an insulting and derogatory term. Thus, they, as usual,
take revenge on such students in marking the papers.
This is the flaw in the system which discourages
progressive and analytical aspects of the students.
Therefore, such behavior often devoid the pupils of
their natural talent and abilities. Furthermore, our
education system forces students to gain excellence
in copying things.
Our obsolete education system If we critically
analyze the loopholes of the system, we obviously
will come to know the inevitable answer of failure of
the whole education system. Certainly today we are
having a vast number of graduates but do we have
good scientists, engineers, or doctors? Of course, the
answer is no. In contrast, we can’t put the entire
blame on teachers either, because they are the
product of this failed education system, too.
Unfortunately, we inherited a colonial system that
was introduced by the colonial forces for some
restrictive purpose in the sub-continent. After nearly
70 years, we are still crawling with an outdated,
obsolete, and regressive education system. In the long
past of Pakistan, we barely can see any sort of
development in the education sectors. In spite of
injecting ingredients of analytical and critical
education, our conservative regimes used the sector
as political grounds.
What went wrong? The main thing is that
policymakers are wide off the mark from even
identifying the basic loopholes in the system. Due to
the less amount of budget allocated for education,
most of the educators left no hopes for the betterment
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of the system. Moreover, the trajectory of the
country’s history evidently shaped in a way that has
perpetuated a sense of security rather than an
education state. When a state patronizes and prefers
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defense over education, its downfall becomes
inevitable. Finally, progressive and critical education
is the only way forward to climb the ladder of
prosperity. We can experience our hollow status in
the international arena, bypassing education will
further leave a drastic impression on the country. It is
high time for the so-called upholders of the glory of
Pakistan to realize the importance of modern
education in this era of technological progress. Last
but not least, for a bright and shiny future of the
country, educational reforms must remain top of
concerns. (Global Village Space, April 21, 2021)
Understanding Climate change and democracy
Mass involvement in policymaking over any issue
works only when the masses constitute an informed
citizenry. Climate change is no exception. A huge
portion of the global population doesn’t know much
about climate change and how its lives and
livelihoods are impacted by it, much less what policy
and lifestyle changes are needed to tackle this threat.
And the saddest part is: they don’t know that they
don’t know this. President Biden has re-entered the
Paris Climate agreement after four years of Trump’s
climate denialism. But the world is not convinced
with America’s rejuvenated urge to watch its carbon
emissions. Not because it was said on a screen but
because the world is not in the mood to take lectures
about climate morality from a country with a
chequered history with clean energy and carbon
emissions. China has been bashed regularly for being
the largest carbon emitter. However, China has made
a hugely ambitious pledge of becoming “carbon
neutral” by 2060. All this effort is being done to
prevent the Earth from heating above 1.5 degrees
Celsius from pre-industrial level. Biden’s efforts to
re-enter the world of science and environmental care
are taken with a grain of salt. And, for good reason.
This is not the first time America is re-entering such a
collective effort, but rather the second. Biden, as
vice-president, watched in awe as his boss president
Obama turned America back toward joining climate
talks after his predecessor George W Bush had
rejected the Kyoto Protocol climate treaty of 1997.
In 2015, president Obama had assured the world
that his climate policies would be immune to change
by a Republican White House. Soon the world
witnessed president Trump yanking America out of
any climate talks in a manner more tailored to earn
viewership, turning Obama’s assurance about his
climate policy defying death by the Republicans into
a bad joke globally. The strict lockdown imposed in
 Wuhan to control the virus spread and the public
misunderstanding about climate change in America
drive home further the simple yet unpopular fact that
democratic societies full of misinformed citizenry are
a threat to survival. The US has been oscillating like
a pendulum between climate acceptance and
denialism. The Republican leadership likes to equate
the loss of fossil fuel exploitation with job losses and
the tearing down of American economy and society.
They are backed up by those heavily invested in oil
drilling and fossil fuel burning. To keep the oil and
greenbacks flowing, a very sophisticated propaganda
campaign has been in place for decades in the service
of denying climate science. The Green New Deal has
clearly outlined a remarkable plan for transitioning
from fossil fuel to clean energy, without affecting job
growth or sending tremors across the wider economy.
However, every effort is being made by the fossil
fuel industry, which is very powerful, to question the
efficacy of the plan. Lo and behold, the masses march
in lockstep with the propaganda narrative.
Democracy in America was eroded heavily for
the sake of self defence especially after 9/11. Civil
liberties were violated. Americans have been heavily
lied to. There has been no privacy in any form of
communication. The massive dragnet of
communication and data collection would make
Stalin and Hitler fringe. Edward Snowden showed us.
That was no stuff of conspiracy theory. It is quite real
and I have no doubt, it still happens. If the cherished
democracy was traded for safety, why can’t there be
a déjà vu all over again? Only this time against a
much larger and severe threat. Climate change
shames terrorism and any other threat humanity has
faced. Climate change is coming for all of us. It will
spare nobody. The rich may buy some extra time.
They will go down too. Let’s make defence greater
than democracy again. (Published in The Express
Tribune, April 25th, 2021).
Pakistan, RCEP and an integrating Asia
Only a few years ago when CPEC was launched, it
was hoped that it would usher in a new era of
industrial cooperation between Pakistan and China.
The special economic zones (SEZs) would provide
the well-needed state-of-the-art industrial
infrastructure, with world-class regulatory
environment, hosting industries from China and
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beyond, promising technology transfer and industrial
upgradation. The second phase of China-Pakistan
Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA-II) was supposed to
provide the much-needed preferential access for
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Pakistan to the world’s largest consumer market. And
the more ambitious of us thought that it would be
Pakistan’s gateway to global value chains, finally
redefining the country’s industrial capabilities. Six
years after CPEC launch, however, these dreams
remain unrealised. Although at least three SEZs are
under development and CPFTA-II has been signed,
we still have to witness large-scale relocation of
industries from China. This lack of progress can be
attributed to our snail-paced bureaucracy, the
pandemic, Pakistan’s own economic crisis and recent
changes in our foreign policy. But while Pakistan is
reconfiguring its approach towards CPEC, the world
has not been standing still.
On November 15, 2020, 15 countries — 10 ASEAN
members as well as Japan, New Zealand, Australia,
South Korea and China — signed the Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
agreement. RCEP encompasses 29% of world’s GDP,
27% of global trade and one-third of world
population. This mega-regional partnership is
expected to bring East Asia together in terms of trade
and economic cooperation like never before. In
particular, the unified rule of origin under RCEP
would mean that products manufactured as per the
RCEP-originating criteria will be able to move freely
within the bloc, with only a single certificate of origin,
significantly reducing time, complications and costs
of managing regional value chains (RVC). This will
make these countries more integrated and competitive,
in turn attracting more investment. But as East Asia
will reap the benefits of this deep trade integration,
what will be its implications for Pakistan?
With RCEP countries becoming more
competitive, Pakistan’s relative market access to
these countries, especially China, could suffer,
leading to loss of exports to regional competitors.
Considering that almost one-sixth of our exports are
destined for RCEP countries, such erosion could be
significant. Moreover, as RCEP members become
more attractive for investment on the back of
improved competitiveness, Pakistan will become
relatively less attractive for FDI. Pakistan’s FDI
inflows have been declining after CPEC
infrastructure investments have dried up and this
could take a further toll over the next few years. Most
importantly, in the longer run, as the world is
organising itself into new trade blocs, Pakistan could
be isolated and lose out on the longer-term benefits of
trade integration. But with new challenges also come
new opportunities. The RVC under RCEP will still
have opportunities for other countries to plug in. The
 threshold for regional value content under RCEP is
40%, which means that there would be space to have
60% content from elsewhere and still qualify for
duty-free treatment within the bloc, which could
provide a gateway for Pakistan to plug into these
strengthened RVC. Furthermore, RCEP will be open
for accession by any country and will therefore
provide an opportunity to Pakistan to join, especially
with China’s support. If Pakistan chooses to join
RCEP, it could be a new start for the country towards
embracing trade integration and putting an end to
inward looking protectionist policies. But in order to
benefit from RCEP, first we have to become more
competitive, which is easier said than done.
RCEP offers both a glass half full and a glass
half empty for Pakistan. It depends on us how we
choose to look at it. But closing our eyes to these
transformational changes around us are no more an
option. (The Express Tribune, April 27, 2021).
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