November, 2007

The Asia Society co-sponsored a discussion with the Council on Foreign Relations titled "Pakistan Today: The Musharraf Government Makes Its Case." It took place this morning in NY at the Asia Society and Museum building, and featured a live audience as well as including questions presented by internet listeners.

The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) addresses international governance challenges by supporting research, forming networks, shaping dialogue, and building capacity in the international community.

In a CIGI press release, they describe how

"Thirty distinguished civil society representatives, international officials, former diplomats and generals, academics and journalists from Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Algeria, as well as Canada and the U.S. and the UN, met in Istanbul recently to consider how to raise public consciousness and press decision-makers to protect civilians caught in conflict. The Bosphorus Consensus is their answer."

As we hope you know, in late October we put on a conference--Overcoming Extremism: Protecting Civilians from Terrorist Violence (videos of the conference available on the conference site), focusing on a way to develop a shared international agenda for protecting civilians from terrorist violence.

The Open Society Institute's Middle East/North Africa Initiative invites you to:

WE ARE NOT FREE:

The Future of the Media in Pakistan

The independent Pakistani media have played a key role in reporting and resisting the ongoing crackdown against civil society in Pakistan—and in so doing, have become targets of the crackdown themselves. With key journalists gagged, others beaten and arrested, independent broadcasters banned from the airwaves, and censorship under the guise of a new “code of conduct”, press freedom is under attack. The Open Society Institute presents Kiran Khalid’s new documentary short on media freedom in Pakistan, updated with new interviews since the imposition of martial law on November 3rd. The screening (15 minutes) will be followed by a panel discussion on press freedom and the current crisis in Pakistan.

Featuring

KIRAN KHALID

SAMI ABRAHIM

BOB DIETZ

AHMED RASHID
(by videoconference from Washington, DC)

and

TALAT HUSSAIN
(by phone from Pakistan, to be confirmed)
WEDNESDAY
DECEMBER 5TH
6:00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M.

The Guardian provides an interactive video on the Annapolis peace conference with its Middle East Editor, Ian Black, looking at the issues, key players, and chances of success.

A debate emerges in our BLOG OF THE WEEK, Pakistaniat, on whether Nawaz Sharif's return signifies a deal between the former prime minister and Musharraf OR if it was pressure from Saudi Arabia's King Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, whom Musharraf just recently visited.

The Wallsteet Journal featured a great article by Jay Solomon and Peter Wonacott in its front page on November 23rd. Stats from our "Perilous Course" report are used to validate the authors' claims that

Sources reveal Musharraf is set to step down from his army chief position on Wednesday, becoming a civlian president on Thursday.

Come join us on Tuesday, December 4, for a screening of Meeting Resistance, a study of the Iraqi insurgency/resistance and an exploration into the mentality of occupation.

We are glad to find our Overcoming Extremism conference has continued to generate interest and momentum all over the world, particularly in launching lasting discussions about topics we raised--such as this piece on our Emergency Rule on the Downward Spiral?

According to all the major news sources, thousands of opposition activists detained under emergency rule in Pakistan were freed yesterday.

The Insider Brief, a Pakistan focused blog, edited by Shaan Akbar, wins PCR's BLOG OF THE WEEK!

Creative Associates is hosting Senior Advisor James "Spike" Stephenson to talk about his book "Losing the Golden Hour: An Insider's View of Iraq Reconstruction. The event will be:

Wednesday, November 28
4:00pm-6:00pm
Creative Associates Internationa, Inc.
5301 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20015
rsvp to: rsvp@caii.com

But welcome anything that looks like good news for the Iraqi people.

In this Sunday’s Boston Globe, Susan Banki and Hassan Abbas examine the parallels of political upheaval and military rule in Pakistan and Burma.

Fascinating - had no idea this Guam option existed in the past. As Packer asks, why not now?

And now for the aforementioned latest in the PCR Special Briefings series - Fixing Iraq's Internal Security Forces.

In case you've been looking for a new Pakistan reference to help you understand everything going down in the country during the past days, we wanted to direct you to - The Insider Brief at www.pakintel.com - which provides critical intelligence, analysis and commentary on Pakistan through the lens of an insider.

Yesterday, Senator Biden shared his ideas for reforming U.S. assistance to Pakistan. The plan has four key parts:

Since Musharraf declared martial law, data and recommendations from our report on U.S. aid to Pakistan have repeatedly popped up in the media. Most notably in today's TPM, Muckraker's article by Spencer Ackerman, focusing on the lack of accountability of U.S. funds to Pakistan, err, Musharraf.

Amidst the controversial Musharraf/Pakistan crises, PCR Co-Director Rick Barton provides an inside analysis of U.S. relations with the troubled state and how to move forward.

Big events in Pakistan this weekend as President Musharraf declared martial law, detaining opposition leaders, blacking out domestic and international tv news sources, and replacing multiple supreme court justices. This story is evolving quickly, with particular attention focused on the U.S. response - especially regarding the some $150 million per month in U.S. aid that Pakistan receives.

THE PCR PROJECT And THE MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE

Invite you to an authors’ briefing with 

Adrian Levy and Catherine Scott-Clark

DECEPTION: PAKISTAN, THE UNITED STATES, AND THE SECRET TRADE IN NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Friday, November 9th 2007
10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Center for Strategic and International Studies
B1C Conference Room
1800 K Street, NW

DECEPTION chronicles the last 30 years in the relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan, and particularly the circumstances under which Pakistan both developed a nuclear weapon and then sold the technology for it to Iran, North Korea, Libya, and others—with the full knowledge of the U.S. government.  It is a dramatic story of deception on all sides, not least by four successive U.S. presidents who have proclaimed Pakistan to the American people as our staunch ally, while it has, in fact, been just the opposite.  Indeed, the authors—who have built this story over a decade of reporting—make a compelling case that Pakistan is the greatest obstacle to U.S. and world security.