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Pakistan has had a turbulent and chaotic history and is at the centre of global concerns about democracy, terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism, Human rights violation and nuclear proliferation. The combination of political instability, deep-seated economic and social problems, and access to nuclear weapons has made it one of the most sensitive countries in the world. The country has been under military rule for nearly half of its existence. No elected government ever completed its term in office. The epithet military dictator Gen. Zia's Islamisation campaign are still being felt today. The militant groups remain well-organised, well-armed and well- financed. In this account YPSDDPakistan has taken up the challenges to fight for Pakistan's stability. The YPSDDPakistan is dedicated to bring attention of the International community to the following issues
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Democracy
Democracy has few supporters in Pakistan. The army has been in power for nearly half of the country's existence and it is common place for senior officers to complain wistfully that the politicians are too incompetent and too corrupt to govern. The feudal landlords, the bureaucrats, the intelligence agencies and the judiciary all shown a reluctance to accept, never mind promote, the rule of law. The civil service, the judiciary, the politicians, the army and Pakistan's many intelligence agencies have all played their part in undermining Pakistani democracy. The feudal are routinely denounced as pretentious, self interested, unprincipled, reactionary hypocrites, with degrees from privileged Western universities have seen to it that their near monopoly of national politics and economy remains unchallenged. In lieu of political support to a regime, whether the military or quasi-democratic, feudalists exact favours through ministerial positions, loans and property allocation. The feudal constitute a huge obstacle to social and democratic problems.
Women's Right
Women rights violation in various forms continues to show a rising graph. Not only has the incidence of so-called honour killings under the cover of custom increased, the evil practice of karo kari has found new defenders among the rulers. YPSDDPakistan condemns such retrogressive attempts, in particular the statement of a Sindh minister, who has clearly betrayed his contempt for justice and the human rights of women. Notice must also be taken of attempts being made by conservative religious factions to use their official authority to enlarge the deprivation of women and further curtail their freedom. These efforts, if allowed to succeed, will not only perpetuate women's suffering but will also harm the vital interests of the entire Pakistan society. YPSDDPakistan therefore calls upon the state authorities to pay immediate heed to women's right to freedom from the oppressive Hudood ordinances and other forms of discrimination in law and in social practice, and calls upon all elements of the civil society to redouble their efforts to secure fullest possible respect for the human rights of women, especially their freedom of choice in personal life, and their right to social and economic independence.
Religious Fundamentalism
Religious fundamentalism has become a powerful and dangerous force in Pakistan, due mainly to the opportunism of successive political leadership that has pandered to it. Militant sectarian religious groups and parties, led by half-educated and bigoted mullahs, many of them armed to the teeth, are holding our civil society and the state to ransom. They threaten the very fabric of Pakistan society.
Threats of disruption from religious parties have escalated in recent decades. They have steadily grown in strength since the time of General Zia. They now claim that they are the true custodians of Pakistan and that it was they, the mullahs, who had fought successfully for Pakistan, to establish a theocratic state for Muslims.
The efforts launched in some parts of the country to enforce what is described as shariah are causing increasing anxiety. This drift will extend the area of abuse of belief, undermine the message of Islam, and cause further distortions in official policies and conduct to the disadvantage of the people, especially the under-privileged. While YPSDDPakistan upholds the right of all people to freely practise their belief it reiterates its view that religion should be treated as a citizen's personal matter and should have nothing to do with the business of the state
Human Rights
In Pakistan the Human Rights record is very poor Citizens continued to be denied the right to change their national and provincial governments peacefully. Police commit numerous extra judicial killings. Police abuse and rape citizens. While the officers responsible for such abuses has never been convicted and very few have been arrested. Police commit serious abuses with impunity and arbitrarily arrests and detain citizens. Prison conditions is extremely poor and life threatening. Case backlogs led to long delays in trials, and lengthy pre-trial detention is common. The judiciary is subject to executive and other outside influences, and corruption, inefficiency. The Constitution and the Penal Code expressly forbid torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; however, police regularly torture, beat, and otherwise abuse persons. Police routinely use force to elicit confessions. The Government most of the times use preventive detention, mass arrests, and excessive force to quell protests or civil unrest and to prevent political meetings. On a number of occasions, police arrested persons prior to demonstrations under the Criminal Procedures Code ban (see Section 2.b.). These arrests were carried out under Section 16 of the Maintenance of Public Order Act, which prohibits speech that "causes or is likely to cause alarm to the public.
Violation of religious Minorities Rights
The minorities in Pakistan are caught up in a grave situation, with gory incidents occurring. A wild wave of sectarianism has engulfed the society, which has resulted in unethical sentiments of religious prejudices. The armed religious extremists are playing havoc in the society. A situation of religious intolerance has spread suffocation in our lives. The doors of dialogue are being closed. Religious fundamentalism has grown beyond proportions. Muslim clerics are demanding complete imposition of Islamic Shariah in Pakistan, making it applicable also to the non-Muslim citizens. The minorities in Pakistan have already suffered seriously on account of sectarian legislation which has thrown non-Muslim citizens out of the mainstream of national life. They are no more part of the mainstream activities of the state and are being discriminated against in all fields of life. The claim of the minorities as equal and respectable citizens is at stake. The life and property of people in minority community is no longer safe. A sense of insecurity is growing fast among the minorities.
Discrimination in employment reportedly is common. Christians in particular have difficulty finding jobs other than menial labour. Christians are over represented in the country's most oppressed social group--that of bonded labourers. Like other religious minorities many Christians complain about the difficulty that their children face in gaining admission to government schools and colleges, a problem they attribute to discrimination. Many Christians continue to express fear of forced marriages between Muslim men and Christian women
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Army/ Military Dictatorship
It is often said that Pakistan has been ruled by the military for nearly half of country's existence. That is a serious underestimate: even in times of civilian rule, the military has interfered in foreign and domestic policy and intervened in the political process. During the first decade, the politicians and senior military officers did not have a particularly adversarial relationship and there was a sense in which both groups believed they were working together to get Pakistan established. The military believe that they have right to involve in the country's governance and made all civilian leaders nervous that they, could be thrown out of office. The army do not tolerate civilian interference in weapons procurement and related foreign policy issues, internal military personnel decisions, cuts in defence expenditure and any move to curtail the perks associated with high military office. The army has militarised all institutions of the Pakistan and are the major player in the Pakistani economy. Taken together, the military's enterprises account for nearly 3 percent of Pakistan's gross national product. The military has five major business groups. The biggest- in fact it is the biggest conglomerate in country- is the Fauji (Military) Foundation. Law enforcement agencies remain deployed at various educational colleges in Nawabshah, Karachi and other parts of Sindh. The agencies have also seized control of college hostels and other institutions in the civilian sector under various pretexts. This increased control by paramilitary forces over all aspects of life, and the handing over of various tasks previously performed by civilian bodies to Rangers is alarming. This YPSDDPakistan concern over the increased militarization of society, and demands that this be brought to an immediate end.
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Non-Proliferation of Nuclear weapons & Peace in the region
There are good reasons for believing that a nuclear South Asia poses new, genuine threats that did not exist during the cold war. India and Pakistan has disputed border, a history of armed conflict, and no early warning systems. The false, intelligence or at worst, deliberate misinformation have already been fed into the decision making process at a time of nuclear crises. The clearest possible warnings of the risk of an accidental nuclear detonations has come from the Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q.Khan: ' there is a real danger of nuclear war by accident due to technical failure or malfunctioning, or due to accidental detonation or launching of a nuclear weapon. Nuclear war can also be started by unauthorised action , human error or sheer madness. There is moreover, a great danger of a person or a group of persons responsible for launching nuclear weapons going insane and deciding to launch a nuclear attack on the enemy, eliciting immediate retaliation and a real holocaust' In South Asia the risks are greater, Pakistan's nuclear decision makers might have just three minutes to respond to an incoming attack. The time scale puts pressure on India and Pakistan to have operationally capable weapons ready to fire all times. The extent to which this has already taken place is unclear. YPSDDPakistan expresses serious concern at the persisting tension and confrontation between India and Pakistan and the grist this situation is providing to the mills of intolerance and violence in the name of belief and creed. The need for a fullfledged campaign for peace and amity in South Asia is much greater than ever. While the governments of both countries share blame for disregarding the rights and interests of the huge South Asian population and an appeal for a return to sanity can be addressed to both of them, YPSDDPakistan deems it necessary to call upon Islamabad to avoid the dangerous arms race and any action that aggravates tension with the neighbouring state. It would be an appropriate recognition of the Pakistani people's aspiration for peace and progress if the government initiated steps on its own to normalise relations with India and contributed to resumption of civil societies' contacts that have been severed by the disruption of travel links
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