When talking about terrorism, it is witnessed in almost every society throughout the human history. It is said that that its roots lie in the French Revolution but, terrorism can be sketched in the earlier times as well. Looking into the definitions of “terrorism”, we cannot find a single idea or explanation which defines it. Taking the most reliable definitions in consideration, FBI defines terrorism as the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a Government or civilian population in furtherance of political or social objectives. In addition, US code defines it as premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups. This simply draws an idea that terrorism is use of violence against individuals or governments to intimidate them. By the definitions it’s clear that such sought of activities are labelled as “terrorist activities” but only some of the acts occuring around the world fall under “terrorism”.

The superpowers or the dominant powers take the authority to label certain acts as terrorism and not the others. Why there exists such a divergence when considering terrorism? From the above definition it is clearly evident that any sort of religion or group is not associated with terrorism, then why only specific groups or religion is targeted when terrorism is considered in the world system. Why when same acts of terrorism is carried out by a specific group or a state is not recognized as terrorism and they are called as freedom fighters but when these very acts are carried out by a different group or state they are labelled as terrorist activities under terrorism. From where does this distinction emerge? The very reason of religion underlines this distinction.

During the Iraq war, many of the civilian population were killed and different forms of violence were used, but still this act will not be labelled as terrorism. Here is the distinction that the term terrorism is not associated with the western world, but most importantly associated with the Arabs and the Muslims. Majority of the world if asked to define terrorism through a portrait they will through one way or the other portray it through the Islamic World. Even our very own Pakistan is seen as a terrorist country by many around the globe after the 9/11 attacks. It is seen as a hot bed of terrorism or a nursery of terrorism and it is even said that there are school based terrorist ideas in Pakistan.

In addition to this, the terrorism word is so associated with the Muslims and the Arab world that even on the airports these individuals have to go through a strict security check. Even many of the movies are giving this distorted idea against the Arab World labelling them as terrorists. So, the basic idea is that Terrorism is usually associated with a specific religion and under these other acts of terrorism are simply forsaken. Association of Terrorism with religion and particularly with Islam is not justified as none of the religion in this society give teachings to practice terrorism to safeguard rights and it would not be wrong to say that Terrorism has no religion which means that its not an act supported by any faith or moral teachings.

Terrorism is seen as an ideological and political concept to achieve political, religious and ideological objectives by state or non-state actors. There main aims can be revolution, national liberations, revenge etc. Terrorism usually occurs due to threat to one’s identities or when that particular group wants their identity to dominate over others. Number of terrorist activities were influenced by warfare between races, struggles between the rich and poor or battles between political outcasts and elites. Terrorists usually justify their bloody actions under the basis of social, economic and political unfairness. In addition, they take inspiration from religious beliefs or spiritual norms which inspires them to walk towards the road of Terrorism.
Many of the states also exploit terrorism in other states to guard their own national interest. For example, Iran is known for supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon against Israel. Also, United States sided with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt against the communist government of Gamal Abdel Nasser and also the mujahedeen in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union.

CASE STUDY
United States, War On Terror And Its Global Hegemony:

The United States after defeating Soviet Union in the cold war, continued to fight against terrorism as its rival. This rivalry is targeted towards the global terrorism. United States is utilizing Terrorism as a threat to specially develop their military might. They are of the view that they face a threat from the civilizations especially the Islamic Civilization so to overcome it, they want to develop their military might. So, in this war against terrorism, United States is actually doing threat manufacturing. In addition, United States is using this war on Terrorism as a justification to intervene in different states for example its intervention in Afghanistan, Iran and Syria. Through these activities, United States is trying to maintain its global hegemony all over the international world. Seeing through the lens of offensive realism, United States is at a constant war with terrorism around the globe, being a superpower, it easily exercises its power over other states and Intervene in case of acts of terrorism. On international stage, all states pledge to stand against and defeat terrorism but in reality, use it against other states. Once the President of United States said that it can use its military might if United States has to pursue its interests in the Middle East region.

According to Constructivism, it is said that anarchy is what we make of it. What we perceive we label it as such. For example, for some states an act of violence of a state is considered a threat while by others, it is not considered a threat. This is what United States did in their war against terrorism. After the 9/11 attack, they stood against the terrorist group of Al-Qaeda and declared it as Terrorist. But on the other side of the story, United States also supports Israel and provide them with weapons and considers Israel as an American ally, here it is seen that Israel is not considered as terrorist who commit terrorism against Palestine. This shows that United States have constructed this concept of terrorism under which they have forsaken Israel and this is due to America’s own national interests in the Middle East and they also want to contain Iran. The oft-quoted statement that ‘One person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter’ reminds us that the definition of terrorism is based on how it is being constructed by an individual or state. Therefore, United States see Israel as their ally, rather than a terrorist.

Conclusion:

Terrorism is considered as among the biggest threat faced by the international world. Most of the terrorist acts are associated with religion and this is done by the major powers of the world. Terrorism needs to be identified clearly and then steps should be taken by the world community collectively to contain this act of violence rather than targeting a specific group. Keeping aside the national interests, States needs to drive their efforts to counter such acts

In the modern world, the term ‘security’ lacks a single definition that covers all of its domains. The emergence of terrorism and proxy warfare has diversified the concept of security. According to Baldwin, states are currently focused both on traditional military threats and non-traditional security threats like climate change, human rights, poverty etc. Pakistan’s case is no different, it is suffering from both traditional and non-traditional security threats.
Traditional security threats stem from military and doctrinal intent of the opposing state to initiate war, invasion or attack. In return, it gives birth to security dilemmas as a result both states find themselves in drastic armed conflicts. Pakistan has always felt threatened because of its arch-rival India. India, an immediate neighbour of Pakistan, never had harmonious relations with Pakistan. In the past seventy years both countries had fought three all-out-war and many armed skirmishes and military standoffs. The main focus of all the conflict between these two nations is Kashmir.

The worst thing for Pakistan is that it is relatively weaker in strength as compared to India. India is the world’s second most populous state and 4.1 times bigger than Pakistan in area. In addition, it has about five times the total defense budget of Pakistan and has a greater number of conventional military forces and weapons. This asymmetry including the growing economy of India that is putting a lot of pressure on Pakistan in terms of rivalry and threat perception. Thus, it is natural that there would no competition in the realm of economy of technology where India enjoys a numerical superiority (something it also enjoys in the military realm). Therefore, Pakistan has built up its own military architecture which also characterizes nuclear deterrence in pursuit to balance Indian numerical and firepower advantage.
For obvious reasons, Pakistan is increasing concern regarding India’s necklace of diamond strategy and considers it as a direct threat for Pakistan. Therefore, a maintenance of significant naval presence is necessary for Pakistan to keep her sea lanes open and defend her interests in the Indian Ocean region.

Pakistan, being a developing state, is vulnerable to cyber-attacks as it is not technologically advanced and its resources are being invested in other traditional threats. Thus, Pakistan has to safeguard herself against the emerging challenges. Recent statements from Chief of Army Staff General Qamer Javed Bajwa, about underscoring the importance of hybrid warfare are a manifestation of the fact that Pakistan has to brace itself for the new modes of threats.
India is also venturing into the space warfare domain. It has established her Defense Space Agency in 2019 & became only the fourth country in the world to shot down a satellite during her Mission Shakti. Pakistan is feeling concerned regarding India’s active involvement in the space domain, thus, it is cooperating with China actively to cement its plane in the newest battlefield.

Apart from India, Pakistan is also concerned regarding the security of Gwadar port. The port is touted as a game-changer for Pakistan’s future. But there exist countries who doesn’t want Gwadar port to become a successful venture for both China and Pakistan therefore, Gwadar Port is at risk of multiple security threats.
Pakistan, for quite some time has also been facing a host of non-traditional security challenges that have seriously impacted its development, growth, economic progress, as well as political stability.

The maritime security is currently one of the most important agendas on the table of Pakistani government mainly because the maritime security threats pose danger to Pakistan’s sea vessels and ports which in turn can lead to an economic breakdown and intensify sea conflicts. The current maritime security challenges of Pakistan include non-traditional security threats such as maritime terrorism, piracy, human trafficking, drug smuggling, trafficking of weapons, illegal fishing, threat of tsunamis and maritime pollution.

Water crisis is also considered as the non-traditional threat to Pakistan. Pakistan is among 23 countries which are facing drought emergencies over the past two years (2020-2022), according to the ‘Global Land Outlook’ report released by the United Nations. This report also predicted that Pakistan will face a drought by 2025. According to a report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), an estimated 70 percent of households in Pakistan drink bacterially contaminated water while 85% of people in Balochistan have no access to clean water. The worst part is that the Water Shortage is leading to many health issues including water-borne disease, heatstroke, and kidney issues among the residents of the country.

Pakistan is particularly vulnerable to climate change as its socio-economic fabric is largely agrarian, which makes it highly climate-sensitive. Pakistan can mitigate the adverse effects of natural disasters through early warning systems, technological advances in building and infrastructure construction, improved sanitation systems, increased disaster preparedness and having an effective emergency response strategy.

Another threat which Pakistan encounters is of population explosion. Pakistan hosts a huge population of over 22 crores with highest urbanization rate in the South Asian region. The population explosion is the root cause of issues such as food crises, water crises, lack of available space for housing, infrastructure, agriculture land and forests, and resources.

Moreover, smuggling and trafficking are the major non-traditional security challenges for Pakistan. These includes human trafficking, trafficking of weapons, trafficking of drugs from Afghanistan, smuggling of goods, and even plenty of oil is being smuggled from Iran into Pakistan. We saw that a lot of dollars were smuggled from Pakistan to Afghanistan after US’ withdrawal, depreciating the value of rupee in Pakistan. In this way, money laundering has spoiled the economy of the country to a greater extent.

Anyone having remote knowledge of Pakistan has an idea that Pakistan is one of the most affected states by terrorism in the world. Terrorism, another security threat, has not only challenged Pakistan’s security but also its sovereignty and survival. In addition, Pakistan’s tourism industry and international image severely depleted because of terrorism. It is reported that Pakistan lost more than 80,000 lives in War on Terror with economic losses of more than US$ 200 billion.

Diseases also serve as a threat to Pakistan. It is safe to say that Pakistan fought well against COVID-19 pandemic but that does not mean Pakistan has not suffered. The economy of Pakistan went through severe hardships in this period.
Food security hasn’t been an issue for Pakistan for most of its history due to its agricultural basis. However, it is expected that medium-term food security challenges are going to be a big challenge if instant attention is not paid in order to manage resources related to agriculture such as natural resources. The heatwaves in Pakistan along with the water crises is severely impacting agriculture in Pakistan.

There is an abundance of both traditional and non-traditional issues that Pakistan is facing currently. While the Armed Forces of Pakistan have valiantly defended territorial integrity and sovereignty successfully over time, non-traditional security challenges are fast emerging as serious concerns to its overall security in the medium- to long term. The political elites have to take iron-clad measures immediately to avoid further damage. Pakistan could also look to gain the support of both regional and non-regional actors of the world. One thing that every Pakistani has to keep in mind, “by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

Gender discrimination is somehow part of every society. Women face inequality in terms of basic social or political rights in many parts of the countries around the globe. Crime against women was committed during war and peace times in the early centuries as they were the vulnerable targets, but then, a sense of realization was witnessed in the masses all around the world which eventually led to the formation of International laws for women rights and the prohibition against all kind of violence against women to protect women and provide them with a secure environment to reside in.
Pakistan’s constitution has rights of women mentioned in it but the society does not fail to oppress women rights. Deprivation of women rights also has cultural root causes. An example of this is that Pakistan gives women the right to vote but in some rural areas women do not vote. Other than that, crimes against women like rape and sexual harassment have also arisen in Pakistan. This means that there is a lack of security and the failure of the government to provide protection to the women. According to a 2020 report cited by Geo News, at least 11 rape incidents are reported in Pakistan every day, with over 22,000 cases filed across the country. This is one of the major reasons for which protests and women rights ca be considered as justified.

Seeking women rights is not a new idea in Pakistan rather there have had been many movements and activism for women rights made in the history.
Women March has been a very prominent movement in Pakistan demanding women rights. It was initiated on the basis of Pakistani women facing types of social ills and the systematic deprivation of basic rights which includes early childhood marriages, sexual harassment at home, markets, workplaces, public transport or everywhere, and lack of safe access to public spaces, to end domestic violence. The movement also aimed at achieving freedom and the right of choice and equality. Women also face abuse for revenge like acid attacks, and honour killings without being addressed which are regularly silenced by society and frequently overlooked by the state. This movement has also been criticized due to certain reasons. The movement was very much based on liberal feminism. Some slogans and placards showed the idea of liberalism in it and this became the reason for criticism of this movement. Liberalism was not the problem but the main problem was that the march lost its main idea of demanding basic women rights, in fact, the banners and the placards portray hatred against men though the idea of feminism is not to hate men but rather seek equal rights. Since Pakistan is an Islamic republic so the western ideas of feminism would not fit in.

On the other hand, another movement began adjacent to this Aurat March which was initiated by the political party of Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islaami named as Haqooq e Niswaan. They had decent slogans and placards. Haqooq-e-Niswaan movement demanded women rights keeping in view the rights of women in Islam but was not given enough coverage.
The rights of women can be achieved through peaceful means by sticking to the main purpose of the movement and not inculcating liberal views in their motives. The idea of demanding basic human rights should be the primary motive while keeping in view that the idea of feminism is not to hate men but rather to seek equal rights. When the slogans in movements are being made, they should be made by keeping in mind the status of your society and should be clear enough that no one perceives it wrongly and it goes against the ideologies and principles of Islamic society.
Our Father of the nation, Quaid e Azam, also quoted many times in favour of women rights and one of his famous quote is:
“No nation can ever be worthy of its existence that cannot take its women along with the men. No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men.”

Pakistan on Thursday proposed the inclusion of new areas of cooperation in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, including disaster recovery, global development initiatives and boosting digital investment in the economy. Pakistan also proposed a 1+5 arrangement for special economic zones agreements between the geological survey institutes of the two countries, an agreement between the Geological Survey Intuitions of the two countries, and cooperation in developing Pakistan’s export potential. The minister highlighted three basic objectives in the 11th Joint Advisory Committee, which include the revival of CPEC, which has been revived since the government assumed office in April this year. The inclusion of new projects that will expand the CPEC portfolio and the third was business-to-business collaboration, which was previously government-to-government.

The Joint Advisory Committee also emphasized the importance of key projects for the development of energy and infrastructure; which are now operational and provide innumerable opportunities for socio-economic development in Pakistan. Similarly, another priority project, the Karachi Circular Railway, which will benefit a large section of the population of our largest city of Pakistan, Karachi, was discussed in detail. The two sides also agreed to start the ML-1 project, which was considered the backbone of CPEC and remained neglected in the past. It was agreed to include a new area of “Water Resources Management and Climate Change” which will be of great importance especially after the recent flood which badly affected Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan has also launched an initiative to include 10,000 MW of solar power in our system. The Pakistani government has asked China to create a financial window or line of credit for Chinese companies participating in the project. It was the 11th meeting of the Joint Cooperation Committee, a key decision-making forum on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Pakistan’s part of the $50 billion Belt and Road Initiative. It is the largest CPEC project in terms of cost and has been awaiting a final decision for the last five years. Pakistan has agreed to increase the cost of ML-1 from $6. 85 billion at the request of Chinese negotiators who called the earlier cost figure unrealistic,” an official insider of CPEC planning told Nikkei Asia on condition of anonymity. He was not authorized to speak to the media. The official further added that approval of the ML-1 JCC project would be a big boost for CPEC. A press release issued by the government after the JCC meeting stated that both parties agreed to start the ML-1 project. However, the final announcement on the ML-1 and other projects approved by the JCC will be made during Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Beijing in the first week of November.

Moreover, the JCC meeting could decide the fate of the 300-megawatt power plant at Gwadar – a port that is supposed to be a key Belt and Road hub. But the Pakistani government has an incentive to stay in China’s good books, given Sharif’s plan to visit China. According to media reports, Sharif is likely to seek $10 billion in financial assistance from China through balance of payments support and the rollover of Chinese loans, which account for 30% of Pakistan’s total foreign debt. But he said Beijing has already taken this into account while deciding on CPEC projects. “Beijing knows that the ML-1 project is also in Pakistan’s interest, and even if Khan reconstitutes a government, it cannot reverse that,” Dorsey said. It will not be wrong to say that it is a right time for this proposal. Pakistan is already facing an economic turmoil due to the floods and the recovery is all what needed. Its high time that Pakistan and China shall revive their development projects.

The branch of technology known as artificial intelligence (AI) is expanding quickly and has the potential to have substantial effects on national security. All facets of society are anticipated to change as a result of artificial intelligence (AI). National security may suffer if AI technology is not used and efficiently integrated. Since at least the Second World War, military technology has employed partially autonomous and intelligent systems, but latest events in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) mark a turning point in the application of automation in warfare. AI and national security maintains technical leadership, promotes positive commercial and non-military uses, and reduces catastrophic risks. Over the past five years, professionals working in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) have made notable technical advancements, far more quickly than was initially predicted. Machine learning advancements in the AI subfield are mainly responsible for this progress. The majority of specialists predict that this rapid improvement will continue and even accelerate. The majority of developments in AI research take place in business and academia. National security could benefit significantly from current AI capabilities.

High-end technological states are increasingly utilizing AI-based decision-making systems and AI-based military systems. The shift in the balance of power in this dynamic international environment would be influenced by the development of new technologies by states. The fourth industrial revolution is going to speed up the technological revolution, where AI and machine learning (ML) are now being incorporated into military systems. New ideas are required, as well as a precise definition of the threats and methods for addressing them. There is a need to create regulations that prevent the weaponization of human-dependent technology like cyber and AI, even though that may be difficult to do. Both benefits and drawbacks of AI exist for humanity. Artificial intelligence has changed dramatically over the past ten years, leading to its adoption by organizations, businesses and people for a range of purposes, from financial planning mass surveillance. While countries compete to use the most advanced technology military, police and intelligence applications, their potential implications when used in counterterrorism strategy has also been explored. Attention is also paid many moral and ethical issues that need to be resolved before the technology can be effective employed in the fight against terrorism and extremism. Special attention is paid to artificial intelligence as one of the most adaptable development technologies that has the ability to drastically increase production and efficiency of various aspects in various industries such as medicine, agriculture, policing and counter-terrorism. These organizations and movements often use strategies such as attacking civilian targets in an attempt to draw attention to weak security the government they are trying to overthrow. Use Technology using artificial intelligence to identify individuals at risk of radicalization online another example of how this is possible is communities to facilitate reporting and intervention can be used to fight terrorism online. Correct use artificial intelligence in the fight against terrorism can help prevent domestic terrorism also. There are many uses for artificial intelligence the potential to help prevent online terrorism. By classifying new records, extracting patterns, marking relevant information, developments or relationships and displaying results, Artificial intelligence can benefit law enforcement agencies when dealing with the vast amount of data collected. He can assist in finding, identifying patterns and relationships that might otherwise remain undetected significantly assist law enforcement and change the direction of the fight against the Internet terrorism, anti-terrorist organizations.

It seems obvious that unchecked AI research and development would have disastrous impacts on every aspect of human life. Similar to the introduction of AI-based weapon systems, new arms race in the states with advanced technology is expected to result. Additionally, the states would be developing their AI-based weaponry as a form of defense. This would result in the militarization of AI, which would limit the potential future benefits of AI. Likewise, AI will not revolutionize the battlefield, but it will not change the way we live either. Robots are currently replacing humans in industry, creating job insecurity. Likewise, killer robots would be a potential threat to humans. There is no legal instrument or treaty that can limit the development of killer robots by developed nations. Furthermore, AI applications are widely used for civilian purposes and it should be noted that AI should not be tainted with negativity. Artificial intelligence has a dual use, and its civilian use is immensely beneficial to humanity in general. However, its defensive applications are extremely dangerous. It is up to states to decide on the use of AI.

The Pentagon finally unveiled its anticipated 2022 National Defense Strategy (NDS) along with the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) and Missile Defense Review (MDR) on October 27, 2022. According to the Pentagon’s announced National Defense Strategy, China continues to pose the biggest threat to American national security interests while Russia continues to pose an “acute” threat as a result of the war in Ukraine. Currently, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the United States “most relevant strategic competitor for the future decades,” according to the National Defense Strategy. The NDS report is prepared every four years, to identify threats to the U.S. so that the Department of Defense has a long-term direction regarding the challenges. Four top-level defense priorities are made in the 2022 National Defense Strategy for the United States to pursue in order to improve deterrence including, deterring strategic attacks against the United States, Allies, and partners. Secondly, Washington will defend the homeland in view of growing multi-domain threat posed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Thirdly, deterring aggression while being ready to win out in conflict when necessary, prioritizing the PRC challenge in the Indo-Pacific region over the Russian challenge in Europe. Lastly, the U.S. will build a resilient Joint Force and defense ecosystem.

The NDS assessment came out two weeks after the White House published a National Security Strategy of a similar nature that also characterized China as “the only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it.” Beijing criticized the U.S. strategy for relations with China in response to the National Security Strategy released earlier, urging Washington to embrace “win-win collaboration.” It is being said that hard talk on China may result in a strong response from Beijing and will have practical repercussions. In past years, both the countries have adopted the policies to counter each other’s influence in the world politics. The relations between Beijing and Washington have deteriorated recently due to a number of causes of contention, such as trade disputes, Taiwan’s legal status, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and the US ongoing concerns against China’s expanding influence in the Indo-Pacific. Most recently, the export restrictions on Chinese tech firms by Washington, Beijing’s did not denounce Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, and military tensions in the Taiwan as a result of Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei are some other factors that have contributed in strained ties. The Biden administration views China as the “most consequential geopolitical challenge”. The power competition between the two super will define the international order in coming decade. Despite Russia’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict, China poses the biggest security threat to the U.S., how the United States will respond to the situation in the future will depend on the nature of threat.

On the other hand, in his first statement to the United States following the historic election of his third term as the leader of China, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that China is prepared to find the “right way” to cooperate with the U.S. and that he wants to see bilateral relations resume “sound and steady development.” In his statement, Xi expressed his hope that “the National Committee and all those who care about and support China-US relations will continue to play an active role and assist restore the bilateral relations back to the course of sound and steady growth.” According to Biden, both the nations have a crucial role to play in resolving the challenges of the twenty-first century. He said “These challenges know no boundaries and will require the broader international community to come together and for each of us to do our part in building a safe, peaceful and resilient future.” This statement coming from Biden is a good move that needs to be followed. Therefore, both the presidents of the United States and China should understand the significance of communication, improving relations and collaboration between the two nations which will allow coordination on shared challenges. Also, the two countries should consider the severity and seriousness of the Ukraine war and play their part in order to protect humanity and the world from nuclear collision. By doing so, the two countries will bring stability and decrease the current state of chaos in the world which has resulted in numerous fatalities, economic crisis, instability, and the disturbance of international peace.

The 13th edition of the annual Emissions Gap report was published by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) titled as “The Closing Window: Climate crisis calls for rapid transformation of societies” suggesting that present commitments made by the countries to curb the rise of the global temperature are “woefully inadequate”. On October 27, 2022, the UN Environment Program (UNEP) report revealed that the international community is still falling behind the Paris Agreement targets, as there is no credible roadmap to limit global warming to 1.5°C, the worsening climate impacts throughout the globe is urging the countries that efforts should be made in order to decline greenhouse gas emissions swiftly. It is highlighted in the report that enough progress has not been accomplished despite the decision by all nations to strengthen Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) at the 2021 climate summit in Glasgow, UK (COP26). In advance of the COP27 session, the next international climate summit in November will be held in Egypt. Prior to the summit, the UNEP issued its report which has given the statistics on how far the globe is from fulfilling its emissions targets. The Director of UNEP said in a statement “We are sliding from climate crisis to climate disaster. This report is sending us a very, very clear message. If we are serious about climate change, we need to kick start a system-wide transformation now. We need a root and branch redesign of the electricity sector, of the transport sector, of the building sector, and food systems.”

The greatest existential threat to our world is climate change. The effects of rising global temperatures will have catastrophic effects on all species living on planet Earth if the measures are not taken to restrict the greenhouse gas emissions caused by the combustion of fossil fuels. Due to the large increase in global temperature, changes in weather patterns have been noticed in the form of extreme weather events like droughts, hurricanes and floods which were not only more intense but also more unpredictable than ever before. This year has seen the worst extreme weather occurrences on record, a third of the country drowned due to massive floods in Pakistan, the warmest summer was witnessed in Europe in 500 years. The Philippines suffered greatly, Cuba went completely dark because of the disruptions caused by a hurricane. Hurricane Ian has brutally affected the United States, it is reminder for all the developed countries that the climate crisis affects everyone despite of the size of an economy. It is alarming that the United Nations has warned that the world is on the verge of a “climate catastrophe”, as the UNEP report showed how countries are far behind schedule in reducing global warming emissions. China is currently the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, producing about three times more than the United States, which is in second place, and more than four times as much as India and the European Union. Despite having the largest population and per capita greenhouse gas emissions that are around 40% bigger than those of Europe and four times larger than India, China’s emissions are still roughly a third lower than those of the United States. It is good to see that world leaders are talking about climate change and considering different options to deal with the issue in order to avoid the worst consequences.

The newly clinched deal between Lebanon and Israel has been applauded by the UN Security Council and the member states. In a press statement issued in a response to the agreement between Lebanon and Israel the members appreciated each side for ending the long running dispute of maritime boundary. The UN Security Council said “the deal is a major step, which would contribute to the stability, security, and prosperity of the region. The agreement will benefit both the countries and their people and will allow them to benefit equitably from energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean.” Meanwhile, the President of the United States, Joe Biden hailed the agreement and congratulated heads of Lebanon and Israel separately.

Swat Valley has supposedly prevented of the evil of terrorism. In the recent Swat’s incident, a day after an anonymous gunmen opened fire on a school van, causing the driver’s death and injuring two children, thousands of people gathered in Swat to call for protection from terrorists. Along with the body of the deceased driver, Hussain Ahmad, the protesters and the body spent the entire night outside in a square in the middle of the city. Only after the authorities made a pledge to arrest the criminals and provide the driver’s family with compensation did they disperse more than 40 hours after the accident. It is not the first time that local population stood up against the presence of militants in the area. They have been issuing messages and warnings to all parties for the past few months ever since Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan members first appeared in the mountainous area. Earlier this year, as law enforcement officials initiated an operation to apprehend the TTP militants, the militants detained a police officer and an army officer. The occurrences of terrorism and its aftereffects are nothing new to the people of Swat. Pakistan Army already launched one Operation Rah-e-Rast back in 2009 to counter terrorism. It was not an easy one and on the other hand it left two million residents displaced.

Looking at the recent incidents and current circumstances in Swat, it can be assessed that once gain there is a tendency of spread of terrorism in Swat. Although, it will be challenging for Tehrik-eTaliban Pakistan to resurface as the local population is well aware of their extremist ideology. In the previous wave of terrorism, local population provided safe homes to the terrorists and there was a religious factor involved but now people are well aware of what damaged they have caused them. People fear that not only there will be life loss but once again they will get displaced and homeless. The recent protest clearly shows that the people somehow are demanding the bottom up approach. Things shall be done on the grass root level and conflict prevention approach needs to be used. The concept “conflict prevention” refers to a range of peace building-related actions and tactics that are used to predict and then neutralize possible causes of protracted, violent conflict. Several moral, political, and economic imperatives have pushed this shift toward preventing violent conflict. It is obvious that the main moral evidence in favor of a prevention measure are the massive human suffering, social devastation, and deaths that frequently result from violent conflicts.

A wide range of peace building related initiatives and strategies are referred to together as “conflict prevention” with the goal of avoiding and then neutralizing possible catalysts for protracted, violent conflict. This is what Pakistan’s officials need to foresee and through this they can reach to the winning hearts and minds of the people approach. The locals have identified an early warning of terrorism and it is high time that the government should also start taking measures. Without a doubt, the TTP has already set up some kind of system in Swat. The TTP and members of Pakistan’s government and security forces have held multiple rounds of negotiations with the Afghan Taliban government in Kabul over the past few months. The Afghan Taliban presently have more essential internal issues to deal with than spending time acting as a mediator, despite the fact that these talks have little to offer for the desired outcome of a peace settlement. Pakistan’s rising concern over the Taliban leadership’ incapacity to relieve Islamabad’s fears about using Afghan soil against Pakistan. It looks like Pakistan is now putting strain on the Taliban regime, although it would be inappropriate to make any assessments until their actions are detected on this other side of the border. The worst part of the problem is that politics is being played even over the Swat issue between the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administration and the federal government led by the PML-N. TTP strongholds were located in Swat until 2009, when the militants were driven out and the local government was reinstated as a result of a significant military-led counterterrorism operation. The impoverished region has experienced development, the building of new schools, and educational improvements over the years. Institutions, athletic fields, and an increase in local tourism which has already affected by the unconventional security threat, floods but now it has to be kept safe from another unconventional threat of terrorism.

Blue economy or blue growth as a concept came from a book written by Gunter Pauli. It is a relatively new concept that internationally came to light in 2012. It refers to strategic and sustainable use of marine resources for the development of the economy and the well-being of human beings. It offers a green approach to meet the aspirations of mankind. Blue economy involves the integration of ocean economy development with the principles of social inclusion, environmental sustainability and innovative dynamic business models such as the creation of environment-friendly infrastructures in the oceans.
A sustainable blue economy is very important because the sectors involved in the oceans, coasts and maritime environment are so diverse that if one industry goes for it exploits it and makes a lot of money it can destroy other industries. Thus, it is very important that a balance is created and sustainable development is maintained because particularly environmental tourism and nature tourism which are very large areas of those industries at the moment and particularly the coastal regions can be threatened. So, investment is needed in sustainable solutions and quick gains must be discarded in the favor of long-term goals. We should make sure that we responsibly use our shared resources, for both our present and future generations.

SIGNIFICANCE OF BLUE ECONOMY

There are countless benefits that we gain from the oceans in our daily life but we do not realize it. Oceans contribute about 3-5% of global GDP. They are a vital source of our food, annually fishing industry alone generates $80 billion. Oceans two biggest economic benefits are trade and employment which have always led to the exploitation of oceans. According to an estimate of 2010, blue economy added $ 1.5 trillion to world GDP while it directly employed 31000,000 individuals. Whereas, in 2016 according to FAO estimate fisheries and aqua culture involved 59.6 million people. Hence it represents an immense employment sector around the world whether directly or indirectly even in Europe alone blue sector offers 3,362510 jobs in 9 different sectors. About 90% of world trade takes place through oceans. Blue economy drives socio-economic benefits for present and future generations. Major states realized the importance of blue economy and engaged in activities to realize this idea for instance World Bank has initiated a program with name ‘PROBLUE’ to explore the opportunities of blue economy and ways for renewable and sustainable development of this economy.

OPPORTUNITIES

Sea and inland waters give noteworthy advantages to humankind. But keeping in view the current environmental degradation, this crucial asset is being deteriorating quickly with overfishing, contamination from land-based sources and overconsumption. Consequently, harnessing the maximum capacity of the seas and inland waters require policies and programs that are ecologically, socially and economically sustainable. There is a wide accord that Blue Economy can satisfy the necessities of increasing global demand for resources. This has been emphasized by many international forums, for example, OECD, UNEP and FAO. Few of the opportunities that can open up new avenues in blue economy are Marine Aquaculture, Marine Transport, Offshore wind energy, Offshore oil, Bio prospecting and Marine Tourism.

SCOPE OF BLUE ECONOMY FOR PAKISTAN

Pakistan has marine area of 290,000 square km which makes up to 36.4% of the country’s territory. If the maritime area of Pakistan were a land piece, then it would be a little greater than Punjab province. This tells that Pakistan has blessed blue economic zone. The all-year functional seaport of Karachi and Port Qasim and world’s deepest port Gwadar with its strategic location add more to its significance. Despite all this, unfortunately, Pakistan suffers from what we call sea blindness. Some of the prospects for blue economy in Pakistan are discussed in the following paragraphs.
Pakistan’s multibillion-dollar CPEC project is being hailed as a watershed moment in the country’s blue growth. The CPEC is regarded as the jugular vein of China’s multitrillion-dollar BRI initiative. Moreover, Pakistan’s blue economy can greatly benefit from energy production from its seas and coast. One form of energy called tidal energy is gaining great interest. Utilizing this energy could be a renewable source of energy for its coastal cities of Gwadar, Karachi etc. Pakistan’s National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in 1988, identified 17 coastal creeks for tidal energy. Similarly, wind energy near coastal areas, especially Balochistan are plump with strong winds. A survey identified an 18 MW energy potential on 1 km of land near the coastal belt.
It is well known that 80% – 90% of the world’s trade passes through the oceans. In the case of Pakistan, estimates put it at an astounding 95%. The shipping industry of Pakistan makes only $183 million. Compared to our South Asian neighbors, India makes $5.6 billion and Bangladesh makes $6 billion. If Pakistan inducts more ships and bridges the gap, a vast potential is present to decrease cost of imports as well as employ more Pakistanis and earn more money into the exchequer.
Ports in Pakistan are plenty but the main two ones are Karachi and Gwadar. Most of Pakistan’s trade passes through Karachi, but development of Gwadar port under CPEC has been a game-changer. Gwadar lessens the distance from more than 10,000 km to 2000 km – 3000 km. Soon afterwards, the rest of Chinese trade will go through Gwadar and Pakistan can profit greatly from all the traffic and tax.
Moreover, according to reports, we earn $100 million from our ship-breaking yards meanwhile the potential stands at $3 billion. The main issue lies with our Gadiani ship-breaking yard. Its Pakistan’s main and major ship-breaking yard, however, it is plagued with accidents, fires and deaths every few months. Low wages, poor equipment, government negligence and bad conditions pave way for an inefficient and danger prone environment. The money should be diverting to Gadiani ship-breaking yard’s upgradation and infrastructure so that Pakistan can become a top ship-breaking nation.
Pakistan’s 990 km coastal belt with a 320 nautical mile ocean claim covering 290,000 square km has a variety and excess of fish and marine life present. The government needs to tap this industry as it will prove effective for exports and domestic sales as well.
When talking about marine tourism, Pakistan must take inspiration from countries like Maldives, Sri Lanka, Philippines to develop the God gifted beautiful beaches and islands. According to experts, the total potential stands at $5 Billion for Pakistan.

Conclusion:

The political elite in Pakistan must drive their focus towards blue economy and show strong commitment and seriousness to this sector. Pakistan must invest in both intellectual and physical resources as well as needs to take ironclad measures. Challenges in this path such as poor infrastructure, red tape inside the system, bureaucratic bottlenecks, regional instability, particularly a severe law and order situation in Balochistan, and a lack of cooperation between departments and ministries must all be addressed.

The outer space arena has become more integral to the earth than ever before. The number of space assets has increased massively in the last 50 years. This rapid increase in the importance of space has led to an increase in space-faring nations which are conducting military missions in space. They operate on the principle of National Space-power which is a totality of a nation’s use of space capabilities in pursuit of national prosperity and security. This gave rise to the pursuit of space superiority through which state can deny space domain freedom of action to its adversaries which is a crucial fuel behind increasing space warfare.
Space warfare is simply a combat that takes place in outer space. This concept has its roots in the Space Race of 20th Century competition between two Cold War adversaries. Both countries developed anti-satellite weaponry along with working on information technology as well as cyber warfare and cyber security.

United States:

The United States is the current leader in the world of global space affairs. While it wasn’t the first nation to use taxpayer money for the exploration of the “unknown frontier”, it used its jealousy and fear of the Soviet Union’s space ambitions to propel itself slowly but surely to the top of the pyramid of hierarchy in space. The United States and the Soviet Union competed in the “Space Race” from the 50s to the late 80s, a global battle of wits and money, the United States was able to win the space race because of its economic capabilities and solid technical base. The United States in the modern day uses its extensive space program to support both its civil and military interests. The United States is the major participant in the International Space Station and solely operates the Global Positioning System, originally developed to provide navigational data to the US military, both for the military and civilian users. But the United States does not see its position in space as certain. Its main vulnerability in space is from incoming ballistic missiles and cyber-attacks on its civilian and military satellite infrastructure. Thus, in the current era, the US feels threatened in space from China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.
United States has made agencies such as the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to protect itself and its allies from missile threats emerging from space. The Agency has been to date responsible for developing and maintaining programs for missile defense. The United States has developed new military satellites and is participating with its allies in the defense of space. But by far the most important action it has taken in this regard to date has been the formation of the United States Space Force.

Russia, a state labelled as one of the two rivals of cold war and space race. The year 1957 marks the lead of Soviet Union in the space race. This was made possible when Soviet Union achieved the first successful artificial satellite launch on October 4, 1957 of Sputnik 1, and sent the first human to space with the orbital flight of Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961.
Russia is arguably the leading space power. It has the primacy of launching the most manned space flights than other countries combined. Secure World Foundation (SWF) is reported to have said that Russia is expanding its counter-space weapons and capabilities. Through electronic warfare, Russia is extending its anti-access/area denial approach in outer space for developing offensive capabilities against ground-based space infrastructure. It is said that Russian civilian and military space program have the potential to be matched with that of the US. Some of the Russian capabilities include Anti-Satellite Systems, Military Space-Based Systems, Imaging Satellites, Signal Intelligence and Navigation Satellites.

China:

China claims its rise as a “peaceful rise”. Pentagon is facing a fearful question that Chinese aggressive rise in space may turn out to be the weapon to bring America down. China’s space mission is particularly impressive and aggressive. There are three factors which are showing an aggressive rise from China. China is building many distinct technologies for exploring space. Secondly the extraction and transport of energy sources from space to Chinese factories. The third is to show Darwinian safety valve for the earth. China has intentions to militarize space. It has believed that there are two ways of countering US in space. One method is to destroy all of their satellites. And the other way is to blind their inspection bird in space. China has already checked several ways of implementing its strategy. China is building anti-satellite weapons to kick US GPS system out of space. It is going to pollute the space and is also building and testing space kidnappers. The main goal of China to conquer space is to track the military movement and damage the US space system.

Other emerging powers:

There are other countries who have started making their efforts for space warfare. Some of the prominent countries include UK, France, India and Iran. UK is currently investing in increasing its capabilities in space. UK’s Europe-mate France has also announced an ambitious space weapons program in 2019 for the protection of its assets in space. This includes patrolling nano-satellite swarms, ground-based laser systems to blind-spying satellites, and machine guns mounted on satellites. Moving towards the east, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps successfully launched a military satellite in 2020 to showcase Iran’s technological advancements. Previously, Iran also hacked US GPS to force land a US drone. Another emerging power India established her Defense Space Agency in 2019 & became only the fourth country in the world to shot down a satellite during her Mission Shakti. The motivation behind India’s focus towards space warfare is due to its animosity towards China & Pakistan.

Global Implications:

This securitization of outer space can lead towards a renewed space race and possibly a new Cold War based on the pursuit of space hegemony. This will have numerous global implications such as GPS failure, blackout in countries, increase in Cyberattacks & Espionage and possible cancellation of the Outer Space Treaty.

Conclusion:

As Mark Twain said “History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes,” there exists a huge chance of revival of the cold war with NATO and Russia/China being the two most pivotal alliances. Therefore, the future looks dark considering the global implications of space warfare. Thus, there’s little time to dilly dally otherwise the world will suffer massively and stars wars will be our future. As it is difficult to stop proliferation later, there’s an urgent need for collective action by states because all states will be equally vulnerable to potential future threats. Therefore, states should opt for banning weaponization or at least consider placing limits on militarization in space just like arms control treaties.