By Shah Faisal

World Maritime Day is being celebrated on 26th September 2024. World Maritime Day was first held in 1978 to mark the 20th anniversary of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Convention’s entry into force. Celebrations are held throughout the world to highlight the importance of maritime sector, shipping safety, maritime security and the marine environment, and to emphasize any particular aspect of IMO’s work.

This year’s theme as announced by the IMO is “Navigating the Future: Safety First!”. The aim of this theme is to emphasize on maritime safety and security, protection of the marine environment and to anticipate the fast pace of technological change and innovation. This theme focusses on number of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which include; use of modern and clean energy in maritime sector, promoting sustainable economic growth, combating climate change and most importantly using the oceans/ seas for sustainable development.

In fact, oceans are vital for life on earth. They provide key natural resources including food, medicines, biofuels and help with the breakdown and removal of waste and pollution. These are the world’s largest ecosystem, home to nearly a million known species and containing vast untapped potential for scientific discovery and their coastal ecosystems act as buffers to reduce damage from storms. The Almighty has placed countless bounties for the humankind in the seas. Large part of the world’s population resides in immediate vicinity of the seas. Some of the sectors associated with the seas include shipping, ship building, ship recycling (ship breaking), fishing, extraction of oil/ gas, tourism etc. As it is said in the Quran:

He is the One who has subjugated the sea, so that you may eat fresh meat from it, and may take out from it ornaments you wear, and you see the boats cleaving through it, and so that you may seek His bounty, and that you may be grateful

                        (Surah An Nahl Ayat 14)

Pakistan has 1000 km long coastline with sandy beaches, marshy lands, creeks and mangroves. At sea, Pakistan has 290,000 sq km of sea area under its jurisdiction with immense resources. However, on the occasion of World Maritime Day, the question arises that how much use of these resources is being made by us? Ironically, the answer is that Pakistan is not doing well in Blue Economy (a term used to represent economic activities related to the seas).

Reviewing the shipping first, international shipping transports more than 80 percent of global trade to peoples and communities all over the world. Shipping is the most efficient and cost-effective method of international transportation for most goods; facilitating commerce and helping to create prosperity among nations and peoples. Unfortunately, our national entity, Pakistan National Shipping Corporation, PNSC, owns just a handful of merchant ships out of over 100,000 vessels plying across oceans of the world. Quran emphasizes importance of shipping in these words:

In the creations of the heaven and the earth, in the cycle of night and day, in ships that plough the sea, to mankind’s benefit, ……. In these are signs for people who reflect
(Surah Al Baqarah Ayat 164)

Coming to ship building & repair, Pakistan has only one shipyard i.e Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KS & EW) which was established in 1956. One of the regional giants of that time, however, it couldn’t keep pace with new trends and technologies and has not upgraded itself to build or repair large vessels. Its capabilities and contracts are limited to constructing ships and submarines for the Navy. Though it is a strategic asset of vital importance, yet lack of modernization and capacity building has considerably reduced its viability.

When it comes to ship breaking, Pakistan’s record is not that bad. Pakistan is ranked number 3 after Bangladesh and India. Ship breaking yard at Gadani can dismantle around 125 ships per year. However, working conditions are quite hazardous and pose serious risks to the laborers’ lives. Pertinent to mention here is the unfortunate fire incident onboard a ship being dismantled which claimed at least 28 precious lives in 2016. Post incident reports revealed poor safety practices and deplorable working conditions. It may be noted that Hong Kong International Convention for the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships being implemented on 26 June next year may reduce recycling business in case of noncompliance by Pakistan.
Talking about fishing industry, fishing is a profitable profession that can bring significant foreign exchange to a country. Seafood industry of Pakistan is worth US$ 2.8 to 3.5 billion with proper value addition; however, presently fish exports receive around just US$ 400 million per annum. Despite tremendous potential, fishing industry’s contribution to national GDP remains less than 1 %. There are number of issues like overfishing, use of illegal nets, unhygienic conditions in fish handling and storage, use of primitive techniques and equipment and lack of modernization.
Pakistan has tremendous potential in the maritime sector and with effective policy making by the government it can thrive in the blue economy. Pakistan Navy, in addition to efficiently performing its core tasks, had been trying her best to raise awareness about this neglected sector. The Pakistan Navy has undertaken a number of initiatives to create maritime awareness at the national level by engaging various segments of civil society, including intelligentsia, chambers of commerce, maritime industry, universities and the media, to bring to fore the importance of the maritime sector and its immense potential into the national discourse. Establishment of National Institute of Maritime Affairs (NIMA) is one of the major steps in this direction which is aimed to act as a think tank of Pakistan in maritime policy research and raising public awareness.
While the world celebrates maritime day, we need to critically review our progress in the maritime sector and beware of the tremendous potential that we have, so as to contribute towards betterment of national economy. First step in this regard would be to overcome the Maritime Numbness which we are suffering from as a nation and start sensing the maritime potential that has been gifted to us by the Almighty.
 
The writer is a commentator on Maritime Affairs

The people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir  (IIOJK)  are enduring another round of agony in the form of the state assembly’s sham elections. The polls are taking place after a gap of 10 years. The voting process will be held in three phases, and the result will be declared on the 8th of October. The outcome of these elections is eagerly awaited to gauge how the people of IIOJK react to the annulment of the Indian Constitution’s Articles 370 and 35A on the  5th of August 2019.

Some of the key political parties of India and the IIOJK vehemently oppose the abrogation of these constitutional provisions, including:  Congress, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), and Trinamool. Congress and its major IIOJK-based political ally, the National Conference, are jointly contesting the assembly elections on a manifesto to restore the expunged constitutional articles.

All Kashmiris irrespective of their caste creed, or religion are suffering, particularly due to the revocation of Article 35A, which has affected their ability to secure jobs, and buy or sell properties. Combined with the issuance of thousands of illegal domiciles of Jammu & Kashmir to non-Kashmiris, the demographic structure of IIOJK is undergoing an undesirable transformation.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) aims to win the upcoming IIOJK elections, at any cost, to further consolidate the illegal annexation of Jammu and Kashmir. Hence, panic has set in among the top BJP leadership.  India’s external affairs, defence and interior ministers are working in overdrive to secure a BJP victory, by hook or crook. To achieve this, they are struggling to legitimise the illegitimate Indian action of 5 August.

When asked about the status of IIOJK on 30 August, Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said that Kashmir’s issue stood resolved through the abrogation of Article 370. He added after this, not much was left to discuss with Pakistan, therefore “the era of uninterrupted dialogue with Pakistan is over”.  Home Minister Amit Shah, while unveiling the BJP’s manifesto for the upcoming IIOJK elections, ruled out the restoration of Article 370, claiming that the provision had “become history”. Additionally, while addressing an election rally in IIOJK, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh remarked “No power can restore Article 370.” This reflects the collective mindset of the RSS-BJP alliance.

Pakistan rejected these Indian claims about IIOJK, labelling them as “misleading” and “dangerously delusional”. On 1 September, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson emphasised that the Kashmir dispute is an “internationally recognised issue that must be resolved through the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and according to the wishes of the Kashmiri people”. India’s unilateral actions in IIOJK cannot change this reality. Pakistan has also urged India to abandon its “provocative rhetoric” concerning the region and engage in a meaningful dialogue for a just and lasting resolution of the IIOJK dispute.

The Kashmir dispute is an unfinished agenda from the partition of Indian subcontinent in 1947. The Kashmir conflict has been on the UN agenda since 1948, making it one of the oldest disputes of the contemporary world order. Interestingly, it was not Pakistan that took the issue to the UN; India did it!  India sought the settlement of the Kashmir issue through the UN good offices on 1 January 1948. Since then, the UN has adopted over a dozen resolutions, all of which India has defied with impunity.

The first UNSC resolution on Kashmir was 38/1948. It “established the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) to investigate the issues and mediate between the two countries”. The second landmark resolution was 47/1948,  passed on 21 April 1948, whereby India and Pakistan agreed to resolve the dispute through a UN-supervised plebsite. This also led the way to the establishment of the “United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to monitor the ceasefire line. The UNMOGIP continues to have its offices in Pakistan and India. The last Kashmir conflict-specific resolution was passed in the aftermath of the nuclearisation of both countries [UNSCR 1172/1998]. This resolution “urges India and Pakistan to resume dialogue on all outstanding issues to find mutually acceptable solutions that address the root causes of such tensions, including Kashmir”.

India’s relationship with Pakistan remains volatile, with border disputes in Jammu and sowing Kashmir as a perpetual flashpoint. It is out of the question that the IIOJK dispute, has been, or could be, settled unilaterally by India. Such claims by India are not only misleading but dangerously delusional. If East Timor and South Sudan can be granted the right to self-determination, there is no justification for denying this fundamental right to the Kashmiri people.

The resolution of this long-standing conflict is pivotal to achieving viable stability in South Asia. The UN Secretary General needs to appoint a special representative for Kashmir and initiate the process for holding a UN-supervised plebiscite in IIOJK. While Pakistan remains committed to diplomacy and dialogue, any hostile actions by India will be met with unyielding resolve.

Air Commodore Khalid Iqbal (Retd) is Director at the Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies (CASS), Lahore Pakistan. He may be reached at [email protected]