Debating Room

Pakistani activists and academics have strongly criticized a provincial government's decision to ban the launch of Malala Yousafzai's autobiography at a university in the country’s volatile northwest region.

The Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf-led administration of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province forced a public university in Peshawar, the regional capital, to cancel the launch of "I Am Mala," a memoir written by the children's rights icon, on January 28.

The ban was the subject of a panel discussion on this week’s edition of Radio Mashaal's call-in show, "Along the Borderland."

Arshad Haroon, provincial chief of Strengthening Participatory Organization, an NGO, said the ban violates the fundamental right to free expression.

"You can’t imagine universities without books and discussions on important issues of life," he said on the show. "Without encouraging critical thinking we can’t defeat intolerance and restore peace to the volatile region."

Ijaz Khan, a former international relations professor at the University of Peshawar, said book launches are an established practice on Pakistani campuses.

"The book was about the region and it was written by a girl from Swat Valley [in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]," he said. "It is the fundamental function of the academic institutions to debate and discuss books and research work and help in shaping a debate on important issues."

Khan said the ban establishes a dangerous precedent. "It is not only the issue of Malala’s book. Tomorrow if I am discussing Marxism and realism in the class, they can intervene and even threaten me for discussing such ideas."

Khadim Hussain, head of the nongovernmental Bacha Khan Education Foundation and one of the organizers of the book launch, described the book’s importance in symbolizing resistance to the Taliban in a part of the country most affected by Taliban violence.

But he told Radio Mashaal that two provincial ministers directly intervened to cancel the event. "After we resisted the pressure from the university management, campus police chief was sent to tell the organizers not to hold the book launch citing security concerns."

Shah Farman, one of the two ministers, said that a public university was not "an appropriate" venue for the launch and authorities were worried about providing adequate security.

He told the Radio Mashaal audience that a public university should be confined to "curricular activities" and that the book’s sponsors should launch it outside the campus.

"Malala's book is not relevant for educational institutions in our province," he said. "It is a controversial book and we can’t permit it on the university campus as it will pave way for holding launch ceremonies of other controversial books."

The Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, the main insurgent faction in the country, is helping to enforce the ban by threatening booksellers in major cities to refrain from selling it.

After the book was published last year, it was banned by some private schools in Pakistan for being "anti-Pakistan and anti-Islam."

"Along the Borderland" is a weekly, hour-long Radio Mashaal call-in show known for interactive debates on social and political issues. Every Tuesday millions of listeners in the Pakistani borderlands of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces tune in to the show.

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Afghans view this year's presidential election as necessary for ensuring a peaceful transfer of power, but worries over the process are abundant.

Afghan lawmakers and experts participating in a recent Radio Free Afghanistan call-in show, "On the Waves of Freedom," said the likelihood of the election moving into a second round because of the crowded presidential field might complicate the process.

Ajmal Hodman, a political commentator, said that the current 11 presidential candidates have dashed Afghan hopes for change. "Unfortunately, eight or nine of the candidates were members of a government that ruled Afghanistan in the past 12 years," he says. "These people are responsible for corruption and waste of resources."

Hodman said a good leader's job is to keep alive the hopes of a better tomorrow among the masses. "We can't see a candidate representing a clear vision or values. They are all individuals who are just seeking power," he said.

Halim Fedai, a former provincial governor, said April's presidential polls offer the hope of the first peaceful transfer of power in Afghan history, but Afghans only have the choice of voting for competing individuals rather than being able to choose between different political visions.

"Due to the lack of strong political parties, most Afghan politicians are focused on individual appeal rather then offering competing visions of a political system," he said.

Fedai and several civil society leaders are working to narrow the presidential field by convincing some candidates to stand down.

Lawmaker Jabar Qahraman criticized Afghan President Hamid Karzai for failing to create a vibrant political culture and robust political institutions.

"Karzai is the architect of the ongoing political game. I have reached the conclusion that the problems are created by the presidential palace because the majority of the presidential candidates have the same vision and programs," Qahraman said. "When I see that he [Karzai] is building a house near the presidential palace, I have doubts about the transparency of the elections and my hopes for a real change fade."

Fawzia Koofi, an outspoken Afghan woman lawmaker, says regulations have made it very difficult for women to run in the presidential election.

One condition that requires each presidential candidate to collect 100,000 signatures from at least 22 Afghan provinces presents Afghan women with an unsurmountable challenge, she said. "This is why we don't have a female candidate for the presidential election."

Koofi added that the large number of presidential candidates is likely to divide Afghan society along tribal, religious and regional lines.

On the positive side, she believes that the presidential election is likely to politicize Afghan society. "In the end it is better to express political will through a ballot rather than a bullet," she said.

One caller, identifying himself as Akhtary, said that strong political parties are a prerequisite for establishing the rule of law. "In the presence of credible political parties in Afghanistan, the government will behave and serve its people more efficiently and responsibly," he said.

"On The Waves of Freedom" is a weekly, two-hour long radio call-in show known for sharp analysis and political commentary. Every Thursday millions of Afghans in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Tajikistan tune in to the show, which is a flagship program of Radio Free Afghanistan, or Radio Azadi as it is known locally.

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