India-Pakistan Legislators and Public Officials Dialogue on Sharing of Experiences on Governance and Democracy

  1. The third round of Pakistan-India Legislators

    and Public Officials Dialogue on Sharing of Experiences on Governance

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    and Democracy began in New Delhi, India, on March

    08, 2016 to share experiences and perceptions of the two countries

    on Role of Media in India-Pakistan Relations and on Policing

    System in India and Pakistan.

  2. The Dialogue brought together Members of Parliament and

    State/Provincial Legislatures from Pakistan and India, practitioners and

    subject-experts from the two countries who raised key issues and reform

    ideas covering both themes.

  3. At the outset, participants appreciated the facilitation

    of the Dialogue to allow sharing of perspectives on common issues. The

    opportunity for interaction in a phase in which the two Governments have

    not yet resumed the Secretaries-level Dialogue, made this all the more

    important.

  4. All Participants extolled the valuable role of Mr.

    Mani Shankar Aiyar, MP, Rajya Sabha, in promoting dialogue and

    peace between India and Pakistan through the on-going process, and in

    his diverse and distinguished capacities as a diplomat, a veteran Parliamentarian,

    a public intellectual and a broadcaster.

  5. Dialogue participants also welcomed the recent high-level

    sharing of intelligence information by Pakistan with India to alert the

    Indian Government against potential terrorist activities. They hoped that

    this becomes the first of a series of confidence-building measures to

    build trust and goodwill, and eliminating terrorism.

  6. Participants lauded the efforts of PILDAT, in partnership

    with Lokniti-CSDS, in facilitating the exchange of good practices and

    stressed that the exchange must be continued and broadened to include

    more areas of governance and democracy.

Role of Media in India-Pakistan Relations

  1. Participants acknowledged, at the outset, that news media’s

    growth has become exponential and that media are one of the several vital

    determinant factors in shaping bilateral relations between Pakistan and

    India.

  2. While it was recognised that the news media have to shine

    a spotlight on reality, the requirements of objective and professional

    reporting should uphold the core values and cardinal principles of journalism.

  3. Members emphasised that while all media in both countries

    cannot be painted with the same brush, there is a tendency in a few to

    be shrill and even jingoistic. This is deplorable and has to be addressed.

  4. Participants underscored that both news media and academic

    centres focusing on media studies should be encouraged to conduct sustained

    research on portrayal of the other country by the news media in each country

    and that research findings should be published and broadcast to inform

    the public.

  5. It was noted with regret that, often, fringe elements

    are wrongly given more space than warranted in the media of the two countries.

    More often than not, news media’s unquestioning reflection of their

    own Government’s foreign and defence policies stance hampers the

    expression of independent perspectives.

  6. Lack of access for media to locations in the other country

    and obstacles in obtaining visas for journalists of both countries were

    highlighted as key issues hampering an informed portrayal of each country.

    Participants urged both India and Pakistan to put in place policies ensuring

    ease of access, travel and reporting by journalists from both countries.

    Specific proposals included visa-free access without city restrictions

    and for setting up of media lounges at Pakistan-India border posts to

    facilitate regular interaction and engagement between Pakistani and Indian

    media representatives without the need to obtain visas.

  7. Lamenting the negligible progress on agreed Codes of Conduct

    for South Asian media despite the lapse of two decades, experts underscored

    the centrality of initiation and sustaining of regular media dialogue

    between Pakistan and India, involving, among others, media associations

    of the two countries. Such a dialogue’s pre-set objective should

    be to develop a Joint Code of Conduct on reporting about the two countries,

    starting from refraining to refer to the other as the “enemy”

    State. In this regard, suggestions were also made to eliminate the element

    of aggressive postures from the daily parade at the Wahga-Attari border.

  8. Indian and Pakistani participants highlighted that the

    phenomenal growth in new digital media has enormous positive potential

    for engagement between Pakistani and Indian citizens and may actually

    make many existing restrictions redundant.

  9. The two sides agreed that joint initiatives are needed

    in both conventional mainstream media and social media by individuals

    and enterprises of the two countries to promote an entirely new collaborative,

    cooperative mindset both within the media and among media audiences in

    the two countries. This new shared approach to reporting the news and

    making comments could engender an unprecedented improvement in mutual

    perceptions and bilateral relations. In this regard, it was suggested

    that the prospects of a jointly owned India-Pakistan TV channel, possibly

    located in Dubai, might be further pursued

Policing System in India and Pakistan

  1. Participants of the Dialogue lamented the continuing negative

    image stigmatising Police in both countries. The two sides agreed that

    the first step towards reforming police system is to acknowledge the critical

    importance of Policing and provide due and fair credit to Police.

  2. Delegates agreed that sharing of experiences on Policing

    in the two countries highlighted the vast avenues of learning from each

    other in this critical sector.

  3. While comparing effective practices in effective policing

    in Pakistan and India, participants believed that lack of uniform police

    laws across States in India and Provinces in Pakistan poses a big challenge

    for the two countries.

  4. In sharing reform proposals, experts agreed that the Indian

    Supreme Court’s directives on operational autonomy and accountability

    of the Police and Pakistan’s Police Order, 2002, are similar in

    promoting democratic, community-oriented, professional and accountable

    policing and need to be implemented.

  5. Experts believed that Police Station reform and revamping

    should be at the heart of improving the system of Policing in the two

    countries.

  6. Participants underscored the urgent need for reforms to

    promote fair, professionally-led, adequately resourced and accountable

    Police across Indian States and Pakistan’s Provinces.

  7. Delegates agreed that Policing in the two countries required

    to benefit effectively from the use of new technologies, better training

    and capability-based promotion system in the Police; modernize static

    and counter intuitive stop and search practices and introduce discipline

    matrix to reduce discretion of the supervisory police officers and promote

    fairness in internal police disciplinary proceedings.

  8. Both India and Pakistan need to reduce disconnect existing

    amongst the actors of the criminal justice system of the two countries

    by introducing criminal justice coordination committees at the district

    levels.

  9. Members stressed on the requirement of State support in

    terms of effective legislation and its implementation, critical financial

    support and promoting collaboration amongst various law enforcement agencies/departments

    keeping in view complex and challenging policing environment in the two

    countries.

  10. Participants agreed that there is ample scope for effective

    police leadership, independent of the role of politicians in policing,

    can be complementary to the use of state support in building police capacity.

The Pakistani Delegation, joining the Dialogue

in New Delhi, included (in alphabetical order by first Name in the sequence

of Members of Senate, National Assembly, Provincial Assemblies and Experts)

Senator Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Abdul Qayyum, (Punjab; Pakistan Muslim

League – Nawaz – PML-N); Senator Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo,

(Balochistan; National Party – NP); Senator Nauman

Wazir Khattak, (KP; Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf – PTI); Senator

Saud Majeed, (Punjab, PML-N); Mr. Muhammad Afzal Khan,

MNA, (NA-82 Faisalabad-VIII, Punjab, PML-N); Parliamentary Secretary

for Finance; Ms. Munaza Hassan, MNA

(NA-306, Women Punjab-XXXIV, PTI); Mr. Shehryar Afridi,

MNA, (NA-14, Kohat, KP, PTI), Mr.

Asad Qaisar, MPA, (PK-35 Swabi-V, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,

PTI) Speaker Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Ms. Mahtab

Akbar Rashdi, MPA, (RSW-156, Sindh, Pakistan

Muslim League – Functional – PML-F); Mian Mehmood-ur-

Rashid, MPA, (PP-151 (Lahore-XV), Punjab,

PTI), Leader of Opposition, Provincial Assembly of

the Punjab; Dr. Najma Afzal Khan, MPA,

(RSW-320, Punjab, PML-N); Ms. Arifa Noor,

Resident Editor-Islamabad, Dawn Newspaper; Senator

(Retd.) Javed Jabbar, Former Federal Information Minister,

Member, Senate Forum for Policy Research; Mr. Muhammad Ali

Nekokara, Former SSP, Pakistan Police; Dr.

Muhammad Shoaib Suddle, Former IG Police, Sindh & Balochistan,

Pakistan; Mr. Mujeeb-ur-Rahman Shami, Editor-in-Chief

Daily Pakistan; President, Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) and

Mr. Saleem Safi, Television Anchor and Columnist, Geo TV.

With Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar MP,

Rajya Sabha Indian National Congress (INC), in the Chair, the Indian delegation

joining the Dialogue included (in alphabetical order by first Name in the

following sequence) from Mr. Pavan K. Varma MP, Rajya

Sabha Janata Dal (United)-JD (U), Bihar and Mr. Vijay Jawaharlal

Darda, MP, Rajya Sabha, INC, Maharashtra; from the Delhi Legislative

Assembly,Mr. Madan Lal; Member Legislative Assembly (MLA),

Kasturba Nagar, Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP); Mr. Saurabh Bhardwaj

MLA Greater Kailash, Delhi Aam AAP and Mr. Somnath

Bharti, MLA, Malviya Nagar, Delhi,

AAP.Participants and experts also includedMr. Ashutosh,

Spokesperson Aam Admi Party (AAP); Mr. A. S. Dulat, Member,

National Security Advisory Board, Former Special Director,

Intelligence Bureau, Former Secretary, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW); Mr.

A. S. Panneerselvam, Readers’ Editor, The Hindu; Ms.

Devyani Srivastava Senior Program Office, Commonwealth Human Rights

Initiative; Mr. K. P. Nayar, Senior Journalist and

Consulting Editor, The Telegraph; Dr. K. S. Subramanian, Former

Senior Civil Servant and Member of the Indian Police Force; Dr.

Kiran Bedi, Former Officer, Indian Police Service; Mr.

Sidharth Bhatia, Founding Editor, The Wire; Ms. Smita

Gupta, Senior Journalist, The Hindu; Mr. Sunit Tandon,

Former Director, Indian Institute of Mass Communication Former

CEO, Lok Sabha TV; Ms. Vandana Seth, Research Scholar

andMr. Ved Marwah, Honorary Research Professor, Centre

for Policy Research, Delhi, Former Governor, Manipur, Mizoram and Jharkhand,

and Former Commissioner of Police, Delhi.

Following Background Papers, published by PILDAT

and shared among participants can be downloaded here in PDF format:

Role

of Pakistani Media in Pakistan-India Relations

Role

of Media in India-Pakistan Relations

How

Indian Media Cover Pakistan

Overview

of Police System and Reform Measures Towards Strengthening Police Oversight

in India

The System of Policing in Independent India