Dr. AYESHA SIDDIQA AGHA in the Bay Area
TALK: "America's Pakistan vs Pakistan's Pakistan: Searching for Options"
Thursday February 21, 7.00pm
Stanford University , Bldg 380, Room 380-X
(more info) |
PANEL: "Pakistan: What Now?"
Ayesha Siddiqa, with Ahmad Faruqui & Ijaz Syed
Saturday February 23, 3.00pm
Union City Library
34007 Alvarado-Niles Blvd.,
Union City, CA (map)
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The events are free and open to all.
Event Flyers (html, pdf)
TALK: America's Pakistan vs. Pakistan's Pakistan: Searching for Options
STANFORD - Thursday Feb 21, 7.00pm
Stanford University
Bldg 380, Room 380-X
Directions: Bldg 380 is "Math Corner" of the Main Quad, to your right as you face quad from the Oval. See Map
Details: In her talk at Stanford, Ayesha Siddiqa will discuss the current scenario in Pakistan, the questionable role of
the US in supporting the current regime, and the Pakistan military business
interest that covers all sectors of the economy.
The event is presented by Center for South Asia, Stanford University, Division of International, Comparative and Area Studies, in association with Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Pakistanis at Stanford and Friends of South Asia.
Also see the event webpage at the Center for South Asia website.
The book, "Military Inc." will be available for sale at the event.
PANEL: Pakistan, What Now?
UNION CITY - Saturday Feb 23, 3.00pm
Union City Library
34007 Alvarado-Niles Blvd,
Union City, CA (map)
Directions:
The Union City
Library is located in the Civic Center complex, on Alvarado-Niles Road
between Decoto Rd and Royal Ann Dr, across the street from James Logan
High School.
The Library is accessible by BART. It is a short 0.6 mile walk from the Union City BART Station.
See walking route
Details: On Saturday, Ayesha Siddiqa, Dr. Ahmad Faruqui and Ijaz Syed will debate and discuss the current
situation in Pakistan, what
the Pakistani election results will mean for the country as it strives to shake
off the military stranglehold, and how the upcoming US
elections might influence the US
policy in the region.
ABOUT AYESHA SIDDIQA
Dr. Siddiqa received her doctorate in War Studies from King's College, London. Her first book, Pakistan's Arms Procurement and Military Buildup, 1979-99 In Search of a Policy (2001) analyzes defense decision-making in Pakistan. Her second book, Military Inc, Inside Pakistan's Military Economy
(2007) looks at Pakistan's politics through the prism of elite
interests and the military economy. She writes for various Pakistani
newspapers including a regular column in the Daily Times. She contributes to international academic journals and has been a correspondent for Jane's Defence Weekly. Dr. Siddiqa was a visiting fellow at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute; the first Pakistani scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC,
2004-05; a Ford Fellow; and a research fellow at the Cooperative
Monitoring Center, Sandia National Laboratories, USA. She received the
esteemed Mehboobul Haq, Kodikara and Asia Foundation research awards.
Based in Islamabad, Dr. Siddiqa is currently Visiting Professor of South Asian Studies at University of Pennsylvania. She is researching the political economy of marginality and extremism in Pakistan for her third book, Military, State and Society in South Asia: Looking Beyond Huntington.
About The Panelists
Dr. Ahmad Faruqui is a defense analyst and economist. He is a frequent contributor to the Lahore-based Daily Times newspaper.
Ijaz Syed is a long-time activist and a founding member of Friends of South Asia.
THE BOOK - "MILITARY INC. "
Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan's Military Economy (published April 2007) is a groundbreaking work on the far-reaching economic interests of the Pakistan army. The book came
out at a time when the military regime in Pakistan led by General
Pervez Musharraf is facing serious trouble both at home and abroad. The
country-wide protests and demonstration to challenge Musharraf's
decision to fire the Pakistan Supreme Court Chief Justice, the violent
handling by the government of the Lal Masjid crisis in the nation's
capital, the insurgency raging in Baluchistan and in the northern
tribal areas bordering Afghanistan coupled with the on-going debate in
the US questioning the role of Musharaf military regime as a frontline
ally in US war against global terrorism has put the Pakistani military
leadership in a tight spot. The
New York Times, Washington Post and the Los Angles Times have all
criticized the Bush administration for its unconditional support of
Pakistan’s military dictator.
According to the Center for Public Integrity,
“In the three years after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks,
U.S. military aid to Pakistan soared to $4.2 billion, compared to $9.1
million in the three years before the attacks - a 45,000 percent
increase - boosting Pakistan to the top tier of countries receiving
this type of funding. More than half of the new money was provided
through a post-9/11 Defense Department program - Coalition Support Funds – CFS - not closely tracked by Congress.” Another study done by The Center for Strategic and International Studies
estimates the total value of all American aid, including military,
economic, and development assistance, to Pakistan since 9/11 at more
than $10 billion. In the three-month period from April to June in 2003
alone, U.S. taxpayers reimbursed Pakistan $192.7 million. Dr.
Ayesha Siddiqa's book is an analysis of the range and depth of the
Pakistan military business interest that covers all sectors of the
economy: Agriculture, Manufacturing, and Services. “My book” said Dr. Siddiqa, “was not just on the military, but Pakistan's entire power elite."
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