Hassan Abbas

AP Photo

September 21, 2009

"Obama's AfPak Metrics Miss the Mark on Pakistan"

Op-Ed, Foreign Policy

By Hassan Abbas, Former Senior Advisor, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

"It is quite striking that framers of the metrics have avoided the merest mention of Pakistan-India relations as a factor in understanding which way the wind is blowing in Pakistan's security environment. While the Obama administration has every right to wish that Pakistan delink its rivalry with India in the Kashmir region from its policy towards Afghanistan (and consequently in Federally Administered Tribal Areas), one cannot ignore the prevailing ground realities."

AP Photo

June 17, 2009

"The Fight for Pakistan's Soul"

Op-Ed, The Kosovo Times

By Hassan Abbas, Former Senior Advisor, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

"...[A] lot depends on the state's capacity to hold the Swat area and re-establish civilian institutions there. And, even if the state succeeds, re-asserting control over Swat will only be the first step. The Taliban is spread throughout the NWFP and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. "Punjabi Taliban" militants from the fighting in Kashmir against India continue to shuttle between the Punjab heartland and the Northwest Territories, posing another serious challenge to government authority."

AP Photo

January 7, 2009

"South Asia at War"

Op-Ed, Guatemala Times

By Hassan Abbas, Former Senior Advisor, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

"Last month's terrorist assault in Mumbai targeted not only India's economy and sense of security. Its broader goal was to smash the India-Pakistan détente that has been taking shape since 2004. The attackers did not hide their faces or blow themselves up with suicide jackets. Anonymity was not their goal. They wanted to be identified as defenders of a cause. Unless this cause is fully understood, and its roots revealed across the region, this attack may prove to be the beginning of the unmaking of South Asia."

AP Photo

December 7, 2008

"Beyond the Line of Control"

Op-Ed, News International, (Pakistan)

By Hassan Abbas, Former Senior Advisor, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Naomi Klein, Canadian columnist and author of The Shock Doctrine insightfully says, "Terrorism doesn't just blow up buildings; it blasts every other issue off the political map. The spectre of terrorism — real and exaggerated — has become a shield of impunity, protecting governments around the world from scrutiny for their human rights abuses." South Asia today is a victim of terror in this context. Social injustice, political instability, religious fanaticism and a rising sense of insecurity are the factors pushing South Asians to the brink of a prolonged conflict.

AP Photo

December 3, 2008

"Mumbai Attacks: Motivations, Context and Consequences"

Op-Ed, New York Times, Times Topic Blog

By Hassan Abbas, Former Senior Advisor, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Hassan Abbas, a research fellow with the Project on Managing the Atom at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center, comments on the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

AP Photo

August 27, 2008

"Après Musharraf, Patience"

Op-Ed, International Herald Tribune

By Hassan Abbas, Former Senior Advisor, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

"...The notion that somehow developing countries, and especially Muslim-majority states, cannot adjust to democratic model is a flawed assessment. The track record of democratic governments in Pakistan is indeed mixed, but it is also true that democracy takes time to develop....Western governments, primarily the United States and Britain, have shown far more patience with dictators than with elected leaders. Periods of military rule in Pakistan — 1958–69; 1977–88; 1999–2008 — lasted an average of 10 years, while democratic phases lasted an average of less than three years and were often declared to be unstable, corrupt and weak. Foreign aid also declined during the democratic periods...."

AP Photo

August 13, 2008

"Solving FATA"

Op-Ed, National Interest

By Hassan Abbas, Former Senior Advisor, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

"The growing Taliban insurgency in the Afghan-Pakistan border area increasingly threatens the geography of the region. Continuation of this crisis could derail the India-Pakistan peace process, undermine democratic gains in Pakistan as well as Afghanistan, and jeopardize U.S. interests in the region.

Despite the explosive nature of the crisis and apparent consensus between the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees about the need for additional focus on the area—as well as military forces there—the popular analysis of the situation often fails to appreciate the very basic facts of the issue...."

AP Photo

August 12, 2008

"Musharraf's Long Goodbye"

Op-Ed, The Guardian, Comment is Free...

By Hassan Abbas, Former Senior Advisor, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

"...Any attempt by Musharraf to dislodge the government by using his constitutional authority would trigger another election, the results of which would not be much different from the vote in February. It is time for Musharraf's friends in the west to press him to serve his country one last time, by avoiding confrontation with his country's democratic forces and calling it quits."

AP Photo

July 4, 2008

"Pakistan Needs More Democracy to Transcend Musharraf"

Op-Ed, Daily Star

By Hassan Abbas, Former Senior Advisor, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

"Following its recent free elections, Pakistan is rebounding politically. But the euphoria that came with the end of the Musharraf era is wearing off, as the new government faces stark choices. Unlike Iraq and Afghanistan, democracy is not new to the 60-year-old state, but ethnic cleavages, weak institutions, and religious extremism in the North are perennially destabilizing. And, while the new government settles in and establishes its priorities, the West, especially the United States, must reassess the impact of its past dealings with Pakistan...."

AP Photo

March 15, 2008

"Reform of Pakistan's Intelligence Services"

Op-Ed, The International News

By Hassan Abbas, Former Senior Advisor, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

"The primary mission of intelligence services in a modern democratic state is to collect, analyze, evaluate, and pass on foreign intelligence to the government to assist it in making decisions related to national security. Their standard task also includes producing a range of studies that cover virtually any topic of interest to national-security policymakers. Depending on the resources, they use electronic means as well as human sources and, if necessary, undertake covert actions at the direction of the chief executive. A covert action is defined as an act to influence political, economic or military conditions abroad, while keeping in view some ethical considerations. Counter-intelligence operations mainly work to guard against espionage from foreign intelligence agencies in the country. They are also expected to effectively protect the secrets of its sources and methods. The role of intelligence services is to only report information and analysis and not to make policy recommendations."