The forces of globalisation are indiscriminate – they enable those who pursue good and those who pursue evil. The changes brought about by globalisation affect all segments of society, all walks of life, all political parties, all religions, all ethnic groups, and all countries. Sometimes they occur in the most unexpected ways and yield complex results that appear to be mystifying and intractable, at least on the surface. This book describes how the forces of globalisation have descended upon Karachi and exacerbated local and regional problems to the point where the city is teetering on the brink of chaos. Karachi is geographically, politically, and culturally situated in the context of modern Pakistan, but is a global city affected by global forces, many of which challenge the state’s power and authority. The lessons of Karachi are important for both its present and its future, and they can serve as a cautionary tale for other global cities. Karachi is vitally important to Pakistan. While Islamabad is the country’s capital, Karachi is the most important financial centre in the country. It is the centre of banking, industry, economic activity and trade. Many of Pakistan’s largest corporations are based in Karachi, including entertainment, arts, fashion, medical research, the automotive industry, shipping, textiles, advertising, publishing, and software development. Karachi is also home to Pakistan’s main seaport and two of the largest ports in the region, the Port of Karachi and Port Bin Qasim.

The Routledge Handbook on Historic Urban Landscapes in the Asia-Pacific sheds light onto the balancing act of urban heritage management, focusing specifically on the Asia-Pacific regions in which this challenge is imminent and in need of effective solutions. Urban heritage, while being threatened amid myriad forces of global and ecological change, provides a vital social, cultural, and economic asset for regeneration and sustenance of liveability of inhabited urban areas worldwide. This six-part volume takes a critical look at the concept of Historic Urban Landscapes, the approach that UNESCO promotes to achieve holistic management of urban heritage, through the lens of issues, prospects, and experiences of urban regeneration of the selected geo-cultural context. It further discusses the difficult task that heritage managers encounter in conceptualizing, mapping, curating, and sustaining the plurality, poetics, and politics of urban heritage of the regions in question. The connective thesis that weaves the chapters in this volume together reinforces for readers that the management of urban heritage considers cities as dynamic entities, palimpsests of historical memories, collages of social diversity, territories of contested identities, and sites for sustainable liveability. Throughout this edited collection, chapters argue for recognizing the totality of the eco-cultural urban fabric, embracing change, building social cohesion, and initiating strategic socio-economic progress in the conservation of Historic Urban Landscapes. Containing thirty-seven contributions written by leading regional experts, and illustrated with over 200 black and white images and tables, this volume provides a much-needed resource on Historic Urban Landscapes for students, scholars, and researchers.

This book explores the role of the grass roots public administrative institution of DC & DM in historical context for Pakistan, and its viability for a meaningful democracy and stability of the country. The authors contend that Pakistan‘s democracy to-date lacks firm foundation, as evidenced by the country‘s disintegration in 1971, violence and drugs in the 80s, crime infested communities in the 90s, terrorism in the 2000s, and the current volatile situation in Balochistan and FATA, as well as high crime rate and lacking sense of security among the communities of Pakistan.

"The Beijing-Islamabad axis plays a central role in Asia's geopolitics, from India's rise to the prospects for a post-American Afghanistan, from the threat of nuclear terrorism to the continent's new map of mines, ports and pipelines. China is Pakistan's great economic hope and its most trusted military partner; Pakistan is the battleground for China's encounters with Islamic militancy and the heart of its efforts to counter-balance the emerging US-India partnership. For decades, each country has been the other's only 'all-weather' friend. Yet the relationship is still little understood. The wildest claims about it are widely believed, while many of its most dramatic developments are hidden from the public eye. This book sets out the recent history of Sino-Pakistani ties and their ramifications for the West, for India, for Afghanistan, and for Asia as a whole. It tells the stories behind some of its most sensitive aspects, including Beijing's support for Pakistan's nuclear program, China's dealings with the Taliban, and the Chinese military's planning for crises in Pakistan. It describes a relationship increasingly shaped by Pakistan's internal strife, and the dilemmas China faces between the need for regional stability and the imperative for strategic competition with India and the USA."--Amazon.com.

In this report the Foreign Affairs Committee calls on the British Government to use its influence to persuade the US to engage more fully, and swiftly, with the process of political reconciliation in Afghanistan if the US wishes to disengage its forces there. Although the current international emphasis favours intense military pressure, aimed at defeating the insurgency, it is clear that military pressure alone is not enough to bring security and stability to Afghanistan. The evidence presented to the Committee has suggested that the current full-scale and highly-intensive ISAF counter-insurgency campaign is not succeeding. The Committee question the fundamental assumption that success in Afghanistan can be 'bought' through a strategy of 'clear, hold and build'. The distinction between al-Qaeda and the Taliban is crucial to generating appropriate policy responses in Afghanistan. The Committee says that despite the significant resources that have been invested in Afghanistan, and the enduring, wholehearted and admirable commitment and sacrifices of British personnel, the UK has not yet achieved its stated goals. There is also evidence that the core foreign policy justification for the UK's continued presence in Afghanistan, namely that it is necessary in the interests of UK national security, may have been achieved some time ago, given the apparently limited strength of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. The security rationale behind the UK Government's decision to announce the 2015 deadline for the unconditional withdrawal of UK combat forces remains unclear and there are a number of potential risks inherent in such an approach.