Pakistan Turkey Cordial Entente (1947-2013): A Diachronic Review

Relations between Turkey and Pakistan always remained decent and friendly. The mutual sympathies between both countries cannot be described in any other way except the cultural heritage. Both countries have helped each other whenever they needed it in the field of foreign policy. It has cooperated between Ankara and Islamabad that they may raise a hand of cooperation in different affairs like foreign policy and security. They have supported each other as well as defended each others interests, most specifically in the international arena. Since the time of the cold war, both countries, Pakistan and Turkey, have shared their approach, especially on Cypress and Kashmir issues. In this document, an attempt was made to discuss the political and economic relations between Turkey and Pakistan and the nature of relations from 1947 to 2013. Suggestions for improving relations between the two Islamic republics were also made.

Pak-Iran Relations: Challenges and Expectations (2001-2012)

This paper endeavors to analyze the relations between Pakistan and Iran, during the ‎past ‎more ‎than seven decades, especially after 9/11. The relations between both countries ‎remained ‎normal and friendly, but with ‎a slight ‎divergence. ‎These relations became very critical ‎after 9/11 ‎due to the huge pressure of the US. There are many areas of divergence between these ‎two countries ‎such as the gas pipeline treaty, diplomatic support of Pakistan in the Iranian nuclear ‎program, trade, and ‎economic issues. In this paper, an attempt has been made to critically ‎highlight and discuss the ‎challenges and expectations emerging after the Islamic revolution and ‎during 2001 to 2012. The ‎core objectives of the study are to know about the nature of Pak-Iran ‎relations in the past, to ‎describe the nature of Pak-Iran relations from 2001-2012, to measure the ‎influence of world ‎powers on Pak-Iran relations to analyze the challenges facing both the ‎countries, etc. Suggestions ‎are also made to improve the relations between both Islamic republics’ countries in the region. Pakistan's and Iran’s concerns and interests are related to the new regional and ‎international atmosphere. New problems and new opportunities have been created for both ‎countries, affecting their bilateral and multilateral relations since the events of September 9, ‎‎2001. The two countries should devote more energy to increase their economic trade, strengthen ‎security cooperation, and identify practical ways to cope with the problems of the region.

Shariah Punishments in the Islamic Republics of Mauritania and Maldives, and Islamic State of Yemen

The Mauritanian Criminal Code 1983 identified a number of ḥudūd crimes. In 1984, the code was amended to include the death penalty for apostates. In 2008, Maldives adopted a new constitution containing a clause that no law contrary to Islam can be enacted in the Maldives. A new Penal Code was introduced in 2014, yet with regard to ḥudūd, this code has only one section, which makes shariah punishments applicable in the country. The Islamic State of Yemen introduced its Law of Crimes and Punishments (No. 12/1994), as the first ever Penal Code in its history. This code divided crimes into two types: crimes punished with ḥudūd or qiṣāṣ, and crimes punished by the judge’s discretion (taʿzīr). The code then makes provisions for seven ḥudūd crimes.

A Survey of Four Indo-Pakistani Scholars’ Perspectives on the Islam-Democracy Discourse

In contemporary times, the relationship between Islam and democracy –democracy and its Islamic heritage and the process of democratization inMuslim societies, and other related themes – is a hotly debated and discussedtopic. Throughout the Muslim world – from South, Southeast and CentralAsia to Middle East and North Africa – Muslim thinkers have undertakenthe effort of working within and cooperating with existing political regimesand authorities ‒ from republics, monarchies and authoritarian dictatorshipsto pluralistic and relativity homogeneous societies. With the desirefor democratization, along with the continuing resurgence of Islam in a dynamicglobal context, the demand and desire for democracy is widespread.Two of the major developments in the final decades of the twentiethcentury to present are “religious resurgence” and “democratization.” Thedebate over democracy and democratization in the Muslim societies, itsdefinition and fundamentals, has continued for a long time, but, as it hasacquired an impetus in recent years, and this debate has become highlyintensified.The Muslim world at present is the most diverse in the forms of the politicalsystems it employs. It has traditional and constitutional monarchies,dictatorships, Islamic republics, and secular and some liberal democracies‒ and due to the diverse interpretations of its laws and sources of law, Islampossesses intellectual and ideological resources that can provide justificationfor a wide range of governing models from monarchy to democracy ...