December 22, 2004 ☼ Foreign Affairs
Freedom House has published its annual ranking of countries based on political rights and civil liberties. (via Transition Trends)
Of the seven SAARC countries, three countries are designated ‘not free’ and three ‘partly free’. Only one country, India, is considered ‘free’.
Interestingly, the Freedom House survey covers ‘disputed’ territories too. Of the eleven territories surveyed, eight are considered to be unfree, including Pakistani Kashmir. Gen Musharraf is right when he mentions Kashmir belongs in the same league as the Palestinian territories and Chechnya — provide he is talking about that part of Kashmir that is under his rule. Pakistani Kashmir could do with more freedom. In fact, Indian Kashmir — with its hordes of jihadi terrorists and the consequent intrusive security measures — is more free than Pakistan itself.
Related Posts: India does not do as well when it comes to economic freedom; and everyone in the subcontinent does very poorly in terms of human development.
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