The speakers at a seminar here on Thursday said that Pakistan must act fervently against the use of violence and the phenomenon of religiosity, which ultimately harbours intolerant postures towards other people.
The seminar titled ‘Pakistan’s Internal Dynamics’ was second in a series of talks to celebrate Pakistan Day, organised by the NUST Business School. The purpose of this seminar was to rejuvenate the younger generation, about the ideology of Pakistan. Former information minister Javed Jabbar, ex-interior secretary Syed Kamal Shah were the guest speakers while Federal Minister for Science & Technology Azam Khan Swati was the chief guest.
Speaking on the occasion, Javed Jabbar, highlighted the state of healthcare, miss-governance, partisanship, inflation, law and order, extremism and disparities in education as the major sources of concern for Pakistan. . He said that there is a democratic disconnect between the masses and the government and that this gap needs to be plugged.
He said, “Pakistan, now, also has a robust judiciary, which should be able to provide much needed relief to the masses.” Syed Kamal Shah in his remarks said that the strength of any society essentially emanates from the internal dynamics of that society and that the internal strength of a society ultimately leads to its prominence on the global scene.
He said that the systemic challenge, which Pakistan faces today, is the outcome of the interplay between four factors. The challenges, he said, comprised of blowback from Pakistan’s protracted cold war engagement like drugs, guns and refugees, poor governance and postponed decisions, prolonged political instability, and a dangerous and a volatile neighbourhood.
He highlighted that extremism and terrorism are not synonymous and that addressing the two would need a totally different strategy. Talking about the major factors affecting internal security, he listed the political instability of 90s, poverty and illiteracy, lack of good governance, politicisation and consequent deprivation of law enforcement and judiciary and sectarianism, injustice and an uneven distribution of wealth, the economic meltdown, unemployment and the ethnic problems in Karachi and Baluchistan as the domestic factors.
On suggesting a way forward, Kamal Shah advised that capabilities must be improved and national capacities strengthened to pursue terrorists and prevent terrorist activities.
In his concluding remarks, Federal Minister Azam Swati said that absence of rule of law, political leadership and justice are the root-cause of Pakistan’s multi-dimensional problems that we face today. He said that his generation had disappointed the nation, as it had promoted corruption and nepotism in the country, but he said that he had all the hopes pinned to the younger generation because of their attitudes against corruption. Dr Ashfaque Hasan Khan, Director General and Dean of NUST Business School presented the welcome address.
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