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LAHORE, Feb 16 (APP):A national conference on “South Asia: Evolving Challenges and Petitioned Opportunities” was jointly organised by the Punjab University (PU) Centre for South Asian Studies and Paigham-e-Pakistan, here on Friday.
Speaking at the event, PU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr. Khalid Mahmood said that for development and prosperity of the country, everyone would have to play a role. Centre for South Asian Studies Director Prof Dr Naheed S. Goraya, President Centres of Pakistan International Relations Amna Munawar Awan, senior journalist Syed Moeed Jaffri, faculty members, researchers and a large number of students were present.
The PU VC said everyone knows the challenges facing the South Asian region and their solutions, but the problem was implementation of the solutions. He said researchers and teachers of higher education institutions talk about problems and solutions through research journals and the media, which policymakers usually did not value. He said that even the biggest problem of the world could be solved through dialogue adding that in
the age of digital media, access to information had not been a major issue. But, instead of increasing harmony, it had increased chaos. He said educational centres, which were aware of problems, needed patronage of the government institutions to get them out of financial crisis, for which policies should be expedited. He said the youth were the future of Pakistan, from whom the nation had hopes for its betterment.
Speaking at the moot, Amna Munawar Awan said the South Asian region was of worldwide importance due to its geo-political situation. She said that Pak-India relations and peace in Afghanistan were essential for development of the region. She said it was era of digital media; the world wanted to do trade/ business with Pakistan, but the country had been facing numerous problems. She said that India was promoting linkages with the Middle East to strengthen its industry. She said for development of Pakistan, it was necessary to overcome the leadership crisis and utilise capabilities of CPEC, BRI and educated youth. She said that cyberspace warfare is a big challenge for Pakistan, which required cyber experts to deal with it.
Journalist Moeed Jaffari said solution to problems come from educational institutions, for which it was necessary to promote high-quality research. He said people of different lifestyles, colours and races live in South Asia. He said in India, after about 12 miles, the language, lifestyle changes, but it is still developing. He said that change in society does not come at once; for that one had to work with continuity and unity. He said democracy could be
strengthened by positive changes in Pakistan’s bureaucratic system, teaching methods and curriculum.
Dr. Naheed S Goraya said South Asia was a region with 25pc of the world’s population, whose problems need to be understood. She said that the region was facing challenges such as proper use of human resources, peace,
sustainability, chaos, extremism and terrorism without which development is not possible. She said that the purpose of organising seminars and conferences by PU CSAS is to highlight the issues.