ISLAMABAD: Speakers at a conference have stressed the need to go beyond the traditional approaches and employ fresh thinking in policy research, coming from the young.
They were speaking at a conference of international security experts organized by India Study Center at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) on Thursday.
The event was part of the vision to engage the youth, and to promote critical thinking and encourage culture of research among them.
Students and young researchers from different universities and think-tanks presented their papers on regional security and other issues.
Director General ISSI Ambassador Sohail Mahmood expressing his views said that in a rapidly transforming international environment as well as turbulent times regionally, it is important to go beyond the traditional approaches.
He said that, youth is an indispensable stakeholder for Pakistan. He advised young scholars to adopt bold and innovative thinking, and be flexible in adapting to new technologies and working methods in pursuing goals.
Chief guest on the occasion Ambassador Imran Ahmad Siddiqui, Additional Secretary (Asia Pacific) at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that South Asia is the most populous region in the world but the least developed one.
He added countries these days do not negotiate individually, but in regional groups. The diplomat said because of the political reasons, the nations of South Asia cannot speak with one voice at the international level.
Highlighting political geography of the region, Ambassador Siddiqui said that there is one country in the area that has most of the resources of the area and it also shares borders with almost all states of the region.
Indian pursuing supremacist ideology
He regretted that the largest country in South Asia is not willing to give any space to the smaller nations of the region. He also spoke about the Jammu & Kashmir dispute and the supremacist ideology in India.
The diplomat stressed that Pakistan will continue its support to the Kashmiri people in their just struggle for self-determination. He also advised academic and research institutions to focus their research work on boosting understanding of all individual South Asian states as well as the region as a whole.
The conference was divided into three separate working sessions titled “Evolving Nature of Terrorism in South Asia”, “Strategic Stability in South Asia” and “Non-Traditional Security Threats in South Asia.”
The young scholars presented their views on issues like Non-Traditional Threat Management between India and Pakistan; prospects of Water Conflict between India and Pakistan, Demographic Change, and Electoral Politics in Occupied Kashmir.
Chairman Board of Governors, Ambassador Khalid Mahmood in his remarks said that ISSI being a premier think-tank of Pakistan holds roundtables and seminars on a regular basis.
He added, this conference was a novel experiment saying that the ISSI always makes efforts to associate young scholar.
