IPS represented in AICSS 2019
DG-IPS Khalid Rahman participated in a two-day ‘Annual International Conference on Social Sciences (AICSS) 2019’ which was organized by the College of Economics and Social Development (CESD), Institute of Business Management (IoBM), in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the University College, Zhob, on January 28-29, 2019.
DG-IPS delivered a presentation on the occasion titled ‘Geo-Political Economic, Education and Psychological Opportunities for Pakistan’, stating that while diversity was regarded as one of the strengths of Pakistan, the fault lines of the same strength were now being exploited by the players of hybrid warfare with an aim of creating divisions within the society, deepening the already existing polarization in the country, and weakening the state in the process.
He said that the challenge now was to preserve the diversity within the country while making sure that the divergences existing in the society do not swell into rifts, conflicts or clashes of any sort. He stressed that a comprehensive strategy was needed to answer such threats faced by means of developing a national agenda, formulating a national narrative with consensus, and improving people’s confidence over government and state institutions’ integrity and capabilities.
Alongside DG-IPS, the conference was also addressed by renowned national and international speakers including Dr Shahida Wazarat, dean, CESD, IoBM, Talib Karim, president, IoBM, Ambassador (r) Syed Hassan Habib, senior fellow, Centre for Area and Policy Studies, IoBM, Professor Dr Stephany Griffith Jones, Institute of Development Studies (IDS), England and Columbia University, USA, Professor Dr Natalia Zamaraeva, Institute of Oriental Studies, Moscow, Russia, Ambassador (r) Munir Akram, Pakistan’s former permanent representative at the UN and Dr Muhammad Saleem, policy analyst, State Bank of Pakistan.
