Culture of questions in educational institutes can change society positively

A two-day dialogue on social harmony held on 17-18 January 2019, in Karachi, organized by PIPS. It was sixth in a series of dialogues on social harmony. In this dialogue, around 40 teachers of various colleges from Balochistan and Karachi participated.  The dialogue called for promoting culture of two-way dialogues, especially through educational institutes, so … Read more

“Educational institutes should nurture two-way dialogue to promote social cohesion”

The culture of one-way communication is so dominant that people tend to talk at each other, rather than talking with each other. To bridge gaps among citizenry, culture of two-way dialogues need to be promoted. Such dialogues can easily be promoted through educational institutes, by channelling diversity of thoughts in the positive direction. These thoughts … Read more

Despite a decline in terrorist violence, Pakistani Taliban and Daesh remained potent threats to Pakistan’s security – PIPS “Pakistan Security Report 2018”

PRESS RELEASE (Urdu Version below) Pak Institute for Peace Studies Islamabad/6 January 2019  Despite a decline in terrorist violence, Pakistani Taliban and Daesh remained potent threats to Pakistan’s security – PIPS “Pakistan Security Report 2018” 29% decline in terrorist attacks and 27% in consequent fatalities in 2018, compared to previous year About 38% of the total … Read more

“Culture of inquiry required to promote social harmony”

Speakers at a two-day dialogue underscored that academic institutions should promote the culture of critical inquiry so that we are able to diagnose our problems scientifically, by looking at explanations beyond pointing fingers at others. This came in two-day dialogue on social harmony, held on 24-25 December 2018, in Karachi, with teachers of various colleges from Balochistan … Read more

‘Learning to live with differences can help curb sectarianism’

Sectarianim, the most ominous manifestation of extremism in the country, appears not only in the form of violence but also in the groupthinking of people. To root it out, there is a need to promote a culture in which people learn to live with differences even if they do not agree with them. These thoughts … Read more

“Teachers can foster harmony by promoting critical inquiry”

Social harmony, which is direly needed these days, can be achieved by two-way dialogue. But the culture of dialogue is missing, in part because we do not listen to each other and in part because we do not even know what to ask from others, and how. This results in mutually-held misperceptions among members of … Read more