On January 21, 2019, PIPS organized an international seminar on “Pakistan in Changing World Order”. Discussing how the world is changing and what it means for Pakistan, the seminar was well attended by national and international scholars, diplomats, and students. Starting off, PIPS Director Muhammad Amir Rana said the world today is in a flux. … Read more
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
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
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
Sectarianism, the most ominous manifestation of extremism in the country, appears not only in the form of violence but also in the group thinking 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 … Read more
A two-day dialogue on social harmony was held on 28-29 November 2018 in Islamabad, with college teachers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including erstwhile tribal areas. They underscored that colleges should promote the culture of asking questions so as to generate ideas. This was the third in a series of dialogues with public sector teachers held in … Read more
On 5th and 6th November 2018, the second round of two-day dialogue with college teachers, on social harmony, was organized in Islamabad, participated by around forty teachers from the northern region of Pakistan comprising of Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Islamabad. The dialogue started with introductory note by PIPS’s senior project manager Muhammad Ismail … Read more
On 29 and 30 October 2018, PIPS convened dialogue on social harmony, with public colleges’ teachers from northern Punjab. Spanning for eight sessions, it was led by learned scholars and analysts. PIPS’s senior project manager Muhammad Ismail Khan shared the dialogue is held to foster two-way interaction in society. Teachers can uphold diversity in the … Read more
Students of different backgrounds often carry strong biases about each other. To overcome them, and help produce social harmony, students should be given opportunity to interact with other, not only academically but also in non-curricular activities. Above all, they should be taught how to talk to each other, rather than talking at each other. These … Read more
Despite best efforts to reset ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan, major breakthroughs are rare. At root lies mistrust, which thrives on misperception about each other. These should be overcome, should the two countries really want to move forward. These thoughts came in a seminar “Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations: Exploring the Way Forward”, which PIPS organized with the … Read more