KARACHI, Feb 22: Progress of the world cannot be stopped by a handful of fanatics, belonging to any religion or sect, even if they tried to create chaos on global level. Apart from this, the current scenario of the Islamic states is not quite appreciable and, therefore, there is no chance for Islamic renaissance taking place in the near future.

This was observed by the former ambassador of Pakistan to Russia and India, Mansoor Alam, who is Chairman of Flame (an organisation providing primary education to children), in his lecture at the Area Study Centre for Europe (ASCE), University of Karachi, on Wednesday.

Mr Alam started his lecture on “Russia, India and Pakistan and the New Regional and International Scenario” with a detailed analysis of the historical background of the three countries. He pointed out that the world, from the very beginning, had always been unipolar, bipolar or multipolar. “The problem or the conflict arises when one system is being replaced by the other as the prevailing system resists the one in the offing,” he said.

Russia that had once been one of the mightiest countries of the world had gone through various transformations but still had the competence to become a super power, however, it seemed that it had lost will to become a super power. Had it not been for the disintegration of the USSR, Russia might have given a tough time to the US.

Discussing India’s perspectives, he said it could play a vital role globally in future, nonetheless, it had its shortcomings too. It solely focused on the middle-income bracket and ignored the majority of the population that was made up by the lower income class, he remarked. He further said that India had missed the opportunity to attain Kashmir in 1948 when it sought the support of the popular Kashmiri leader Shaikh Abdullah and got it wish.

Turning the focal point of his lecture to Pakistan, he said “in a country that has a parliament with no more significance than that of a rubber stamp, a Constitution that serves just as a piece of a paper, and a military that has against the spirit of democracy and steps into almost all civilian affairs, the situation is not very encouraging.”

He concluded his lecture with a remark that it was the dire need of the time for Muslims to pay heed to what was going on in the world and free themselves from the rigid and morbid mindsets. He said that Muslims had locked their brains and were not willing to look at things with a fresh and different perspective; and that was the reason that there was no hope for Islamic renaissance. “The world progress will not be hindered by a small group of religious fanatics, no matter what they do,” he added.

Mansoor Alam also answered a couple of questions raised by students. Consul General of Germany Hans-Joachim Kiderlen was also present on the occasion.