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KARACHI: Need for culture of tolerance stressed
Prof Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui, Vice Chancellor of the University of Karachi, in his inaugural address said that there was a need for a greater linkage between the world of academia and common man’s understanding. “The increasing gap between people’s perception of reality which in most cases remains unaided by scholarly input is causing great harm to the increased realisation of the importance of peace. Therefore, efforts by scholars are a response to the long unheard cries of the unheard all over the world.” He said that a little amount of wealth would be enough to de-escalate conflicts and tensions in the world. This duty could not be performed by the corporate world and, therefore, the intellectual world would have to come forward to cater to the needs of humanity at large. Prof Moonis Ahmar, Director of the Programme on Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution (PPSCR), stressed an increased role of conflict management studies. His paper focused on the ameliorating a role that conflict management techniques could play in paving the way for managing and controlling conflicts. He mentioned Pakistan-India, Indo-China and Bosnia issues as concrete reflection of the actual achievements of such a role. “Flexibility and accommodation are necessary attributes required for entering into a process of peace and dialogue. The world is not without examples of peacefulness and the concrete realisation of the principles and methods of conflict management and resolution.” Ms Salma Malik of the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, in her paper on “The Role of Research Institutes and Think Tanks in the Process of Conflict Management”, said that there was an urgent need for establishing independent think tanks. She was of the opinion that think tanks through sustained and dispassionate research could lead to exceptionally viable solutions and damage-control methods for several conflicts of the world. Mr Alexander Justin, a civil society activist from UK, said that a lot more human effort was needed in Iraq. His paper on “Conflict in Iraq” questioned the increasing surge in violence in Iraq. He opined that a significant role was being played by human rights organisations in Iraq and Iraq, adding that greater integration among its people was certainly needed. Prof M. Shamsuddin, Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Karachi, said that the ideas of conflict management and peace were quintessential for any healthy society of the world.
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