Anne Marchal, minister and deputy head of the European Union Delegation, attended a recent book launch of Professor Zafar Nawaz Jaspal’s India’s Surgical Strike Stratagem: Brinkmanship and Response.

The event was held at the Serena Hotel in connection with a large conference on ‘Positive Rhetoric versus Propaganda’ under the auspices of Pakistan House, an institute of international and cultural affairs headed by Rana Athar Javed.

Keynote speakers at the conferences were journalists Rupert Stone from the United Kingdom, Najma Minhas from Pakistan, and Al Jazeera correspondent Kamal Hyder.

In his presentation Dr Jaspal gave an overview of the content of the book and spoke about the importance of truthfulness and accuracy in the presentation of all news.

He also emphasised the role of local journalists in interpreting news.

Dr Jaspal was previously the head of the Department of Politics and International Relations at Quaid-i-Azam University, and he is now a professor there.

The half-day seminar and book launch had two interludes, a long afternoon tea break and an evening

dinner, when diplomats, academics, students and civil society representatives could mingle and exchange views on the new book, the theme of the conference and current affairs.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2019