KARACHI, Sept 23: Participants of a national conference on Friday observed that the civil-military bureaucracy and feudal alliance had created social instability in this society and created many fault lines in the country, which had been suffering due to the additional problems created by Afghanistan situation and the so-called war on terrorism in the aftermath of the 9/11 event.

They were expressing their views on the second and last day of the conference on Ethics, Values and Social Transformation: Perspectives from Pakistan organized by the International Relations Department of the University of Karachi in collaboration with Unesco.

Participants dwelt extensively on cultural diversity, problems of governance and administrative fault lines including ethnicity, wars/conflicts and their impact viz-a-viz a social change at a time when the world, particularly the region, was passing through a turbulent phase.

Chairperson of the department Dr Khalida Ghaus, in her paper on Cultural Diversity and Issues of Development in Pakistan broadly looked into patterns of development and understanding of cultural norms and their practice and popularization with particular focus on enacting of international human rights law. She also analyzed the post-9/11 developments and their effect on cultural diversity. Keeping her focus on the repercussions of 9/11 event for Muslim societies in particular, she also discussed nature and type of the challenges being confronted particularly by Pakistani government and society.

Zehra Afaq Siddiqui, a researcher at the IR department, in her paper, said that in Pakistan, the civil-military bureaucracy and feudal alliance evolved over years of military rule in the country had created social instability.

Every martial law, she observed, disempowered the emerging breed of the poor and middle class-based political workers and leaders by removing their democratic ladder. On the other hand, feudal class remained untouched because it didn’t derive its strength from the democratic process. No martial law ever touched the feudal power base, lands and holdings, she pointed out.

The elite, comprising civil-military bureaucrats and feudal lords, had always prospered and thrived, but at the cost of the people who were marginalized from any benefits of growth, she claimed. Entrenched feudalism has subverted democracy. Failure of popular and mass movements has led to a loss of faith in change and modernization. Consequently, the masses with a traditional background took a negative turn and in total

dismay, sought refuge in religious sentiment. This was the desired results anticipated by the ruling feudal class through its policies.

Any attempt towards a social change must focus on poverty alleviation. And this goal can only be achieved through bringing about a change in the existing power structure.

Ms Siddiqui was of the view that political instability, manipulation of political system by armed forces and feudal character of politics had already caused and endless series of crises.

Tasawwar-ul-Rahim Baig of the IR department, Karakorram International University, Gilgit, presented a paper on Social Transformation of the Northern Areas.

The paper highlighted the multidimensional change process that was sweeping the Northern Areas. Since various communities had accepted the change at various levels, therefore, the development was not the same, it stated, adding that the local society would remain fragmented due to varying pace of change and differing levels of development and awareness.

The two major factors in fostering transformation of the NA society were the construction of KKH and the introduction of AKDN programmes. Now local communities own the change process by developing local NGOs which help communities in discovering their collective strength latent in them. Also, it filled a vacuum created by the annulment of statehood in the area.

According to the speaker, the change itself cannot be stopped because it was an inevitable and irreversible global phenomenon. It needed to be accepted in our own terms - in humanistic, Islamic and local cultural context.

Sumaira Abbas described ethnicity as a challenge to social transformation process in Pakistan. She was of the view that the country’s failure in accommodating diversity had been evident from its break-up in 1971.

On the other hand, ethnic disaffection is simmering in Balochistan and NWFP since 1970. Similarly, Mohajirs are emerging as an important ethnic group with the growth of MQM in 1980s as a major force in urban centres of Sindh, especially Karachi and Hyderabad.

Cooperation, dialogue and participation are probably the most affective means of achieving social transformation in today’s world, according to her, but the state policies of Pakistan, as one nation, one culture and one language, denying separate provincial identities have led to a conflict between state elites and ethnic elites.

She was of the view that the current political crisis in Balochistan could not be understood well after eliminating the ethnic dimension from it. The mega project of Gwadar sea port had drawn strong resentment from Baloch people because they were highly suspicious about its fallouts. They considered this project as the government’s deliberate attempt to alienate them in their own province by planting other ethnic groups there.

Therefore, the need of the hour is bringing about a change in cultural attitudes and the policy of the government/organizations towards ethnic outlook of Pakistan, as well as developing consciousness.

Amna Kaleem focused on the fault lines in the primary education system in Pakistan and on how they were affecting transformation of Pakistani society.

Sabiha Shaheen presented her paper on The Role of Pakistani Youth in Social Transformation; Dr Abu Zar Wajidi and Dr Akhtar Baloch shared views on Ethics, Values and Public Administration: A Study of Pakistan; and Syed Amjad Ali Saqib’s read his paper on The Impediments of Good Governance in Pakistan: How Perceptions Shape Ethical Discourse in Government Organization?.

At the end, the conference recommended a research wing of the IR Department to be set-up by the Karachi University. It was also suggested that ethics and values should be taught as a subject at university level.

Follow-up round-table conferences and gatherings would also be held on other issues in the coming months, it was stated.