KARACHI, Sept 2: The need to focus on human security issues, especially in South Asia, where the fate of over a billion people hangs precariously owing to widespread poverty, deprivation, exploitation, terrorism , tribal and sectarian strife, was stressed here by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Karachi on Thursday.

Prof Dr Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui, while inaugurating the three-day fifth international workshop on "Human security: global and regional perspective" said that owing to this situation people suffered from illiteracy, mis governance and health insecurity.

The workshop has been organized by the International Relations department of the University of Karachi, in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation. Besides Pakistanis, participants from Bangladesh, China, Russian Federation, Kazakhastan, Greece were participating.

Dr Pirzada Qasim termed the "brainstorming sessions" very timely as human security was all about the human beings and emphasized that for a very long period of time, the world has focused on the national security state and on the security of the states.

He blamed the policy-makers and leaders of the leading states for totally dehumanizing the global and regional security, political and economic environment in their quest for security and power and cared little for the security, development and happiness of the common man.

The VC was of the view that no doubt states needed security to grapple with all sorts of eventualities and challenges, but emphasized that they should not ignore their survival, security and territorial integration.

He stressed that non-traditional sources of security were also important and essentially meant security of the people. He was of the view that the new concept of human security was evolving slowly and emphasized the significance of inter linking efforts by different think-tanks.

Prof Siddiqui believed that this region can really benefit a lot if the discourse on human security was promoted and the think-tanks, academicians, civil society and policy-makers grappled with diverse aspects of human security and help South Asia grow as a region of peace, stability and human security.

Dr Andreas Rieck, Resident Representative of Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad, stressed that the theme of human security should be looked into in its correct international perspective.

The Director of the Workshop, Prof Syed Sikander Mehdi, underlined the significance and objectives of the moot and stated that efforts had been initiated for having a new building of the IR department.

In his vote of thanks, the Dean of Karachi University's Faculty of Arts, Prof Dr Abuzar Wajidi, said the theme of human security has attained significance in the 21st century in view of recent developments in many parts of the world. The chairperson of the department of International, University of Karachi, Prof Dr Khalida Ghaus, presented the welcome address.