SWABI, Feb 15: A team of Indian students won the International Parliamentary Debate-2005 competition here on Tuesday.

The event was organized by the Literary and Debating Society of the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology and was attended by students from all over the country as well as from Indian universities and institutes.

A central leader of the ruling PML Gohar Ayub Khan was the chief guest at the concluding ceremony. Speaking on the occasion, he said that it was encouraging to see that the event was attended not only by students from Pakistan but also from neighbouring India.

He said participation by the Indian students made the competition an international event. "Events like these are of great significance because they provide the speakers the opportunity to think logically and put forward their point of view with grace and elegance," he said.

Apart from giving confidence to the speakers, debates were important for other reasons as well, as events like these provided a forum for exchanging views, debating issues and appreciating the opinions of other people, he added.