HYDERABAD, March 28: Participants of the seminar on ‘International Terrorism: Its Impacts on ASEAN and South Asian Security’ have unanimously emphasised on finding a common definition of terrorism and resolved that Kashmir conflict is no longer an issue but a dispute between Pakistan and India.
The two-day-long seminar, which concluded here on Thursday, was organized by the Area Study Center Far East and East Asia, University of Sindh.
Ten papers — thoroughly discussing terrorism and its repercussions on Asean and South Asia — were read by scholars from all over the country. Scholars also focused on globalization, post-Cold War scenario, Iraq war and Kashmir dispute.
They were was of the opinion that there was no unanimity in defining the term terrorism and there was a difference of opinion and perspective in this regard.
Emphasising on understanding terrorism, scholars said that if one wanted to understand terrorism today, one has to explore and examine its root causes. It, they said, might assist the policy makers and academicians to understand terrorism in its present shape.
Participants of the seminar held that the countries in the Saarc region should work together for the cause of security and peace as a large number of poor people live in this region yet they are heavily armed. In other words, they said, security was seen in the context of military hardware and not in the terms of quality of life among the SAARC nations.
Scholars also unanimously revolved that the Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan was no more an issue but has evolved into a dispute, which carried the high risk of turning into a flash-point. The dispute, they said, could only be resolved through dialogue and not through war or military means.
Participants were of the opinion that the US policy regarding poor nations, including oil-rich states, had failed. The attack on Iraq, they added, could be termed as being a litmus test in this regard.
They urged the US, being the sole military power in this global village, to adopt realistic policies if it wanted to ensure global security and peace.
The seminar concluded that the past track diplomacies and conventional approaches towards resolving Kashmir dispute had failed and stressed the need for adopting new paradigms in this regard.
The seminar called for activating coalition partners, international judicial system and international arbitration mechanism for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute.
Terming Asean a success story, the seminar recommended that its success, in terms of regional peace and stability, could be replicated by the Saarc region.
Those, who read their papers on the second day of the seminar, included Dr Prof Mohammad Hassan Shaikh, Dr Lutfullah Mangi, Prof Aqeela Khwaja, Dr Fazalur Rehman and Dr Talat A. Wizarat.
The Vice-chancellor of the University, Mr. Mazharul Haq Siddiqui in his presidential remarks thanked the scholars for sharing their views on the subject of terrorism and its impact not only on ASEAN and South Asian security but also on global peace.
Prof Hidayat Ali Soomro, director of the Area Study Centre for Far East and South East Asia also thanked the scholars for attending the seminar.