KARACHI: Pakistan Peace Coalition (PPC) and Pakistan Institute of Labour Education & Research (PILER) jointly organised a seminar at the PMA House on Wednesday in connection with the International Peace Day.
The seminar was organised to underline the increasing need of people-to-people contact and to promote peace in South Asia, particularly between India and Pakistan for development and progress. The International Peace Day has been marked annually since 1981.
PPC Sindh president Dr Tipu Sultan presided over the seminar while panelists, including secretary general PPC BM Kutty, University of Karachi (KU)’s Pakistan Studies Centre chairman Dr Jafar Ahmed, Dr Riaz Ahmed Shaikh of SZABIST and Sharafat Ali of PILER also attended the seminar.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Sultan said that people in Pakistan were fighting for their survival. He maintained that people were being deprived of their basic rights. Thousands did not have any access to health and other social facilities and a psychological warfare is going on in Pakistan to suppress the people, he added. Dr Sultan held the political parties responsible for the very situation adding that psychiatric illnesses are on the rise.
He said every fourth person needed psychiatric counseling due to the social and economic pressures. The health budget of the country had been reduced to 0.3 percent of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which stood 0.61 of total GDP earlier. Same was the situation in education sector, he said and added that only 1.3 percent of GDP was spent on education, where as it was 1.8 percent in the past.
Dr Sultan underlined the need for spreading awareness among masses for their rights.
Meanwhile, KU’s Pakistan Studies Centre chief Dr Ahmed gave an overview of the prevailing crises in Pakistan and said during the last 60 years, people of this country had witnessed many destructions and problems.
He said that the decision to join Afghan War in 1979 added to the miseries of Pakistan. Due to that decision, Pakistan is facing the problems of heroin trafficking, Kalashnikovs, sectarianism and religious extremism. While shedding light over the issue, he said, through foreign funds, religious and political parties had recruited their own militant forces and ambitions of the military generals have increased manifolds.
Dr Shaikh, a professor of SZABIST, said that durable peace cannot be established until problems of common people and poor are not solved. “When we talk about peaceful atmosphere, people’s participation in the process is essential. Democracy is the best way to unite the people’s force”, he added. Dr Shaikh also threw light upon the regional and global peace issues and said the imperialist forces had earlier supported the monarchies and undemocratic forces but after the public awakening and changes in the Middle East these forces were trying to hijack those movements.
PPC secretary general BM Kutty shared his views and suggestions over peace in the region, particularly between Pakistan and India.
The seminar was attended by a large number of peace and human rights activists, trade unionists, students and journalists.
At the end of seminar, Shaista Shirazi presented a poem of peace and the participants also held a candlelight vigil.
The seminar was organised to underline the increasing need of people-to-people contact and to promote peace in South Asia, particularly between India and Pakistan for development and progress. The International Peace Day has been marked annually since 1981.
PPC Sindh president Dr Tipu Sultan presided over the seminar while panelists, including secretary general PPC BM Kutty, University of Karachi (KU)’s Pakistan Studies Centre chairman Dr Jafar Ahmed, Dr Riaz Ahmed Shaikh of SZABIST and Sharafat Ali of PILER also attended the seminar.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Sultan said that people in Pakistan were fighting for their survival. He maintained that people were being deprived of their basic rights. Thousands did not have any access to health and other social facilities and a psychological warfare is going on in Pakistan to suppress the people, he added. Dr Sultan held the political parties responsible for the very situation adding that psychiatric illnesses are on the rise.
He said every fourth person needed psychiatric counseling due to the social and economic pressures. The health budget of the country had been reduced to 0.3 percent of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which stood 0.61 of total GDP earlier. Same was the situation in education sector, he said and added that only 1.3 percent of GDP was spent on education, where as it was 1.8 percent in the past.
Dr Sultan underlined the need for spreading awareness among masses for their rights.
Meanwhile, KU’s Pakistan Studies Centre chief Dr Ahmed gave an overview of the prevailing crises in Pakistan and said during the last 60 years, people of this country had witnessed many destructions and problems.
He said that the decision to join Afghan War in 1979 added to the miseries of Pakistan. Due to that decision, Pakistan is facing the problems of heroin trafficking, Kalashnikovs, sectarianism and religious extremism. While shedding light over the issue, he said, through foreign funds, religious and political parties had recruited their own militant forces and ambitions of the military generals have increased manifolds.
Dr Shaikh, a professor of SZABIST, said that durable peace cannot be established until problems of common people and poor are not solved. “When we talk about peaceful atmosphere, people’s participation in the process is essential. Democracy is the best way to unite the people’s force”, he added. Dr Shaikh also threw light upon the regional and global peace issues and said the imperialist forces had earlier supported the monarchies and undemocratic forces but after the public awakening and changes in the Middle East these forces were trying to hijack those movements.
PPC secretary general BM Kutty shared his views and suggestions over peace in the region, particularly between Pakistan and India.
The seminar was attended by a large number of peace and human rights activists, trade unionists, students and journalists.
At the end of seminar, Shaista Shirazi presented a poem of peace and the participants also held a candlelight vigil.
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