LAHORE, Pakistan: The Islamabad-based Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS) in collaboration with University of the Punjab organized a Conference on “Discourse of Nation Building” in Lahore on Tuesday.
The conference had the participation of distinguished guest speakers and experts of the subject.
The guest speakers who delivered speeches during the Conference included the Vice Chancellor (VC) University of Punjab, Lahore Professor Dr. Niaz Ahmad Akhtar, the former Governor of Punjab Lieutenant General (retd) Khalid Maqbool, the former Federal Minister of Information Senator Javed Jabbar, the President CGSS Major General (retd) Syed Khalid Amir Jaffery, the Executive Director Zalmi Foundation Shakeel Ahmed Ramay, the Member Advisory Board CGSS and the Chairman Tehrik Jawanan Pakistan Abdullah Hameed Gul, and the President All Pakistan Business Forum Syed Maaz Mahmood.
The session commenced with the opening remarks by the Vice President CGSS Major General Hafiz Masroor Ahmed (retd), who welcomed and thanked the worthy participants of the session.
The panelists of the conference highlighted the contribution and sacrifices of Pakistani armed forces and stressed that Pakistan is a nation with great potential. The youth of Pakistan comprises of 65 percent of the population which is our beacon of hope for the entire nation.
The speakers were of the view that the higher education plays a pivotal role in nation building, and socio-economic change is not possible without coordination of research students and policymakers.
The panelists of the conference defined “Pakistaniat” as emotional and sentimental spirit of national identity of Pakistan and stated that we have to inculcate this identity in our generations through analyzing our nation’s strength and weaknesses.
Furthermore, subcontinent was a combination of multiple small and large independent kingdoms and states. Pakistan was carved out of those independent kingdoms. India is spreading the myth that both, India and Pakistan have a common culture but it is not the case. Subcontinent was a melting pot of cultures, languages and ethnicities. It was a land of more than 600 small and large princely states, each having a different culture, language and religion from other. Pakistan’s culture and religion is unique and we as a nation have a different persona from India
Approximately 350 people including representatives of public and private sector, professors and students attended the conference.
