A hall packed with an august assembly of national and international scholars, political analysts, researchers, vice chancellors, male and female varsity students with intellectually-awakening academic setting are the words that help describe the opening ceremony of 3-day international conference on "Democratic Transition in Pakistan" that kicked off at Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Convention Centre of University of Sindh the other day.
The moot has been organized by Area Study Centre, Far East and Southeast Asia, University of Sindh, Jamshoro under the aegis of Higher Education Commission, Islamabad.
The moot was inaugurated in a befitting manner with Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman, Higher Education Commission of Pakistan; Islamabad in the chair shared the stage with Dr Ahmed as chief host in the inaugural session.
Dr Ahmed in his presidential remarks congratulated VC SU Professor Dr Fateh Muhammad Burfat, Director, Area Study Centre, Far East and Southeast Asia Professor Dr Hamadullah Kakepoto and their team upon having convened the event they termed 'contextually significant and apt'.
Analyzing the event title in broad outlines, Dr Ahmed said that strong political leadership with the highest possible moral bearings, increased provincial autonomy and a cohesive national fabric were the ways forward to preservation and promotion of democracy in the country.
He said, "It is high time to bid adieu to regional, provincial, sectarian and communal differences, we need to build strong cohesive national identity to defeat the threats facing Pakistan in the face of South Asian and global geo-political perspective".
VC SU Professor Dr Fateh Muhammad Burfat in his address as chief host of the occasion thanked Dr Mukhtar Ahmed for his presence in the moot, eulogized his patronage of public sector universities in Pakistan and expressed gratitude for helping the varsity win recent funding of Rs 1600 million.
Dilating on the conference theme, he said that the democracies in South Asia were badly hampered by authoritarian traditions, rise of fundamentalism, communal conflicts, social violence, weak economies, sectarianism, provincialism, ethical divides, regionalism and corruption.
"The challenges democracy confronts in Pakistan include lack of higher income, liberal values and tolerant culture, lack of good governance patterns, sustainability of electoral practice every five years, sovereignty of rule of law, peace prevalence, interfaith harmony, pluralism, provincial autonomy, judicious distribution of resources and opportunities, safeguarding culture promoting civil liberties and human rights," Dr Burfat stressed.
He said people were always the real fountainheads of power; hence democracy in whatsoever form must derive its legitimacy from the people of the country.
Keynote Speaker of the day Dr Ravichandran Moorthy, Head, International Relations Cluster, National University of Malaysia said that Southeast Asia was one of the most economically dynamic and vibrant regions of the world. He said it also was called the 'economic tiger' by the World Bank, adding that it was the home for 630 million people and that it had shown remarkable economic progress and political development over the last two decades.
"Political systems and development in this region are varied in many ways, largely subscribing to differing values, political history and the conception of 'correct' governance. As far as democracy is concerned, the region is in transition towards greater democratic process. In fact, it has been in transition since independence from colonialism (with the exception of Thailand) in the 1950s and 60s", he informed.
He added that the ten Southeast Asian states inherited different political systems - Brunei was an absolute monarchy; Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia had constitutional monarchs; Laos and Vietnam were socialist states; while Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines were democratic republics - "all with different levels of democratic development," he elaborated.
Guest of honour and research presenter Muhammad Hassan, Director General (East Asia Pacific), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad said that liberal values, healthy education system, tolerant culture, sound economy and an informed, vibrant and engaged citizenry were vital for transition and consolidation of democracy in Pakistan as had been learnt from multiple experiences in the South Asian context.
The inaugural ceremony was followed by the first working session in which a number of scholars including Professor Dr Parvez Iqbal Cheema, Lieutenant General Amjad Shoaib (retired), Professor Dr Razia Sultana and others presented their research papers. The conference will continue for another 2 days during which several other national and international scholars will be sharing insights on the theme of the moot.
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