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PICSS Seminar Report: Nationalism and Pakistaniat March 15, 2018 1

SEMINAR REPORT

“I was Pakistani by

Birth but Now I am

Pakistani by

Choice….”

General Zubair Hayat

March25 , 2018

Knowledge and strong

economy are the

fundamental elements

of nations to prosper

Prof Ahsan Iqbal

NATIONALISM &

PAKISTANIAT 15 March 2018 PNCA ISLAMABAD


Why Seminar on ‘PAKISTANIAT

It has been realized that Pakistani youth has been facing multiple challenges

regarding their ideological orientation. Extremists, on one hand, try to attract

them towards extremism and terrorism and lure them to indulge in violence

against the state while on the other hand they face an onslaught from secularist

and liberal extremists who create illusions, confusion and misunderstanding

about Two-Nation Theory, ideology of Pakistan and ideological identity of the

state. Both religious and liberal extremists are bent upon to create identity crisis

for Pakistani youth. In such a scenario, there is dire need to safeguard our youth

from all types of extremism and inculcate ‘Pakistaniat’ in their minds.

‘Pakistaniat’ that is based on teachings, philosophy, and principles of Allama

Iqbal and Quaid-e-Azam. Pakistan was neither created by religious extremists

nor by secular or liberal extremists. Pakistan was an outcome of the effort of

moderate Muslim leadership and its future also lies in moderation )اعتدال پسندی(

and tolerance. Our youth should be prepared to be flag bearer of tolerance,

peace and inclusivity within and outside the country and they all must be

prepared and equipped to defend their identify, integrity and freedom against

all types of enemies. They must have inspiration and motivation to play a

constructive role in progression of the country and well-being of its people as

was envisioned by Allama Muhammad Iqbal and personified by Quaid-e-Azam

Muhammad Ali Jinnah. This is called Pakistaniat. This concept of Pakistaniat

needs to be re-inculcated in the minds to make the society more tolerant,

efficient and progressive.

Since Pakistani youth cannot be left at the mercy of religious and secular extremists, an initiative of engaging youth was initiated by Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), Islamabad. PICSS took the first step to guide Pakistani youth and help them to successfully sail through the intellectual crisis and ideological confusions believing that other members of the civil society as well as government institutions will also be willing to join in this national cause. It is beyond doubt that Pakistaniat – a reflection of multiple elements of our national identity – is a symbol of our strength and integrity. Diversities of all types like religious, ethnic, regional and sectarian are like a bouquet with multiple flowers. The diversity is a beauty and strength of this nation but our enemies are exploiting it into our weakness. A well thought-out nation-wide campaign, through seminars/conferences, hence, has been launched to promote true concept of Pakistaniat primarily targeting our youth.

Way Out?


PICSS mobilized youth of

twin cities through different

means. Alumni of PICSS

internship program played a

vital role in launching pre

event campaign in the

universities. PICSS also

took on board Youth

Association of Pakistan and

other organizations working

for youth. A social media

campaign was in place and

a lot of youth participated

through online registration of

the event through Facebook.

In fact, the event had

become a buzzword in all

the circles related to youth

and students. Many

organizations themselves

contacted PICSS to become

part of the campaign. PICSS

had invited almost all heads/

representatives of the

organizations working for

Pakistani youth thus, making

it a collective effort. A well

known social media

marketing company Brando

was also engaged for

promotion of the event which

provided good results.

PICSS also engaged

administrations of all

universities in twin cities and

a team of PICSS, headed by

DG PICSS Major General M.

Saad Khattak (retd),

personally visited most of

the universities, held

meetings with Vice

Chancellors and Rectors in

Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

They were found more than

willing to facilitate this effort

of the civil society especially

by a think tank and extended

PICSS all their support.

Without their active

involvement and support,

this seminar would not been

such a huge success.

Summary of the Seminar

PICSS organized a one-day Seminar “Nationalism and Pakistaniat” on 15 March 2018 at Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA), Islamabad. It was attended by over 100 prominent personalities and over 400 university students from twin cities. Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Mehmood Hayat (NIM) was the Chief Guest while Federal Minister for Interior and Planning Prof Ahsan Iqbal was the Guest of Honour. DG PICSS Major General (retd) Muhammad Saad Khattak delivered the welcome address. He paid rich tributes to PICSS late Chairman Senator (retd) Akram Zaki for his services to the country as well as making PICSS one of the most respected independent think tanks of Pakistan within a short period of time. Ihsan Ghani, National Coordinator NACTA, Mir Sarfraz Bugti, Home Minister Balochistan, Dr Naeem Ghani, chairman Nazria-e-Pakistan Council, Azad Bin Haider, advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan, Squadron Leader Saira Amin, female fighter pilot of Pakistan Airforce, Shahzad Nawaz, artist and media specialist, Ali Moeen Nawazish, academic and columnist, Shafiq Akbar, Chairman Graana Group of Companies, Mr Hammad Safi, 10-year old motivational speaker, Mr Raj Kumar Gujar, motivational Speaker and Ms Samar Khan, prominent athlete & cyclist delivered their talks on various aspects of nationalism and Pakistaniat. Abdullah Faisal sang national song in the event. Great enthusiasm was seen among the participants.

Building the

Tempo


Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies

(PICSS) organized a one-day seminar/conference

“Nationalism and Pakistaniat” on 15 March 2018 at

Pakistan National Council of Arts, Islamabad. The

event was attended by prominent personalities,

academia and university students from twin cities.

Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General

Zubair Mehmood Hayat (NIM) was the Chief Guest

while Federal Minister for Interior and Planning Prof

Ahsan Iqbal was the Guest of Honour. The event

started with recitation from Holy Quran by Hafiz

Zubair Hamid followed by National Anthem.


Chief Guest Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Zubair Mehmood

Hayat (NIM) delivered the key note address. He paid rich tributes to Quaid -e-Azam Muhammad Ali

Jinnah and Allama Muhammad Iqbal for their vision as well as conviction and contemplated that

Pakistaniat starts from Jinnah, who worked with devotion and sacrificed his health as well as personal

life for the country. He said that he was a Pakistani by birth but now he is a Pakistani

by choice. CJCSC said that Pakistanis

are people of civilization and history

who made sacrifices for their

homeland as Muslim history is full of

sacrifices and even Muslim

calendar starts with a migration

(Hijra). While highlighting the

importance of Pakistan,

General Zubair said that Allah

Almighty has given Pakistan

a special status as it is the zipper of history,

geographies (regions) and civilizations. He further said that Pakistan is the land of poets

and saints. Notwithstanding the external narrative of negative propaganda against Pakistan, it is the

most tolerant and most charity giving state, that the world has witnessed during devastating earthquake

of 2005 when people donated their house hold items for the people in need. This is true Pakistaniat. In

terms of women participation in nation building, Pakistan is among the leading countries. He said that

Pakistan is success story and it is just only the beginning and Pakistan will achieve its glory – In Sha

Allah.

In his key note address, Federal Minister for Interior and Planning Prof Ahsan Iqbal thanked

PICSS for organizing the conference on this issue of national importance and gathering such a huge

number of youth. He said that 21st century is the century of knowledge and those who are more

informed and more

innovative are likely

to flourish.

Knowledge and

strong economy are

the fundamental

elements of nations

to prosper and

absence of any of

these will lead to the

collapse of countries

like we have

witnessed in case of Soviet Union when its economy failed to sustain the huge state structure. He also

highlighted the importance of peace and stability for state’s prosperity. He said that despite many

challenges and lack of resources from the very


outset, Pakistan has achieved much and has

become the 7th nuclear power of the world. He was

of the opinion that self-reliance and self-esteem are

the first steps towards the journey of success. He

advised students to see glass half-full instead of

seeing it as half-empty and not fall to negativity and

lack of self-confidence. He said that Pakistan has

effectively fought the war against terrorism and the

nation showed resilience despite enormous

challenge of militancy

In the country and the situation has been

brought under control. He said that future of

Pakistan lies in the hand of our younger generation

and expressed confidence that our younger

generation will achieve much more in years and

decades to come by working harder, better and

smarter to succeed as great nation.

DG PICSS Major General (retd)

Muhammad Saad Khattak (HIM)

During his welcome address in the inaugural

session, he thanked the Guest of Honour and other

participants for attending the event. He also thanked

universities administration for their positive

response. Since it was the first event after the

demise of Chairman PICSS Senator (Retd) Akram

Zaki, the DG paid rich tribute to the late chairman

for his valuable services to the nation as well as

making PICSS one of the most respected think-tank

of Pakistan within a very short span of time. DG

PICSS highlighted the importance of protecting our

younger

generation from

terrorism,

extremism and

negative

tendencies so

that they are able

to focus their

attention towards

personal and

national growth.

He said that since Pakistani youth is made a target

of a variety of disillusioned ideas and aspirations,

which makes them fodder for forces of darkness

and destruction, PICSS launched a nation-wide

campaign through seminars, conferences,

roundtables, interactive sessions, and other tools of

advocacy and this event was its beginning. Series

of such events will be organized in other parts of the

country in due course of time.

National Coordinator, National Counter

Terrorism Authority (NACTA) Mr Ihsan Ghani

Giving very informative talk on “Pakistan’s

Counter-terrorism Efforts and Role of Youth”, he

highlighted

Pakistan’s

counter

terrorism efforts

and said that

law

enforcement

agencies with

the backing of

nation has

brought about a

significant

change and security situation in the country has

improved in the last 2-3 years. He said that we are

now in the consolidation phase. He said that

Pakistan is confronted with various external and

internal challenges. One of the most serious internal

challenge is intolerance. He urged youth to play

their role in eradicating intolerance from the society.

He also urged youth to be very careful about

disinformation being floated by anti-peace and anti-

Pakistan elements especially through social media

and advised them to verify the information

before sharing with anyone else or believing the

propaganda to be true.

Mir Sarfraz Bugti, Home Minister, Govt of

Balochistan, in his talk on “Integration of Youth of

Balochistan”, highlighted that people here in


Islamabad know Balochistan only through

media, which does not at time present a true picture

of Balochistan and only report bad news. He said

that problems do exist in Balochistan but relevant

stakeholders have made concerted efforts and the

situation in Balochistan has improved substantially.

He said that Balochistan is facing law &

order, religion based terrorism, organized crime,

and low intensity conflict from Baloch elements. Mr

Bugti was of the opinion that rewarding the bad

behavior of

Baloch elements

who have taken

up arms is the

root cause of the

problem and

increases

insurgency. He

asked people of

Punjab to shun

their self-guilt that

Balochistan is

deprived by them.

Balochistan is not deprived by Punjabis, it is

deprived by Baloch leadership themselves. He said

Balochistan is not deprived at all as we came to

Islamabad with just six senators and went back to

Balochistan taking the seat of Senate Chairman. He

said that there was a time when killings of Punjabis

was considered legitimate at societal level but the

situation has changed. Despite the fact that RAW

and NDS are trying to exploit ethnic fault lines for

their ulterior motives, patriotism has penetrated in

the Baloch society and now we all must look

forward for a well-developed Balochistan that is

playing due role in overall national growth and

progression.

Delivering his talk on “Defining Pakistaniat”,

Dr Naeem Ghani, founder Chairman of Sultana

Foundation and Chairman Nazria-e-Pakistan

Council, said that nationalism and Pakistaniat

are two different

terms as the former

is generic in nature

while the later

manifests our love

and affection for our

place and people.

He said that word

Pakistan identifies

us with the comity

of nations. He said

that the universe is

developing since

the beginning and

defined two

elements for this

development, which

are societal development and human development.

For societal development, peace and stability are

required while for human development we need

organization/ management, determination, action

and unity and recalled the sayings of Quaid-e-Azam

Muhammad Ali Jinnah of “Unity, Faith and

Discipline”. He also advised students to protect their

self-esteem and not to allow anyone to devalue you.

Giving his message of unity, Dr Naeem said that

our religion Islam is inclusive, not exclusive, in its

approach providing us avenues for unity at national

level.

Azad bin Haider

In one of the most motivating talk of the event, Mr

Azad bin Haider, shed light on “Quaid’s Vision and

Future of Pakistan”. He highlighted the importance

of education in the eyes of the charismatic leader

who donated his personal property for educational

cause by donating it to Alighar University, Sindh

Madressatul Islam and Islamia College Peshawar.

He said that according to Quaid-e-Azam creation of

Pakistan in 1947 was the first phase of the country

and the second phase lies in making this country

the greatest country of the world through concerted

efforts of all including youth. He said that Quaid-e-

Azam has always pleaded for the social justice. He

revealed that since Quaid-e-Azam was an


internationally recognized jurist having

comprehensive understanding of international law

had a plan of seeking a five-kilometer wide corridor

between erstwhile East and West Pakistan through

India with the provision that within radius of five

kilometer

corridor

width,

Muslim

population

of India

ought to

have been

settled. He

was also

convinced

that Quaid-

e-Azam

had started

writing

constitution

and developed a basic structure of constitution

wherein Quaid-e-Azam was actually considering

adopting provisions of the French Constitution like

election system for representation in Parliament on

the basis of securing 51% of the total votes not on

the basis of simple majority.

Artist and writer Mr Shahzad Nawaz in his talk on

“Potential of Pakistani Youth in Promoting

Pakistaniat” said that we should also question why

the “glass half empty” is still half empty. He said that

52% percept of Pakistanis are under the age of 26

so they are real asset of the society. He said that

there are three elements of Pakistaniat: national

flag, national anthem and national language. He

said that

since national

flag belongs

to every

Pakistani, its

display

should not be

limited to

vehicles of

top echelons

like ministers,

etc. Instead,

everyone

should be

allowed to

display national flag on his vehicle, house and

building to spread the message of love to our

motherland. He lamented the increasing trend of

skipping national anthem from various events

particularly in morning assemblies in schools. He

was of the opinion that

the practice of singing

national anthem in

schools, colleges and

universities may be

enforced. He criticized

lack of efforts on the

part of various

governments to work for

implementation of Urdu

as national language.

He also suggested that

everyone attaining the

age of 18 and applying

for the National Identity

Card should be asked to

take oath of remaining loyal to Pakistan as is being

done for joining military or other civil services.

In her talk on “Conquering the Skies: Success Story

of Pakistan Female Youth”, Sqd Ldr Saira Amin,

PAF, shared her personal experiences of joining

Pakistan Air Force and becoming first Pakistani

female pilot to fly a fighter aircraft. She said that

Pakistani Armed Forces are most disciplined

institutions of the country in which females are

increasingly becoming the part and parcel without

any discrimination. She cited her winning the

coveted “Sword of Honour” during her training in the

PAF academy as testimony to this fact. She urged

youth particularly female participants to play their

role in national

growth and

progression. She

also responded to

some of the critical

points raised by

Shahzad Nawaz

which was an

exhibition of

diversity of

speakers PICSS

had organized.


Sharing her experiences “Rising to the Pinnacle”, renowned Pakistan female cyclist and athlete Samar

Khan motivated youth through sharing her personal experiences of rising despite many

hardships and obstacles resulting from early demise of her father. She told that first she tried to know

herself and once full identification of self was made, she never looked back despite many hurdles. She

said that Pakistan has become a destination of

international tourism and foreign tourists come to

Pakistan for beauty of its land and love of its people.

She said that representing Pakistan in the

international competition has been great honour and

source of motivation for her. Samar Khan is the first

women in the world to ride cycle on 4,500 meters

Biafo Glacier in the Karakoram Mountains of Gilgit

Baltistan. She said that merely the idea of hoisting

and waving Pakistani flag at the top of peak

motivated and helped her overcome many obstacles

that a women athlete could face during such a tough

competition. She gave the message of hope and

motivation to the youth for achieving their goals in

life.

In his address on “Overseas Pakistanis

and Pakistaniat”, entrepreneur and businessman

Mr Shafiq Akbar narrated his personal story of

opting to return to Pakistan against the advice of

his family and friends when he was quite settled

abroad adding that he never repented his decision

as he achieved much during a very short time and

he is aiming even higher in days to come. He said

that Pakistan is the land of opportunities and

Pakistanis are not lagging behind in terms of talent

and capabilities. He said that we need to work on

depicting the true image of Pakistan abroad as

there is quite negative opinion among the other

nations about the country. He advised students to

have a vision and role models to succeed in life. He

said that there is no dearth of role models in

Pakistan. society.

Ali Moeen Nawazish

Giving his talk on “Becoming Role Model for the Next Generation”,

academic and columnist Mr Ali Moeen Nawazish said that most of

Pakistani youth is lacking direction so career counseling is required. He

said that reliability of role models is a crucial factor and teachers could

become an ideal role model of students but teachers will have to be

careful about their conduct and behaviour as inappropriate behaviour are

likely to be emulated by the students causing serious harm to them in their

professional and social life. He advised youth to contribute in national

growth and development through honesty, devotion and education. He

also urged relevant authorities to provide necessary tools for the youth

including education and opportunities that are inclusive in nature.


On the topic of “Hum Sub ka Pakistan”,

motivation speaker Raj Kumar Gujjar said

that Pakistan is for everyone irrespective

of his/her religious beliefs. He said that

there are misperceptions about Pakistan

that minorities are treated badly here but

he never felt such discrimination in

Pakistan. He said that there could be

some problems but these problems are

being faced by everyone and one should

not take those problems being very

specific to any religion. He urged youth to

think what they gave to Pakistan instead

of asking what Pakistan gave to them. He

said that this fundamental change in our attitudes will completely change our behavior.

10-year old young motivational

speaker Mr Hammad Safi in his

talk on “Role Models for Emerging

Youth”, explained qualities of role

models and used national poet

Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s

famous verse:

نگہ بلند ، سخن دل نواز، جا ں پرسوز

یہی ہے رخت سفر، میر کارواں کے لیے

He highlighted that role models

are super visionary, history

creator, spiritual, soft spoken and

warm hearted, hardworking,

knowledgeable, and receptive to

modern trends and demands. He

said that role models always

remain ready to help others and

urged the youth that each one out

of us could become a role model

by applying the formula espoused

by the great Allama Iqbal.

Masters of the Ceremony in Different Sessions

Min

ah

il B

inte

Sa

ad

Ha

ssa

m S

idd

iqi

Dir

ect

or

Pro

gra

ms

PIC

SS

Mo

min

a

Riz

wa

n


Young singer Abdullah Faisal sung Milli Naghma and applauded by audience Pakistan Zindabad Slogan by DG

Abdullah Khan, MD PICSS presenting souvenir to Shahzad Nawaz

All seats were filled, people had to sit on stairs

Media Coverage

The Seminar was widely

covered by print and

electronic media. Speech

of the Chief Guest General

Zubair Mehmood Hayat

was telecasted live by

many TV channels.

Statement of the Interior

Minister also got very good

coverage. The seminar

remained in the head lines

of most of the channels

while it was very well

covered in newspapers

next day. Daily Ausaf

published a special report

on the seminar after three

days. Clips of the seminar

were also telecasted live

on Facebook which

brought very good

response.


Feedback

Please give your feedback on our Seminar if you have attended. We always strive to improve.

Email: [email protected] . www.picss.net , Phone: +92 51 8443444 Fax: + 92 51 8442444

House No. 423-A, St-01 F-11/1 Islamabad

Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies

(PICSS) is an Islamabad-based Independent Think

Tank with special focus on studying anti-State violence

in Pakistan. PICSS maintains a database of militant

attacks and security forces actions in Pakistan since

9/11 (known as PICSS Militancy Database). It also

issues Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Annual Security

Assessment Reports based on information collected

through open sources as well as its own correspondents

in the conflict zones. PICSS reports are available on

subscription. Currently, its reports are subscribed by

major western embassies in Islamabad as well as

corporate sector. PICSS also maintains data related to

drone strikes in Pakistan. It is part of Casualty

Recorders Network established by Oxford Research

Group (UK), which is a network of organizations working

on studying conflicts and maintaining databases.

Research partners of PICSS include National Counter

Terrorism Authority, Royal Danish Defence College,

NUST-Global Think Tank Network (NUST-GTTN),

Fatimah Jinnah Women University, Preston University,

Agahi Foundation. Foreign Language Institute, Silk

Roads Institute (Paris) and others. It provides internship

opportunities to the students of different universities and

enables students to study conflicts within Pakistan and

in the region through the prism of Pakistan’s national

interest. PICSS also studies ideological aspects of

terrorism in Pakistan. Takfeeri and Kharji ideologies are

properly studied and students are enabled to counter

the deviant militant narrative.

PICSS also conducts seminars, conference,

roundtables and in-house discussions. It has conducted

some very successful seminars on important national

issues. PICSS seminars are known for their quality

speakers and audience in academic circles in

Islamabad.

Prepared by: Gul Dad Director Research PICSS

Assisted by: Maryam and Muqqadas

seminar report - picss.net · pakistan, squadron leader saira amin, female fighter pilot of...

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