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Seminar held at department of Intl. Relations
“Politics does not mean the pursuit of power for selfish interests, it means struggle for the welfare and the betterment of the society.” These views were expressed by Mr. Kamal Siddiqui, Editor reporting The News International at a seminar on “ Pakistan’s political predicament : Challenges and options”, on Thursday, November 01, 2007, at Department of International Relation, University of Karachi, under the Program on Peace Studies and Conflict resolution.
Over
a period of years, Mr. Kamal Siddiqui said, there has been a process
of depoliticization. This process has resulted in a culture of indifference
and intolerance. Political activism is a major means for changing and
improving
the system. According to him there are few major perceptions prevalent
in Pakistan about politics. All politicians and politics are bad, nothing
can change, democracy is not viable, and it’s not a sensible thing
to participate in a political activity. These perceptions blur the understanding
and vision of the Pakistanis.
Mr.
Kamal Siddiqui emphasized over the voting trends among different sections
of society; more education does not necessarily mean more political
dynamism. Political awareness has, no doubt, increased in the society
but it
has to be translated in the real actions. Democracy is the only workable,
presently speaking, political system in the world. The absence of democratic
culture has given rise to massive indifference and self- centeredness
in the
society: issues like poverty, health, education and infrastructure can
only be properly taken care of under a collective participant political
culture. The ongoing political violence is a reflection of an impending
crisis which may strike at any moment. Therefore there is an urgent
need to democratize the society for avoiding mistakes which were made
in the past.
Prof. Dr. Moonis Ahmar, Chairman of the Department and Program Director, commented that there was a quintessential need of belonging and owning one’s homeland. People must consider this country their very own country and must expressed tolerance and political wisdom. The program was followed by a lively question and answer session.
Urdu Version
