our correspondent
PESHAWAR
Speakers at a workshop has said that human rights and economic stability are the key components of national security and a stable democracy and young people can play a key role in this regard. The mainstay of inclusive democracy should be citizens’ grievance redressal mechanism; addressing the issues that concern them the most.
They were addressing the 23rdround of Ulasi Taroon Youth Capacity Building Workshop, organized by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) at and in collaboration with Department of Social Work, University of Peshawar.
Addressing the workshop, Dr. Jamil Ahmad Chitrali from Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Peshawar, said there are two different views on national security and stability. The former suggests more weapons, armed forces and secured borders as a guarantee for the development and stability of a country, while the latter considers rule of law, fundamental human rights, equal citizenry and tolerance as the most essential prerequisite for democratic development and national stability. Good governance heavily depends upon and welcomes the citizens’ feedback critical to addressing issues of public concern, improving the service delivery of the institutions, and strengthening their accountability mechanism where it ultimately leads to inclusive democracy.
Dr. Aamir Raza, from the Department of Political Science, UoP, said that rule of law means that everyone is subject to and equally accountable before law, regardless of the socio-political and economic backgrounds. Every citizen can uphold and strengthen rule of law by adherence to and promoting respect for law. Such an active and responsible role of citizens can accelerate the journey towards a peaceful and prosperous society, and a more connected future. Powers come with responsibilities and rule of law calls for a responsible exercise of such powers.
Prof. Dr. Rashid Ahmed, Chairman of the Department of Social Work, UoP said that Pakistan is blessed with infinite resources in terms of human and material capital and only by successfully and positively channelizing these resources for the national development, we can strengthen social cohesion and harmony between the individuals and communities of different backgrounds.
Social cohesion is like a glue that connects different segments of a society in a unified form so as to enable them pursue the collective vision through shared goals and concerted efforts. He urged the youth participants to promote love and harmony and other positive messages among the communities for a peaceful and prosperous society.
Ms. Shagufta Khalique, educationist and Malik Mustafa, Manager Programs, CRSS said Pakistan has rich religious, cultural and ethnic diversity and respecting this diversity is critical to peaceful coexistence of the people from these diverse backgrounds. They said that prerequisites for sustainable conflict resolution are the skills of communication, listening and empathy with refined analytical skill. Youth as future leaders must equip themselves with these skills to be effective peace builders.
