Lahore, May 16, 2022 (PPI-OT):On February 16, 2022, the School of Integrated Social Sciences (SISS) hosted a delegation from Kabul, Afghanistan, for a discussion on the importance of Pak-Afghan youth engagement. The delegation was a part of the Center for Research and Security Studies’ Beyond Boundaries initiative, a program committed to facilitating exchanges between various segments of Pakistani and Afghan societies.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Rabia Akhtar (Director, SISS) said that through SISS, the University of Lahore is taking steps, not least by integrating Afghan students, to foster healthy people-to-people contacts between the two countries. She said that through such initiatives and interventions as training and upskilling Afghan students, many of the misunderstandings marring Pak-Afghan relations can be done away with.
Agreeing with this viewpoint, Mr. Imtiaz Gul, (Executive Director, Center for Research and Security Studies) said that it is never too late to take such approaches seriously. He stressed the need for opening up more conduits for dialogue between the youth of both countries. He said that only bright, skilled, and educated youngsters from Afghanistan and Pakistan can stop and deter spoilers from damaging their relations, whose success is critical to allowing them to reap the dividends of economic connectivity and integration.
Thereafter, the participants discussed the importance of not only creating more opportunities for academic engagements but also exploring possibilities for cooperation in sports, culture, and languages. While agreeing on how negative stereotypes have been created and promoted by the enemies of peace in the region, the delegates lamented the fact that the media on both sides has not done enough to break them, or counter propaganda. They said that both countries must jointly work towards creating goodwill and promoting each other’s positive and softer side.
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