Nuaman Ishfaq Mughal,
Islamabad: Mr. Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Director General Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad said that the World Order for the past seventy years had been in deep stress and the new World Order would soon replace the current World Order. He stated this during a public seminar titled “Strategic Environment: Role of Leadership (2050)” organised by Islamabad based think tank, Pakistan House.
“Presently, we have seen regional conflicts; challenge to the United States supremacy by China and a new balance of power. President Trump is now speaking of nationalism, whereas President Xi is more concerned about global connectivity,” he added.
He further said that Pakistan’s leadership must deal with emerging threats and balance the relations with Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Iran. Similarly, he stated that World Order was in flux and it could not be predicted exactly what qualities our leadership would require in 2050. In his opinion, leadership in 2050 should be able to know the changing world politics.
Speaking on the occasion, Air Commodore (Retd) Khalid Banuri said that Pakistan had youth bulge which must be properly utilized. He mentioned a study which predicts that more than 100 million Pakistanis will have access to internet in 2027. “The future leadership must be organised and prepared to face challenges especially in areas of technology, innovation and business sophistication,” he emphasized.
Kanwal Shauzab, Parliamentary Secretary Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform said that leadership determined the vision and mission of a state. He elaborated further that it improved the application of democratic principles without jeopardizing people’s safety and security.
Ambassador Zamir Akram (Retd), Former Pakistan’s Representative at UN Geneva discussed public diplomacy and strategic strength. He stated that traditional diplomacy had changed but state system existed.
Another speaker, Dr. Kamran Azam, Associate Professor National Defence University, Islamabad said that Pakistan was 6th most populous country, expected to be the 4th most populous country with 300 million plus population in 2050. In circumstances like these, Pakistan has to continue using soft power and peace strategies.
Member National Assembly Pakistan, Ms. Ghazala Saifi shed light on the role of young leadership in governance. She said that the youth had to be educated and trained first and they had every right to get higher education.
Giving the concluding remarks, Mr. Rana Athar Javed, Director General Pakistan House said that in Pakistan’s initial years, political leadership was based on unity, faith and discipline. He added that leadership had transformed over the years and it was the need of time to carry out strategic assessment on how the future leadership would be selected and what would be the nature of it.
