Altaf Hamid Rao.
MIRPUR (AJK): United Nations Development Program – UNDP in Pakistan launched UNDP Pakistan and Swiss Development Corporation’s quarterly publication, the Development Advocate in Pakistan (DAP) at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) campus on Friday, it was officially said.
The 23rd issue of DAP is on the theme of ‘Peace and Development Nexus’ in Pakistan. The launch included a panel discussion on ‘The Peace-Development Nexus’ in Pakistan, with the objective to discuss the relationship between the two, while analyzing how this nexus has manifested itself in the case of Pakistan, a UNDP press statement issued on Friday said.
It continued that “Peace is a key component for achieving sustainable development”, stated Mr. Ignacio Artaza, Resident Representative a.i. UNDP Pakistan. The peaceful society provides a healthy socio-economic environment for businesses and people to flourish, leading to sustainable development.”
Panelists included Dr. Najimdeen Bakare (Head of Department at Center for International Peace and Stability), Dr. Simbal Khan (Conflict Prevention and Gender Expert), and Dr. Arshi Saleem Hashmi (Head of Department at Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at National Defense University). The discussion highlighted that peace and development share a mutually reinforcing relationship; while peace is a pre-requisite for sustainable development, inclusivity of development is essential to maintain peace.