Senate body hosts conference on Pakistan’s 70 years

Senate chairman would be chief guest at concluding session of the conference

ISLAMABAD: Senate Defence Committee is hosting a daylong conference in connection with the country’s 70th independence anniversary.

The conference titled ‘70 years of Pakistan’ being held on Tuesday, September 26, would look back at the progress made by the country over the past seven decades and identify the challenges in future in the spheres of politics, economy, culture and environment.

Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani would be the chief guest at the concluding session of the conference.

“The purpose of this conference is to provide a critical insight into this 70-year journey, from a weak fledgling state in 1947, to a robust, open and democratic society in 2017, which is buttressed and strengthened by a powerful national defence capability,” the organisers of the conference have said.

The main challenges that Pakistan would have to contend in future, they said, would come from a burgeoning population which has just reached a 208 million mark, to the serious environment problems like the scarcity of water and a low literacy rate at 58%.

The conference would bring together academics and parliamentarians to discuss lessons from the past 70 years and explore how these would guide the planners in dealing with the challenges in future especially training of human resource and generating enough growth to provide people with jobs.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2017.