Pakistan

KLF panel deliberates about Middle East crises

Speakers insist on making world a more habitable place

Safdar Abbas Zaidi March 01, 2020

With four parallel sessions running against each other, there will be 20 sessions altogether with 70 Pakistani speakers at the event.

KARACHI: Issues like terrorism, wars and the climate change plague many counties in the Middle East and the region which today presents a bleak picture.

These views were expressed by speakers during a session titled “The Deepening Crisis in the Middle East” held on the second day of the Karachi Literature Festival’s (KLF) 11th edition on Saturday.

The speakers included political and cultural commentator Ahdaf Soueif, Habib University Social Development and Policy Programme Assistant Professor Massimo Ramaioli, veteran Pakistani diplomat Shahid Amin and political analyst Zafar Hilaly. Strategic expert Khalid Banuri moderated the session.

While highlighting incidents of terrorism as well as challenges of climate change in Middle East, Soueif insisted on making the world a more habitable place.

“We can observe and evaluate from the diplomatic front when we look at conflicts in Palestine, India and South America that we are all somehow complicit in the crises,” she said.

“We need to find solutions to the global struggles that we are all in,” Soueif added.

Commenting on the situation in the Middle Eastern countries, Hilay observed that the future of the region was bleak.

“Syria is just another case of conflict like the one in Afghanistan. Lebanon is engaged in proxy wars and ethnic conflict and I hold the opinion that not much will change in Afghanistan,” he said.

He noted that in certain countries of the Middle East, militant extremism under dictators, and suppression of journalists and those of political opponents continue.

“It was smart of Pakistan to help the US-Iran talks and we continue our role to facilitate Iran. We should be aware that foreign rulers can be ruthless to us if we continue to stay a weak economy,” he said.

In response to Pakistan’s alliance with Saudi Arabia, Amin said no other country had given more economic aid to Pakistan than the Saudis.

“When we conducted the nuclear test, the Saudis gave us oil free of charge for three years and it stood by us in the wars of 1965 and 1971. This remains a source of strength for us,” he said.

Watch highlights of Karachi Literature Festival 2020 in this video:

Video by: Haris Ahmed Khan