اردو
  • Moot kicks off at Qauid e Azam University on Rethinking Social Contract in Gilgit Baltistan

    Session on Rethinking Social Contract in Gilgit Baltistan Qauid e Azam University File Photo Session on Rethinking Social Contract in Gilgit Baltistan Qauid e Azam University

    By Naveed Murtaza

    Islamabad : Session on Rethinking Social Contract in Gilgit Baltistan organized by Students from Gilgit Baltistan studying at Quaid e Azam University "QAU".


    Renowned Scholars Dr Aziz Ali Dad a columnist and an esteemed scholar in philosophy,  Dr Raja Qaiser Ahmed and Prof Zaigham Abbas  Asst Professor at School of Politics and International Relations a young competant lecturer at GCU Lahore were speakers at session.

    Dr Aziz Ali Dad in his address said "SSR (State Subject Rule) can be an effective instrument for maintaining demographic composition in Jammu and Kashmir but it was essentially a colonial tool without roots and perceived legitimacy among the people of Gilgit-Baltistan. Those who are supporting the move to restore SSR in its original form in Gilgit-Baltistan are ignoring historical facts to hide a failure of imagination to propose new legal arrangements and a fresh social contract for the inhabitants of Gilgit-Baltistan. Furthermore Dr Aziz spoke on identity crisis and sectarian dominance crises mentalities in Gilgit Baltistan and advised youth how to counter these crises in Gilgit Baltistan.

    Zaigham Abbas speaking on political and civil liberites in GB said "The mantra of development is presented as a panacea to GB’s problems, while in reality the state of human rights and political liberties continue to be targeted. Development — both economic and political — run parallel to each other, yet in the case of GB, the latter is visibly absent said"

    Dr. Raja Qaiser Ahmed  spoke on misconception about Gilgit Baltistan is part of Kashmir or Part of Kashmir issue said "The chequered political history of GB has been an important reason (among others) that the case of GB itself could never be presented in a way that does it justice. One of the drawbacks of viewing GB’s problems as part of the Kashmir dispute is that it undermines the distinct identity of the region"

    In an interview with our correspondent the Chief Organizer of Session Ajmal Khan Masud Student of  School of Political Sciences and IR "said that the goal of organizing this session was to  and to create a counter hegemony discourse under a conman agenda, raise awareness and start a discourse on social contract so that people of GB specially youth to came forward in shaping  an actual compact or agreement between Gilgit Baltistan and Pakistan defining the rights and duties of each"

    Students in the session actively took part in debate shared their views and asked questions 

    The Seminar was organized independently by Arsalan Mehdi, Assad Abbas and Mehwish Ali students of International Relations at QAU, Islamabad. The objective was to substantiate the understanding of existent social contract. An initiative which can highlight the subaltern political approach in the region.