PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN: In a National Dialogue Forum (NDF) roundtable event on 6 July 2022, experts from Pakistan and Afghanistan discussed about the state of Afghan migrants in Pakistan after 15 August 2021, and the way forward for the migrants, Government of Pakistan and international community.
The socio-political multipliers came from civil society, think tanks, academia, media and tribal leaders, and met at the Area Study Center of the University of Peshawar, Peshawar. The Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) Pakistan gladly supported this dialogue roundtable as part of its new regional dialogue event series “Afghanistan and its Challenges for Peace and Development”.
The former Ambassador of Pakistan to Afghanistan, Mr. Rustam Shah Mohmand, in his keynote address highlighted:
Afghanistan is facing multiple challenges at the moment. All the regional and global powers should come forward and help the millions of Afghans in this difficult time. We should not forget that a peaceful Afghanistan will not only lead to regional stability but also to global stability and peace.
The former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Peshawar, Prof. Dr. Azmat Khan, stated that without understanding the complex history and diversity of Afghanistan, a peaceful and stable Afghanistan would not be possible.
Mr. Sheharyar Khan, Executive Director, NDF stressed that grassroots-level peacebuilding can be created through dialogue, non-violence, and peace messaging.
HSF Pakistan Resident Representative, Dr. Steffen Kudella, explained HSF’s motivation as a platform provider for constructive regional dialogue:
We stand and strive for a comprehensive approach in the field of development cooperation. Our democratic mandate is: to promote peace through better understanding, cooperation, and mutually beneficial development.
All the panelists of the dialogue discussion agreed that peace and stability in Afghanistan are the need of the hour not only for Afghanistan but for the whole region.
The lively and open discussion was attended by very diverse expert multipliers from Afghanistan and Pakistan, including youth leaders, scholars, civil society activists, TV anchors, journalists, teachers, Afghan refugee spokespersons, women right activists, and parliamentarians. It will be continued by respective NDF-HSF dialogue events in Quetta and Islamabad soon.
You may find training photos at https://twitter.com/HSF_Pakistan. For more information on HSF Pakistan, please visit https://pakistan.hss.de. Press contact: islamabad(at).hss.de.