The International Seminar on Peace and Conflict Resolution was held at the Centre for International Peace and Stability (CIPS) in Islamabad from 23rd to 24th October 2013. The Seminar was inaugurated by the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Mr. Mamnoon Hussain. Mr. Timo Pakkala, the UN Resident Coordinator in Pakistan was the Guest of Honor and the Minister for Science and Technology Mr. Zahid Hamid was in attendance.
In the technical sessions that followed eminent scholars, peacekeepers and experts presented their papers. They represented reputed organization and agencies like the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Accra, Ghana; Folke Bernadotte Academy, Stockholm, Sweden; United Service Institution (USI) of India; the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS), Honolulu, Hawaii; and the George Mason University (GMU), Washington DC, USA. Foreign delegates also included representatives of the Birendra Peace Keeping Operation Training Centre, Panchkhal, Nepal; Cairo Centre for Conflict Resolution and Peacekeeping; and Malaysian Peacekeeping Training Centre, Port Dickson.
The foreign speakers included Dr. Edward Rhodes, Dr. Sara Cobb, and Dr. Allison Frendak-Blume from GMU, Dr. Saira Yamin (APCSS), Lt Gen (Retd) R K Mehta of USI, Mr. Jonas Alberoth (Folke Bernadotte Academy), and Mr. Fiifi Edu Afful (KAIPTC).
The Pakistani speakers included former Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Rwanda Ambassador Shaharyar M Khan, retired Pakistan Foreign Service, and former contingent commanders, chief military observers, and UN officials like Lieutenant General (retired) Tariq Waseem Ghazi, Lieutenant General (retired) Sikandar Afzal, Major General (retired) Anis Ahmed Bajwa and Brigadier (retired) Mujahid Alam. Former interim law minister Ahmer Bilal Soofi spoke on international laws and its relevance to peacekeeping operations. A large number of researchers and scholars from local universities and think tanks attended the proceedings.
The objective of highlighting Pakistan’s credentials as a peace-loving country and the largest troop-contributing nation in the world and introducing the newly instituted Centre of International Peace & Stability (CIPS) to the domestic and international community was achieved.