Concept Note(Click here to download)

In the post-cold war era, particularly in the aftermath of 9/11, the dynamics of war, peace and conflict had diametrically transitioned as the nature of war underwent a paradigm shift which has exercise dire implications for the Middle East and South Asia. Perhaps no nation was affected more by these adverse conditions than the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

In this era, Pakistan has been subjected to a prolonged proxy warfare which compounded its traditional threat matrix. It has seen through death and destruction as multifaceted forces of liberal and religious extremists confronted each other. It had suffered a tremendous amount of casualties and chaos in terms of human resources, economic capital, infrastructure and social development.

Sindh and Balochistan in general and Karachi in particular were deeply impacted by the adverse situation. The adverse situation manifested in the form of death and destruction, political violence, extortion wave, gang war, human catastrophe and deindustrialization which in turn induced an economic downturn.

A plethora of opportunities that hold great potential for economic progress such as CPEC through its linkage to OBOR, TAPI, IPI and others have emerged. Utilizing these opportunities can unleash immense benefits for the nation.

The Centre for Peace, Security and Developmental Studies (CPSD) has conceived three themes for the year 2018. These are the Silver Lining: Beyond Prevalent Perceptions, Learning from the Learned and Living the Age. The Silver Lining series has already been initiated in November 2017 with two of the three sessions already taken place. The final consolidation of the thought process through a national seminar is set to take place on 30th March.

The Silver Lining theme revolves around identifying and utilizing the opportunities available for the benefit of the adversely impacted regions of Pakistan.

Through the seminar, the centre aims of projecting hope and reenergizing Pakistani entrepreneurship to reap benefits of emerging geostrategic alliances and economic opportunities.