Last month, a team of six staff from the Civic Initiative (a business group of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Donahue Institute) were in Islamabad. They held a three-day follow-up conference for alumni from recent cohorts of the Study of the U.S. Institutes Comparative Public Policymaking program that has been held annually by the Civic Initiative since 2010. The SUSI program is funded by the US Department of State Education and Cultural Affairs Office.
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Pakistan Lecture Series 2010
Sultan-i-Rome
Professor Sultan-i-Rome has agreed to lead the AIPS Roundtable at the AAS meetings in March and also be a PLS speaker. The roundtable and his ensuing PLS talks will provide a critical analysis of the situation in Swat, Malakand district, NWFP, both by providing an historical context and elaborating on current issues in the ongoing conflict today.
Swat is part of the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) of NWFP, and has been periodically invaded by formidable armies, of which the present deployment of a huge number of the Pakistani armed forces is an example. The situation in Swat became extremely volatile in 2007 as both government forces and extremist factions clashed. After some resistance, one of the militant leaders, Maulana Fazlullah, went underground. Clashes erupted again in spring 2009, which resulted in millions of IDPs (internally displaced persons) fleeing Swat.
The tragedy of the present situation is that there are many players involved with conflicting agendas, but that the victims continue to be the civilians of Swat. Swat is at a crossroads and if both sides refuse to budge, it is likely to spell ruin for Swat and its inhabitants. Professor Sultan-i-Rome will discuss agendas of the major factions, including the provincial government, Tanzim Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law), and Swat's local Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), with an eye towards understanding how a peaceful way out of an increasingly volatile situation could be forged. It is especially important to understand the goals and priorities of the various factions involved in this conflict given that these groups have an obligation under their ethical and moral code of conduct to abide by the promises made and understanding reached between them.
March 24-28, 2010: Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting in Philadelphia
Swat: An Analysis of Political, Administrative, Socio-Political and Economic Developments: Professor Sultan-i-Rome will provide a critical analysis of the situation in Swat, NWFP, by providing an historical context and elaborating on current issues in the ongoing conflict today. Swat has been periodically invaded by formidable armies, of which the present deployment of the Pakistani armed forces is an example. The situation in Swat became volatile in 2007 as both government forces and extremist factions clashed. Clashes erupted again in spring 2009, which resulted in millions of IDPs (internally displaced persons) fleeing Swat.
There are many players involved with conflicting agendas. Swat is at a crossroads and if both sides refuse to budge, it is likely to spell ruin for Swat and its inhabitants. Professor Sultan-i-Rome will discuss agendas of the major factions, including the provincial government, TNSM, and Swat's local Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), with an eye towards understanding how a peaceful solution from this increasingly volatile situation could be forged.
Note: Professor Sultan-i-Rome also lectured at the following locations:
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Richard Stockton College (March 28-April 2, 2010)
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University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (April 2-7, 2010)
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University of Wisconsin, Madison (April 7-11, 2010)
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University of Washington (April 11-14, 2010)
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University of Oregon (April 14-17, 2010)
To view Professor Sultan-i-Rome's CV, please click here.
Imtiaz Gul
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October 13-18, 2010: University of Wisconsin, Madison
Thursday, October 14: Center for South Asia Lecture Series
The socio-economic cost of conflict to the people of PakistanBesides losing thousands of civilian and army lives, Pakistan has also suffered socio-economically in a volatile security environment. Investments have dropped, governance worsened, business badly affected, precipitated also by a grueling energy crises. Lack or absence of planning by the federal government. Most recently the unprecedented flooding has created new problems and increased the impact of these other issues. This talk presented an overview of the current situation in Pakistan
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Friday, October 15: Annual Conference on South Asia, Madison, Wisconsin
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October 19-20, 2010: University of Chicago
Tuesday, October 19: The World Beyond the Headlines Lecture
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October 21-22, 2010: North Carolina State University & Duke University
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October 24, 2010: World Affairs Council of New Hampshire
For a full CV, please click here.