KARACHI: Experts at a conference titled ‘A World in Turmoil’ organised by the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs (PIIA) delved into several important topics from contemporary conflicts in the world to disinformation, cyber threats and nuclear risk and intersecting crises of climate change and food security at a local hotel here on Saturday.

While delivering his keynote speech in the inaugural session about contemporary conflicts, retired Justice Shahnawaz Tariq, ombudsman of Sindh for protection against harassment of women at the workplace, said that with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the world witnessed the end of the bipolar international political order, and the emerging of a new world order, with the US as the only superpower.

“However, the era of American hegemony is now being questioned by other powerful countries such as China, Russia, Turkey and Brazil, calling for modifying or completely overthrowing the existing international structure, dominated by the US and its European allies,” he said.

Experts at PIIA seminar discuss burning issues the world is facing today

He added that today, the world is witnessing a geopolitical competition characterised by a complex nature of power struggle between the US and China. “Students of International Relations term this power struggle a ‘new cold war’, though different from the previous one between the US and the Soviet Union, in terms of its nature and theatre. It is not ideological in nature, ie, Capitalism vs Communism, and the theatre is not Europe anymore, but the East, where the US and China are locked in a geo-strategic as well as economic contest,” Justice Tariq added.

He said that human rights and global justice are integral to international politics as apparent from the role of the International Court of Justice as well as the International Criminal Court in the ongoing Palestine crisis and war in Ukraine. “Pakistan has played a pivotal role in this regard and since 1960, over 200,000 of Pakistan’s servicemen and women have served with honour in many UN missions. Pakistan’s role has been instrumental in advocating for the right of self-determination of the people of Kashmir and Palestine at the UN General Assembly and Security Council,” he said.

Pakistan is party to many international human rights conventions, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and has legislated several laws to protect women from gender-based violence and safeguard their property rights. “For this very purpose, the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010, has empowered me and my fellow ombudspersons at the federal and provincial levels to ensure that Pakistani women can exercise their right of employment without any fear of discrimination at the workplace, and contribute to the economic development of our country,” he said.

“But Pakistan has a long way to go and faces huge challenges which can be overcome by looking at the opportunities,” he said.

“Being a part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative [BRI] and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor [CPEC], Pakistan can reap significant benefits in the coming years through connectivity projects. It is said that CPEC will not only guarantee Pakistan’s economic development, but also prove to be a counterbalance to the growing India-US military alliance in the region, where US leanings towards India has become a major concern for both Pakistan and China,” he pointed out.

He also reminded that Pakistan would have to be very careful in promoting its foreign policy objectives as the US would soon go to elections, and it was very important for Pakistan to promote a better understanding of the US-Pakistan relations with the next US administration, by effectively highlighting its role in the ongoing situation in Afghanistan as well as a front-line state in the war on terror,” he concluded.

Earlier, Dr Masuma Hasan, chairperson of the PIIA, in her preamble said that the world had been in turmoil throughout history but she wanted to hold the seminar to analyse the causes and effects of the turmoil in current times. She said that as an old order faded, a new global order with rules of engagement between the states of the world was still struggling to emerge.

“Although we are only in the first quarter of the 21st century, we have witnessed the rise of totalism and xenophobia, the terror inflicted by non-state actors, transnational crimes, armed conflicts in different parts of the world, debt traps, which stifle countries of the global South, pandemics and people on the move across national borders displace people, making refugees the fastest growing population in the world,” she said.

“There are longstanding unresolved disputes such as that of Kashmir and Palestine, but also armed conflicts relating to Somalia, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the long civil war in Yemen and the crisis in Syria, leading to untold suffering. There is also the lingering fear of nuclear threats. But, on the other hand, is the important role being played in geopolitics by middle powers such as Indonesia, Malaysia, India, South Africa, Turkey and Iran,” said Dr Hasan.

She pointed out that the 21st century had been described as the Asian century. “Shifting power dynamics has seen a resurgent Russia and the rise of China, with its unique style of diplomacy, its outreach through the Belt and Road Initiative which has been endorsed by 155 countries, and its connectivity corridors spanning the world,” she explained.

She also touched on climate change and the limitless use of fossil fuels, which are universal concerns as they threaten to devastate the planet. “And we are still grappling with the unknown challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence and other technological advancements,” she said.

Turning to Gaza, she said that the turmoil there had acquired a new meaning with the carnage and slaughter in Gaza. “Call it genocide, ethical cleansing, apartheid ... it isn’t just the killing of over 35,000 people and the maiming of thousands of others, which is itself unprecedented. It is a civilisation war, an attempt to wipe Palestine off from living memory,” she said while reminding that Pakistan had always stood by the Palestinian cause at all platforms and hoped for a day when Israel would be held accountable for the crimes it was committing in Palestine.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2024