Minhaj University Lahore, Directorate of Academics organized an intellectual and interactive session on December 12th   for the faculty members with the distinguished internationally known scholar. Having well-established credentials in the social and academic fields, the founder and Executive Director of The Common grounds, Dr.Zulfiqar. A. Kazmi, (USA).The topic of the session was,’’ Global Violence, Crises and Hope.’’
He said,’’ crises, value and hope are three concepts whose intersection and mutual constitution opens the door for a rethinking of the nature of economic and social life of any country. It ought to be reinforced in Pakistan for making it a stable prosper nation as per doctrines of Quran and Sunna. It is only possible if we define the real essence of “wellbeing” as the accomplishment of socially reasonable expectations of material and emotional comfort that depends on the access to the diverse resources needed to attain them.”
He emphasized, ’we cannot hope for sustainable development in Pakistan without peace, stability human rights and effective governance, based on the rule of law. Yet the nation of Pakistan is increasingly divided. Some regions enjoy peace, security and prosperity while others fall into seemingly endless cycles of conflicts and violence. This situation is inevitable and needs to be addressed with the immediate consensus of opinion and implementation of democracy in its true spirit.”
He concluded,’’ academia must focus on the youth to sharpen their life skills to combat global violence. Life skills can be defined as abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enables the individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life. These include cognitive, emotional, interpersonal and social skills to foster by self-awareness, management leading to confidence building, self-evaluation and goal settings.
Our youth must have a sense of social awareness by inculcating the habit of empathy, active listening, recognizing and appreciating individual group differences. Above all, they must respect relationships and develop the habit of responsible decision making with a sense of negotiation, conflict management and network motivation by assimilating information, critical thinking and in time evaluation of consequences of actions leading to the welfare of humanity. With these credentials, we can make Pakistan a prosperous nation.”