The Diplomatic Insight April 2012
Editorial ( The Diplomatic Insight April 2012 )
World leaders gathered in Seoul( South Korea) with the common objective of preventing
Nuclear threat and theft by hoping that together they all can help each other in making
headways in the combined directions of achieving peace and security in the world.
This was the second Nuclear Security Summit of its kind held after the Summit in Washington of 2010, in the backdrop of the world facing the huge challenge of curbing the
menace of the arms race, conflicts, and wars on the planet. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “nuclear terrorism is one of the greatest threats we face today.”
He warned that “a single nuclear terrorist attack would cause mass destruction, acute suffering, and permanent, unwanted changes.”Around 53 leaders of the world, including heads of various international organizations, took part in the Summit, to join hands together for World Peace.
Choosing Seoul as the venue of the Summit is exemplary as the peninsula has been marred with the armed race while Seoul has always been at the forefront of nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear security, and peaceful use of atomic energy.
An important element of the summit was a joint review of the progress made by the world after the Washington summit in 2010. Participation of Pakistan was significant as it has, the almost four-decade-long experience of safe and secure operation of nuclear power plants where highly trained and expert personnel are working with dedication and sheer safety and security.
The current span of violence in Karachi asks all of us including members of civil society,
government, media, and parliamentarians to work towards peace in the city.
Pakistan’s financial capital has a long history of ethnic violence and still to this date
there is no sign of mellowing down.
It has seen much bloodshed and deaths and killings of innocent lives in the name of a multi-sided wave of insecurity driven by politics, ethnicity, and sectarian polarization. This has immensely sabotaged the culture of tolerance, forbearance, and good-neighborliness that was the hallmark of this multi-cultural and multi-ethnic city of Pakistan as often called mini Pakistan.
Land mafias, gangs, and others have exploited the peace to end breakdown the law and order in the city without being questioned by the authorities. It seems that the main directors of this game of death and destruction belong to powerful political groups and they are unaware of what they had done massive damage to the life and culture of the city.
People of the city are looking to the authorities if they can do anything about the issue. It is need of the hour that miscreants must be brought to book so as to save the beauty, festivity, and charm of the city. Culture and heritage are one shared connection that connects the nations together.
Novruz festival is one such kind of carnival that is being celebrated throughout the region neighboring Pakistan including Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, and all Central Asian countries, welcoming the festivity of spring. Novruz is a festival that heralds the arrival of the spring season in the region. People from across the region celebrate to enjoy love, peace, and harmony with enthusiasm.
Customs like Novruz encourage a cross-section of society to join hands and enjoy them while sharing these happy moments and occasions for levity and excitement. Although a Persian origin custom, the festival is being celebrated across Pakistan including in major urban centers, and continues for weeks.
In this fast-paced world, there are few moments of joy to cheer for and these kinds of events bring freshness to both the mind and psyche. For us Pakistanis, it is important to preserve the cultural heritage rather as various old age traditions are dying down.
For example, we used to celebrate the festival of Basant(Kite Festival) but because of the use of fall methods, the color of the festival died down as many people were used to being killed making government impose a ban on it. It is the need of the hour to utilize culture as a binding force amongst the countries of the region.
The Diplomatic Insight extends warm greetings of Novruz to all other brotherly
countries and those whose Independence days are during the months of April.
