In collaboration with the Social Science Research Centre Berlin, the Heinrich Böll Foundation organised a panel discussion on the subject "Pakistan and the West" on October 26, 2009. The main focus was the ongoing “Talibanisation” of the country.
Download the complete documentation of the panel discussion as pdf file (2 pages, 35 kB)
Two years ago Pakistan’s military ruler Pervez Musharraf resigned and elections in 2008 put a civilian government back into power. Pakistan’s civil society and especially the lawyer’s demonstrations made a new democratic beginning possible. But domestic challenges are rising, due to military conflict in different parts of the country, insufficient energy supply and a global finance crisis which hit Pakistan hard.
The Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung and the Social Science Research Centre Berlin (WZB) invited guests from Pakistan to discuss these issues with the German public:
- Imran Khan, Chairman of the Political Party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice)
- Ahsan Iqbal, Chief Coordinator and Information Secretary of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz Sharif) and Member of National Assembly
- Athar Minallah, Lawyer at the Supreme Court of Pakistan and former spokesperson for the Chief Justice of Pakistan
- Bushra Gohar, Senior Vice President of the Awami National Party and Member of National Assembly
The public event was moderated by Susanne Koelbl, journalist and author. The main focus of this event was certainly the ongoing “Talibanisation” of the country, the recently started military offensive in South Waziristan and the role of the “War on Terror”, being the most controversial aspect of the event.