His Excellency Husain Haqqani

Pakistan Ambassador to the United States : Video of Lecture

A few key points from Ambassador Haqqani’s lecture:

• History of Pakistan
  • Pakistan initially became an Western ally out of its fear of India
• The Transformation of Pakistan
  • From authoritarianism to democracy
    • Things to consider regarding Pakistan’s position in the world:
      • Like India and China, Pakistan possesses nuclear weapons
      • Pakistan is geographically linked to the Middle East, the Indian sub-continent, China, and south-central Asia
      • Pakistan is the second largest Muslim-majority country
    • Problems:
      • Only 58% of school-age children are currently attending school
      • Past administrations have focused excessively on physical security rather than the civil infrastructure of the country, education, and healthcare
  • From militancy to entrepreneurship & productivity
    • The need to improve agriculture in Pakistan
    • Pakistan is not a failed state, but has had many failed governments
    • Muslim nations’ historical failure to introduce new technologies on par with the rest of the world
    • Muslim nations were colonized because they had become weak. They did not become weak because the were colonized.
    • The need for Pakistan to work with the West, particularly in establishing a system of coexistence of faith and modernity
  • From a crossroads of conflict to a crossroads of opportunity
    • Land routes for mineral resources in the Middle East and south-central Asia and goods from China and the Indian sub-continent
    • Focus on renewable energy and becoming an energy corridor for the region
    • Find a resolution to current conflicts
      • Kashmir
      • The War on Terror
        • New administration is pro-peace rather than simply anti-U.S. retribution
        • Campaign for the hearts and minds of the people of Pakistan

• His Excellency Said Tayeb Jawad …