Pakistan: PUBLIC FORUM AND DISCUSSION

BUILDING PEOPLE TO PEOPLE SOLIDARITY CREATING REAL "HOPE" AND "CHANGE" FOR PAKISTAN

SATURDAY, MAY 30th, 2009

2 pm - 5 pm

Newton Library

13795 - 70th Ave, Surrey

Light refreshments provided

Free Event

Join us for a public forum and interactive discussion on what the future holds for Pakistan. ORGANIZED BY:

Fraser Valley Peace Council, Siraat Collective and Pakistan Action Network (www.pakaction.org)

“If they snatch my ink and pen, I should not complain, For I have dipped my fingers in the blood of my heart. I should not complain, Even if they seal my tongue, For every ring of my chain is a tongue ready to speak” (Faiz Ahmed Faiz)

Media headlines and pundits have been inundating us with images of Pakistan as a nation on the brink of disaster. Pakistan is facing many critical issues: the expansion of the U.S. led War on Terror into Pakistan with continued drone attacks, Obama's AF-PAK strategy, the government’s deal in Swat, the rise of religious extremism and a majority of the population living in poverty without access to basic human rights.

Yet there is also another Pakistan, one in which one of the most vibrant struggles for democracy and rule of law has recently resulted in victory, where poets, lawyers, activists, journalists and other Pakistanis are forging movements of resistance against U.S imperialism, religious extremism and injustice.

In this context, what does the future hold for Pakistan? Speakers will discuss the various issues facing Pakistan and provide an analysis and framework for what we can do as concerned members of the public to contribute to building a movement for justice and peace in Pakistan.

SPEAKERS:

Haider Nizamani, Sunera Thobani, further speakers tbc

Haider Nizamani is a Lecturer in Political Science at UBC. His specialization is in the fields of International Politics, Security Studies and South Asian Politics. Dr Nizamani authored a book "The Roots of Rhetoric: Politics of Nuclear Weapons in India and Pakistan". His other publication is "Limits of Dissent A Comparative Study of Dissident Voices in the nuclear Discourse of India and Pakistan" Contemporary South Asia, 7.3 Autumn 1998. He also contributes to Pakistan's leading English newspapers on national security and political issues.

Sunera Thobani is a professor with the Centre for Research in Women's Studies and Gender Relations at UBC. She is past president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC), Canada's largest feminist organization. Dr. Thobani's tenure at the NAC was characterized by a commitment to making the politics of anti-racism central to the women's movement. Her research focuses on globalization, citizenship, migration, race, and gender relations. Her current projects include "Gender, Globalization, and International Conflict: Representation of Women in the Print Media" and "Television Representations of Women and the War on Terrorism."

For more information:

email: pakact@gmail.com

phone: 604-613-0735