The Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) along with its Afghan counterpart, Organization for Economic Studies and Peace (OESP), hosted a sideline meeting over a networking dinner on October 26, 2020, for a group of parliamentarians from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Afghan delegation included, Mr. Umar Daudzai, Afghan President’s Special Representative for Pakistan; Mr. Nisar Ahmad Ghoriyani, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Afghanistan; Ms. Malai Ishaqzee , member of the Wolesi Jirga; Mr. Hashmatullah Ghafoori, Deputy Minister for Irrigation and Natural Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Afghanistan; Mr. Mir Afghan Safi, member of the Wolesi Jirga; Haji Ajmal Rehmani, member of the Wolesi Jirga; Mr. Najib Nasar, member of the Wolesi Jirga; Mr. Afzal Haidri, member of the Wolesi Jirga; Mr. Zia ul Haq Wazirzai, Advisor to Afghan President and Mr. Younas Momand, Former President ACCI.
From Pakistan side, the event was attended by Member National Assembly, Ms. Munaza Hassan, Secretary Women Parliamentary Caucus, Pakistan; Ms. Shandana Gulzar; Ms. Mehnaz Akbar Aziz; Ms. Naureen Ibrahim; Ms. Nafeesa Khattak, Ms. Rubina Irfan and Ms. Ammara Durrani, public policy and human security expert.
The idea behind this event was to engage parliamentarians across Pakistan and Afghanistan vis-à-vis strengthening the role of women in improving bilateral relations and further accentuate their voices in both parliaments. It is worth mentioning here that this was the only sideline meeting during the Pak-Afghan Joint Trade and Investment Forum where direct engagement between the parliamentarians took place.
In his inaugural keynote address, Mr. Imtiaz Gul, the Executive Director CRSS, welcomed all honorable guests. He acknowledged the recent initiatives took by the Government of Pakistan through Pak-Afghan Friendship Group in mitigating the challenges that were hampering the bilateral relations. He further suggested that as women in both countries represent half of the population, they must participate actively in all segments of the regional development. He emphasized that in collaboration with the Pakistan’s Women Caucus in the National Assembly, Afghan women parliamentarians can map out future strategies of mutual collaboration, where they can demonstrate their expertise in strengthening the bilateral relations.
Mr. Umar Daudzai, Afghan President’s Special Representative for Pakistan, apprised the participants that Pakistan and Afghanistan have opened a new chapter regarding bilateral relations; one can witness the change of approach on both sides. Prior to these initiatives, we were resolving things issue by issue. Now, we are looking to mend the bigger picture, to improve the relationship between the two sides in every aspect. He also shed light upon Afghan women’s role in nation-building. “The perception that women in our country does not speak or does not come out of homes is a wrong one. There is 25% representation of Afghan women in Afghan parliament, and those women are not there on quota basis; they are elected ones”.
Commenting on educational opportunities for Afghans across Pakistan, Daudzai opined that there are many countries offering educational opportunities to Afghans, but Pakistan is the only country which offers medical and engineering scholarships to Afghan students. He also wished for more scholarships for Afghan girls in medical field, as according to him, Afghans need more female doctors. Concluding his remarks, he stated that positive trajectory in bilateral relationship at present, if consolidated, is a win-win for both the countries.
Ms. Munaza Hassan, Secretary Women Parliamentary Caucus, Pakistan, stated that Afghanistan being the heart of Asia, has always been in the heart of Pakistan. Although, there have been ups and downs regarding bilateral relations in the past, we must detach ourselves from the clutches of history and move forward. Both sides need to mitigate mistrust as well as trade deficit. With regard to providing technical assistance to Afghanistan, Ms. Munaza stated that the Pakistani government has recently introduced financial assistance program – Ehsaas and ease of doing business through easily accessible credit for women entrepreneurs. We are willing to share these initiatives with our Afghan counterparts. Both countries need to empower women through inclusive work force across all the strata. There should be sufficient representation of women in various chambers across the two countries, she added.
Ms. Malalai Ishaqzai, Afghan parliamentarian, while speaking at the dinner stated, “I am extremely grateful to CRSS for inviting us to this event tonight. We are now working towards strengthening our bilateral relations. We look forward to these kinds of sessions and meetings in future. Entrepreneurship among women in both countries in on the rise”. She particularly mentioned skills of Afghan women in handicrafts and carpet weaving; not only they are good at it, but they are exporting it to other countries as well, including USA and Europe. She also looked forward to technical assistance from Pakistan withing the domain of women led entrepreneurship. Ms. Malalai hoped that with peace around the corner, there will more opportunities for women in Afghanistan and they could then contribute robustly to nation building.
Moreover, Ms. Mehnaz Akbar Aziz, Member National Assembly, Pakistan, while speaking on the occasion, stated, “[W]e have come a long way. I have been interacting with the Afghan youth who have studied here. Hundreds and thousands of Afghans have studied in Pakistan, whom we can benefit from in furthering cross-border youth engagement. For both the democracies – Pakistan and Afghanistan, it is necessary for the parliamentarians, especially women, to interact with each other; the only sustainable way to consolidate the bilateral relationship”.
