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Comparative nuclear historical perspectives discussed

2016-11-01
LAHORE: The Centre for Security, Strategy and Policy Research at the University of Lahore hosted Pakistan`s first two-day international conference and workshop on `Comparative Nuclear History` that concluded on Monday.

The event was held in collaboration with Nuclear Proliferation International History Project (NPIHP) of Woodrow Wilson Centre, a non-partisan Washington DC-based institute for advanced studies. It was convened to discuss comparative nuclear historical perspectives and train Pakistani academics and research scholars working on South Asian nuclear issues to understand comparative historical contexts, a press release stated.

The event was attended by a number of government officials,academicsandresearchers. The participants agreed on the critical importance of access to archival sources to historical understanding ofnuclear policy issues however, they also highlighted the challenges of such a discourse given the novelty of archival approaches, especially in the Pakistani context.

Speakers included Prof Dr Rifaat Hussain, Khalid Banuri, Dr Rabia Akhtar, Salma Malik, Dr Adil Sultan, Dr Mansoor Ahmed, Dr Zafar Khan and Sadia Tasleem. The NPIHPsponsored group included notable scholars from the US and Europe, led by Dr Christian Ostermann, Prof Dr David Holloway, Dr Mahsa Rouhi, Dr Giordana Pulccini and Evan Pikulski.

Keynote speakers at the conference Ahmer Bilal Soofi, president of the Research Society of International Law, and Khalid Banuri, director general of the Arms Control and Disarmament Directorate at the Strategic Plans Division, provided legal and a practitioner`s perspective on the theme of the conference.