KARACHI: To celebrate 75 years of setting up of the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs (PIIA), a two-day conference on `Pakistan and the Changing Global Order` opened at a local hotel on Wednesday morning.

Inaugurating the event, the chief guest on the occasion, Chief Minister of Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah said Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was to come to the conference, but had to travel to New York to take part in a G77 meeting.

`This remarkable institution [PIIA] is the pride of our country. I congratulate its mem-bers, past and present, for nurturing, sustaining and protecting it since its inception. We recognise that the PIIA is the oldest body and a leading think tank of our country. Among its founders were patrons such as Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan. This is an honour not shared by any other institution. It is the pioneer of research in international affairs and many institutions have gained from its experience.

On the subject of the moot, the chief minister said, `When I glanced through the programme of the conference I saw that it puts on the table every issue of contemporary importance in the changing global order which will be addressed by a galaxy of scholars and diplomats from Pakistan and abroad. I was also impressed that it ends on a note of peace.

Whatever the issues, I believe that achieving peace is the ultimate goal for all governments.

A concerted approach to all issues and challenges within or outside Pakistan is the need of the hour. In recent years, we have seen a shiftof geopolitical power from the west to the east.

We have witnessed the rise of Asia, a resilient Africa, an assertive China and a resurgent Russia.

`Our own region is beset with unsettled issues. The unresolved Kashmir issue, the unrelenting brutality of the Indian government against the Kashmiri people is a cause for universal concern. Their [people`s] sufferings continue unabated. The Taliban government in Afghanistan poses a challenge to all players in the region. Pakistan f aces its own challenges of not only of border security, but also of food and water security.

Mr Shah said Pakistan is the fifth largest country in the world and one of the nine declared nuclear powers. It is a responsible nuclear power. Even as a young nation it stood by countries struggling against colonial rule.

The chief minister said he`s glad that the programme of the conference addressed the issue of climate change pointing out the recent floods in Pakistan. `Almost one-third of thecountry was under water. Thousands died and tens of thousands were injured. Almost 5 million acres of cultivated crop were destroyed, out of which 3.5m acres were in Sindh. We have more than 2m houses either partially or totally damaged... I`m grateful to the international community for its support but we still nee d a lot more.

Earlier, in her welcome address, chairperson of the institute Dr Masuma Hasan said, `It has been a long journey from Kashi House, Connaught Place, New Delhi to our premises on Aiwan-i-Sadar Road, Karachi in the landmark building which has been declared protected heritage. When Pakistan became a reality, the members of the Indian Institute of International Af f airs which had been established in 1936 voted by a majority to shift it to Karachi, which was then the capital of Pakistan. In this endeavour, they had the blessing of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan.

`Khwaja Sarwar Hasan, who then headedthe institute, packed and loaded all its moveable assets, including its small but precious library, on wagons bound for Karachi. It was first located in the iconic Frere Hall and meetings were held in the imposing Somerset House on Somerset Street, later named Raja Ghazanfar Ali Road. Somerset House was a public space which was used for various gatherings. I understand that currently it houses paramilitary offices. By 1955, the institute had shifted to its own premises in the heart of Saddar in the city.

`Few institutions can have had the privilege of being founded by such an array of famous people. The founders of our institute were among the most eminent citizens of Pakistan.

Today, I want to name them. Apart from Khwaja Sarwar Hasan who set up the institute, Prof A B Haleem was its first chairman and so remained for more than 25 years... Shaista Ikramullah, Jahanara Shahnawaz, Dr Mahmud Husain and Dr Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi, the well-known historian, were members of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan; Altaf Hussain, editor of Dawn; Jamshed Nusserwanjee Mehta, Karachi`s first mayor and philanthropist; Yusuf Haroon and D.M. Malik f rom the business community; Shahid Suharwardy, Mumtaz Hasan, M Ayub, Mian Bashir Ahmad, the young Agha Shahi and the young Rashid Ibrahim belonged to the public service, and Hemandas Wadhwani was adviser to the Sindh government.

`Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, who was a great f riend of the institute, inaugurated it in March 1948 and described itspurpose to act as a bridge between policymakers and public opinion. And that is the purpose which we have lived up to for the last 75 years. Sir Zafrullah Khan, Pakistan`s first Foreign Minister, also supported the institute and was a frequent speaker here, of ten discussing the debates on the Kashmir issue on which he represented Pakistan at the UN. All the original work on Kashmir was done at the institute and it was used by policymakers even in years to come.

The next item on the programme list was ambassador Ashraf Jehangir Qazi`s address to the audience, followed by sessions on `From a unipolar to a multipolar world`, `Issues of international concern` and a session on Afghanistan.