This burning issue has been intensively discussed in the media as well as by the general public in Germany, therefore our association (DPG) decided to organise a political seminar on this interesting topic on 16 th August 2007 in the “Kiezspinne” in Berlin-Lichtenberg.

President of the Kiezspinne, Mr. Manfred Becker, formally welcomed the guests in the main hall of the building. The audience was sitting with high expectations in the experts of the region and was really eager to learn more about the situation in Pakistan. Erik Gührs introduced the Pak-German Council for Culture and Democracy and its objectives in both English and German language.

The guests on the podium were:

• Martina Doering, “Berliner Zeitung” (National Newspaper) , Foreign Affairs
• Ruth Ciesinger, “Der Tagesspiegel“ (National Newspaper), Political Editor
• Thomas Ruttig, German Institute for International and Security Affairs

President of DPG Shahid Riaz (Gondal) began the moderation with introducing the guest speakers, he also mentioned the very important 60th birthday of Pakistan and related articles in “Der Tagesspiegel” and in “Berliner Zeitung”. He described the background of the current political situation in Pakistan including the recent violent incidents of this year in the capital city Islamabad.

Every speaker presented a different opinion and different aspects of the situation in Pakistan from a different angle. Theses of Mrs. Martina Doering was, “ Pakistan is a Muslim nation but extremist will not take control of it. Elections cannot solve every problem of Pakistan.” She emphasized „now the Pakistani government meets the challenge to develop those areas of the country, which have been neglected in the past till today. She further said that “German media mostly ignores the positive cultural development in Pakistan, the country is too often only associated with the conflict with Afghanistan, most of the newspapers and TV-channels don’t have their own correspondent in Pakistan, they mostly report from New Delhi and Singapore.”

Mr. Thomas Ruttig provided a historical overview about the rise of extremists and militant movement in the Pak-Afghan Border areas over the past century. Mrs. Ruth Ciesinger made movement of lawyers and opposition her topic, she talked about the background of the movement and how it started after President Musharraf sacked the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. She also provided her analysis about the impact of this movement on Pakistani politics. She said that the incident of Red Mosque has destabilized the situations and it will cause revenge attacks.

After the speeches of the guest speakers the plenum was opened for discussion, many questions were asked about the atomic arsenal of Pakistan. Discussion concluded: Military of Pakistan remains a powerful institution and is a key player in the country. In the recent past private media could develop very significantly in the country. Democracy can only be established if President Musharraf holds the planned elections on time. It is hard to predict whether the results of the elections will be accepted by the political parties in Pakistan and Western governments. People from different regions of the county do not have equal chances for basic and higher education; therefore it is difficult for the democracy to take roots in the society. The role of the United States of America in the region remains controversial. Deployment of the German armed forces in Afghanistan is supportive for Pakistan. Conflict between India and Pakistan will not be solved in the near future. Active role of women is increasing in the public life and especially in the field of education. During the patrician time of India and Pakistan many people suffered very much because they were forced to leave their origin areas.

Every speaker spoke out for the need of democracy in Pakistan but at the same time emphasized that democracy cannot be imported from abroad but it should rise from within the country.

In addition to the interesting speeches of the guests, the professional moderation of Shahid Riaz and his live translation of the speeches in English and Urdu languages kept the atmosphere alive and very informative. People kept discussing and exchanging views at small buffet.