Islamic Think Tanks Forum gives Award of Excellence & Professionalism to Pakistan Army

Lahore: “The best brains from across the Muslim world have gathered here to discuss the various issues that the Muslim world faces today,” said Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed while addressing the 6th Tank Tanks Forum of Islamic Countries, here on Sunday. The Senator further added, “The issues being discussed at this forum may be specific to the Muslim world, but to deal with them it is necessary to build coalitions and partnerships collaborate with other nations, religious communities and regions too.” He also announced that the Think-Tanks Forum for Islamic countries would now be renamed as the ‘World Islamic Forum’, with its international secretariat in Istanbul and Asian regional secretariat in Islamabad, to be hosted by Pakistan-China Institute.

On the second day of the conference, Advisor to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz delivered the keynote address. He was of the view that out of the many challenges that the Muslim countries face, the issue of intellectual development is of critical importance. Mr. Aziz stressed that the Muslim world faces common challenges, thus they must work in collaboration with each other to overcome these challenges. He further added that it is time that Muslims build resilient scientific, intellectual and academic partnerships with the rest of the world.

The sessions that followed, discussed Non-Traditional Security Threats in Muslim Countries where the speakers examined the issues in great detail and put forth their suggestions to deal with the challenges. They stressed that multilateral cooperation among all Muslim countries is of utmost importance and issues such as terrorism, climate change and human trafficking must be dealt with seriously. The speakers further discussed the opportunities and risks in the defense and space industry and cooperation for nuclear proliferation.

Chairman Senate, Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari, while addressing the closing ceremony of the Forum, underlined “In the wake of newly emerging threats, there is a dire need for Muslim countries to sit together and deliberate on the multi-faceted challenges that they face.”

The 6th Think Tank Forum of the Islamic Countries also issued the ‘Islamabad Declaration to mark the conclusion of the conference. The forum reiterated its resolve to institutionalize the ‘World Islamic Forum’ as the voice of Muslim intellectuals, opinion leaders and thinkers. The Forum would also hold a ‘Muslim Women’s Summit in Kuala Lumpur in September 2015, while the next WIF will be hosted by Iran. In addition, a permanent Steeering Committee was established to prepare an ‘Action Plan’ for the WIF, which will include Senator Mushahid Hussain and Chairman of TASAM, Suleyman Sensoy.

“The Islamic World Istanbul Awards”, were given this year for the first time, in order to promote and honor the successful people and institutions which are showing excellence and professionalism in their respective fields in the Islamic World. The Award Ceremony was held at the Islamabad Serena Hotel during the 6thIslamic Think Tanks Forum where President Mamnoon Hussain was the Chief Guest.

Pakistan Army and its Chief, General Raheel Sharif, were also given the Istanbul Special Islamic Award for demonstrating leadership in the struggle against terrorism with clarity, commitment and courage as Chief of Pakistan Army.