SAFMA, PREM organise seminar on ‘Give Peace Another Chance’

LAHORE: Speakers at a seminar held here on Thursday called for renewed peace efforts between Pakistan and India and demanded the revival of the regional cooperation organisation SAARC, saying that shifting global power dynamics made dialogue between the two neighbours more necessary than ever.

The seminar, titled “Give Peace Another Chance,” was jointly organised by the South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) and the Peoples Rights Enforcement Movement (PREM) in connection with Independence Day.

Addressing the seminar, Secretary General of the South Asia Free Media Association, Imtiaz Alam, said that in light of changing circumstances, Pakistan and India should make renewed efforts toward peace, and that SAARC should also be reactivated and restored.

He said peace talks between the two countries were needed, especially given that the recent war between Iran and the United States had once again shifted the balance of power in the world, moving it from a unipolar, single-superpower system toward a multipolar one. Both countries, he said, should strive for peace, as peace remained the fundamental precondition for the prosperity and progress of the people of both nations.

Speaking on the recent debate over the creation of new provinces on administrative grounds, Imtiaz Alam said that when the country had not even been able to properly manage the administrative affairs of its existing four provinces, there was now talk of creating as many as thirty-five. He said what was actually needed was for local governments to be given greater authority and strengthened, so that the system could function more effectively.

He added that the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan was weakening regional unity and solidarity.

The seminar was also addressed by Abid Saqi, Peter Jacob, Muhammad Tehseen and Comrade Irfan.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026