Speaker Profile: Prof Kaiser Bengali

Kaiser Bengali is an economist and has a Masters in Economics from Boston University, USA, and a PhD in Economics from University of Karachi, Pakistan.

He has served as National Coordinator of the Benazir Income Support Program, Government of Pakistan (2008), Professor of Economics at SZABIST, Karachi (2005-07), Managing Director of the Social Policy & Development Centre, Karachi (2001-2004), and Research Economist/Assistant Professor at the Applied Economics Research Centre, University of Karachi, Karachi (1979-1995). He has also held research/teaching positions at the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education & Research, Karachi (1985-1999), Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Islamabad (1995-2001), Institut Universitaire d’Etudes du Developpment, University of Geneva, Switzerland (1995), and Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK (2001).

He has over 30 research publications in national and international journals and conferences and has carried out over 20 consultancy assignments, including in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Eritrea.

He is the author of two books titled “Why Unemployment?” and “The Politics of Managing Water” and has edited three reviews of social development in Pakistan on “Growth, Inequality and Poverty”, “The State of Education” and “Combating Poverty: Is Growth Sufficient?”. His areas of interest include macroeconomic policy, industrialization, employment, poverty, urban development and issues in local government. He has numerous newspaper articles to his credit and appears regularly on electronic media.

ABSTRACT

Changing pattern of security threats: Time for realignment

There are two Pakistans: Establishment Pakistan and Democratic Pakistan. The former is jingoistic in its approach, internally as well externally. The latter, seeking peace within and without, has been locked in a struggle with the former for decades.

India’s approach to Pakistan is defined by obduracy: these are our terms, take it or leave it. The Indian defence and foreign policy establishment needs to realize that the India has a vested interest in a stable Pakistan. The forces that are threatening Pakistan today are a threat to India as well. India has failed to nuance its policy towards Pakistan and has, as a result, consistently implicitly undermined Democratic Pakistan in its struggle against Establishment Pakistan and for a peaceful South Asia.

Civil society in India and Pakistan need to realize that the political paradigm has changed. The real divide between the two countries is no longer geography, but intellect and ideology. The real border is not at Attari or Wagah or Munabao, but between the values, world view and way of life that places Smurti Pattanaik and me on one side of the border and Syed Munawar Hasan and Mohan Rao Bhagat on the other side. Let Democratic Pakistan and India come to a pass where they can cooperate to defeat bigotry and extremism in all of South Asia.