QUETTA - Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Zubair Mehmood Hayat Monday said Pakistanis are among the most intelligent people in the world.

“Pakistanis are one of the most intelligent people and I am not saying this because I am a Pakistani but because I have visited 50 countries across the world and met people there,” General Zubair said. “One of the most intelligent nation on the face of this Earth is Pakistan,” he added.

The CJCSC while citing the example of an eight-year-old girl who expresses herself through poetry said: “This is [an example of] the Pakistaniat we stand up for. This makes you so special,” he added while addressing the crowd.

However, General Zubair lamented: “An environment was created which made it seem that Pakistanis are extremists and hostile but this is not true. You have the potential and that is what I have come here to tell you.Our children have such dynamic personalities and innovative and creative minds. “

Citing an international survey on people’s willingness to fight for their country, General Zubair said: “Of 194 countries surveyed, Pakistan ranked number two in willingness of citizens to fight for their country.”

General Zubair said extremists did not represent Pakistan rather poets, Sufis, labourers, workers, and others were its true representatives.

Pakistan did not belong to a single person or institution as it was the country of every one, he said while addressing a seminar on “Nationalism and Pakistaniat” organised by Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) here at Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS). The seminar was attended by a large number of students of public and private sector universities, according to a press release.

General Zubair said the concept of 'Pakistaniat' was incomplete without Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal, who were the force and spirit behind its creation. Pakistan's strength was its civilization as the nation was the most resilient and charity giving one in the world. Some three percent of the country's gross domestic product was given in charity, he added.

He asked the students to be proud of themselves by becoming the 'Shaheen' (eagle) of Allama Iqbal as there was nothing they could not achieve in life.

PICSS Director General Major General (Retd) Saad Khattak said militancy had increased in the world during the last 15 years and the world militaries  could not win the war against terrorism. However, the story of Pakistan regarding war against terrorism was quite different, he said, adding, "We as a nation suffered immensely and made unprecedented sacrifices but were able to eradicate the menace. Our military was able to flush out militants from the Pakistani territory to such an extent that there is no organized presence of militants in the country." The huge success in the war against terrorism was not due to a single institution, rather it was a joint effort of the whole nation, he said.

Roshan Khursheed Barocha said:"Pakistan had given us everything and now it is our turn to return the favour to it."

Renowned Karate champion Shahida Abbas said behind every successful and developed nation, there were hardworking youth. She said that despite odds, she through hard work was eventually able to achieve her aim. She advised the students and youth to believe in their abilities to achieve goals.

Motivational Speaker Faizan Hassan said the youth had the potential to compete not only at national level but also at international level. He advised students and youth first to have a clear vision and then work to achieve it.

Senator (Retd) Robina Irfan highlighted the importance of women in national growth and development. She said the women of Pakistan in general and Balochistan in particular were capable to prove themselves in every field of life. She encouraged women to contribute positively in well-being of their families, tribes, provinces and the country.

She said the women were facing a lot of problems while pursuing their personal and national goals, but they had the potential to sail through the hard waters.

Managing Director PICSS Abdullah Khan said that besides fighting militants through use of force, it was equally important to pay heed to fighting them on ideological front. The Pakistani security forces had killed almost 30,000 militants but still more people were joining their ranks, because the youth were brainwashed.   

"We have not been fully able to present a counter narrative to militants’ ideology" and that was the main reason that university students were falling prey to the militants who made them suicide bombers through wrong interpretation of Islam, he said, stressing the need for a national programme for  rehabilitation of the youth, who had joined militants.

Advocate Azad Bin Haider said the Quaid-e-Azam had special attachment with Balochistan. Ninety percent of the national guards deputed for the security of Quaid-e-Azam were Baloch.

Brig (Retd) Agha Gul in his presentation on “Sense of Deprivation: Myth and Reality” said Balochistan remained deprived due to peculiar history of its area and it was wrong to blame Punjab, or any other province for that. He cited various historical and socio-economic factors that resulted in less development of the area in particular and the country in general. Naveed Baloch and Sarwar Javed also addressed the seminar.