On November 8, the Center for Security, Strategy and Policy Research (CSSPR), University of Lahore hosted a book launch of Pakistan’s former Foreign Secretary, Amb. Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry’s memoir entitled ‘Diplomatic Footprints.’ The event was chaired by Chairman, Board of Governors, University of Lahore, Awais Raoof. In his introductory remarks about the book, Amb. Chaudhry highlighted the importance of passing on experiences and knowledge to the younger generation, with a view to helping them make academic contributions towards improving Pakistan’s global image. Further, he stressed that, absent a sustained intellectual push, Pakistan cannot grapple with a plethora of current and future challenges. In his review of the book, Pakistan’s former Foreign Secretary, Amb. Shamshad Ahmad Khan, while lauding the diplomatic skills of the author, argued that Pakistan needs to reorient its foreign policy in order to effectively deal with the evolving challenges it faces. Dubbing the book useful for researchers and scholars alike, former Secretary Interior and Commerce, Tasneem Noorani, said books like this will greatly help those who want to critically study Pakistan’s foreign policy. Agreeing with Amb. Chaudhry’s focus on the need to establish linkages between academia, think tanks, and the government, Director, Center for Security, Strategy and Policy Research (CSSPR), Dr. Rabia Akhtar, stressed that researchers and scholars must be facilitated to work on Pakistan, by opening up archives and sources. She said a failure to do so would only go on to allow Pakistan’s enemies to control the narrative. In his concluding remarks, Awais Raoof emphasized how important public diplomacy, diaspora engagements, and strong linkages between academia and government are for Pakistan’s foreign policy. As its Chairman, he offered the platform of the University of Lahore for dialogue, debates, and academic research on Pakistan’s foreign policy and other all-important issues confronting Pakistan.
