HEC committee scrutinises abstracts of research papers

Islamabad
A two-day meeting of the Scrutiny Committee was held at Higher Education Commission (HEC), Islamabad, to discuss and scrutinise abstracts of research papers to be presented in the third ‘International Conference on State and Society of Pakistan: Challenges and Opportunities’, to be organised by HEC in collaboration with the University of Peshawar from May 13-14.
The committee selected nine international abstracts and 28 national abstracts out of 150 submitted abstracts. There is equal representation of all regions of Pakistan, 13 from Punjab, five from Sindh, four from ICT, two from Balochistan, four from KPK and one from Gilgit-Baltistan.
National and international social scientists will present their research articles on different themes including Theories and Methods — Emerging Trends in Social Sciences; Arts, Humanities and Sciences — Blurring Boundaries; Developing Institutional Capacity for Promoting Social Sciences; Socio-Economic Development and Education in Pakistan; Social Transformation and Conflict in the Region, Civil Society and Neo-Liberal State; National Integration and Ethno-Linguistic Contestations; Democratic governance and development, Security Paradoxes, Regional and Global Power Politics; Media and Cyber Space: Alternative Venues for Contesting Discourses; and Folklore and the quest for identity.
The meeting was chaired by Preston University Vice Chancellor Dr. Nilofer Sheikh and attended by Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Peshawar Dr. Adnan Sarwar, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University Dr. Aliya H. Khan, Department of Political Science, University of Peshawar Dr. Abdul Rauf, Department of Gender Studies, University of Peshawar Dr. Anoosh Khan, Department of International Relations, University of Peshawar Dr. Hussain Sorwardi, Department of Political Science, Gomal University, D. I. Khan, Saima Razak,, Department of International Relations, University of Peshawar Muhammad Imran, Director General (Academics) HEC Fida Hussain, and Deputy Director (Social Sciences) HEC Dr. Tahir Ali Shah.
The conference aims to strengthen teaching and research of Social Sciences in universities and degree awarding institutions. Dr. Nilofer Sheikh, Vice Chancellor Preston University, who heads the Scrutinizing Committee called on Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman HEC, along with Dr. Adnan Sarwar Khan and discussed with him the desired outcomes of the conference.
HEC Chairman Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed stressed on the need for establishment of social sciences research council, holding international conferences on social sciences and humanities for academic and research interaction among researchers and scholars in the field, proper projection of the role of social sciences in the matters related to state and society. The chairman extended his full support for successful organization of the conference.