Students urged to focus on learning, innovation

PESHAWAR: Pakhtun Think-Tank Chairman Syed Akhtar Ali Shah has urged students to focus on learning, innovation and creativity that required tolerance, diversity and peace.

He was sharing his views at a panel discussion arranged by the Hanns Seidel Foundation Islamabad at the University of Peshawar. The discussion was about tolerance, diversity and peace at campuses.

Syed Akhtar Ali Shah said universities promoted the culture of learning, innovation and creativity. “Such notions could only be developed in an environment of diversity, tolerance and peace,” he added. He said no research could take place in a restricted atmosphere. “Human history tells us that progress is made possible due to a clash of ideas,” he noted.

Syed Akhtar Ali Shah, who is a retired civil servant, maintained that dialectical thinking was a must for progress and peace. “Dialogue and clash of ideas are propelling forces for the progress of the society,” he added.