Aerospace Centre starts functioning in capital

ISLAMABAD: The “Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies” (CASS) that has been established by former Chief of Air Staff (CAS) of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Kaleem Saadat here in federal capital has started functioning.

It’s the first specialised aerospace centre in the country where systematic research in the domain is being carried out. ACM (R) Kaleem Saadat has maintained that the aerospace sector is a key driver behind globalisation, playing a pivotal role in national security, economic development and in supporting long-term economic growth to facilitate a country’s integration into the global economy.

With over 2,000 aircraft using Pakistan’s airspace, a vibrant civil aviation division, six launched satellites and the seventh largest Air Force, Pakistan’s Aerospace Sector has significant potential, he added.

He said that provision of independent insight and analysis on aerospace and international security issues, of both an immediate and long-term concern, from a comprehensive and unique perspective, to inform the discourse of global thinkers, policy-makers, academics, and practitioners through a diverse range of detailed research outputs disseminated through both direct and indirect engagement in a regular and proactive manner.

The founder of the Centre said that it would serve as a thought leader in the aerospace and security domains globally, providing thinkers and policy makers with independent insight on aerospace and security issues in a comprehensive and multifaceted manner. The CASS considers that Pakistan’s security dynamics are complex due to traditional and nontraditional challenges, as well as international and regional developments.

The former Air Chief, who is a renowned thinker in his own right reminded that during 21st Century, the term “National Security” has been redefined to include the non-traditional security challenges in addition to external military threats. “The security and stability of any nation-state is dependent on a host of internal and external factors, such as economy, industrialisation, literacy, size and quality of population, available national resources and military capability.

Poor economic conditions lead to dissatisfaction which can then be exploited to create disharmony among the populace. Lower levels of literacy, when combined with poor economic conditions, can become a hot bed for terrorism.” ACM Kaleem Saadat has become founder President of the Centre. The CASS has described in its charter that weak national institutions lead to poor policy formulation and loss of trust in the government.

External environments such as geographic location, unresolved disputes with neighbouring countries, regional alliances and big power interests also play an import role on a country’s security and stability. Like many modern developing nation-states, Pakistan also faces traditional, as well as non-traditional security challenges that affect its development, economic progress, national cohesion, religious harmony and political stability.

The challenges include, but are not limited to poor economy, weak governance, terrorism and subversion, ethnic and sectarian divide, inter-provincial discontent and population explosion.

The charter of the Centre has said that the regional environment is dominated by perpetual hostility between Pakistan and India, the role of international players in Afghanistan and growing tension between the US and Iran.

Unilateral abrogation of articles 370 and 35A by the BJP government has not only added a new dimension to India-Pakistan relationship, but set a wrong precedence by violating bilateral agreements, besides undermining the UN Security Council Resolutions and the international rules-based system.