NSD to hold first ever Islamabad Security Dialogue on March 17

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will launch the first of its kind Advisory Portal of the National Security Division (NSD) at the Islamabad Security Dialogue to be held here from March 17.

“The National Security Division is holding the first ever Islamabad Security Dialogue aimed at unveiling Pakistan’s new strategic direction based on a comprehensive security framework in line with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision of peace, regional connectivity and development partnerships with the world,” a statement issued by the NSD said.

The portal is the brain child of Dr Moeed Yusuf, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on NSD and is designed to bridge the traditional gap between public intellectuals and policy makers.

The NSD portal will allow national think tanks and universities working on national security to directly offer policy recommendations to the government and can be path breaking in this regard.

The prime minister will inaugurate the conference while Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa will be chief guest on the second day. Other federal ministers as well as members of the academia and media will also participate.

The Islamabad Security Dialogue, a two-day conference, has been organised by the NSD in collaboration with its Advisory Board comprising five leading think tanks of the country. “The Islamabad Security Dialogue puts together the notion of comprehensive security which really Pakistan’s new vision,” the SAPM Dr Moeed Yusuf in a video message said.

He said the dialogue will generate ideas and bring together best minds. One of the things which lack in the past was to use space of ideas in a formed policy. “We will see think tanks, Pakistan’s best minds and think tanks advising the public sector and telling the world Pakistan’s true story confidently, unapologetically and pro-actively that Pakistan is country which is focused on economic security, paradigm of human welfare and continue to value strong defence and deterrence to protect the territorial boundaries,” he said.

These think tanks included Center for Aerospace and Security Studies (CASS), Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), National Defence University (NDU)’s Institute of Strategic Studies, Research and Analysis (ISSRA), Institute of Strategic Studies (ISSI) and Institute of Regional Studies (IRS).

The dialogue will bring current and former officials and local and global policy experts under one roof to debate Pakistan's critical national security issues, and generate ideas shaping global society and the future of human civilisation.

The security conference is a strategic forum envisioned as Pakistan’s leading intellectual platform which will parallel existing renowned forums like the Munich Security Conference held every year in Germany and the US Aspen Dialogue on the national security among others.

Many countries in the world have used strong think tank and government collaboration to effectively project their policies and build a positive image globally for their countries.