About IRD

ABOUT KUIRD

The Department of International Relations is the oldest Department in the field of International Relations in Pakistan. It was established in 1958 and has the honor of offering Honors, Master's, M.Phil and Ph.D. programs. Prior to its formation, the Department was under General History Department and Professor Dr. Mahmud Hussain was its founding Chairman. Dr. Muhammed Ahsen Chaudhry succeeded Dr. Mahmud Hussain as the Chairman of the Department. He was followed by Dr. Ahmed Abdul Kadeer, Dr. Mujtaba Razvi, Professor Shameem Akhtar, Professor Talat A. Wizarat, Professor Syed Sikander Mehdi and Dr. Khalida Ghous. Currently, Prof. Dr. Talat A. Wizarat is the Chairperson of the Department. . The Department has a faculty of 11 full time and four part-time teachers and 300 students are studying at the undergraduate and graduate level.

Since its inception, the Department of International Relations has been active in organizing seminars, conferences and workshops. A number of books have also been published under the Department and several Research Projects funded by foreign foundations are presently being run by its faculty members. The syllabus of the Department was revised in 1998 and new courses focussing on the conceptual and regional studies have been offered.

The process of organizing programs, collaborative research and publications in the Department got an impetus in the decade of 1990s. Following international conferences and workshops have been organized by the Department since 1994.

1. Contemporary Central Asia in collaboration with the Hanns Seidal Foundation in October 1994.

2. United Nations at Fifty in collaboration with the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs, Karachi in September 1995.

3. Conflicts and Conflict Resolution in South Asia in collaboration with the Hanns Seidal Foundation in December 1996.

4. Internal and External Dynamics of South Asia Security in collaboration with the Frederick Ebert Stifftung in December 1996.

5. Refugees, Internally Displaced Persons and Stateless People: The Humanitarian Challenge in collaboration with Hanns Seidal Foundation in September 1997.

6. Peace by Process: Lessons for India and Pakistan from the Middle East in collaboration with Ford Foundation in February 1998.

7. Peace by Process: Lessons for India and Pakistan from the Middle East in collaboration with Ford Foundation in September 1998.

8. Refugees, Internally Displaced Persons and Stateless People: The Humanitarian Challenge in collaboration with Hanns Seidal Foundation in April 1999.

9. Arab-Israeli Peace Process: Lessons debated for South Asia in collaboration with Ford Foundation in April 2000.

10. The CTBT Controversy: Different Perceptions in collaboration with the Regional Center for Strategic Studies in April 2000.

11. International Workshop on Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, held in April 2000 in collaration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad.

12. International Workshop on The Challenge of Confidence-Building in South Asia in February 2001 by the Program on Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution (PPSCR), Department of International Relations, University of Karachi. Workshop was supported by the United States Institute of Peace, Washington Dc.

13. Regional Workshop on Paradigms of Conflict Resolution In South Asia in December 2001. Workshop was supported by the United States Institute of Peace and the Plousgshares Fund, San Francisco.

14. International Workshop on Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, held in December 2002 in collabration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad.

15. Regional Workshop on The World After September 11: Challenges and Opportunies in February 2003 by the PPSCR in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad.

16. International Conference on Internal and External Dynamics of Middle East held in August 2003 in collabration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad.

17. International Workshop on Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, held in August 2004 in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad.

18. Regional Workshop on Teaching and Research Methods in Conflict Resolution held in October 2004 by PPSCr in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission, Islamabad.

19. International Workshop on, The Challenge of Rebuilding Afghanistan held in February 2005 by PPSCR in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad.

20. International Conference on The Culture of Peace in April 2006 in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad.

Following Research Projects funded by the International grant making organizations have been given to the Department: -

1. Peace by Process: Lessons for India and Pakistan from the Middle East by the Ford Foundation in August 1997. Amount of Grant US $ 73,000/=

2. The Role and Relevance of CBMs in the post-nuclear South Asia by the U.S. Institute of Peace in March 2000. Amount of Grant US $ 30,000/=

Publications of the Department

1. Chaudhri Mohammad Ahsen, Pakistan and Regional Security, Faculty of Arts in cooperation with the Department of International Relations, University of Karachi.

2. Ahmar, Moonis, Contemporary Central Asia (Karachi: Department of International Relations, University of Karachi, 1995).

3. Ahmar Moonis, Internal and External Dynamics of South Asia Security (Karachi: Department of International Relations, University of Karachi, 1998).

4. Wizarat, Talat A. Conflict Resolution in South Asia (Karachi: Department of International Relations, University of Karachi, 1999).

5. Ahmar, Moonis, The CTBT Controversy: Different Perceptions In South Asia (Karachi: Department of International Relations, University of Karachi, 2000).

6. Ahmar, Moonis & Siddiqi H.,Farhan, The Challenges of Conflict Resolution and Security in 21st Century: Problems and Prospects (Program on Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, Dept. Of International Relations, University of Karachi)

7. The Arab-Isreali Peace Process Lessons for India and Pakistan
Edited by Moonis Ahmar
Foreword by Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Preface by Stephen Cohen
Published by Oxford University Press, Karachi, 2001
URL: www.oup.com

8. The Challenge of Confidence Building in South Asia
Edited by Moonis Ahmar
Published by Har Anand
Publication New Delhi, 2001

9. Chronology of Conflict and Cooperation in South Asia 1947-2001[new]
Moonis Ahmar
Published by PPSCR & KUIRD
Publication Karachi, November 2001

10. Paradigms of Conflict Resolution In South Asia
Edited by Moonis Ahmar

11. The World After September 11:Challenges and Opportunities
Published by: PPSCR & KUIRD in collaboration with Hanns Siedel Foundation, Islamabad

12. Different Perceptions on Conflict Resolution: Need for an Alternate Approach, published by PPSCR.

13. The Challenge of Rebuilding Afghanistan, published by PPSCR in collaboration with Hanns Seidel Foundation, Islamabad.

14. Violence and Terrorism in South Asia: 1971-2004. Published by PPSCR in collaboration with Regional Center for Strategic Studies, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

15. Chronology of Conflict and Cooperation in Afghanistan, 1978-2006. Published by PPSCR. Study sponsored by the Higher Education Commission, Islamabad.

Report: The Road to Peace In South Asia: Relevance and Irrelevance of the Middle East Peace Process.

Book Cover