International Studies Professor Anita Weiss recently returned from a research trip in Pakistan, and will be giving a talk this afternoon at 4 p.m. to discuss the turbulence currently throwing the country into a political upheaval.
“On Nov. 3 President (Pervez) Musharraf called an emergency session … since then there have been arrests, suicide bombings, and beheadings,” Weiss said. “I’m going to try and encapsulate the cultural events that have been happening, how to make sense of them, give a timeline of events and discuss what the nature of this crisis is.”
Weiss returned last Thursday night from her three-week trip to Pakistan, her third trip there this year. Her knowledge of the country and frequent visits there have led her to appear on CNN, National Public Radio and author four books about the country.
The first 20 to 30 minutes of the event will consist of Weiss giving a first-hand account of the chaos that has been raging in the primarily Muslim country that borders India, Afghanistan and China. After she presents her information, Weiss plans to open the floor to a question-and-answer session.
“There’s a lot of misunderstanding about Pakistan in the U.S. and around the world,” Weiss said. It’s not Iran or Afghanistan, it’s different from those countries, she added.
Weiss said she also plans to address five points affecting the future of Pakistan: Whether Musharraf is going to step down as chief of the military; what the current political state means for exiled former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif; how the All-Parties Democratic Movement will react; the role of U.S. foreign policy; and the questions surrounding Pakistan’s disbanded Supreme Court.
The event, “The Political Turmoil in Pakistan: Return from a Ringside Seat,” will take place today in the Mills International Center of the EMU at 4 p.m.