War on Academic Freedom: The Intellectual Economy of Injury in Pakistan’s Militarized Pashtun Periphery

The US attack on Afghanistan in 2001 and its withdrawal in 2021 both triggered ongoing violence on the Pakistani side of the Durand Line. Pakistan’s constant campaign of military operations not only increased the Taliban militancy in the region but also created a general atmosphere of terror and intimidation. Based on in-depth interviews with university teachers, this study examines how this militarization affected academic freedom in the Pak-Afghan borderland, where power, fear, and surveillance have warped the very foundations of intellectual culture. Taking a local viewpoint, the study aims to explore a hyper-precarious state of academic existence in the local universities and makes recommendations for supporting regional peace and stability. The study concludes that because of the state’s overt repression of progressive ideas and covert support for radicalism, public universities are not only undervalued as intellectual spaces of inquiry and teaching but are also pushed to become conducive sites for extremist ideologies and militant activities.

About the Speakers:

• Syed Irfan Ashraf holds a PhD in Mass Communication and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Peshawar, Pakistan. He began his career in journalism, working for various publications, including Dawn News, where he covered the “war on terror.” He also served as a fixer for foreign news networks, including the New York Times. In 2011, he availed the prestigious SUSI exchange program in the U.S and the next year left for his Ph.D. at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. In 2014, he received the Mirror Award for his media criticism. His work is published in many foreign and national research journals. In 2022, he published his book titled “The Dark Side of Journalism.”
• Professor Dr. Faizullah Jan, Ex-Chair Department of journalism and Mass Communication, University of Peshawar.
• Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy (Educator, Physicist and Author — Moderator)

This session is free and open to all. Just visit the venue to attend it.

The Black Hole
Plot 5H, Street 100, G-11/3, Islamabad.
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