Secure property rights is essential for an enterprising society. In a seminar at CECOS University on ‘Property Rights and Entrepreneurship’: Pakistan as a Case’, Dr Raza Ullah, resource person explained it with ‘Doing Business’ report and ‘International Property Rights Index’ report which sufficiently support that strong property rights and economic freedom contribute to economic prosperity. In the closing remarks, Vice Chancellor CECOS University, Dr Riaz Khattak said that women would be the main beneficiary of strong property rights and appreciated seminar significance in respect to International Women Day.
Seminar Report on March 10, 2014
A seminar was organized on ‘Protection of Property Rights and Entrepreneurship: Pakistan as a Case’. Students from CECOS University, Sarhad University, Department of Political Science University of Peshawar, Institute of Management Studies University of Peshawar, Department of Economics University of Peshawar attended the seminar. Besides, faculty from Computer Sciences department and Management Sciences also attended the seminar.
Raza Ullah (Alternate Solutions Institute) was the resource person for seminar. He started discussion with ‘Doing Business report’ of this year. He informed participants about ranking of different countries according to report and discussed its different dimensions. He further provided details of different economic indicators and discussed countries top in the report’s list; these countries have higher GDP and better economic indicators than the countries at the bottom. The same trend was also indicated in the International Property Rights Index (IPRI) current year’s report. The discussion concluded with the argument that economic freedom in all forms lead to good quality of life with higher per capita income and GDP.
Students took keen interest in discussions. The resource person asked students about the morality of ‘open market competition’ and interestingly majority of the participants agreed that free competition is essential, healthy and good thing in a just society. Raza provided a detailed description of economic freedom conditions like sound money, property rights, rule of law, limited government and free trade. Participants raised different questions especially current Pakistan’s privatization and agreed that these factors are important for good governance and economic prosperity.
He argued that for an enterprising society economic freedom is an important factor and ultimately leads to individual freedom, liberty and prosperity.
He also discussed an important law promulgated by Punjab government to ensure women property rights, in which it was made mandatory on state to transfer property to female family members at the time of inheritance along heir of the legacy to avoid women’s property usurpation by male family members. According to this law, government would appoint a special revenue officer who would be responsible for women’s property rights protection.
Vice Chancellor CECOS University, Professor Dr Riaz ahmad Khan in his closing remarks said that in Pakistani society property rights are very important especially for women because they could show their presence only with effective control on their resources. The vice chancellor also appreciated the event especially in context of International Women Day as effective property rights means a better world for women and women would be the main beneficiary of protected property rights.
Besides, in the event it was also announced that a students movement would be initiated in Pakistan with the name ‘Students for Entrepreneurship and Economic Reforms’, the purpose of this students group is to inculcate the ideas of economics freedom and its relationship with entrepreneurship and the need for economic reforms in the country. It was decided that a formal gathering of ”Students for Entrepreneurship and Economic Reforms’ would be arranged in the last week of this month to plan the implementation of project at national level. After establishment of students’ society it would be further linked to national/international students and youth activities like ‘Students for Liberty’, it would also work as an input to SFL and represent SFL in Pakistan in the long run.
