Iram Ahmad
Dr. Iram Naseer Ahmad has been working as an Assistant Professor since 2021 and Head of History & Pakistani-Studies Department at Forman Christian College since 2024. Prior to that she has taught at LCWU and University of Education as well. She earned her PhD from the University of the Punjab and completed her research work of one semester from Arizona state university on Exchange Visiting Program. She is a Research Associate at Oxford Research House, and an Associate Fellow at Royal Historical Society (RHS). She has won several awards like ‘World Scholar Award’ ‘World History Commons’ honorarium, Volkswagen Foundation Award, Alliance for Learning in World History Award. Her first edit book volume, “Water Conflicts and Maritime Security Challenges in 21st Century Asia” has published in Italy in 2024. Besides, she presented her research work in numerous national and international conferences. She published several articles and chapters in books. Her specialization is on Pakistan China Relations, CPEC and BRI.
Session
This paper re-contextualizes Pakistan in the long history of Asian religious, intellectual, and cultural interactions, portraying it as a crucial meeting point in the creation of the premodern global world. Pakistan was once a key mediator between South, Central, and East Asia, long before global exchange changed. The routes of Buddhist pilgrims, Sufi saints, Confucian scholars, and merchants created a flow of knowledge, ethics, and art.
The paper posits that Pakistan’s historical landscapes, influenced by Gandhara’s cosmopolitanism and Sufism’s universalism, represent a rich history of trans-regional exchange, which challenges Eurocentric views of globalization. It uses Joseph Stiglitz’s critique to contrast modern global inequalities with premodern Asian models. By highlighting these alternative connection structures, the study reconsiders Pakistan’s role. It concludes that Pakistan’s complex past provides a historical foundation for an ethical and communicative global order that exists outside of neoliberal modernity. It concludes that Pakistan’s layered past presents a historically based model for an ethical and dialogical global order, which corresponds with Korea’s history of cultural exchange and transnational solidarity.