Her Excellency Sherry Rehman, Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, joined Meghan O’Sullivan, Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Professor of Practice, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, for a public address at the JFK Forum, with opening remarks from Iris Bohnet, Professor of Public Policy; Director, Women and Public Policy Program and Academic Dean at the Harvard Kennedy School. Her Excellency discussed the past and present of U.S.-Pakistan relations while sharing recommendations for the future of this highly consequential bilateral relationship. Topics addressed included collaboration in ensuring a sustainable future for Afghanistan post-2014, as well as Pakistan’s progress in democratic reforms and women’s empowerment. Questions from the audience ranged from Pakistan’s upcoming elections and efforts to combat corruption to potential compromise on drone strikes and ongoing security challenges.
Following an address at the JFK Forum, SAI hosted a lunch with Ambassador Rehman and faculty from across Harvard. The lunch was an opportunity for the faculty to share their work on Pakistan both on campus and in the region.
The Harvard Pakistan Student Group (HPSG), spearheaded by Mariam Chughtai, Founding-President and doctoral candidate at Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Erum Sattar, President and doctoral candidate at Harvard Law School, shared the development of the Pakistan Innovation Network, an ongoing collaboration between SAI and HPSG.
View the video of the JFK Forum with Ambassador Rehman, cosponsored by the Harvard Institute of Politics, the South Asia Institute, and the Harvard Pakistan Student group.
