Coffee with prominent Pakistani politician

**The former leader of the House in the Pakistani National Assembly, Aitzaz Ahsan, visited the University of Warwick last week as part of the One World Week celebrations.**

As one of the key speakers in the Defining Failed States Forum, Mr Ahsan also provided various
students with the opportunity to have more intimate coffee meetings with the renowned senator.
They were invited to ask further questions about his thoughts.

The once-in-a-lifetime event attracted a variety of students whose questions ranged from his experiences in jail, serving in Benazir Bhuttos cabinet, the controversies within the US-Pakistan international relationship and a solution to the gender gap in Pakistan.

Although Mr Ashan has recently been involved in the controversy surrounding the demise of the
former Pakistani Prime Minister, he assured his listeners that his key aim of the coffee sessions was to increase the awareness about the tensions in Pakistan without the perspective of a media lens. He also wished to highlight the importance of his beliefs in tolerance and plurality.

Students described the coffee session as a “success” that provided “a real insight into Pakistani politics and the legal system”.

The organisers of the event argued the experience was “more personal and will hopefully encourage the University to propose more one-to-one sessions with speakers”.