About ISSRA
message of the Director
General ISSRA
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Major General
Ziauddin Najam, HI(M)
DG ISSRA
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1. In the recent years,
National Defence University (NDU) has undergone phenomenal
evolution; it has grown from the status of a College to the
level of a University, entailing requisite increase in
infrastructure as well as spectrum of its academic activities.
Its various wings were accordingly upgraded and so was the
Research Wing, which got transformed into: Institute for
Strategic Studies, Research and Analysis (ISSRA).
2. ISSRA’s journey dated back to 1981 once it began with a pool
vacancy for Directing Staff Research in National Defence Wing of
National Defence College. This was followed by creation of a
dedicated Research Wing in 2003. After the principle approval of
up-gradation of National Defence College to NDU in 2005 the
Research Wing was upgraded as ISSRA, with a redefined and
elaborated mandate, which was formalized in early 2007.
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3.
Within
initial years of its establishment, ISSRA has come up and has now been
seen globally as well as domestically as one of the effective think tanks
of Pakistan. Since its inception it has been making substantial research
contribution-both at Services as well as Ministerial levels in the domains
of its relevance. With this recognition and trust, institutes from across
the globe seek ISSRA’s participation / view point specially once it comes
to aspects related to security, counter terrorism and nuclear issues,
ISSRA occupies a particular niche in the academic and research world. The
institute provides analysis on national security, foreign policy matters,
strategic trends and public policy, through bringing new strategic
perspectives under discussion.
4. Besides provision of research assistance to colleges, various Services
Headquarters and Ministries, ISSRA is also mandated to interact with other
national and international research organizations by holding and
participating in symposia, seminars and workshops over variety of regional
and global issues having direct or indirect bearing on Pakistan’s National
Security.
5. Alongside these activities, National Security Workshops are organized
for political leadership of various strata from the National and
Provincial levels, senior officers from various government, departments
and representative from various civil society organizations who discuss
and debate National Security Issues. So far eleven such workshops have
been conducted which were attended by our five hundred participants.
Besides these, three National Media Workshops have also been conducted,
which were widely attended by media renowned personalities. The endeavor
remains, that the participants enjoy complete intellectual freedom to
reflect and offer recommendations, based on the findings of their own
research as well as their collective wisdom.
6. We believe that a Nation’s image has two important facts, the reality
and the perception. At times, they coincide but mostly the perceptions do
not commensurate with the reality even in this era of globalization and
information explosion. The true images are built upon the experiences of
analytical minded individuals who interact form different strata of
society. ISSRA is resolute to provide a platform for such interactions,
not only to make them happen but to make them reach the right corners
where these should matter too. Our motto, “Seeing beyond Perception”,
aptly reflects the conceptual framework set forth for the grooming of the
future leadership of the country.
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