IPA Bulletin
Around the World

SYMPOSIUM IN PAKISTAN HONORS INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELDERLY

GULZAR AHMAD

In connection with the International Day for the Elderly, on the 1st of October 2002, the Pakistan Council on Family Relations conducted a symposium focused on the elderly in Pakistan. Shaheen Atiqur Rehman, the Provincial Minister for Social Welfare, Punjab, Pakistan,  was the chief guest. In addition, among the prominent speakers were Rafia Hassan, a psychologist  cum educationist; Lt. General Sohail Abbas Jafari, former Surgeon General of Pakistan; Hamid Khan, Advocate and President, Supreme Court Bar Association, Pakistan; Amjad Shakir, Principal, Government College, Kasur; Farrakh Javeed Tariq, Chief Engineer Electricity Distribution; Bilal Sufi, a businessman; and many others from different walks of life, including the media.

Gulzar Ahmad, President of Pakistan Council on Family Relations, chaired the symposium. Dr. Ahmad reports that many physical, social, emotional and psychological problems of the  elderly were identified and, in light of the regional sociocultural and economic perspective,  many recommendations were tailored. These recommendations, after final editing, will be sent to  the Pakistan government and all concerned quarters.

For more information, contact Gulzar Ahmad, PhD, associate professor and head of the Department of Psychology, Government College of Science, W-R, Lahore, Pakistan, at gahmad@brain.net.pk.

Reprinted from IPA Bulletin Volume 20 Number 1