OXFORD: World’s renowned economist, Professor Jeffrey Sachs on Monday highlighted Allama Iqbal’s intellectual thought, his vision for a world free of exploitation — based on justice and solidarity — saying “Iqbal was a man of peace who advocated cooperation and dialogue between civilisations”.

The economist was speaking at the annual Allama Iqbal Lecture organised by the Oxford Pakistan Programme (OPP) with a packed audience in Lady Margaret Hall at the University of Oxford. 

Professor Sachs is a world-renowned economist, author, and advisor to governments around the world. He is also the Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and a leading advocate of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

Professor Sachs quoted a message given by Iqbal to the Lahore radio station a few months before his death in 1938 in which he had argued that the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity cannot be realised unless we consider the whole world as one “family of God”. 

He highlighted the relevance of this message for both its own time, having been delivered a few years before the World War, but also for contemporary global affairs that require new geopolitics of peace and cooperation.

He advised that poor developing countries like Pakistan which have historically enjoyed close relations with both China and the United States should not be coerced into choosing sides.

The lecture attracted a large audience of Oxford students, senior academics, and several heads of departments and faculties. 

The High Commissioner for Pakistan to the United Kingdom, Moazzam Ahmad Khan, his wife, and guests from London were also in attendance. 

On this occasion, Abdul Ghani Dadabhoy, the Executive Director of the Dadabhoy Foundation which supports education and social development initiatives in Pakistan and sponsors the Allama Iqbal lecture series at the University of Oxford, stressed the need for dialogue and collaboration.

He reiterated the support of the Dadabhoy Foundation in facilitating such conversations and providing a platform for global experts, such as Professor Sachs, to share their knowledge and expertise.

The OPP is a multi-pronged initiative that seeks to promote academic collaboration between the University of Oxford and Pakistan. The programme offers scholarships and research grants to Pakistan-origin students. 

The Iqbal lecture was live streamed from Oxford to around 50 participating universities across Pakistan, a list that not only included well-known universities such as LUMS and IBA but also higher education institutions in far-flung areas, such as Mardan’s Women’s University, the University of Turbat in Balochistan, and Karakoram University in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Commenting on the significance of this model of engagement, the Programme’s co-founders Professor Adeel Malik, Dr Talha Jamal Pirzada, and Mr Haroon Zaman emphasised the need to make scholarly voices shaping the global discourse accessible to Pakistani students who would otherwise not be able to engage with such speakers. 

The Iqbal lecture series, they highlighted, also plays an important role in generating a holistic debate on the campus and in creating an important cultural bridge between Oxford and Pakistan.

The Iqbal lecture is held annually and aims to draw prominent scholars, intellectuals, and policymakers from around the world.