Contextualizing Peace and Development: The Case of Sustainable Development Goals in Pakistan

Abstract

Pakistan has been facing multiple socio-economic, political, and environmental issues that have been the source of chaos in the country. To address the issues of developing states, United Nations designed a sustainable development framework, otherwise known as Sustainable development goals (SDGs). Research suggests that peace is directly related to these goals. To make a sense of it, this study is situated in the context of Pakistan. The researcher’s objective is to explore the relationship between peace and sustainable development goals in the context of Pakistan. The goals selected for this research are SDG1, SDG2, SDG10, SDG11, and SDG16. These goals aim to eradicate poverty and hunger, reduce inequalities, build sustainable cities and communities and introduce peace, justice, and strong institutions respectively. Furthermore, the role of governance, institutions, and social policy were also explored. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight participants from government officials and the data was analyzed through descriptive analysis. The findings of the study suggest that peace is a precondition for achieving sustainable development goals in context of Pakistan. Moreover, results suggest that role of government, institutions, and civil society is of utmost importance for maintaining peace in the country. Lastly, transformation in the social policy of Pakistan is the need of the hour to reduce conflict.