Currently the editor of 'Diplomatic Insight', Farhat Akram was born and raised in a war-torn region of Kashmir. She gained her master’s degree in international relations from Quaid-e-Azam University. She continues to focus on peace and conflict resolution through her work and is currently pursuing a degree in peace studies from Pakistan Futuristic Institute in Islamabad.
As a child, her father used to tell her that conflict cannot end by starting another conflict, but through peace and dialogue. Motivated by his words and a desire to bring peace to her motherland, Farhat Akram founded The Diplomatic Insight, Pakistan’s first Arabic/English bilingual magazine whose theme is peace through informed dialogue.
The publication, which strives to connect a diverse, multicultural community and promote the understanding and tolerance amongst its readers. The magazine acts as a bridge between foreign diplomatic missions, UN agencies, international NGOs, multinational businesses, government ministries, and Pakistanis living abroad, and serves as a forum to discuss issues of bilateral nature, such as peace, conflict resolution, interfaith harmony, and international relations.
Prior to establishing The Diplomatic Insight, Farhat worked at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute, where she conducted research on women, peace, conflict, and development in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As a volunteer for the Community Support Programme (CSP), she conducted workshops, seminars, trainings, and interactive sessions with youth on interfaith harmony and peace education. Internationally, she is affiliated with Sisters against Violent Extremism (SAVE) in Pakistan, an initiative of the Women without Borders project.
The name Kashmir is now synonymous with terror, war and torture. The worth and cost of peace cannot be better realized by anyone other than the generation that was born in a land of conflict where it is a prized and scarce—rather than an extinct—commodity. Farhat's childhood memories got registered in her mind and kept on resonating throughout her youth. Truly, she has grown up with a dream to see peace in Kashmir.
