LAHORE: For three days in late September, more than 1,000 scholars from 37 countries met at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) for AAS-in-Asia 2026. It was the first time the Association for Asian Studies had brought its Asia conference to Pakistan. The US Consulate General in Lahore calls it the largest international event in the humanities and social sciences in the country’s history. The harder question is what remains now that the visitors have gone home.
The consulate took part in two ways. Its Public Affairs Officer, Torrey Goad, spoke at the opening at LUMS, where he welcomed the American scholars. He talked about the long tradition of academic exchange between the United States and Pakistan, including the old links between institutions in the two countries. He said scholars, students and universities have the power to build relationships that last.
The consulate also hosted a networking reception in connection with the conference. There, Mr Goad welcomed visiting American professors, the leadership of the association, representatives of LUMS, and academics from Lahore and other parts of Punjab.
The consulate said the aim of the reception was to bring American and Pakistani scholars together to share ideas and find common research interests. It listed what it hopes will follow including joint research and publications, partnerships between institutions, and student exchanges. Such links, it said, should last “beyond a single conference”.
It tied the event to the 250th anniversary of American independence, and said universities and the free exchange of ideas have long driven American innovation.
The Association for Asian Studies is a US-based body of scholars who study Asia. Its Asia conference has been held before in South Korea, Indonesia, Nepal, Japan, India and Thailand. The association’s board chose LUMS by a unanimous vote in 2025.
This year’s theme was “Centering Asia: Refiguring Connections, Recharting Futures”. The conference ran from September 25 to 27 and drew people from 517 institutions. Dr Adil Najam, president of WWF International, was named as the keynote speaker.
What people said
“This conference is a testament to what Pakistan has to offer the world,” said Dr Ali Khan, dean of the humanities and social sciences school at LUMS, before the event.
At the opening, LUMS Vice Chancellor Dr Ali Cheema said hosting the conference allowed international scholars to see Pakistan’s academic and cultural life for themselves, and to explore Lahore’s long history as a centre of literature, art and ideas.
The association’s president, Professor Elora Shehabuddin, said each city that has hosted the conference has added to its discussions and opened the way for new partnerships.
Why the follow-up is the hard part
Good intentions at an opening ceremony or a reception are easy. Turning them into shared work is harder, for three reasons.
The first is travel. When the conference was announced, the organisers planned an online option for speakers who could not get a visa or faced other travel restrictions. Student exchanges and research visits can run into the same problem, in both directions. The consulate’s statement does not mention visas.
The second is the subject. This was a conference on history, politics, literature and society. These fields get little attention in Pakistan, where the push is towards technology. Punjab’s higher education commission recently urged universities to look beyond AI and computer science.
The third is detail. Neither of the consulate’s statements names an agreement, grant or programme that came out of the conference. There is a wider frame to build on, though. In August, Pakistan and the United States extended their higher education partnership for five years.
A conference and a reception are a beginning. The real result will be counted later, in papers written together, students exchanged, and visiting scholars who return.
Leave a Reply