HOUSTON, May 7, 2009 — Dr. Hassan Abbas, Research Fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, was the first of three internationally renowned authors and experts to speak as part of the 2009 BP Speaker Series hosted by Asia Society Texas Center on Thursday, May 7, 2009 at the Westin Oaks Hotel in Houston.

As a native of Pakistan as well as a former government official in the administrations of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (1995–1996) and President Pervez Musharraf (1999–2000), Dr. Abbas shared with guests his insights into the continued plight of people of Pakistan.

Dr. Abbas discussed both present day Pakistan as well as the multifaceted history of Pakistan to help the audience better understand the complex and volatile situation of recent decades and today. Although there is not one answer for Pakistan’s host of challenges in the 21st Century, Dr. Abbas stressed, above all else, education for Pakistan’s young. An investment in the education of its youth will help lead Pakistan into the new century.

Dr. Hassan Abbas's 2004 book Pakistan’s Drift into Extremism: Allah, the Army and America's War on Terrorism reached number one on the bestseller lists in Pakistan and India.