PESHAWAR: The KP Centre of Excellence on Countering Violent Extremism organized an international conference here on Friday to discuss ways to counter extremism in the province.
The speakers at the conference called for chalking out and implementing long-term strategies and projects to counter extremism in the province. They also stressed the need for promoting tolerance and harmony in society.
Secretary Higher Education Anila Mahfouz Durrani said that the KP Centre of Excellence on Countering Violent Extremism is the first center of its kind in South Asia and would act as a think tank in the fight against extremism.
PPP leader and former Deputy Speaker National Assembly Faisal Karim Kundi said that KP is currently facing critical issues including extremism and climate change. He said Pakistan has to reconsider its foreign policy towards Afghanistan for peace in the region.
Musrat Kadim said that this Center should have been established a decade ago, to prevent extremism. She emphasized upon women’s active and imperative role in establishing peace and rejecting extremist thinking.
Another speaker Javed Iqbal said that Pakistan had faced huge losses in terms of human lives and infrastructure in the war against terrorism. He suggested that parallel to the war against terrorism, work should also be done on other social, political and economic issues. He said that extremist ideas could be defeated through constructive thinking and health activities in the society.
Professor Dr Usman Ghani, Director IM Sciences, pointed out that currently, political intolerance and extremism was on the rise in Pakistan and suggested promoting tolerance and harmony in the society.
He said that the Centre should make recommendations to the Higher Education Commission and the Department of Education regarding the elimination of extremism at institutional level. At least one chapter on topics like counter-extremism should be included in the syllabus, he added.
