HYDERABAD: Speakers at a seminar on Paigham-i-Pakistan held at the University of Sindh on Thursday underlined the need for evolving a comprehensive policy to curb extremism in society and stressed that there was absolutely no space in Islam for any form of extremism.

They were speaking at the one-day moot on ‘Countering violent extremism: Paigham-i-Pakistan, national peace narrative’ organised by Pakistan Study Centre in collaboration with Paigham-i-Pakistan, said a press release.

Mufti Tariq Masood, a famous speaker on social media, said that Pakistan was an Islamic state with a clear-cut anti-extremism policy. Islam never permitted use of force for imposition of one’s ideology on others because it was a religion of peace and 5,000 religious scholars of all sects had given a unanimous verdict to this effect.

DIG Naeem Ahmed Shaikh said that people of Pakistan had rendered unprecedented sacrifices for peace. Pakistan earned great respect in the world by sending out a bold message of peace when it released unconditionally the detained Indian pilot, he said.

He said that Pakistan’s responsible attitude spoke of its political maturity, restraint and deepest care for world peace which won it global appreciation and diplomatic edge over its foe.

SU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Fateh Mohammad Burfat said that Pakistan was a peaceful country. Pakistan Movement throughout its course of political struggle for a separate homeland from 1906 to 1947 remained a peaceful movement on account of the vision of peace given by the great leader Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, he said.

He said: “We are followers of Islam, a religion which does not allow use of force and violence against any individual, group or nation.

We can effectively counter terrorism by providing quality education, organising seminars for creating awareness among youth and by cultural activism.

“We are blessed with an independent, separate and sovereign state that ensures a conducive environment for fully actualising our potential and helping us get to higher positions. It would certainly have been impossible if we had been citizens of the un-partitioned subcontinent,” he said.

Rabia Muzaffar of psychology department at the Bahria University, Karachi, said that one major reason behind spread of extremism was lack of control over one’s emotions. It was a common and tragic practice in the world societies that people had total disregard for active listening, which was the first step towards the making of a tolerant personality, she said.

Scholar Ayaz Ahmed Shah, Jamshoro SSP Touqeer Naeem, Pakistan Youth Council chairman Raja Ateeq, Pakistan Study Centre director Prof Dr Shuja Ahmed Mahesar, dean faculty of social sciences Prof Dr Zareen Abbasi and others also spoke at the seminar.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2019