PESHAWAR, Nov 10: The speakers at a ‘Malala Day’ function here on Saturday pushed the government for taking effective steps to eradicate terrorism and militancy from the region and said that Taliban were against peace and education.

They appreciated the efforts of Malala for raising voice against the Taliban and said that the girl was a symbol of peace and education as had been recognised by the United Nations.

The function titled ‘Global Day of Action to Support Malala Yousafzai’ was organised at Peshawar Pres Club, where participants condemned militants and urged the people to join hands with the government to eradicate militancy from the region.

SPO, CRSD and Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Network jointly organised the event to recognise Malala’s thoughts for education.

Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain was the chief guest on the occasion, where Idrees Kamal, Mukhtar Bacha, Nazeer Bacha, Arbab Mujeeb, Dr Sarfraz, MPA Naseem Katozai and Jamil Khan from University of Peshawar were also in attendance.

According to the speakers, the attempt on the life of Malala was tantamount to attacking entire Pakhtuns nation and therefore, all Pakhtun nationalist forces and elected people should get united against terrorism and for peace in the region. The information minister praised Malala for promoting female education.

He said terrorists didn’t belong to any creed and religion because they targeted innocent people and religious places. He claimed that the Taliban’s network had been dismantled by security forces in Malakand division and elsewhere in the region and the recent incidents of terrorism suggested that they had been baffled.

Mr Hussain said by and large, the people were against the Taliban as they didn’t feel secure due to the frequent attacks. He added that the government had tried to restore peace through dialogue, but the intentions of the Taliban suggested that they didn’t want peace. Claiming his government’s resolve to eradicate terrorism, Mr Hussain said the government had carried out of proactive action for elimination of terrorism.

Also in the day, a function to praise Malala was held at Bacha Khan Markaz under the aegis of Pakhtun Student Federation.

The speakers, including PkSF central president Bashir Khan Sherpao and MPA Mukhtiar Khan, condemned the Taliban attack on Malala and said fight against militants would continue in the province until peace was restored. They appreciated the role played by Malala for raising the issue of education and added that she deserved to be eulogised across the world.

Meanwhile, provincial Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti appreciated Malala’s efforts for promotion of female education in the province, especially Swat. In a statement issued here, the chief minister said attack on schoolgirls was a cowardly act and reflected the anti-education agenda of the terrorists.