PESHAWAR, Jan 24: Speakers at a workshop on Thursday called for joint efforts on part of all segments of society to defeat religious extremism and terrorism in the country for peace and progress.
PAIMAN Alumni Trust had organised the seminar titled ‘Moderating Extremism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas’ at a local hotel, where lawmakers, representatives of law-enforcement agencies, journalists and relevant government officials were in attendance.
The organisers said PAIMAN Alumni Trust under its ‘Lets Live in Peace’ programme had been working across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata to create social cohesion through community outreach and capacity building.
They said the current violent situation in the region demanded a greater understanding by stakeholders of religious extremism and terrorism, and ways and means to effectively fight it.
Deputy inspector general of police in the province Akhtar Ali Shah praised Pakistani women and youth for being creative and courageous enough to strive for altering the country’s dangerous trajectory and rebuilding lives shattered by extremism and terrorism in the country in general and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in particular.
Saying radicalisation leaves no space for dialogue, he urged participants not to become prey to the whims of unscrupulous elements and thus, thwarting the enemy’s designs of destruction and instability in the country.
Mr Shah stressed the need for a broader coalition of media, civil society and parliamentarians for better public awareness, especially among women, of how to counter terrorism.
PAIMAN Trust executive director Musarrat Qadeem said it was the duty of all patriotic citizens to pay heed to terrorism to find out a solid, sustainable solution to it.
“Youths and women of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata are at the forefront of the struggle for peace, democracy and progress in the country,” she said.
Ms Qadeem said though there were women, who supported extremist segments in society but majority of them didn’t support violent extremism and they had tremendous potential for effective leadership and social transformation, which needed to be harnessed by policymakers to build community level and sustainable peace to the region.
Sharing details of de-radicalisation efforts of PAIMAN, she said her organisation identified youths, who had been under different orientation of extremism and could be potential extremist.
She added that youths underwent psychosocial training along with life skill so that they contributed positively to the community.
Journalists Zahir Sherazi and Ihtesham Toru also spoke on the occasion and shared their valuable input with participants.