Countering extremism

Operation Zarb-e-Azb was a watershed in our fight against terrorism while the National Action Plan has supplemented the operation. But, once again terrorists seem to have made a comeback as is evident from the recent terrorist attacks all over the country, especially the carnage in Charsadda and Lahore. In addition to fighting militancy, we need to discourage intolerance and extremism. To completely root out terrorism, we will need to add other arrows to our quiver.

Zarb-e-Azb is essential for us to be able to defeat extremist thinking. The media and civil society should contribute towards confronting the extremist mindset. The way out of the current impasse is to promote tolerance and moderation. Terrorism can best be tackled by undertaking some critical measures: addressing the root causes and sources of terrorism; highlighting the importance of civil society and public support for counterterrorism; the critical role of media in fighting terrorists’ ideology; stressing the importance of reforming the education system – including registration and regulation of madressahs and creating awareness among the masses about the funding of terrorism and that people should be careful while giving donations to charities linked with terrorist organisations. We need to deal with the extremist tendency that recently targeted the information minister and Junaid Jamshaid.

Amjad Khan

Islamabad