Political forces should join hands to fight extremism: Kundi

Islamabad:Faisal Karim Kundi, Governor, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, has reaffirmed the KPK’s commitment and resolve to building peace and stability through strategic reforms and sustainable development.

Mr Kundi was delivering keynote address on “Strategies and way forward to address the security challenges” organised here by Institute of Regional Studies (IRS).

Highlighting the province’s vanguard role in Pakistan's fight against extremism and terrorism, the Governor lauded the resilience and courage of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Citing cross-border movement of non-state actors leading to increased terrorism, smuggling and illicit trade, he emphasised that the instability in Afghanistan directly impacted upon Pakistan’s security. Border security remained a paramount concern for the provincial government, he added.

Noting that maintaining stability and security was fundamental to national progress, the Governor emphasised that equitable economic growth, good governance and social development are prerequisites for countering subversive ideologies.

Mr Kundi also underscored that capitalising investment opportunities through building special economic zones, trade corridors, skill development and imparting education coupled with promotion of inter-faith harmony and social cohesion would be the key to ensuring peace and stability.

With reference to Pakistan’s geopolitical complexities and security threats emanating from across the borders, he noted that use of propaganda, funding violent extremism, cyberattacks and attempts to thwart the building of infrastructure were all part of nefarious designs to imperil Pakistan’s internal security and integrity. “A robust counter-terror strategy with enhanced intelligence coordination was crucial to mitigate these risks,” he remarked.

Jauhar Saleem, President, IRS, in his remarks on the occasion, underlined the need for adopting a holistic approach keeping in view domestic as well as multiple foreign factor in play. He felt that policy measures in a range of areas, including economic and human development, improving policing and administration, reforming the criminal justice system and access to justice, rooting out corruption and upgrading the law enforcement capacity were required on the one hand, and countering of nefarious narratives propagated by the violent radicals was essential on the other hand. He also underscored the need for a candid and outcome- oriented debate that could be supported by the intelligentsia and think tanks to address the disconnect between the people, especially the youth, and the state.