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Thursday March 28, 2024

Academia also urged to combat terrorism

By Mian Saifur Rehman
August 18, 2017

Where, on one hand, the National Security Committee (NSC), under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, has unanimously expressed satisfaction over the gains of anti-terrorism operations, particularly Raddul Fasaad and Khyber-4 and  has resolved to continue the fight till the elimination of the last trace of terrorist elements, a teachers’ training workshop held at Bahauddin Zakaria University under the aegis of Ministry of Religious Affairs has set a good trend by emphasizing the role of academia in the elimination of extremism, sectarianism and terrorism.

This is significant in the sense because it is a long-drawn war that has to be fought, without losing confidence, by all the patriotic forces. It is not only the responsibility of the government or the security apparatus alone but also of all the segments of the society which can do some kind of fire-fighting by softening the conflicts and by lessening tensions that have, unfortunately, taken the society in their grip due to wrong meanings given by design to our beliefs by enemies of Pakistan who are highly skilled in psy war or propaganda tactics.

These psy war experts penetrate into the society and try to create schisms and bitter, irreconcilable conflicts which, in turn, give birth to heightened sectarianism and extremism so much so that every person adhering to opposite view is either considered (and declared) an enemy or a pagan whose elimination is then sought through suicide bombings, remote control and IED blasts and indiscriminate firing, target killing and many other kinds of acts of terrorism.

National Action Plan was put in place by the government of the day in this backdrop and it involved not only the elimination of diehard, incorrigible enemies of Pakistan (terrorists) by the armed forces and other LEAs but also the elimination of hate culture being promoted in the name of wrong interpretations of religion or under the spell of ‘Takfeer’ (declaring someone an infidel or a pagan) or sectarianism. 

An equally important role is therefore needed to be played by the opinion-making circles including the media, religious scholars or ulema and teachers who can counter the trends of radicalization, extremism and ‘Takfeer’.

One is left with no option other than agreeing with the recommendations of the Teachers’ Training Workshop titled “”The Role of Faculty in the Protection of Human Rights and Conflict Management” that teachers should come forward to determine the right direction for the country which would be helpful in bringing about peace and tranquillity in the country.

Such workshops should be held throughout the country under the aegis of renowned private and public sector universities for building a narrative that counters the misleading and somewhat luring propaganda. The narrative would have mass appeal and effectiveness if it is close to a realistic understanding of our beliefs and if it caters to the needs and priorities of the present times in a world that is closely inter-dependent, with one occurrence in any remote part of the world impacting the rest of the world.