Vigilance committees can help counter extremism in Punjab: experts

Islamabad: Effective implementation of Vigilance Committees Act 2016, passed by the previous government as part of National Action Plan, can help in countering violent extremism at local level in Punjab.

The demand was made by the civil society representatives while talking about the implementation of National Action Plan. Commenting on the situation, Director Sustainable Social Development Organization (SSDO) Syed Kausar Abbas said that current and the previous Government of Punjab could not implement laws made under National Action Plan.

Vigilance Committees Act 2016 was promulgated as part of National Action Plan to counter violent extremism in Punjab. “But Government is failed to implement Vigilance Committees Act 2016 at all levels in Punjab,” said Kausar Abbas adding that the government promulgated several laws as part of National Action Plan but those laws could not be implemented in its true spirit at provincial, district and tehsil level.

Vigilance Committees Act was passed to establish committees at provincial, district, tehsil and union council to monitor the activities of local residents and ensure peace in the local communities. These vigilance committees can also help in implementation of Temporary Residents Act, Loud Speaker Act, and Prohibition of Hate Speech Act at local level. Unfortunately the government has not implemented the Vigilance Committees Act 2016 yet due to which there is no monitoring mechanism at Muhallah and Union Council level to monitor the activities of the local communities and tenants. Kausar Abbas said that there is a need to implement Vigilance Committees Act.