Caretaker Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Syed Ali Zafar has said that the federal government is providing assistance to the government of Punjab for maintaining law and order. Talking to media persons after attending the National Youth Conference (NYC), Syed Ali Zafar said it is the responsibility of the government of Punjab to present former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz before the court of law.
He further said that punitive actions are being taken against those sabotaging peace in the country. He said that there is no crackdown against any candidate contesting the general election 2018. The minister said that wave of extremism in Pakistan was a result of war in Afghanistan. "We win war against terror but did not develop tolerance here," he added.
Earlier, addressing the National Youth Conference, Syed Ali Zafar said Pakistanis are a vibrant and resilient nation, which faced the brunt of terrorism with courage and defeated this menace successfully. He said, "We are physically winning this war, but there is a need to win this battle on mental level." Zafar emphasized the need for promoting tolerance through educational institutions.
The director general of Directorate of Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), presented following draft recommendations at the conclusion of the conference:
The NACTA will share NYC recommendations with federal government departments, provincial governments, Islamabad Capital Territory, Gilgit-Baltistan & AJK for their input.
The NACTA will hold deliberations with all stakeholders including federal/provincial government institutions, civil society, Higher Education Commission (HEC), Ittehad Tanzeemul Madaris Pakistan (ITMP), etc.
The government should formulate and submit draft policy recommendations to government on countering violent extremism in educational institutions.
Replicate the model as best practice for wider youth engagement through NACTA Pakistan.
The government should make all counter-terrorism & counter-extremism legislation a federal subject. The government should consolidate legal provisions scattered in different statutes such as PPC, PECA, ATA and PEMRA Act into one law with a single investigation agency to deal with the offences related to incitement to violence and hate speech.
The government should bring Khatibs of mosques on the pay roll of the government on specific criteria and regulate Friday sermons.
The government should revise university curriculum & include a compulsory course on laws related to incitement to violence and hate speech.
The government should reflect all legal provisions on incitement to violence and hate speech in the university prospectus and the affidavits furnished at the time of admission.
The government should define and classify what constitutes online extremism. The government should map emerging behavior patterns on social media and community networks. The government should design and implement digital link between HEC and relevant law-enforcement agencies (LEAs) to patrol digital space for identifying online extremist content.
The government should increase the momentum of art and cultural contents in the digital space. It recommended that HEC and ITMP should:
Promote diversity through inland study tour programs, which should include visits to diverse cultures, religious communities and places of worship.
Introduce a system of academic incentives to promote extra curricular activities in educational institutions.
Set up robust career planning and psychological counseling programs in educational institutions. Encourage civil society to hold on-campus events for promotion of art & culture to build tolerance for diversity. Introduce Madrassah-university interaction programs, including academic exchange programs.
Remove impediments for seminary students who want to join mainstream educational institutions on the basis of agreed equivalence formula. Introduce compulsory contemporary subjects in Madrassah curriculum. Launch programs for joint social work, sports, cultural and arts activities. Promote inclusive dialogue in educational institutions on religious, political and social themes.
Establish early risk assessment mechanism in educational institutions. Share diverse views of history.
Implement research-based educational system that promotes freedom of expression and critical thinking. Review state policies through dialogue and establish a feedback mechanism to the government. Improve communication gap among parents, teachers and students. It recommended that HEC should:
Build capacity of faculty to identify youth vulnerability towards intolerance & extremism. Establish inter-campus study circles (ICSC) to promote culture of tolerance and social debate among the students. Create Group Discussion Forums (GDF) on campuses to specifically engage students on CVE issues. Design & implement standardized programs for CVE awareness in educational institutions.
Introduce core courses on ethics and humanities in all universities/Madaris.
Encourage tolerance as a main theme in co-curricular and extracurricular activities. Prohibit vigilantism as a social tendency/accepted practice. Promote use of dialogue, discourse, discussion and other nonviolent means of learning.
Ban grouping of students on ethnic, political and religious basis.
Establish mental health and substance abuse centers in educational institutions.Design and implement evidence based awareness & prevention programs on drug/substance abuse.
Engage all stakeholders i.e. scholars, politicians, parents and faculty to counter drug abuse. Increase female voices on peace, security and CVE, both on and off-campus. Implement specialized mandatory courses and create research opportunities on gender, violence, peace, security and VE issues.
Teach Islamic concepts of tolerance, ethics and values through female voices. Increase spaces and opportunities for female faculty and students in Madaris. Design and implement need-based capacity building/training programs for female faculty on CVE.
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