Need stressed to fight terrorism with education

Pur Amn Pakistan Conference was held from May 27 to 29 during which discussion and debates on the National Action Plan were held. The conference also highlighted significant of youth’s role in the fight against extremism and terrorism.

Around 300 students, academics and parliamentarians from across the country attended the conference. Parents and families of children killed in the APS attack were also present who were presented with memorial shields on the concluding day.

11393038 1173977295961649 6459339979413544570 n — Youth minister Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan joined the conference at the closing ceremony.

Several recommendations and suggestions were also put forward during the conference to increase effectiveness of NAP.

Recommendations made by the grieving parents of the victims of Peshawar attacks are as follows,

Majority of the audience sided with the formation of a judicial committee for investigating into the culprits behind the extremist attacks in Pakistan.
Education should be given the first priority in solving problems like terrorism from the grass root level.
‘If we give job opportunities and end poverty, then there would be no one who would sleep with an empty stomach and kill to earn his bread.’ Another recommendation from here is the eradication of poverty.
Psychological trauma faced by those bereaved should be recognized and efforts should be placed to help them, be made a part of the National Action Plan.

11057206 1172595172766528 5103620937083951772 n — Tribute to the mothers of Peshawar attack.

Vice Chancellor of Bahuddin Zakriya University (BZU), Syed Khawaja Alqama recommended that teachings of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) should be highlighted to make people tolerant. He emphasized on the role of education institutions in alleviating violence.

‘University is the roof and schools are the pillars, for a person’s education.’ said Alqama, who used this analogy to explain how valuable education is at a school level in building up character of its students.

“If the child is taught about tolerance and acceptance from very early on, then he will continue with that mindset for the rest of his life”, he added.

Meanwhile, Senior Program Officer of USIP (Kabul), Casey Johnson recommended that the initiatives should lead to behavioral and attitude changes that can be gauged.

There were sessions in which different aspects of Cyber extremism and media responsibility regarding coverage and communication of banned organizations discussed.