Countering extremism: Minister suggests psychiatrist at every university

Need for giving students a platform to express their views on religious, social and national issues stressed

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal has suggested to the heads of universities that every campus should have at least one psychiatrist to address the issue of students’ involvement in extremism and use of drugs.

Talking at the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to the heads of universities from across the country in a brainstorming session on measures to counter radicalisation and curb extremist behaviour among students, he highlighted the significance of the role of the varsity leadership in curbing such tendencies.

He stressed that the vice-chancellors and rectors should take this challenge proactively and not only increase their interaction with the students but also come up with strategies to use the potential of the youth for positive activities.



The session was a part of deliberations in the wake of growing violent behaviour in the institutions of higher learning.

Terming the recent arrest of some Karachi University students a wake-up call for preparations on a new front, he said the youth were prone to negative ideologies shared on social media. “The use of digital facilities in universities requires to be properly monitored so as to ensure the use of Wi-Fi services purely for academic purposes,” he said.

Sharing the government’s initiatives to deal with the issue, the minister said terrorism and extremism had been dealt with an iron hand under the National Action Plan (NAP) and the armed forces and law enforcement agencies had played an admirable role in this regard. However, he said, the non-kinetic areas wherein information played a major role also needed to be paid due attention.

“Apart from other steps to stem the menace of extremism, we need to employ the counter-narratives on extremism and violence in order to positively influence the minds of youth.” He emphasised the need for giving students a platform to express their viewpoints on religious, social and national issues. He urged the academia to provide a substitute for student unions, saying the lack of such bodies might lead them to getting divided into parochial organisations on regional and ethnic grounds.



“There is a need for developing a task force in each institution to engage students in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities in addition to the formation of directorates to address students’ issues,” the minister said. He said every campus should have at least one psychiatrist to address the issue of students’ involvement in extremism and use of drugs. Empowering the university administrations had to be ensured to effectively monitor anti-social activities, he said, adding that an enhanced faculty-student engagement might also yield positive results with regard to nipping the prevailing social evils.

“The time requires us to conduct research and decode the minds employed in criminal and extremist happenings,” he emphasised.

HEC Chairman Mukhtar Ahmed expressed his concern that terrorism, which used to be associated with seminaries in the past, was being linked to universities as well. “Involvement of a few students, however, does not mean that a whole university or the entire higher education sector is corrupted with this scourge.”



He maintained that the HEC had been constantly sensitising the top university leadership about possible security threats. He stressed the need for promoting tutorials, sports and extra-curricular activities by making them part of universities’ routine for constant engagement with the students.

The HEC chief called for increased visibility of the faculty in universities for student engagement regarding positive activities. He asked the VCs to arrange mentoring and counselling activities. He mentioned a civic engagement initiative in 40 universities where students were encouraged to engage with the community for a minimum of 10 hours.

Referring to the 15th anniversary of the HEC, Ahmed urged the universities to hold open-house activities or seminars to showcase their own achievements during the period. “This will encourage the youth and help us give them hope.”

The universities’ heads gave suggestions regarding measures to ensure peace and curb violence among students. They held out the assurance that the universities would extend all-out support to the government and the HEC in their efforts to purge the higher education institutions of radicalisation.