Ways to fight violent extremism discussed

Experts have suggested focusing on primary and secondary educational institutions to counter extremism in society effectively. They were talking on the occasion of a one-day conference at KhyberPakhtunkhwa (K-P) Centre for Excellence on Countering Violent Extremism which discussed ways for countering and preventing violent extremism at the University of Peshawar (UoP) on Friday. Faculty members and heads of different departments of social sciences of the University of Peshawar participated in the conference.

Chief Coordination Officer of the Centre Dr Ayaz briefed the participants on the establishment of the Centre, its aims and objectives, and future plans. He also highlighted the background of the establishment of the Centre. Dean of Social Sciences Professor Dr Johar Ali said that this center will not only provide research support to the students of UoP but will also present recommendations of different researches on other forums for policy adaptation. Professor Dr Hafiz Inamullah, the head of the Institute of Education and Research added that training on countering violent extremism and establishing peace is very important for school students and teachers, and research to such relevant topics has also been done in various fields of social sciences.

“This Centre can initiate training programs in educational institutes by incorporating those research studies,” he said. Chairman of the Department of International Relations, Professor Dr Hussain Shaheed Shahrwardi said, “The thinking of university students has matured and it is quite difficult to change their thinking, but changing the thinking at the primary, middle, and high school levels and making it positive is easier.” So this Centre should focus on primary and secondary educational institutions in order to counter extremism, he noted. Head of the Department of Gender Studies Prof Dr Anush suggested that experts should be kept in the Board of Governors because important decisions were taken in board meetings which should include the expert’s opinion.