Looking for solutions: Speakers at seminar blame political vacuum for terrorism

Say the present parliamentary system is breeding resentment.

PESHAWAR: Speakers at a one-day conference on Monday said a political vacuum was the major cause for the spread of terrorism in Pakistan.

The seminar was organised by the University of Peshawar in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. Participants said the present parliamentary system was promoting the tribal and baradari system of government, leading to a sense of deprivation among the masses, especially the youth.

Speaking on the occasion, Pakistan Study Centre Director Dr Fakhrul Islam said the tug of war between religious and liberal forces was the main reason the country got its first practical constitution decades after its independence.

He added the United Nations had not defined the term terrorism which is why a superpower had the licence to declare a state or organisation as a terrorist. Islam criticised the UN for not having enacted any legislation against terrorism, adding people who believe in fighting for their right to self-determination have been declared terrorists in the past.

He stressed the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) should be merged with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa so tribesmen can get their constitutional rights at par with other citizens of the country.

“Pakistan has remained a victim of a protracted process of radicalization, which led to extremism of the state and society,” said scholar Dr Raza Rehman Khan Qazi.

He added the quest for power along with an identity crisis has been the main cause of terrorism along with lack of justice and anti-Americanism.

In his speech, UoP Vice Chancellor Rasul Jan rejected the impression that Pukhtun culture promoted terrorism. He stressed education in line with the demands of the modern world should remain a priority to control the wave of terrorism in Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th,2014.