Students and faculty members from more than 20 universities of Pakistan on Tuesday urged the need for proper frameworks for promoting extracurricular activities in the campuses to stop violence and extremist views by different groups.
The students from 4 provinces, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, discussing the situation of violence in the universities, also stressed upon the need for structural changes in the rules to block the way of extremist groups those impose their agenda on young and bright minds and distract them from the path of peace and tolerance.
Punjab Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) Managing Director Habib-ur-Rehman Gillani specially participated in the conference and talked about how travel and tourism can help young generation to change their minds from extreme.
They were discussing the situation during the third day of five-day training workshop of varsity level male and female students and faculty members, arranged by Barged, non government organization working for youth development and political awareness, in collaboration with USIP (United States Institute of Peace) at local hotel.
The students from southern Punjab universities sharing their experience highlighted how violent and extremist Jihadi groups trap innocent students in their net, brainwash them and use them as a tool to fulfill their political agenda.
A student from IslamiaUniversity sharing his experience said a Jihadi group which was very active in his college started inviting him to the special lectures after prayers in the mosque and later gave him literature, brainwashed him and urged him to commit violence on sectarian grounds. At one point, he said, he was also offered a 9mm pistol to keep with him and use where it was required to spread violence or impose particular agenda. Later, when his family knew about this they removed him from that college.
The students from Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa universities said ethnic and religious factions of youth have gotten hold of the most of the campuses and they force students to follow their agenda and administrations seem helpless.
Iqbal Haider Butt, consultant on Punjab Youth Policy, addressing the students said that extremist views are kept by different groups all over the world. However, he said, the issue is to manage these issues at administrative level. Such groups are never violent in Europe or other countries. He said there is need for proper mechanism and structural reforms in the universities rules and regulations to make these groups non-violent.
Students discussed different shapes of extremism in their particular areas and its impact on the younger generation. They also shared their experiences and stories about extremism faced by them or their friends and family members. Faculty members of different universities gave presentations on the social and political context of their respective provinces such as Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa, Punjab, Baluchistan, Sindh including Gilgit Baltistan, AJK and FATA.
