ISLAMABAD: The government is striving hard to promote inclusiveness, tolerance and peace in the society and all western propaganda about spread of extremism in Pakistani society is baseless and unfounded.
Reports on social media have been circulating recently regarding alleged recruitment of terrorists in Pakistan and religious hardliners turning to universities to find out potential recruits.
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Reacting to a propaganda report by a journalist for an international TV channel, a senior government official said on Thursday that such reports are part of an international campaign launched on the behest of anti-Pakistan forces a senior government official said on Thursday that such reports are part of an international campaign launched on the behest of anti-Pakistan forces in connivance with the western agents in Pakistan to malign the country, Islam and the Muslims.
He said just a day before, Prime Minister Imran Khan in his remarks in New York underscored that the religion has nothing to do with terrorism. Noting the growing incidents of discrimination and violence based on religion and belief, the prime minister also warned against attempts to denigrate the revered personalities and scriptures cloaked in right to freedom of expression and opinion.
The official said the federal cabinet has recently approved a plan to mainstream religious seminaries and allocated a huge amount of Rs 1.9 billion for setting up a directorate general of religious education, regional centres and so on. He said universities and educational institutes are imparting quality education in the country and reports of presence of extremists and terrorist are speculative and groundless.
A landmark achievement, the government last year launched Paigham-e-Pakistan initiative to eliminate of all kinds of terrorism and extremism from the country.
He said in a landmark achievement, the government last year launched Paigham-e-Pakistan initiative to eliminate of all kinds of terrorism and extremism from the country by countering the extremist thinking on ideological grounds. The initiative comprises two parts: a fatwa against terrorism and a joint declaration by heads of all major schools of thought against terrorism endorsed by 1,829 clerics from all schools of thought.
The official said no stone has been left unturned by the adversaries to unravel Pakistan. “Foreign-sponsored terrorism has caused Pakistan a human loss of 75,000 and financial loss of $123 billion. Hybrid war has further widened the existing divides in the society, polarised political and religious forces, heightened extremism and projected Pakistan as the most dangerous country in the world,” he lamented.
He also cautioned the people, especially the youth, to not fall prey to such negative propaganda unleashed by the anti-state elements as part of the fifth generation hybrid war and instead get united to promote peace, tolerance, inclusiveness and unity in the society.
INP/SB/AK
