Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan has approved in principle the placement of the ‘Centre of Excellence’ on Countering Violent Extremism Rules 2022 before the provincial cabinet for formal approval. The decision was taken during the third Board of Governors’ meeting of the Centre of Excellence on Countering Violent Extremism, held in the Chief Minister’s House on Monday. The meeting was attended by Minister for Higher Education Kamran Bangash, MPA Dr Aasiya Asad, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Amjad Ali Khan, administrative secretaries of relevant departments and CEO of the Center of Excellence on Countering Violent Extremism. On the occasion, the chief minister directed the concerned authorities to ensure prompt release of funds for functionalization of the excellence center along with approving the provision of required vehicles from the existing pool. With regards to the human resources, the board was informed that an advertisement for the required staff has already been floated and the recruitment process will be completed soon to ensure prompt and complete functionalization of the center. It is pertinent to mention here that the center has been established with the purpose of working as a research-based institute on countering violent extremism in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and coping with the emerging issues and challenges springing from terrorism, subversive activities against the Islamic Republic of Pakistan through narratives of hatred, extremism, radicalization, intolerance, abusing charities, funds generation for entities of concern, glorification of terrorism, terrorists organizations and also diagnose the root causes. The vision behind establishing this center is to create a society free of violent extremism and terrorism. It is a unique initiative of its kind not only in Pakistan but across Asia. The chief minister maintained that the provincial government was taking every possible step to create a peaceful and violence-free society, adding that establishment of the proposed center of excellence was also a part of this struggle.