Daily Times

The fifth session of the 18th Youth Parliament Pakistan (YPP) was successfully convened by the PILDAT at the old hall of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab.

The two sittings of the session focused on empowering the youth to become active champions of peace and resilience. Around 75 members of the YPP attended the session while more than 100 joined online.

They represented all National Assembly constituencies of Pakistan, in addition to Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Overseas Pakistanis, according to a press release issued here on Saturday.

This activity marks a significant milestone of project of CPTP (Countering and Preventing Terrorism in Pakistan). Funded by the EU, led by NACTA and executed by the UNODC with its partner civil society organization, PILDAT.

The project aims at empowering community resilience against violent extremism and acts of violence via a three-pronged strategy. The key strategy/components include: strengthen the capacity of criminal justice institutions; strengthen victim support through an effective legal system; and foster community engagement via developing sustainable networks.

The fifth session was inaugurated by Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan who welcomed the members of the YPP to the august House.

In his address, he discussed an important role of the youth in preventing violent extremism and lamented the detrimental psychological effects of terrorism on young people.

He stated that engagement with the youth was immensely important to him as Pakistan’s population comprises of more than 60 per cent youth, and future of the country depends on them.

Prior to the commencement of the session, the members of the YPP also took part in a comprehensive study visit to the neighbouring new building of the Provincial Assembly for firsthand exposure to the legislative processes in Pakistan. These interactions aided citizen-state engagement which is key to preventing alienation amongst vulnerable youth. The session then continued with a parliamentary style debate on the role of youth in preventing violent extremism in Pakistan.

The 5th session of the YPP also featured Ms Mahreen Maqsood, Director, PVE at NACTA, who gave a presentation on “How to Prevent Violent Extremism (PVE) in Pakistan?” emphasising the myths and common perception that revolve around the topic.

She discussed different types of violence, including direct, structural and cultural violent extremism. She emphasized the role of civil society and youth in tackling this complex issue, emphasizing that young people should play their part through social campaigns and by creating awareness in society.

While, the second sitting of the fifth session commenced with a policy dialogue where prominent legislators Ms Sonia Ashir, MPA and Parliamentary Secretary, Human Rights & Minorities Affairs, Chaudhry Javed Ahmed, MPA, and Ms Faiza Ahmad Malik, former MPA, engaged with MYPs on the need for PVE policies at a national and provincial level. They identified a wide range of public policy areas, including education, inequality, and civil rights, that must be covered in a PVE policy.

The discussion particularly focused on curriculum development, minority rights and the balance of power amongst institutions. The MYPs questioned the legislators regarding student unions, population control, resource scarcity and extremism incidents currently happening in KP and Balochistan.