ISLAMABAD: Speakers at a workshop on Wednesday maintained that violent extremism poses a serious threat to the peace and security, social harmony and economic and social development of the country, and called for concrete measures to counter the growing radical narratives in the country. The two-day workshop titled ‘Reconstruction of an Inclusive Islamic Society in Pakistan’ held at the University of Gujrat discussed a broad range of challenges facing the country in the line of preventing and countering violent extremism, focusing on the ways to counter radicalization and disengagement, particularly of the youth. Addressing the ceremony, University of Gujrat Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Zia ul Qayyum said Pakistan faces a range of challenges, including persistent threats posed by extremists and other violent groups, adding that these challenges exacerbated by problems such as underdevelopment and unemployment potentially make the youth more vulnerable to empty promises of a better life and financial incentives offered by the terrorist and extremist organizations. Emphasizing the critical role faculty members and the Ulema can play in countering violent extremism, he called for an exerted effort to engage youth in constructive activities besides providing them ample opportunities to build their careers and grow, which will eventually generate hope among them as well address the social, political and economic injustice and grievances. Other speakers called for effort focusing on the protection of youth from falling into the hands of extremist groups by increasing the participation of youth in various community and development efforts. They said that in the recent years, violent extremist groups have used and exploited digital environments and a number of communication platforms. The speed at which the digital landscape is evolving challenges the efforts to directly address individuals being radicalized to violence online, they said, adding that confronting the challenge requires raising awareness in the society through such seminars and workshops. They said the youth were the most vulnerable to the extremist ideologies as they were the ones more active on the social media, adding that social media was now the new battleground of violent extremism. The speakers said that family members, friends, or close acquaintances are the most likely to observe activities or behaviours suggesting an individual is being radicalized or has violent intent. They called for development and dissemination of resources describing possible warning signs as well as steps the families and friends can take if they believe someone close to them is becoming recruited or radicalized to violence. They noted that the countering violent extremism strategy developed by the government should comprise of soft approaches which take into account measures that tackle extremism in the longer run, instead of the steps that are reactive and knee-jerk in nature. Throwing light on the Paigham-e-Pakistan, the speakers said the initiative launched by the government of Pakistan was the best tool to deal with growing extremism and intolerance and promote peace, harmony and friendly relations among various segments of the society as well as different religious groups in the country. They called for a concerted effort to disseminate the message of Paigham-e-Pakistan initiative among all segments of the society across the country. The workshop sensitized the participants on countering violent extremism by highlighting various aspects of extremism, its stages and counter strategies besides training of the faculty members of universities and Ulema belonging to different madaris. This program also covered the social and traditional implications of changing and emerging roles of faculty members and Ulema for peace-building and countering extremism by discussing contemporary challenges and their solutions. A huge number of faculty members, civil society activists, research scholars, government officials and Ulema belonging to different schools of thought attended the event. Published in Daily Times, October 4th 2018.