Daily Times

There surely have been and are many people, both men and women, in Pakistan who have excelled and are excelling in different fields, have rendered and are also rendering some excellent services over the years. They may have and be rendering great works in their respective fields as well as won appreciation and recognition both nationally and internationally.

But Dr Tehmina Aslam Ranjha, who hails from Sargodha and is now settled in Lahore pursuing her objectives, stands far apart from these men and women who have excelled in their fields. She is a woman of great substance indeed in more than one respect and has a long list of services and achievements.

She is a woman par excellence. She is an expert on Counter-Terrorism, Countering Violent Extremism and De-radicalisation in Pakistan. She is a woman who has been dedicatedly and actively working on making the society free from all sorts of violence.

Talking about her cherished desire and wish, on the eve of International Women’s Day which is observed every year in Pakistan and the world over on March 8, she says that it is her dream to see a day in Pakistan when the country will be free from violence and there will be no incident of terrorism and extremism here.

Dr Tehmina Aslam Ranjha is among a very few Pakistani women who are working on rather very sensitive topics like Countering Terrorism, Countering Violent Extremism and De-radicalisation. For this she has been actively doing her part and efficiently playing her role by educating students on behavioural change from violence to deradicalisation and from extremist tendencies to moderate behaviours . As an expert on counter-terrorism, she mostly works on Countering Violent Extremism in colleges and university campuses. She is working in the arena of Counter-Terrorism and Countering Violent Extremism with a focus on deradicalisation among the youth of both genders of Pakistan, for the last more than four years . Through her writings , she is making commendable contributions in helping establish a Countering Violent Extremism narrative in Pakistan.

She is also an animal lover and believes that the love for animals makes your heart tender one and ultimately makes you to be kind and loving towards the animals. She has been taking care of stray cats and dogs. In order to acknowledge her services as animals rights activist, DW TV has recently made a documentary on her to show the positive face of Pakistan,

She is also one of the members of “Dukhtaran-e-Pakistan” , a special section of Paigham-e-Pakistan to counter violent extremism from the society and especially highlighting women’s role in countering violent extremism. She also has a very distinguished academic record from graduation to doctorate. She did graduation from the Punjab University, MSc (International Relations) from the Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad with focus on Foreign Policy, Arms Control and Disarmament, M.A. History from University of Sargodha, MPhil Political Science from Government College University Lahore on Water Dispute between India and Pakistan: Implications for South Asian Security and Doctorate of Philosophy with thesis on ‘Religious Militancy in Pakistan: Effects on Foreign Policy towards India and Afghanistan” from the Punjab University, all with distinction.

Tehmina Aslam Ranjha is a national speaker on topics related to Countering Violent Extremism and de-radicalisation. She has contributed number of research articles in national journals and international conferences and also writes for print media of Pakistan and is a regular speaker on Radio Pakistan Islamabad and BBC Urdu on subjects of her interest and specialization. She has attended several seminars as a speaker and delivered lectures on issues like Kashmir, terrorism, extremism, deradicalisation and Pakistan’s counter-terrorism efforts. She has also worked closely with retired personnel of Pakistan Army, Police and reviewed articles for NACTA. She imparts training and delivers lectures on different aspects of terrorism, extremism and victims of terrorism to academia, government officials, journalists and security practitioners.

She is currently associated with a US-based think tank Wikistrat and regularly contributes for them. She has made it possible the collaboration of various NGOs associated with government institutions to conduct various research projects which have proved beneficial both for the faculty as well as the students of the Department of Integrated Social Sciences . She is also a member of various committees of academic nature at the University of Lahore. Recently, she has been involved in imparting training to the students of University of Swat and Swabi, a joint project of UNDP Pakistan and Interior Ministry.

Tehmina Aslam Ranjha is also a linguist and can Read and Write in seven languages including English, Urdu, Punjabi, Seraiki, Hindoko, Arabic, Persian and Hindi,

She is Research Fellow at Centre for Security Strategy and Policy Research and Assistant Professor at School of Integrated Social Sciences , University of Lahore.

Despite being so active in fields of her specialization, she is also looking for still greater and more important assignments commensurate with her expert specialization and high academic qualifications to serve with still greater vigour and enthusiasm the beloved country Pakistan and the nation both at the national as well as international levels.

The writer is Lahore-based Freelance Journalist, Columnist and retired Deputy Controller (News), Radio Pakistan, Islamabad and can be reached at zahidriffat@gmail.com