PESHAWAR:Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Center of Excellence on Countering Violent Extremism on Friday holds a one-day conference to promote international collaboration in countering violent extremism and to highlight strategies to combat extremism and enhance global cooperation.
Secretary Higher Education, Anila Mahfooz Durrani, Dr. Ayaz, Chief Coordination Officer and Dr. Qasim, Director General, welcomed all participants on behalf of the center. Notable personalities from various sectors including Faisal Kareem Kundi, Former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Dawood Khan former secretary of higher education department, Prof. Dr. Usman Ghani, Director IM Sciences, Musarrat Qadeem, Senior Advisor to Center for Combating Extremism and Javed Iqbal, Deputy Commandant Frontier Corps also attended the conference.
Highlighting the significance of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Center of Excellence, Anila Mahfooz Durrani stated that it is the first Excellence Center in South Asia specifically dedicated to countering violent extremism. She emphasized that the center will function as a think tank to tackle the challenges effectively, posed by extremism.
During the international conference, Faisal Kareem Kundi addressed the audience, highlighting the province’s focus on climate change and extremism. He urged the Pakistani government to review its policies concerning Afghanistan due to the shared, long border, which exposes the region to additional risks.
Khalid Kauser, Executive Director of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF), based in Geneva also participated in the conference, expressing his support and collaboration.
A memorandum of understanding was also signed between GCERF and the center to enhance collaboration for countering extremism.
Musarrat Qadeem highlighted the need to involve women in countering extremism and encouraged their active participation.
Former Deputy Inspector General, Counter Terrorism Department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Javed Iqbal, also addressed the conference, emphasizing the importance of setting up a framework to tackle extremism through conversations and policies parallel to active anti-terrorism measures.
Khalid Kauser, Executive Director of Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund appreciated the establishment of center in a province and expressed his intention to collaborate closely with the center to combat extremism in the region.