De-radicalisation plan under study

[Karachiite]

ISLAMABAD: The government is considering to start a national de-radicalisation programme to combat rising fundamentalism and extremism in the country.

A statement issued after a meeting of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet held here on Wednesday said: “It was decided in the committee that special attention shall be given to a de-radicalisation programme to motivate youth to engage and isolate them from militancy and terrorism and bring them back to peaceful living.”

The meeting was presided over by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

“We need to clearly identify the threat posed by terrorism, including the underlying factors such as ideological, motivational, funding, weapon supply, training and organisational support for terrorist groups and those aiding and abetting the terrorists,” he said.

The meeting was attended by federal ministers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, services chiefs and senior officers.

Other decisions

It also took a number of other decisions, like strengthening coordination between provinces and the federal government on
security issues and establishment of a National Crime Database, in addition to deliberating on loopholes in the criminal justice system and various incidents of terrorism, but the major decision appeared to be the de-radicalisation programme.

The army, which has already started one such programme in Swat, had been pushing for its replication at the national level.

Law-enforcement agencies have frequently blamed flaws in the criminal justice system for preventing successful prosecution of terror suspects.

The last meeting of the committee held on May 25 in the aftermath of the attack on PNS Mehran base in Karachi had decided that the forum would meet more frequently to take decisions on matters concerning security and national defence.

Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had said at a ceremony held last month to showcase the army’s re-radicalisation effort: “We have taken the first step here in Swat by initiating a de-radicalisation programme, it needs support and initiative of the society, intellectuals and policy-makers to take the lead and put into effect a counter-radicalisation construct, not only to sustain the de-radicalisation effort, but also to assure a free and progressive future for Pakistan.”

His Independence Day speech at the PMA Kakul also appeared tailored to dispel some of the extremist propaganda by reaffirming his force’s commitment to Islam and the ideology of Pakistan.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/18/de-radicalisation-plan-under-study.html

 

[muse]

ISLAMABAD: The government is considering to start a national de-radicalisation programme to combat rising fundamentalism and extremism in the country.

A statement issued after a meeting of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet held here on Wednesday said: “It was decided in the committee that special attention shall be given to a de-radicalisation programme to motivate youth to engage and isolate them from militancy and terrorism and bring them back to peaceful living.”

The meeting was presided over by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

“We need to clearly identify the threat posed by terrorism, including the underlying factors such as ideological, motivational, funding, weapon supply, training and organisational support for terrorist groups and those aiding and abetting the terrorists,” he said.

The meeting was attended by federal ministers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, services chiefs and senior officers.

If this is for real and if the army is on board, then this could be a big deal -- But who will de-radicalize these people? Wouldn't the mullah argue that he is best qualified to because he control what is preached as religion?

And will the army submit? After all, it is the major Islamist force in the country.

And as for the ideological and motivational part - will the government really take on the jamaatis and their madaress? Will it really take on the Saudi for the funding part?

Lots of problems and a lot of political pain - two things this government and all others (army) will seek to avoid.

 

[superNova]

de corruption plan must first put into place

---------- Post added at 11:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:49 AM ----------

PPP is just messing up with its priorities, no security plan but renaming province plance, and making new province plans, what the fuckk will makinf new peovince achieve when theft and corruption goes unnoticed esp advocated by PPP

 

[muse]

what the fuckk

Aur Roozah bi tau hai - jamaati ki auqaat.

 

[superNova]

Aur Roozah bi tau hai - jamaati ki auqaat.

apne auqaat yaad nahi dila mughe

nai, mera roza nahi hai

 

[Zarvan]

If this is for real and if the army is on board, then this could be a big deal -- But who will de-radicalize these people? Wouldn't the mullah argue that he is best qualified to because he control what is preached as religion?

And will the army submit? After all, it is the major Islamist force in the country.

And as for the ideological and motivational part - will the government really take on the jamaatis and their madaress? Will it really take on the Saudi for the funding part?

Lots of problems and a lot of political pain - two things this government and all others (army) will seek to avoid.

This corrupt goverment don't have any moral authority and their efforts will increase Islamism INSHALLAH rather reducing it

 

[superNova]

thats why i say PPP has greately messed up its priorities, PPP is busy in making provinces and de radicalisation, but can it even control what it already controls??

 

[muse]

nai, mera roza nahi hai

Bara fakhr hai tujai is baat ka. islamists's moral authority -

 

[superNova]

we all know who controls sindh, these bastards dont even have control on their own regions and have set to make fata more peaceful, firdt they need to control what they control and stop worrying about things they cant manage themselves

 

[OrionHunter]

Lots of problems and a lot of political pain - two things this government and all others (army) will seek to avoid.

Exactly! But where there is a will, there is a way! It is heartening to see that there is at least realization that radicalism is counter productive in the long run and efforts are afoot to stamp this evil from society!

 

[Zarvan]

Exactly! But where there is a will, there is a way! It is heartening to see that there is at least realization that radicalism is counter productive in the long run and efforts are afoot to stamp this evil from society!

They will fail

 

[muse]

Exactly! But where there is a will, there is a way! It is heartening to see that there is at least realization that radicalism is counter productive in the long run and efforts are afoot to stamp this evil from society!

You have replenished my faith in the goodness of people - but I'm also a realist and while I will grant you that Zardari has quietly achieved a lot in turning back the Saudiization of Pakistani society, I am persuaded that the army may still have it in it to perhaps for the last time ever, try and turn back society to a time when society still thought army had answers - I really think it's a possibility - My hope is that it will submit to the will of the government.

See, what this De-radicalization program will by definition, mean for the army, and armed forces, is "De-radicalization" with in it's own ranks -- think about how many times attempts to assassinate Musharraf were made - and all from within the armed forces.

So yeah, the army is a cause for concern.

 

[ice_man]

its a LOUD SOUDING NOTHING!! how will they de-radicalize! its just a good euphoric concept.

 

[muse]

De-radicalisation plan
Gul Bukhari



One hopes the recent announcement to study a de-radicalisation plan by the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) is not the latest in the never-ending series of jokes perpetrated on the Pakistani people by its rulers — but it does sound like one.

By the sounds of the focus of the DCC meeting, the scope of their de-radicalisation plan may turn out to be too narrow, and therefore ineffectual. Thus timely input from the wider society would be highly valuable. The press statement from the committee that “it was decided in the committee that special attention shall be given to a de-radicalisation programme to motivate youth to engage and isolate them from militancy and terrorism and bring them back to peaceful living” indicates a very specific goal of trying to revert militant youth to normality.

The “need to clearly identify the threat posed by terrorism, including the underlying factors such as ideological, motivational, funding, weapon supply, training and organisational support for terrorist groups and those aiding and abetting the terrorists” is also all very well in terms of anti-militancy, but not de-radicalisation.

The country needs a genuine de-radicalisation effort, with an outreach well beyond an attempt at treating or curing a few hundred radicalised militant boys. The focus of the DCC’s de-radicalisation programme, however, appears far from such a strategy with its references to expanding the army’s admittedly commendable pilot project in Swat to de-radicalise ex-militants.

This problem needs to be viewed from outside just the security paradigm. Security related issues like terrorism surface only at the last and fatal stage of radicalisation and it will not do to remain in denial about all the other stages that lead up to it. It appears the government is speaking of ‘de-radicalisation’ but ‘means’ only an anti-militancy drive with its focus on weapons, coordination between security agencies, and ideologies, etc.

If the fundamentally important fact that militant movements recruit mostly an already radicalised people is recognised, it would become easy to formulate a comprehensive strategy that de-couples anti-militancy from de-radicalisation.

It is a bitter pill to swallow, but a good start would be to recognise that, as a whole, the whole of Pakistani society is quite radicalised and very basic attitude changes are in order to achieve a more gentle society at peace with itself, and therefore less likely to become fodder in the hands of militancy.

I can substantiate this claim with anecdotes ranging from the most minor to the very major. At the supposedly trivial end, I know that I live in a radicalised society when highly educated friends endorse my two-meals-a-day dieting efforts, not with scientific research or proof but with Ahadees and Sunnah, “Haan, patta hai, aan Hazrat (SAW) ney bhi yehi kaha tha” (yes, you know, the Prophet Mohammed [PBUH] also said so).

I do not think I need to cite examples at the more serious end of the spectrum to illustrate my point. What, however, needs to be pointed out here is some of the measures needed to be taken to deal with those. It would be ideal, though, that a national commission is formulated for the purpose, as the radicalised state of our society is no less than an existential threat.

The first and foremost, and clichéd, measure is to bring back the rule of law to at least the settled areas of Pakistan. No new laws are required. Existing laws need to be implemented to bring Mumtaz Qadri, murderer of deceased Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, for example, to justice. His case has to be the epitome of open-and-shut cases, does it not? Letting his case languish, and speaking of de-radicalisation measures, strategies and big words makes a mockery of the whole idea.

Similar is the case of Malik Ishaq of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, indicted in 44 cases in which 70 people were killed. Slowly, over time, witnesses in the different cases against him have been murdered, with the last remaining ones in fear of their lives. So rule of law, then, leads us to witness and judge protection programmes. These need to be strengthened.

Hate speech pundits, who are many times the source, unlike the vessels who commit the physical crime, should now become a serious subject of scrutiny. Many of them often belong to the media itself, a factor that ought not to be allowed to obfuscate and facilitate criminal misuse of principles of free speech. The names of Sufi Mohammed of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), Amir Liaquat, Meher Bukhari, Mubashir Luqman, all popular talk show hosts, and Zaid Hamid, a self-styled security analyst, to name only a very, very few, simply leap to mind. We have laws on our statute books that address the very nature of radicalising hate crimes they commit with impunity on a daily basis. Implementation of these laws would be another good start.

To hastily touch upon a couple of other areas (fairly vast subjects having been written about by many critics already), the revision and re-evaluation of national curriculum text books taught to children should be another facet of the de-radicalisation of society.

Most important of all, and one cannot do justice to it here in a few words, are the various articles of the constitution and ordinances that promote intolerance in society. These need to be taken a vicious knife to to rid society of its lego-moral sanction to vigilantism. Think of the boy gunned down for smoking before iftaar during Ramzan. Think of federal ministers speaking of murdering with their own hands anyone committing blasphemy.

The writer is a journalist and can be reached at gulnbukhari@gmail.com. She tweets at Gul Bukhari (@gulbukhari) on Twitter

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

it is these bastard de-generate extremists and their f*cked up ideology and crooked, hypocritical, misguided thinking that has totally distorted the image of our religion

It's becoming increasingly difficult to avoid being frustrated with the odius dogma that these imposter men (and women) are injecting into our faith and homes, in collusion with our reckless TV channels.

They have nearly destroyed wonderful social balance achieved by our elders through centuries of evolution.Our history goes back thousands of years and we are the custodians of interaction of several great civilizations and even religions in South Asia.

How can we allow these people destroy such great depth ?



I pray to God that these de-radicalization programs become more widespread. These are areas where "aid moneys" should be utilized. Even the Saudis (whose funding has been indirectly and directly gone into the hands of extremist madrassas that teach intolerance and bigotry) have such programs in their own country to deal with local jihadis.

i dont know what took us so long....but better late than never. The damage has already been done!