Information Minister Attaullah Tarar speaks to Voice of America in an interview. Photo: screenshot/VoA
ISLAMABAD:
The government on Tuesday defended its actions to contain the hydra of terrorism by informing the upper house of Parliament that the federal government had launched coordinated initiatives to combat extremism and terrorism through religious harmony, discourse building and strict implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP).
Replying to a question during Question Hour, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said a Paigham-e-Aman committee had been constituted without discrimination on the basis of sect or political affiliation.
He said scholars from all schools of thought and representatives of different religions from across Pakistan had been included in the committee, which was actively touring the country to promote a counter-narrative against extremism, violence and terrorism.
Tarar said crafting a credible counter-narrative against violent extremism was primarily the responsibility of religious scholars, adding that the government had also established a Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) cell within the Ministry of Information.
He indicated that a third-party audit mechanism had been put in place to assess the scope and impact of the stories produced by the CVE unit, particularly via digital platforms.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry also briefed the Senate on the government’s broader strategy to combat extremism, telling senators that both kinetic and non-kinetic measures were being implemented simultaneously.
He said the most recent meeting on countering extremism was held under the leadership of the Information Minister, while the Paigham-e-Aman committee, chaired by the Prime Minister, had formulated a comprehensive awareness program covering universities, madaris, mosques and other segments of society.
Chaudhry stressed the need for a comprehensive parliamentary debate on the 14-point National Action Plan II (NAP-II), noting that the original NAP was formulated after the Army Public School tragedy under the PML-N government and later revised under the PTI government with the consensus of all provinces.
He informed the House that a high-level coordination committee on counter-terrorism, chaired by the Prime Minister and involving all chief ministers and heads of security institutions, was meeting regularly to review the progress.
Privatization Commission (Amendment) Bill
The Senate on Tuesday passed the Privatization Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2025, as reported by the standing committee.
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Privatization, Muhammad Ali, introduced the bill to further amend the Privatization Commission Ordinance, 2000. [The Privatisation Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2025] in the House.
The House passed the bill through clause-by-clause reading.
Meanwhile, Minister of Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar moved a motion that the bill providing for the establishment of the Whistleblower Protection and Vigilance Commission (Whistleblower Protection and Vigilance Commission Bill, 2025), as passed by the Senate and transmitted to the National Assembly but not passed by the National Assembly within ninety days of its tabling in the Assembly national, be examined in joint session. The House adopted the motion.
