Information Minister Attaullah Tarar speaks to Voice of America in an interview. Photo: Screengrab/VoA
ISLAMABAD:
The government on Tuesday defended its actions to curb the hydra of terrorism, informing the Upper House of Parliament that the federal government had launched coordinated initiatives to counter extremism and terrorism through religious harmony, narrative building and strict implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP).
Responding to a question during Question Time, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that a Paigham-e-Aman committee had been constituted without discrimination on the basis of sect or political affiliation.
He said scholars from all schools and representatives of various 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 building a credible counter-narrative against violent extremism was primarily the responsibility of religious scholars, adding that the government had also established a Counter Violent Extremism (CVE) cell in the Ministry of Information.
He said a third-party review mechanism had been put in place to assess the reach and impact of the narratives produced by the CVE Cell, particularly through digital platforms.
Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry also briefed the Senate on the government’s broader strategy to counter extremism, telling senators that both kinetic and non-kinetic measures were being pursued simultaneously.
He said the latest meeting on counter-extremism had been held under the leadership of the Information Minister, while the Paigham-e-Aman Committee, headed by the Prime Minister, had formulated a comprehensive outreach program spanning universities, madarias, mosques and other sections of society.
Emphasizing the need for a full parliamentary debate on the 14-point National Action Plan-II (NAP-II), Chaudhry noted that the original NAP had been 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 Parliament that a high-level coordination committee on counter-terrorism, chaired by the Prime Minister and attended by all chief ministers and heads of security institutions, was meeting regularly to review progress.
The Privatization Commission’s bill (amendment).
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 moved 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 consideration.
Meanwhile, Minister of Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar made a motion that the 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 a session of the National Assembly within 90 days of its convening, shall be considered as its joint session within ninety days. The Danish Parliament adopted the proposal.
