Islamabad: Pakistan’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has given a big statement about the enemies of the country. Fawad Chaudhry said that at this time Pakistan is not threatened by India, America, or any other country. Pakistan faces the biggest threat from religious extremism within the country itself. He said this during a conference on the issue of terrorism in Islamabad. Chaudhary said that the extremist forces are trying to break the country. He said, ‘We do not have any potential threat from India. We have the sixth largest army in the world, we are a nuclear power and India cannot compete against us.
Fawad Chaudhry further said, ‘We do not have any threat from America, there is no threat from Europe, if we have the biggest threat, it is from itself (due to militancy). There was no religious extremism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and other areas, it was the land of Sufis (Fawad Chaudhry on Extremism). He said that there was no religious bigotry in these areas of Pakistan, which is being seen in today’s time. The minister expressed regret and said that modern Pakistan is facing a serious threat from extremism. He acknowledged that the measures taken so far are not enough to counter this menace.
What about TLP?
Fawad Chaudhry said that neither the government nor the state was adequately prepared to deal with the problem and the government had to back down to deal with Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). “We saw how the government had to go on the back foot,” he said while speaking on the secret agreement to release and lift the ban on TTP’s detained supporters. Chowdhury also said that extremism in Pakistan Not just because of madrasas, because students of schools and colleges were involved in recent incidents of extremism.
Told what is the need of the time
Fawad Chaudhry said that educational institutions have been radicalized, as teachers were hired as part of a conspiracy to ‘teach extremism’ during the 80s and 90s. The minister said that a tolerant society is the need of the hour, where different points of view can be debated. He said, ‘If you cultivate a society where an opposing viewpoint is immediately declared kufr (heresy). Then how can you present an opposing view?’ He rejected the point that extremism is linked to Islam.
