ROOTING OUT RADICALISM: EMPOWERING COMMUNITY RESISTANCE TO CVE IN PAKISTAN THROUGH RELIGION, EDUCATION AND POLICY IN CVE INTERVENTIONS

Abstract

Violent extremism remains a dynamic problem and societies in many parts of the world have suffered and will require effective early interventions implemented on a community basis. This paper conducts research on the Pakistani P/CVE multidimensional approaches to preventing and countering violent extremism and the role of religion, education, public policy, and gender inclusion in the context of considering the roots and helping communities to become stronger. Religious leaders and institutions are playing an important role in ensuring religious tolerance, inter-faith harmony, and peace especially in areas where extremist ideologies tend to be covered in a religious jargon. Such actors are perfectly placed to give viable truth-based arguments to destroy the ideological justifications of the violence. On socio-economic level, poverty, unemployment and social alienation often become causes of radicalization. To respond to these weaknesses, specific activities need to be conducted to ensure access to education, establish the potential of livelihoods, and establish the marginalized groups in the mainstream of the nation. Nevertheless, only economic solutions are not enough. Some psychological aspects as well, including identity crisis, sense of injustice, social alienation become an important part of the radicalization process. It is therefore necessary to use a multidimensional strategy where economic, educational and psychosocial strategies are used together. Another aspect about the study is that women are becoming central players in post-radicalizing and prevention as well. The empowerment of women based on education and their roles as leaders have also been identified to boost resilience at the grassroots level based on gender-inclusive approaches. Moreover, education, especially civic education and values-based education is an effective tool in the development of pluralism and long-term social cohesion. The policy frameworks in Pakistan such as the Paigham-e-Pakistan declaration are also showing a positive step towards tackling the extremist ideologies. The application of digital resources and artificial intelligence is already becoming a crucial area of this battle, especially the surveillance and disruption of online radicalization. The study ends with policy recommendations that are compatible with the international best practices of realizing sustainable peace and resilient societies.