Faisalabad: January 25, 2016. (PCP) The Peace and Human Development (PHD) Foundation, the Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM) in collaboration with the Women Social Organization (WSO) and Rights of Expression, Assembly, Association and Thought (REAT) Network staged a protest demonstration entitled “Fighting Extremism and Terrorism with Education” held outside Press Club in Faisalabad, Pakistan on 21st January 2016. Speaking on the occasion, the director of the Peace and Human Development (PHD) Foundation, Suneel Malik, “The recent attack puts a question mark on the ongoing operation against terrorists, and government’s claim about visible decline in incidents of terror in Pakistan, therefore, government must call all-parties conference to critically examine the manner in which the National Action Plan (NAP), and military operation against terrorist outfits is being executed to wipe out the menace of terrorism from our homeland.” “The govt. should take concrete steps and adopt an appropriate strategy against terrorism and the mind-set of those who spread fear and violence across the country,” he demanded. The director of the AWAM, Nazia Sardar said, “It is sad that militants targeted Bacha Khan University, named after the late freedom-fighter Abdul Ghaffar Khan aka Bacha Khan, at the time when a poetry recital to commemorate the death anniversary of the late peace activist, was planned to be held on 20th January. This attack occurred due to the lack of implementation of NAP by the government, therefore the armed forces must start another operation across the country to eliminate the extremists/terrorists and their facilitators once and for all.” A member of the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW), Shazia George said, “The parents send their children in armed forced to sacrifice their lives for the protection of country, and send their children in educational institutions to get education, but not to embrace martyrdom. Therefore, a strategy to secure educational institutions particularly; the safety of students and teachers across the country must be evolved to protect future of our homeland, as terrorists wish to darken the future of Pakistan by targeting future generations.” “The way the terrorists are striking demonstrates that their backbone has not been broken, contradicting the claims by the federal government,” she added. A human rights activist, Naseem Anthony said, “The government and law enforcement agencies have failed to effectively discharge their duties, because attack could have been averted if foolproof security measures had put in place, and militants of earlier incidents of terrorism had swiftly brought to justice.” “The government must constitute a task force to devise a strategic plan of action for promoting religious tolerance and pluralism, and introduce a new legislation to defeat sectarianism,” he demanded. A human rights activist, Zafar Iqbal said, “Regrettably, major points of National Action Plan (NAP) have not been implemented so far, therefore there is a need for implementation of the unanimous NAP in letter and spirit, so that the sacrifices rendered by our young heroes and the nation do not go in vain.” “Pakistan has been facing terrorist attacks for the last 12 years, but the nation continues to stand up and fight valiantly against the menace of terrorism,” he added. A social activist, Muqaddas Abroo said, “There is a need to invest in the alternative means particularly broader program to eradicate the roots and various facets of hatred, starting with educa¬tion sector to state-level campaigns involving civil-society led initiatives, which will serve as best antidote to combat extremism, inequality and discrimination.” A political activist, Arif Ayaz said, “Terrorism cannot be eradicated without fighting extremism, so military operations also have to be conducted on the civil front to win the war against extremist elements.” “The sectarianism will not come to an end unless hate is rooted out that is entrenched within our textbooks, that is sown in sermons across Pakistan and casually thrown about in drawing room conversations,” he demanded. A political activist, Abdul Mannaf said, “The banned sectarian and militant outfits have been allowed to resurrect under new names behind the cover of welfare or charity work. NACTA remains dysfunctional, and religious fanatics who have publicly sought assistance of extremist and criminal ‘Daesh’ are roaming free, which indicate that the writ of the government is nowhere. It is pertinent that the government reviews the policies it has been pursuing for last few decades.” A social activist, Virka Bukhari said, “Attack on humanity is a failure of government to protect the lives of citizens. It is the fundamental duty of the state to provide protection to the general public.” “The federal government did not take the Army Public School tragedy serious that’s why, once again the government was once against not able to foil attack on another educational institution in the province,” she added. At this juncture, the participants strongly condemned the brazen attack by four armed militants at Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, leaving 21 people dead and over 30 people injured, including; students, teachers, security guards, and policemen. They were carrying banners and placards inscribed with statements demanding extension of military operations against extremist and militant organizations across the country. They demanded that the government must ensure effective and full implementation of the unanimous national action plan to stamp out scourge of extremism and terrorism from the country, and establish a parliamentary oversight committee to monitor and review the counter-terrorism efforts of the federal and provincial governments as well as concerned agencies to further improve the performance under NAP.