Speakers at a conference here on Tuesday warned the younger generation to beware of the fifth generation hybrid war unleashed by the enemy to divide Pakistani nation on linguistic, ethnic, religious and sectarian grounds.
The event titled ‘Countering Violent Extremism’ was organized by the University of Lahore, and a large number of students from different universities of the country, faculty members, intellectuals, academicians, lawyers and civil society members attended.
Lt Gen (r) Ghulam Mustafa, Lt Gen (r) Ashraf Salim, Barrister Zafarul Haq and Punjab former inspector general of police Sarmad Saeed Khan were prominent among those who spoke on the occasion.
The basic objective of the conference was to highlight challenges faced by the country in the shape of fifth generation hybrid war and Pakistan’s response to these challenges under the Paigham-e-Pakistan initiative. It also threw light on the enemy tactics through which the youth of the country was unknowingly and unintentionally becoming a part of their negative propaganda as well as the strategy to effectively counter this campaign.
Addressing on the occasion, the speakers said that a fifth generation hybrid war has been imposed on the country which is affecting the minds of the youth, adding that efforts are being made to divide the nation through different means by creating confusion and chaos. They said youth of Pakistan is directly under influence of a storm of narratives and different ideologies under powerful invasion of media and its vertical penetration into crafting the mass opinion.
The speakers said the enemy’s mission of spreading misinformation as a tool of fifth war is not only effecting perception management but also threatening integrity of the state by escalating atmosphere of chaos and anarchy and giving urge to people to stand against the State. They called upon the youth to take it upon themselves to respond to the enemy’s propaganda on all fronts, whether it is on social, digital or conventional media, adding that unity was imperative to foil all sorts of propaganda against Pakistan.
They speakers maintained that the hybrid conflict where focus is shifting to subversion on religious, sectarian, ethnic and social issues needs a comprehensive national response to ensure that people, especially the youth, stay aware and steadfast against the propaganda onslaught launched through a soft offensive.
The speakers also called for promoting the values of unity and brotherhood to promote peace, stability and tolerance in the society and discourage the evils of violence, extremism and terrorism. They asserted that a sustainable and just peace is not possible to achieve without setting up an inclusive society by eliminating all forms of extremism, terrorism, violence, abuse, exploitation and discrimination and by ensuring equal access to justice for all, participatory decision-making and special attention to the rights of the youth and the women. They maintained that the role of teachers and ulema is of vital importance in character building of students at educational institutions and madaris to achieve a lasting peace and tranquility in the country.
Published in Daily Times, January 30th 2019.
