A new provincial centre to counter violent extremism has been established in Sindh under the National Policy on Preventing Violent Extremism (NPVE-2024) and the revised National Action Plan (NAP).
The announcement was made by Sindh Minister for Home and Law Ziaul Hassan Lanjar while speaking to the media after presiding over the first meeting of the Board of Governors of the Sindh Centre for Excellence on Countering Violent Extremism on Wednesday in Karachi.
During the meeting, strategies to prevent violent extremism in the province were reviewed in detail.
The Sindh home minister said the newly established provincial centre would operate in line with NPVE-2024 and the revised National Action Plan, providing an institutional framework to counter violent extremism across the province.
He said the meeting was briefed on policy formulation and Sindh-specific countering violent extremism initiatives, with a strong emphasis on research into the drivers of violent extremism and evidence-based analysis.
The briefing informed participants that special focus would be placed on capacity-building and specialised training for police, state institutions and community stakeholders, while peace and dialogue programmes would be launched for youth, women, religious scholars and minority communities.
Ziaul Hassan Lanjar said that the rehabilitation and social reintegration of individuals affected by extremism were among the centre’s key priorities, for which it was decided to develop monitoring mechanisms, dashboards and a regular review system.
The home minister said the centre would comprise two wings, namely the Research and Community Engagement Wing and the Finance and IT Wing.
He added that in the first phase, the centre’s operations would be launched in six to eight districts of Sindh, while in the second phase, the scope of programmes would be expanded to all districts of the province.
He further said that the meeting approved a five-year strategic roadmap, under which the first year would focus on planning, the second and third years on expansion, and the fourth and fifth years on full institutional integration.
The Sindh home minister reiterated the province’s commitment to coordinated action in line with national priorities.
The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary Home Iqbal Memon and Inspector General of Police Sindh Ghulam Nabi Memon, along with other senior officials.
Secretary of Finance Fayaz Jatoi, Secretary of Law, Prosecutor General Sindh Ali Ahmed Baloch, Prosecutor General Sindh Muntazar Mehdi, Suleman S. Mehdi and representatives of civil society were also present.
