Moalims

PESHAWAR: Awami National Party central general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain on Saturday called for bringing changes in the textbooks to encourage tolerance and discourage extremism.

Such material should be included in the textbooks which could lead to eternal peace in the region and also push the students for research, he said while speaking at a conference at the press club here. The conference ‘Education Reforms in Pakistan’ was organised by Rashid Shaheed Foundation. It was also attended by Dr Jamil Chitrali, Dr Munir Ahmed, Robeena Masih, Shagufta Khaliq, Engineer Tor Gul, Shagufta Malik and Tariq Afghan.

Beside other factors, Iftikhar Hussain said, the outdated education system was also responsible for the militancy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata. “There are numerous flaws and weaknesses in the education system which need to be removed for a bright future of Pakistan,” he stressed.

Under a conspiracy in the past 40 years, he alleged, the education system had been used for spreading extremism in the Pakistani society. The image and identity of Pakistan is facing threats, he said. Iftikhar Hussain said the previous ANP-led provincial government had introduced many reforms in the education system, but the incumbent government was rolling them back.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2015