The federal government has established a National Peace Message Committee to forge a unified narrative against terrorism, extremism, and sectarianism. The new body will function under the umbrella of the National Committee on Narrative Building and aims to promote national harmony by engaging religious scholars and minority representatives.
According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the committee will be headed by Federal Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar. Its diverse composition reflects an effort to bring together leading voices from different schools of thought and communities.
The committee includes Senator Hafiz Abdul Karim, Mufti Abdul Rahim, Allama Arif Hussain Wahidi, Pir Naqeeb-ur-Rehman, Allama Muhammad Hussain Akbar, and Dr Muhammad Raghib Hussain Naeemi. Other prominent members are Maulana Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, Maulana Tayyab Punj Piri, and Allama Ziaullah Shah Bukhari.
Ensuring inclusivity, minority communities will also be represented. Bishop Azad Marshal, Rajesh Kumar Hardasani, and Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora have been named as members to reflect Pakistan’s religious diversity. The notification further stated that the director general of the Internal Publicity Wing of the Ministry of Information will serve as secretary to the committee.
The committee’s initial task will be to finalize its detailed Terms of Reference (TORs) in its first meeting. These TORs will be aligned with the broader objectives of the National Committee on Narrative Building, focusing on countering narratives of hate and division with a message of peace and unity.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a separate address to the federal cabinet, expressed serious concern over the spread of harmful content on social media targeting the country’s armed forces. He described such actions as “highly condemnable” and called them a direct attack on the state’s integrity.
The prime minister emphasized that it was the government’s duty to identify those responsible and take strict action against them. He described this behavior as a dangerous “fitna” that threatened national stability and insisted it must be crushed with full determination.
Highlighting the sacrifices of the armed forces in ensuring the security of Pakistan, the premier underscored that any attempt to malign them would not be tolerated. He urged all stakeholders to support the government’s initiative to build a strong, unified narrative of peace, rejecting divisive agendas and safeguarding the nation’s stability.
