ISLAMABAD: The government has notified a special panel comprising clerics, religious leaders of non-Muslim communities and senior officials to counter extremism, hate speech, terrorism and sectarianism in the country.

The Ministry of Information has set up the National Paigham-i-Aman Committee (NPAC), which will draft a unified national stance against extremism and terrorism.

The NPAC, a subcommittee of the National Committee on Narrative Building (NCNB), has been tasked with devising a unified national narrative that promotes peace, harmony and religious moderation.

The NCNB, which was notified earlier this month, is a 20-member body that includes the information ministers of all four provinces, GB and AJK, as well as federal minister. It also includes representatives of the military, intelligence agencies, the foreign and IT ministries, as well as the PTA chairman.

It is meant to deal with `information operation, formulation, dissemination, propagation and evaluation of [the] national narrative against the spread of terrorism [or] extremism through media, communication and cyber networks for smooth implementation of Revised National Action Plan 2021,` according to a notification.

Meanwhile, the director general of the Internal Publicity Wing of the information ministry will serve as the NPAC secretary, while Maulana Tahir Ashrafi has been appointed its coordinator.

The committee`s first meeting will focus on formulating its terms of reference, which will be submitted to the NCNB for approval.

Speaking to Dawn, Allama Arif Wahidi said the committee could be seen as an extension of the Paigham-i-Pakistan initiative, launched in 2018. `The Paighami-Pakistan narrative was the theoretical step to counter religious extremism. The target of this committee is to implementthe idea and devise practical steps to stop the dividing forces in society,` he said, adding that these steps would also be implemented by provinces.

Allama Tahir Ashrafi told Dawn that the move reflected the government`s intent to adopt a more inclusive and strategic approach to peacebuilding through institutional coordination. He added that the initiative aims to centralise national efforts to craft and disseminate a cohesive narrative countering extremism in multiple dimensions religious, sectarian and ideological.

Meanwhile, a parliamentary committee voiced reservations after being informed that provinces were still registering cybercrime cases under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), despite amendments barring them from doing so.

The Senate Standing Committee on Information, while reviewing the implementation of Peca, expressed concern that the law was being misused.

Director general of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) informed the committee, chaired by Senator Syed Ali Zafar, that 10 journalists were currently facing cases under Peca, adding that 611 cases of financial fraud and 320 of harassment were also under investigation.

The committee members noted that under recent amendments, the provinces were no longer authorised to register cases under to Peca 2025, which must now be referred to the NCCIA. The officials said that any cases filed by provincial authorities after the amendment were invalid. `All these cases are illegal now what should we do with them?` asked the committee chairman.

The lawmakers decided to form a subcommittee to review the issue of illegal case registrations. Senator Zafar ruled that 378 cases registered under Peca by provincial authorities were unlawful and should be withdrawn immediately.

-Kalbe Ali