An International Conference on Reclaiming Academic Freedom to Counter Extremism on Campus was organized by the Department of Political Science and International Relations, School of Social Sciences and Humanities. The conference was graced by the presence of Abid H K Shirwani, DG UMT. Dr Shoaib Pervez, Chairperson, the Department of Political Science and International Relations, welcomed the distinguished guests. The Conference was attended by a large number of educationists, students, and faculty members.
Several internationally acclaimed academicians and researchers also attended the event. These included Prof Dr Numan-ul-Haq, Harvard University Researcher now teaching at Habib University, Lt. General (Retd) Javed Hassan, Lt. General (Retd) Mahmud Ahmed, Ex DG-ISI, Deputy Consul General of Indonesia, Representative of the US Consul General, Hamid Maliki, Indonesian Prof, Daniel Christie, Ohio University Prof, Laura Taylor, University of Dublin, and many other distinguished scholars.
In Pakistan, the reported incidence of extremism in higher education institutions, is a cause of grave concern for academic and security institutions. Recently, Higher Education Commission Pakistan (HEC) and National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) signed a memorandum of understanding to counter on campus extremism through joint research on the topic.
The phenomenon of on campus extremism demands a careful introspection of contemporary academic and security practices. It points towards a need to re-examine the learning milieu in our universities and a need to question policies and practices that curtail academic freedom on campus. Therefore, the purpose of this conference is to generate a debate on contemporary education practices that hinder development of independent and critical thinking on campus, and as a result keep young minds vulnerable to dogmatic ideologies. The conference aims to formulate a critically informed policy guide to effectively counter on campus extremism.