ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain on Friday said after defeating terrorism in battlefield, there was a need to crush the terrorist mindset as well.

Addressing the graduates of National Security and War Course here at National Defence College, the president said terrorism and extremism could be eliminated by promoting education.

The president said following the success of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, another national narrative needed to be determined to ensure peace in the country.

He said civil and military officials, media and educationists could contribute their input in devising a national narrative in eliminating terrorism. He said terrorists had exploited religion to spread hatred and anarchy by brainwashing the disadvantaged and less educated people.

He said the State was fully conscious of the challenging tasks ahead besides tackling internal and external problems. “It is a matter of satisfaction that present leadership of Pakistan is working honestly to ensure national and regional security and the people are supporting the government in this historic struggle,” he said. He expressed confidence that a bright and prosperous future was awaiting the country.

President Mamnoon also suggested benefiting from the expertise of friendly countries in curbing militancy and extremism. He said there was a paradigm shift in the concept and understanding of national security, at state-centric to societal levels.

He mentioned that the country’s geo-strategic location and events in the region had a direct impact on domestic situation as well as at its international standing. The president stressed that it was the time to take stock of the situation and work in collaboration as a team to ensure that national interests take primacy.

He said poverty eradication was significant as it paved way to despondency and hatred. He expressed satisfaction that new opportunities of employment were being generated with China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He said situation would be improved with operationalization of CPEC and urged upon the youth to learn requisite expertise to get maximum benefit from the emerging opportunities.

He said deprivation from essentials of life creates a sense of loss in the people which weakens the State and its institutions. “If the government institutions and their officials discharge their responsibilities with commitment and in the spirit of faithfulness to the State, then I believe it would be easy to meet this challenge,” he said.

He lauded the contributions of NDU in refining and defining national security concepts of the participants and enabling civilian policy-makers to acquire a better understanding of issues concerning national security. He said the NDU’s course on national security was significant not only for the armed forces officers, but also for senior officers from friendly countries.

Congratulating the graduates, the president said they were now equipped with requisite skills to handle intricate and complex professional matters concerning national security. He urged upon the graduates to focus on complimenting the national response against the threat and challenges faced by the country. He said senior officials from friendly countries that received training at NDU would provide a new impetus to relations between Pakistan and their respective countries.

The president gave away certificates among the participants of the course.

President NDU Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar (retd); in his speech said the NDU’s training courses were compatible with the changing global scenarios. He said NDU stands out as prestigious institution and a leading think-tank of the country that provides a platform both for military and civilian experts to share views on national issues. Twenty-seven officers of civil bureaucracy belonging to police, secretariat audit and accounts, Inland Revenue, and Pakistan administrative services attended the course.

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, members of parliament and civil and military personnel attended the event.—APP