• Dr Joshua Snider delivered an exclusive talk on “Preventing and countering violent extremism in the Indo-Pacific
• Policy, programming and the challenge of capacity-building”, at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) distinguished lecture series.
• National Defence University, Peace and Conflict Studies Professor Dr Arshi Saleem Hashmi also participated in the discussion.

ISLAMABAD: ‘Counter Violent Extremism’ is almost a science and a durable solution to extremism depends on articulating political tools and an appropriate strategy to address revulsion, said Dr Joshua Snider, faculty of the UAE National Defence College.

Dr Snider delivered an exclusive talk on “Preventing and countering violent extremism in the Indo-Pacific: Policy, programming and the challenge of capacity-building”, at a discourse part of the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) distinguished lecture series.

National Defence University, Peace and Conflict Studies Professor Dr Arshi Saleem Hashmi also participated in the discussion.
Dr Snider’s scope of the study was Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, as he dilated upon extremism and terrorism tendencies in the region.

He was of the view that nationalism is also a phenomenon in extremism and the state policies are reflective to such upheavals.
The national security and development priorities of the member states matter a lot in defeating such insurgencies and unrest, he said, adding that this is why there is a chord between extremism and terrorism.

Though the focus was on extremist movements and the wayward activities of non-state actors, the debate was graduated to list out the irritants in the socioeconomic milieu of the region and beyond.

He said that counter-violent extremism is a function of resources, i.e., political will and strategy. “Worth introspection where we lack. Prophylactic approach might be a way ahead,” Dr Snider remarked.

Prevention is a political process and; thus, political engagement and people inclusivity will allow the state to have a successful counter-violent extremism and counter-terrorism strategy — and its ownership on all the levels is of utmost importance, he added.

He stressed the need for resources, political will and planning strategy, as the capacity fora in defeating terrorism and extremism.
Dr Arshi Saleem said that the counter-terrorism, hard strategy, was easier to implement than the counter-violent extremism, softer strategies, for Pakistan.

Due to this, there needs to be more investment in the long-term softer strategies for sustainable peace, Dr Arshi remarked.
With a case study on Indonesia, Dr Snider explained how terrorism mixed with struggles of secular nationalism versus what people wanted — the globalisation of the religio-political ideology only added to this violent extremism.

The influences across the region in extremism perspective flowed from the Afghan conflict, it was noted.