The two-day capacity building workshop on “Strategic Communication and Media Engagement in Crisis Situation” for the parliamentarians concluded at the Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services (PIPS) here today. It was the second training workshop for the Parliamentarians, organized by ‘Pakistan Peace Collective’ (PPC), a research & communication project of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. The workshop aimed at refinning the skills of the participants with a deeper understanding of interacting with media during crisis situations. The participants of the workshop comprised nominated Members of the National Assembly, the Senate and all the provincial assemblies including members of Gilgit-Baltistan & Azad Jammu & Kashmir assemblies. In his concluding address Mr. Fawad Chaudhary, Minister for Information and Broadcasting said that progressive and development of Pakistan lies in ensuring peace and harmony in our society and rejecting the obscurantist ideology which leads towards violence and disruption. We as communicators of state he added, irrespective of our political affiliations have the responsibility to confront the trends of violent extremism. Our Nation he said, has given great sacrifices to eliminate menace of violent extremism and cannot make any compromises in this regard. Therefore, he added, while interacting with media we need to express our resolve to confront the narrative of such elements which are trying to spoil our image as Muslims and as Pakistanis. We need to give hope and confidence to our people in state institutions in order to strengthen their resilience to combat the menace of violent extremism. In this regard, he said, not only the official response mechanism has to be further improved to ensure a cohesive version but similar messages should disseminate from every political party. This is essential because the Nation is looking towards their elected representatives for consolation and support. Mr. Zafarullah Khan, Executive Director, PIPS and Mian Shabbir Anwer, CEO of Pakistan Peace Collective thanked the Chief Guests for sparing time to address the participants and the members of the Parliament/Assemblies for attending the training workshop which they expressed confidence would help in refining their skills to interact with the media with confidence during any crises situation. It may be added that during the training workshop, the participants were sensitized with the Role of Parliamentarians in development & dissemination of National Narrative against Violent Extremism and the importance of Strategic Communication to neutralize the Psychological impact of violent behavior on the Society. The interactive discussion sessions were followed by simulation mock exercises to participate in talk show as well as on-site individual press talk. The speakers/trainers of the workshop included Ms. Quatrina Hosain, Barrister Mahreen Khan, Brig. (R) Mowadat H. Rana and Mr. Khurshid Nadeem who covered various aspects of issues relating to violent extremism. The training module for the said workshop was specifically designed to enhance the skills and capacity of the Parliamentarians on utilizing appropriate techniques and language-set to boost public resilience against violence extremism.
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