Faisalabad: February 5, 2015. (PCP) The list of proscribed organizations must be made public so that people avoid giving them charity, and the list of donors financially supporting anti-peace activities in Pakistan must be identified and revealed. The government must take immediate action against those involved in spreading hatred through graffiti, loudspeakers and literature to prevent the propagation of sectarianism, hate speeches and writings towards any specific community, as this engulfs peace and social coexistence. This was emphasized by the human rights defenders during a meeting entitled “Preventing Hate Speech for Social cohesion” held on January 30, 2015 at Faisalabad. The meeting was hosted by the Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM) in collaboration with the Rights of Expression, Assembly, Association and Thought (REAT) Network. Speaking on the occasion, the director programs of the AWAM, Naseem Anthony said, “The existing syllabus creates division between majority and minority groups, and promotes religious intolerance which leads to social disharmony and violence, therefore, the educational curricula being taught in the schools and seminaries must be purged of all kinds of literature inciting hatred towards a specific community through its revision, and must be made source for unbiased education promoting tolerance and diversity for the future of our new generation.” The district general secretary of the Awami Workers Party, Arif Ayaz said, “It is forbidden to propagate hatred in Pakistan through speech, writing, gesture or conduct, or display, because it may incite violence or prejudicial action against an individual or group. As a result, it generates stigmas, stereotypes, prejudices and discriminatory practices against those who are constructed as being different.” “Laws to combat hate speech must be carefully construed and enforced by the judiciary and administration so as to avoid excessive curtailing of legitimate types of expression, and public awareness about laws against hate speech must be increased through media,” he added. The director of the Peace and Human Development (PHD) Foundation, Suneel Malik said, “The laws are certainly an important component in addressing hate speech. The laws should be complemented by policy measures to bring about genuine changes in mindset, perception and discourse. Therefore, the government must invest in the alternative means despite laws to tackle the root causes and various facets of hate, particularly human rights and peace education promotion projects, because such initiatives will serve as best antidote to combat inequality and structural discrimination.” A human rights activist, Shahid Anwar said, “It is unfortunate that clerics misuse the loudspeakers of worship places to poison young minds by cursing social groups practicing diverse faiths, and instigating their religious sentiments, and encouraging violent attacks against minority groups such as; Shias, Ahmedis, Christians etc. Therefore, seminaries spreading radical ideologies should be closely monitored and checked, and religious scholars and clerics making hate speeches and drafting hate literature must be taken to task according to the law.” A peace activist, Faisal Rasheed said, “The tragic incident of attack on Imambargah in Shikarpur leaving at least 60 people dead might be a reaction to the military operation Zarb-e-Azb against terrorists, which is the result of giving liberty to proscribed organizations. The shia community is frequently being targeted in different parts of Pakistan, therefore violent attacks leading to their genocide must be prevented.” “Extremism leads to terrorism, but there is lack of political will, conviction and courage among political parties to counter extremism. The terrorism in Pakistan is the result of the country’s Afghan policy in the 1980s, therefore the government must formulate policies keeping in view the supreme interest of the Pakistani nation,” he added.