Pakistan is a hugely diverse country, home to nearly 170 million people and a rich array of ethnicities, languages, and religions.

Given that 63% of Pakistanis are under 25 years old, it is also a country which boasts immense potential. This potential, however, has been stifled by the recent success of Islamist extremists in gaining ideological and territorial ground in Pakistan. The result has been a spate of deadly terrorist attacks that have taken the lives of thousands of innocent Pakistanis and terrorized millions more.

Quilliam believes that such a trend cannot be reversed through military means alone. Rather, it is imperative that the extremist ideology that fuels such militancy is challenged. In partnership with local youth development NGO Bargad, Quilliam has been working to undermine extremist ideology through encouraging intellectual discussion, debate and dialogue, and through promoting the need for a culture of democracy and religiously neutral politics in Pakistan. Through our outreach work, we have forged a vast network of student volunteers who support our message across Pakistan’s universities and colleges. We have recently begun to expand our outreach to include wider civil society institutions such as NGOs, the media, and other youth movements. Over the coming year, we plan to popularize the counter-extremism message through a series of innovative initiatives, spearheaded by our diverse network of volunteers across the country.

For further information about the work Quilliam supports in Pakistan click here, or contact Fatima Mullick at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it