ISLAMABAD:President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday underlined the need for promoting inter-faith harmony and mutual understanding to promote peaceful co-existence among the people of different religions. The world was facing various problems, and it was imperative to promote mutual respect and harmony to make the society tolerant, he added.
The president expressed these views during a meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, UK, Most Reverend & Right Honourable, Justin Welby, here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. Special Representative to the Prime Minister Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, British High Commissioner Dr Christian Turner, and senior government officials were also present in the meeting.
Welcoming the Archbishop, the president said the world needed to work for the cause of humanity and peace, and take measures to alleviate miseries and sufferings of the people. He apprised that Pakistan had been hosting four million Afghan refugees, and it was also the moral responsibility of the international community to take care of them. The Archbishop of Canterbury stated that there was a need for a new international convention to deal with the refugees problem.
The meeting highlighted the importance of religious institutions, particularly the mosques and the church, which could play a vital role in promoting religious harmony and mutual understanding among the nations.
