Speakers at a virtual seminar here on Tuesday highlighted the role youth as well as academia can play in reining in the growing tendency of extreme behaviours in the society, stressing that the faculty at educational institutions can hugely contribute towards nation building and making Pakistan a place where peace and harmony prevails.
The virtual seminar was organised by Abbottabad University of Science and Technology in collaboration with Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Paigham-e-Pakistan. Coordinator to Chief Minister on International Investments Kashif Irshad, International Muslim Women’s Union Chairperson Samia Raheel Qazi, Abbottabad University of Science and Technology Vice Chancellor Dr Mujaddad ur Rehman, Zafarullah Khan, Dr Afzaal Shah, Syeda Ayesha and Prof Nazir Ahmed were prominent among those who addressed the seminar.
Addressing the online session, Coordinator to Chief Minister on International Investments Kashif Irshad said the teachers as agents of peace can address the extremist and violent behaviours which have damaged much-needed social cohesion in the society. He said fundamental education is the primary source of positive change in the society and that peace cannot be maintained in a society without education.
Other speakers threw light on Paigham-e-Pakistan initiative of the government of Pakistan which they said is the best tool to deal with the growing extremism and intolerance in the society. They said the basic objective of the initiative is to promote peace, harmony and friendly relations among various segments of the society.
The speakers said the Paigham-e-Pakistan initiative of the government of Pakistan has broken the back of the elements spreading hatred and chaos in the country, adding that the whole nation is united to thwart nefarious designs of the enemies. They said it is through peaceful co-existence and mutual respect that sustainable development and true peace can be achieved. They stressed the need to educate the youth of the country through motivational philosophy of Allama Iqbal and the message of ‘faith, unity and discipline’ as bequeathed by Founder of the Nation Quaid-e-Azam.
The main objective of the event was to sensitize the youth and academia about their desired role in promotion of peace, tolerance, respect to other faiths and beliefs in the light of Paigham-e-Pakistan narrative. The participants hailed the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Chief Minister Mehmood Khan for their efforts to promote peace and stability in the society and acknowledged the hard work done by the organizers of the seminar to arrange an online session on a very important topic despite closure of educational institutions amid coronavirus outbreak in the country.
