Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf on Wednesday said that interfaith harmony was a pre-requisite for socio-economic development of the country.
Pakistan was a country with diverse cultures and faiths and every citizen held equal status irrespective of their religion, cast or creed, he said while addressing the Conference ” Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” jointly organized by Freedom of Religion Leadership Network (FORB), IIU International Research Institute (IRI) and Paigham-e-Pakistan here.
The speaker said that without inclusivity of all, the country could not be led to the path of progress. He said that Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the architect of the Constitution of Pakistan, focused on inclusion of provision of basic rights for all especially for the religious minorities.
He said that country’s constitution guaranteed freedom to every citizen to practice their religious believes. He said that the very presence of former MNA Ms. Asiya, an active member of Jamiat ulama Islam clearly indicated inclusiveness of minorities in the political process. He said that inter-faith harmony and tolerance was vital for progress and development of any society.
Stressing upon the political leadership to play its positive role in propagating tolerance and peace in the society, the Speaker said that tolerance and peace could help people to live in co-existence. He also said that prejudice and hatred are antithesis to social cohesion and harmony.
He also said that inculcating values of peace and tolerance was interlinked with mass education and literacy. The Speaker said that extremism was a global issue and its rise was a real threat to tolerant society across the world.
He underlined that propagation of tolerance and peace was also the prime responsibility of the mass media, he applauded the efforts of former MNA Ms. Asiya Nasir, IRI and others for organising a successful conference.
