After Ulema and minority leaders’ unanimous call of Thursday to implement Paigham-e-Pakistan for a tolerant and inclusive society in the country, civil society too has termed Paigham-e-Pakistan a means towards greater cause of peace and harmony among different segments and sects of society.

Addressing a seminar on ‘Saiban-e-Pakistan for Social Inclusion’ organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Paigham-e-Pakistan speakers were of the view that a tolerant society based on the principles of interfaith harmony can ensure social inclusion by providing all citizens equal opportunities to grow irrespective of religion or faith in line with Paigham-e-Pakistan.

Member National Assembly (MNA) Romina Khursheed Alam speaking as chief guest said ‘Paigham-e-Pakistan’ provided a shelter us a shelter (Saiban) to protect the country and the nation from all forms of extremism, hatred and use of violence against fellow Pakistanis.

‘Paigham-e-Pakistan’ rules out any form of terrorism and self-proclaimed acts of violence extremism in the name of religion. We are proud of Pakistan which presents a bouquet as Pakistani nation while its beautiful flowers are its people hailing from different religions and beliefs.

Dr Shafqat Munir, research fellow and head of resilient development programme, SDPI said social inclusion is about co-existence that means live and let live and it leads towards Interfaith harmony and builds a tolerant society. He said Interfaith harmony is a way forward towards peace and prosperity from the growing socio-religious dissonance in line with the spirit of ‘Paigham-e-Pakistan’. Inter-faith harmony is a conceivable condition, signifying peaceful co-existence among practitioners of various religious beliefs, aimed at eliminating the possibility of discord, violent or non-violent, he added

Fahmeeda Saleem from the Christian Studies Centre said growing awareness on interfaith harmony and the urge for its realization exhibited our resolve at national level to get rid of hate and discrimination at all levels of society giving a confidence to our religious minorities to claim to be equal citizens of Pakistan. Interfaith harmony contributing to peace and prosperity would continue to remain a desirable objective.

Khursheed Nadeem, a scholar was of the evie that in order to reach a peaceful and tolerant society, Inter-faith dialogue is seen as an option. The dynamics of Inter-faith dialogue are bound to be complex and difficult but doable. He said the interfaith dialogue means for the people belonging to different religions or to different groups of the same religion to behave warmly, discuss and debate the common matters and cooperate together without trying to impose their thoughts and beliefs upon other people. He said interfaith dialogue is not ‘manazra’ (religious argument) but a way to listen to each other patiently as dialogue is not a debate to win or lose.

A representative from Hindu Community and daughter of eminent Hindu community leader Jagmohan Kumar Arora (late), Mehga Arora said Pakistan belonged to all those who were living in it including minorities. In the past, religion was used as a tool to discriminate and commit violence against minorities in Pakistan, said Megha. She said there was a need to celebrate commonalities among different religions to understand others’ faith and acknowledge that ‘as it is’.

 

Source: https://pakobserver.net/after-ulema-civil-society-pins-hopes-on-paigham-e-pakistan-for-building-a-tolerant-society/