ISLAMABAD: Speakers on Wednesday said no societal development was possible without social cohesion nurtured on the pedestals of tolerance and peace.  

The podium discussion titled ‘Societal Cohesion: Promoting Tolerance and Peace for Inclusive Development’ was organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) at its flagship 27th Sustainable Development Conference in collaboration with the climate change ministry.

Dr Shafqat Munir Ahmad, deputy executive director, SDPI, while moderating the session, said social development was a tedious and responsible task that required stakeholder attention, targeted interventions, and rigorous community-based interactions to ensure inclusive development and unity among all tiers of society.  

Senator Farhatullah Babar of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), in his guest remarks, said the state of Pakistan had disregarded the minorities and peripheries of the federation that developed sentiments of neglect and resulted in their dilapidated situation.

He recommended that the root cause of the problem emerged out of the DNA of Pakistan’s state which was a security-driven state and not a welfare state as all its decisions were made through the security lens.

Senator Afrasiab Khattak of Awami National Party (ANP) said lack of peace and tolerance in the society had sprouted from the policy decisions taken by the state.

He pointed out that there was a friction in the federation due to less representation of the marginalised and least-developed areas.

“There will be no tolerance in the country or its society if no legislation made held the powerful accountable as oppression can never go popular. Moreover, religious extremism is a serious menace in the society that has been injected into our system while breeding the war economy,” he said.

He recommended to review the national curricula to abolish hate material in it to end extremism and violence as without a change in state policy, there would be no end to extremism and intolerance.

Zebunnisa Burki from The News International, Karachi said the Pakistani audience was mostly Gen Z and Alpha that need to have direct and active communication. She added that social media had enabled numerous possibilities to engage with the younger generation which was a space to reach out the youth to educate them on stereotypes brewing intolerance.

“Optimistically there is a way to inculcate tolerance and peace in society. Since, social media debates are ill-informed and it should be corrected as it needs to be approached to educate the youth,” she said.

Karon Shaiva, IDOBRO & RIF, India, said societal cohesion development and peace were critical as cohesion showed stability and strength that builds foundation for societal development.

“Development is not only infrastructure and economics but also societal as the ultimate measure of success indicator is peace that as a practical measure gives resilience to bear crisis that cannot be achieved in silos,” Shaiva said.

“We need to create more opportunities to connect to develop cohesion that will lead to sustainable and enduring development and peace. We need to put value systems in the grooming of people for inclusive discourse that has to be translated into action to achieve real cohesion,” she added.

Dr Saber Ahmed Chowdhury from University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, presented the case study of Bangladesh which was also a diverse nation requiring cohesion and harmony.

He pointed that despite a homogenous society with 95 per cent people speaking Bangla as their national language that provided cohesion, their society faced certain barriers hampering inclusive development and tolerance.

Bangladeshi community, he said, found solutions through different strategies like rule of law, and strengthening of democratic institutions.

Former federal secretary Dr Syed Kaleem Imam said trust, due process, social contract and ethics were necessary for social cohesion, whereas lack of due process and selective process in the system damaged social harmony.

Senior journalist and anchor Asma Shirazi said the system had been destroyed aggressively that demanded abrupt measures to reclaim it.

“The entire war is of economics that had shattered our social cohesion and good economy will only bring good ethics and societal development,” she said.

Shushant from Sri Lanka proposed that the South Asian countries needed broadening of its belief systems that can help achieve social cohesion.