The launching ceremony of the project titled “Harmonious, Tolerant and Safe Punjab” was organized by the Ministry of Human Rights, Minorities Affairs and Interfaith Harmony in collaboration with Youth Development Foundation (YDF) at a private hotel on Saturday. The ceremony was attended by representatives from different walks of life including government officials, lawyers, media personnel, academics, youth, rights’ activists and so on.
Shahid Rehmat, Executive Director, YDF in his welcome address shared with audience that before launching of the project a pre-consultation session was held under the leadership of Minister Ijaz Alam to devise a set of policy recommendations which were included to fix a certain employment criteria for clerics serving communities in mosques and seminaries situated in remote areas, remove lacunae in the curriculum that stand in the way of interfaith harmony, make the heroic role of non-Muslim Pakistanis part of the curriculum, introduce a law barring people to name mosques after sects and invite lawyers and bureaucrats to join consultation sessions under the project.
He also threw the light on the aim of project said that the project was about the formulation of an interfaith harmony policy that provided a framework and guidelines on how to promote diversity and a sense of security and ownership for all in the province.
It also aimed to create an environment where people from different religious, ethnic, sectoral and linguistic backgrounds can co-exist without fear and contribute to the progress of the country. The project entailed in-depth consultations with multiple stakeholders including religious leaders, civil society representatives, youth, students, academia etc. in which they were asked to give suggestions and recommendations be incorporated into the policy, he concluded.
On this occasion, Minister HR&MA Ijaz Alam Augustine expressed hope that the proposed policy would go a long way in making Punjab a home for all where they will enjoy equal rights and have a sense of security. He said the project fell very much in line with the spirit of the initiatives that the Punjab government had already taken to promote interfaith harmony in the province.
He further said that minorities were enjoying equal rights in the province and the government was highly vigilant when it came to safeguarding these. ‘Whenever there is a conflict or fear of conflict, the government comes into action immediately and handles the situation in the best possible way’. The minister said the government of PTI will ensure social justice and fair distribution of socio-economic resources in order to promote tolerance and co-existence in the society and eliminate the sense of insecurity and injustice among the religious minorities.
Alexander John Malik, Bishop of Lahore, stressed the need for having an Interfaith Harmony Policy that the policymakers and the citizens could follow to create a healthy and violence-free environment in the society. It will be highly valuable document because of the collective wisdom going into it, he added.
Maulana Abdul Kabir Azad, Imam, Badshahi Masjid said Islam is a religion of peace and forbids maltreatment of religious minorities. Protection of their lives, property and honour is also the responsibility of a Muslim-majority state, he added. Social activist Irfan Mufti and PTI MPA Saadia Sohail also spoke on the occasion and assured to audience to perform their proactive role in the promotion of interfaith harmony. At the end of the ceremony Representatives of YDF presented a devised draft on Harmonious, Tolerant and Safe Punjab to minister Human Rights for further process. MNA Shahnila Rooth, Amarnaath Randhawa, Bishop Irfan Jameel, peter Jacob, various Christian & Muslims leaders and a large number of Youth were also present in the ceremony.
