Staff Report
A consultative session was held here on Friday to review the programmes organised and initiatives taken by the Paigham-e-Pakistan Centre for Peace and Reconciliation Studies to engage youth in healthy activities so that they can play a vital role in peace building in the country.
The meeting of experts chaired by Islamic Research Institute (IRI) Director General Dr Ziaul Haq was attended by renowned educationists, professionals and faculty members from International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) and other universities. The two-day session reviewed different activities organised as part of the initiative to chalk out a comprehensive plan of action for reconstruction of an inclusive Islamic society in Pakistan in the light of Paigham-e-Pakistan.
The meeting decided to organise different programmes, workshops and seminars for school, college and university students under the Naujawanan-e-Pakistan project. The participants fully supported the aims and objectives of the Paigham-e-Pakistan program, especially its endeavors to mobilise Pakistani youth, faculty and civil institutions behind a national consensus agenda. They termed the initiative an instrument that all relevant public and civil institutions should leverage in building an inclusive, tolerant, civilised and peaceful society.
Addressing the session, IRI DG Dr Ziaul Haq maintained that the national integration achieved through a process of national cohesion, stability, prosperity, strength and feeling of being united as a nation is an essential prerequisite for the survival of a country. He called for meaningful participation of the young people in peacebuilding and stressed on the need to launch a concerted effort to promote youth as active leaders and partners in the peace processes by motivating them to become the ‘agents of change’, which will in turn also help prevent the spread of violent extremism and terrorism in the society.
The participants discussed the education system of the country and stressed that prime focus must be the syllabus reforms. They maintained that role of media is vital to make an understanding of the narrative of Paigham-e-Pakistan. They suggested that Paigham-e-Pakistan fatwa should be made part of syllabus at the school and college levels. They called for use of different platforms like social media, radio channels, walks, seminars, lectures, workshops, exhibitions, posters, short film competitions, colleges, schools and NGOs for joint cultural and social activities to promote cohesion and unity in the society.
