Int'l Interfaith Harmony Need Of Time: President Alvi

President Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday said all the world religions called to promote peace, tolerance and love in the society and in today's circumstances international interfaith harmony was dire need of the time

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Oct, 2019 ) :President Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday said all the world religions called to promote peace, tolerance and love in the society and in today's circumstances international interfaith harmony was dire need of the time.

He said every religion had given special importance to humanity and social values, and the religion islam was the universal message of peace, love and respect.

The president was speaking at the National Interfaith Peace Conference, organized by the Interfaith Council for Peace and Harmony Pakistan. Religious scholars, representatives of Sikh, Hindu and Christian communities, social activists, diplomats of various countries and people from different walks of life participated in the conference.

Dr Alvi said,"Our forefathers had set the best examples of justice, tolerance and interfaith harmony." The present government was also committed to protect the rights of religious minorities as equal citizens of Pakistan, he added.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to make Pakistan a social welfare state on the pattern of State of Madinah.

He said the Pakistanis were a hospitable nation as they had embraced 3.5 million Afghan refugees open-heartedly and had been hosting for decades. On the other hand, European nations were closing their doors for migrants, he added.

Expressing his concern over the lingering Kashmir issue, the president noted that the countries' priorities were tied with economic gains. The United Nations and other world bodies should play their due role in resolving the Kashmir dispute as the fundamental human rights were being violated by the Indian armed forces in the held valley, he added.

About Islamophobia, President Alvi said Islam was the religion of peace and Prime Minister Imran Khan, in his UN speech, had said that religion had nothing to do with terrorism.

He said Pakistan had successfully overcome all the challenges, including hatred and the scourge of terrorism, but without naming India added that the situation in the neighbour country was deteriorating.

He said Pakistan had learnt a lot in the last 30 years and now had mature approach such issues, but in India, hatred and discrimination against minorities reigned supreme.

The president said love and tolerance were the characteristics of the religion of humanity and expressed the hope that the conference would play an important role to promote tolerance and interfaith harmony.

Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Pir Noor ul Haq Qadri said the sate of Pakistan was responsible to protect the rights of minorities and those responsibilities had been increased further today.

Representatives of various religions and sects while speaking on the occasion called for interfaith harmony and unity to promote sustainable peace in the country.

Maulana Sayed Muhammad Abdul Khabir Azad, Khateeb Badshahi Mosque and Chairman Interfaith Council, Arch Bishop Sivistic Shah, Jan Charan, Hafiz Kazim Raza Naqvi, Roberto Barsoluso of Italy, Prof. Dr. Ahmed Darwaish,Iman Qasim Rasheed, Dr. Bishop Alexander, Sardar Janam Singh, Pandit Charn Lal and John Malik were among the other speakers.

The speakers called for the promotion of respect for religions among people for durable peace in society. They said dialogue among the religions were of prime importance. They said the presence of the people from all faiths in the event showed that they were united and would join hands to promote peace, tolerance and love for each other.