LAHORE: Pakistan People's Party Punjab President Qamar Zaman Kaira Thursday said that culture of intolerance should be eradicated from society in Pakistan.
Addressing a convention, organised by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), an NGO, at a local hotel here on Thursday, he said that all societies in the world made progress by promoting tolerance and by giving rights to all members of society including minorities.
He said that the country should be run on the basis of principles, spelled out by the Founder of the Country Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Kaira said that every citizen would enjoy equal rights if the country was run as a federation.
All participants in the convention appreciated the designation of August 11 as National Minorities Day by the government of Pakistan, which symbolises the vision of the Quaid-e-Azam, presented in his inaugural address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan in 1947. Acknowledging the fundamental rights enunciated in the constitution and affirmative measures introduced by the federal and provincial governments to protect rights of religious minorities, the speakers said these steps had given a roadmap to work on the rights of minorities.
The participants in the convention pledged to work with political stakeholders for enhancing respect for human rights and promoting peaceful coexistence.
Representing the religious diversity of Pakistan and different shades of opinion, the participants in the convention unanimously reiterated that the message in the Quaid-e-Azam's speech needs to be adopted as guiding document for laws and policies in the country.
The participants resolved to foster alliances for tackling challenges faced by Pakistan such as religious and social intolerance, discrimination, nepotism, corruption and lack of respect for the rule of law.
A resolution was presented and passed by the convention stressing rights to minorities.
The convention was organized by Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) and Peace & Development Foundation (PDF) in collaboration with National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), Peaceful Pakistan, Cecil & Iris Chaudhry Foundation (CICF), Bytes for All (B4A) and all political parties.
MQM Pakistan leader Dr Farooq Sattar, MNA Jamiat Ulema-e- Islam Asiya Nasir, MNA Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Shafqat Mehmood, Parliamentary Secretary Ministry for Human Rights and Minority Affairs Tariq Gill MPA, Coordinator Minorities Advisory Council Kanji Ram MPA, Imtiaz Alam (Senior Analyst), Justice (R) Nasira Javed Iqbal and Executive Director CSJ Peter Jacob also addressed the convention.
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