Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Wednesday said Pakistan was a moderate and enlightened country and there was complete interfaith harmony among the people of different religions.
Talking to Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams and members of his delegation, the Prime Minister said Islam was a religion of peace and tolerance and rejected extremism.
He said the situation had considerably improved in the country and the government was trying to further promote interfaith harmony.
The Prime Minister pointed out that every society had its share of those who believed in extremist interpretation of religion and said such elements were in minority in Pakistan. He said the root causes of extremism were deprivation and lack of access to education.
The delegation included High Commissioner of UK Mark Lyall Grant and Bishop of Clogher Michael Jackson, ex-Federal Minister Colonel S.K. Tressler (Retd), Bishop of Rawalpindi Rev. Emmanuel Larine, Bishop of Islamabad Rev. Irfan Jameel, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Khusro Bakhtiar, Senator S.M. Zafar, Professor Mushtaq Victor MNA, and Akram Masih Gill MNA. Dr Rowan Williams appreciated the steps taken by Pakistan to safeguard the rights of minorities and said they acknowledged the commitment of the government to the promotion of interfaith harmony.
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