‘Unity, national integration needed to defeat extremism’

LAHORE: Speakers at a series of seminars on Wednesday stressed the need to encourage unity and national integration in the society in order to thwart the nefarious designs of the enemies who are out to distract peace and stability in Pakistan by fanning extremism, sectarianism and terrorism.

Three separate conferences titled ‘Promotion of Paigham-e-Pakistan for Countering Violent Extremism’ were held at the Municipal Committee Kamalia, Government College for Women Gojra and Government College for Women Toba Tek Singh, attended by prominent religious scholars, parliamentarians, university faculty members, students, teachers, civil society activists and local government officials.

Addressing on the occasion, the speakers said collective efforts were needed to frustrate the designs of the extremists and terrorists who wanted to tear apart the very fabric of the society. They urged ulema, intellectuals, educationists and the civil society to play their role for elimination of destructive concepts of terrorism and extremism.

Stressing the need to check promotion of terrorism and extremism on social media, they called for disseminating the message of Islam through our character and education. “Every Muslim should play his role in portraying a true picture of Islam as fake organizations created by enemies to give bad name to Islam have been involved in the mass massacre of people in the name of religion,” they maintained.

The speakers said Islam is the religion of peace which teaches tolerance and harmony among each other. “Killing of innocent people is not allowed in any religion. Islam encourages cooperation in good deeds. In an Islamic country, minorities enjoy equal rights and religious freedom. No non-Muslim can be compelled to change his religion,” they maintained.

The speakers were of the view that more concerted efforts were needed to promote religious harmony as the enemy was trying to promote hatred among various sects of Islam.

The speakers unanimously stressed reviewing country’s educational policy, ensuring training of teachers and ulema to respect other religions and their sacred places. “All citizens, irrespective of their faith, shall have the protection of law and rights including right to property, education, family, faith and right to profess and practice their religion. Every citizen has the right to employment sans discrimination and right not to be discriminated in curriculum,” they maintained, adding that interfaith dialogue was a legitimate tool for advancing harmony and co-existence which should be promoted as a policy for maintaining peace, harmony and co-existence in the society.

The speakers also emphasized the role of women in eradication of extremism and establishment of peace in a society. “Women constitute half of the population of our country … and therefore have a significant role to play in societal development. Their role is very crucial as not only they themselves are half of the population but also because they are responsible for bringing the other half into this world. They also act as the first educator of a child,” they said, and stressed the need for women to stand up against extremism being custodians of the ethos of the coming generations.