Seminar, ‘Sufi Night’ organised to promote tolerance

ISLAMABAD: Speakers at a seminar here on Saturday called for promoting peace and inclusiveness in the society, and also highlighted the role of national counter-terrorism narrative – Paigham-e-Pakistan – in challenging the menaces of terrorism and extremism.

The seminar titled ‘Sounds of Peace’ was held at Pak-China Friendship Centre, followed by a ‘Sufi Night’. Council of Islamic Ideology Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz was chief guest at the event, organised under the Paigham-e-Pakistan initiative.

Speaking on the occasion, he introduced the audience with the Paigham-e-Pakistan initiative of the government of Pakistan which aims at promoting peace, stability, harmony and inclusiveness in the society to thwart the menaces of terrorism and extremism. He maintained that setting up an inclusive society with equal access to opportunities and justice for all, participatory decision-making and special attention to the rights of the youth and the women was imperative to establish sustainable peace and harmony and eradicate the menaces of violence, abuse, extremism and terrorism. He argued that promoting equality in the society where there is no disparity on the basis of gender, religion, language and caste is imperative to foil all sorts of propaganda unleashed against the country by the enemy.

The seminar was followed by a ‘Sufi Night’ blended with soulful tunes of qawwali and Sufi poetry which enthralled the Sufi music lovers. The event intended to promote peace through Sufism as well as provide an opportunity to the participants to experience a pacifying evening, blended with the richness of soulful and touching Persian and Urdu poetry of famous Sufis and poets.