Pakistan Today

Love for all, no discrimination highlighted at the ethic book launch

 

Speakers at an Ethic Book launching stressed the need of expurgating hatred lessons, creating harmony and brotherhood among all religions to remove sense of deprivations of non-Muslim Pakistanis living in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The launch ceremony, tilted, “Study Report on Ethic Book in connection with Religion Freedom and Minority Rights”, organized by South Asia Partnership Pakistan (SAP-P) held here at a local hotel on Friday.

Noted speakers included regional head of SAP KP and tribal region, Sikander Zaman, Hashim Raza Advocate, All Pakistan Hindu Rights Movement (APHRM) Harun Sarab Diyal, Bishan Lal, a senior journalist Shamim Shahid, Nusrat Ara, a coordinator of SAP while a large number of non-Muslim community and lawyers participated in the launching ceremony.

Briefing the participants on the importance of the ‘ethic book’, how the issue of ethic books is high in KPK and why the study of the book is important, Hashim Raza said that book of Islamiyat was not compulsory for the children of minorities, alternately, ethic subject was to be taught to the children but either the ethic books were available in the market or there were no teachers for teaching them.

Moreover, he said that the polarization in the society should be reduced so the subject like ethics could play an important role in this regard. He added that the general survey revealed that the situation was much better before 1977 because the subject of Deniyat was taught at the educational institutes, also there was no discrimination in classrooms and the attitude of Muslim students and teachers was quite balance too.

Expressing his grave grievances, Harun Sarab Diyal said that minorities were being dealt like a step-siblings and being ignored on every platform, adding that there were no differences among Muslim and non-Muslim communities but there are some elements to create differences within for benefits.

“No doubt, we are non-Muslims but as per Islamic culture, we are Muslims because we are Pakistani civilians”, he said and added, “We want Islamic system like second Caliphate Hazrat Omar, that was full of justice with all humanity”.

He emphasized on the non-Muslim Pakistanis particularly of KP province that Muslims gave the minorities voice to demand for their basic human rights by holding dozens of seminars and other activities in the light of Islam and constitution of the country. He maintained that the KP province was better than other provinces as minorities are compete secured and not forced to convert. He expressed the hope for days when all non-Muslims would enjoy an atmosphere of love, brotherhood and religious harmony with basic human rights.

Commenting on the Bill on Minority rights’ commission, Sikander Zaman said that minorities were also part of this soil but there were some legal impedes in way of the solution of their problems, which puts a bad image to the world, so SAP works hard to form such legal commission, in which all minorities could place their issues. He added that after dozens seminars and workshops with provincial legislators, government representatives and civil societies, the draft of the commission was approved and it’s now with the government for tabling in the provincial assembly. He, therefore, demanded of all the elected representatives to back the Bill when presented.

Shamim Shahid, Bishan Lal, Nusrat Ara, lawyers and non-Muslims expressed views about the ethic book and the commission and said that it would help mitigating ordeals of minorities in the province.

 

 

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