— PPP leader says Pakistan should be run on basis of Jinnah’s principles
Former federal minister and Pakistan People’s Party leader Qamar Zaman Kaira on Thursday said that culture of intolerance should be eradicated from the society.
Addressing a convention, organised by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) here, he said that all societies in the world made progress by promoting tolerance and by giving rights to all members of the society including minorities.
He said that the country should be run on the basis of principles, spelled out by 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 the National Minorities Day by the government, 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 pledged to work with the political stakeholders for enhancing respect for human rights and promoting peaceful coexistence. Representing the religious diversity 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.
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 different political parties.
MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar, MNA Asiya Nasir, MNA Shafqat Mehmood, MPA Tariq Gill, Minorities Advisory Council coordinator MPA Kanji Ram, senior analyst Imtiaz Alam, Justice Nasira Javed Iqbal and Peter Jacob also addressed the convention.
