President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday said the government while vigorously promoting interfaith harmony was determined not to let anyone misuse the blasphemy law against minorities and other vulnerable sections of society.
The president was talking to Father Robert McCulloch, procurator general from the Vatican, who called on Zardari at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.
The president welcomed him to Pakistan and congratulated him on the Sitara-e-Quaid-e-Azam that was conferred on him in recognition of his multiple services spanning over 30 years for the welfare of the people of Pakistan.
Zardari highlighted the contributions of the minorities in Pakistan and informed him of the constitutional protection of their fundamental rights. He said the government had taken important measures to ensure protection of the minorities.
During his stay in Pakistan, Father McCulloch remained involved in education, health and other social services. He set up a Catholic Centre for Academic Excellence in Hyderabad to provide free education to children from underprivileged families, besides a health development centre.
His other major contributions include taking steps to preserve language of Tharparker known as Pakrikohli and engaged experts from around the world to work on a script to turn this language into a written language.
Babar said the president during the meeting commended his services for the people of Pakistan and said presence of Father McCulloch at Vatican was a source of strength for his continuous support for Pakistan as “he knows the land, people and its diversity”. He praised the contribution of Father McCulloch for projecting a soft image of Pakistan. Zardari acknowledged the contributions of the Christian community and other non-Muslim minorities for the socio-economic development of the country and particularly noted their contributions in education and health sectors.
He said many missionary institutions in Pakistan were assisting the government to promote a culture of mutual understanding, tolerance and compassion. The president said the number of seats in the Upper House of parliament were increased to accommodate minorities for the first time under the 18th Amendment.
Zardari also mentioned the important steps taken by the government that include abolishing system of separate electorate for minorities, measures to ensure that blasphemy law was not misused, denationalisation of Catholic schools, establishment of a separate ministry to promote inter-faith harmony in the country and reserving five percent employment quota.
He also endorsed international efforts to promote interfaith dialogue such as Alliance of Civilisations, ASEM Interfaith Dialogue, NAM and OIC.
Father McCulloch assured full cooperation in augmenting the government’s efforts for promoting inter-faith harmony and tolerance in the country.
