ISLAMABAD, Dec 9 (APP): Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Peer Noor ul Haq Qadri Wednesday said Pakistan’s constitution guaranteed full protection to the non-Muslim population, including their all civil rights and the freedom of worship and faith.
The ‘Message of Pakistan’ also encompassed it, which declared suicide attacks in the name of religion as contrary to the spirit of Islam, he said while addressing the closing session of a roundtable discussion for the promotion of interfaith and intra-faith dialogue and understanding, jointly organized here by the Pakistan Interfaith and Peace Council (PIPC) and the Delegation of the European Union to Pakistan.
Religious leaders from different schools of thought, including minorities representatives in Pakistan, members of civil society, human rights and legal professionals as well as academics participated in the discussion.
Following the daylong discussion, the participants committed to continue working together. They vowed to work for all constitutional rights to be extended to all citizens of Pakistan irrespective of religion, creed, colour and race.
They vowed to ensure that the message of inclusion and inter- and intra-faith harmony would be spread and amplified from the pulpits, places of worship of all religions, and the platforms of other fora.
The closing session was also attended by the ambassadors and diplomats of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Hungary, Romania and Spain.
The participants appreciated European Union Ambassador Androulla Kaminara and PIPC Chairman Maulana Syed Muhammad Abdul Khabir Azad, for their efforts to convene the event.\932
