ISLAMABAD, May 25 (APP): Minister of State for Information,
Broadcasting and National Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb addressing a round table dialogue on – Culture of Tolerance : Reviving the Indigenous Narrative organized by the National Institute of Cultural Studies here Thursday said that the narratives which enjoyed national consensus invariably proved successful.
The minister said that the national narrative reflected
the aspirations of the people while the legislators represented the
will of the people and whenever they were distanced from
the national narrative, the country had to suffer.
She said that political parties, political leaders and workers had
given great sacrifices for strengthening the democratic culture
in the country.
She said that the government in consultation with all
the stakeholders was striving to revive the indigenous
national narrative which was pushed back by the upsurge of
terrorism and extremism in the 1980s, for which undemocratic rules
in the country were also responsible to a great extent.
Marriyum recalled that in the 1950s to 1970s Pakistan used to
be a peaceful society and the indigenous narrative that
prevailed during that period immensely contributed to
national unity and integration.
The Minister of State appreciated the role and sacrifices
rendered by the armed forces, law enforcement agencies and
the general public in the war against terrorism. She said Pakistanis
were a resilient nation which had fought and almost
defeated terrorism with great courage.
She said that the operation Raddul Fasaad would help in
changing the prevailing mindset, noting that various operations
launched in different parts of the country to improve security
situation had paid dividends.
The Minister revealed that PTV would launch a channel for
the children to inculcate the sense of tolerance in them and also
to promote the national narrative among younger generation.
She said that Pakistan had very vibrant and one of the
leading film industries of the world during 1960s and 1970s, but
with the passage of time it suffered a decline and cinema
houses were converted into shopping malls.
She sid that with a
view to revive the film Industry, the government was in the
process of formulating a national policy in regards to films
and broadcast production. She expressed the confidence that revival
of the film industry would also contribute towards tackling the
menace of extremism and terrorism.
The minister said that during past 30 to 35 years the
youth were deprived of playgrounds but now with the grace of
Allah Almighty such constructive activities had been revived.
She said it was unfortunate that we never glorified the
poets, writers and artists who fight war against the
extremist mindset through the pen and brush.
The minister said that our religion Islam taught us the
traits of tolerance and peaceful coexistence as they were the key
to resolve our social problems. She said that the positive
criticism was hallmark of the civilized societies and played a vital
role in their reformation.
Leader of the Opposition Syed Khurshid Shah, several members
of the Parliament, intelligentsia and representatives from media
and civil society attended the roundtable dialogue.They deliberated
on the ways to revive the national narrative of peace,
tolerance and harmony.
