ISLAMABAD: Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Mufti Abdul Shakoor said the ministry was equally striving for progress and prosperity of both the Muslim and non-Muslim population.
He, in a meeting with British High Commissioner (BHC) Christian Turner the other day, said the life, property and prestige of the non-Muslims living in Pakistan was equally dear to us as the welfare and well-being of human beings is part of our religion.
He said the minority communities were enjoying the equal rights enshrined in the Constitution and in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) which has no example in the world.
He said to prevent anti-Islamic and hateful events in the West, the promotion of mutual relations was indispensable adding, “Islam, Pakistan and people are against the religious extremism and misuse of the religion.”
Mufti Abdul Shakoor said hostile agencies were trying to spread unrest in Pakistan through unemployment and misuse of religion.
The minister said our region had been suffering from instability for 40 years due to special interests of foreign powers.
He said Pakistan had already a weak economy and it was further affected by the terrorism, climate change and refugees.
The minister said the world should help in creating health, education, employment opportunities in Pakistan. “War is not a solution of the problems as they can be settled down with open-minded and result-oriented negotiations.
He said Afghan government was not against the girls’ education as its main problems are peace, security and international interference. Meanwhile BHC Christian Turner said the United Kingdom (UK) committed to promoting regional peace, economy, interfaith harmony and bilateral relations.
He said the promotion of strong Pak-UK ties; religious freedom and tolerance at the public level were among the priorities. To dispel the misperception of Pakistan, the British government brought positive change in its travel guidelines and revived the British Airways, he added.
The BHC said the UK donated £100 million to Pakistani flood victims and remained in constant contact with all the stakeholders. Britain was ready to resettle refugees, rebuild the economy, end extremism and promote girls’ education, he added.
He said no doubt; the enemies of Pakistan were waiting for instability and insecurity in this region.
“Britain acknowledges loss of Pakistani economy and sacrifice of 80,000 lives in war on terror,” he said adding, “It fully supports the meaningful talks with extremist groups.” – Agencies
