Minister Ahsan Iqbal of Planning and Development has rightly insisted on the promotion of narratives of tolerance and understanding and ongoing internal dialogues of the communities against the culture of hatred and bigotry in society.
At a ceremony held in Islamabad on Wednesday, he said religion is also used as a tool to create divisions and extremism. But we have to propagate the actual spirit of Islam, which is the message of love, tolerance, and coexistence for all.
Islam declares beyond doubt that violence and coercion are in contradiction to its basic tenets and it becomes a collective responsibility of all of us for the principles of love and the same for coexistence.
“We need to fight,” Ahsan Iqbal said, “the viruses of hatred and prejudice, as their origin lies mostly in ignorance and fear, which separates into extremisms and jeopardizes the peace, thus causing instability.
He said that the role of the Pakistani government includes addressing the raging societal evils of prejudice and hatred. One of the significant uplift programs of the government is PaighamePakistan, a national narrative against extremism and hate speech.
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He added that Paigham-e-Pakistan was a document signed by over eighteen hundred scholars belonging to diverse schools of thought that unequivocally declared extremism, terrorism, and the misuse of religion as un-Islamic.
The Planning Minister mentioned that Paigham-e-Pakistan is a blueprint for developing interfaith harmony, promoting moderation, and establishing an ideal peaceful society.
According to him, peace, harmony, and justice form the very foundation upon which a society can build a safe and prosperous future. According to him, the future holds bright prospects but in order to reach those ends the culture of prejudice and hate speech must first be combatted.