LAHORE: Provincial Minister for Excise and Taxation, Information and Culture Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman has said that the cultural and educational activities like Unique Drama Festival would help project soft image of the country in the world. Addressing the awards distribution ceremony of the 4th Unique Drama Festival 2017 here on Sunday, the minister said it was a collective duty of all to promote the ideals of peace, tolerance and harmony in the country, and added that the drama festival was in line with the government’s policy to eradicate extremism from the country. Special Assistant to the Punjab Chief Minister Rana Muhammad Arshad, Lahore Mayor Col (r) Mubashar Javed, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Transport Minister Nasir Hussain Dar, Asghar Nadeem Syed and Dr Mujahid Mansoori were the other guests at the closing day of the drama festival. The minister appreciated young students and participating schools for excellent dramatic presentation on the theme of peace, tolerance and harmony. He added that it was the right time to create awareness among the youth. “Educational institutions should follow the suit and hold such festivals so that our future generations could be made more aware of the pitfalls of intolerance and discord, he said. Speaking on the occasion, Rana Muhammad Arshad said time was ripe to empower the youth and make them understand the disadvantages of extremism. He added that the Punjab chief Minister wanted to rid the province of all kinds of extremism in all its forms and manifestations and added that schools were the best places to start with. Playwright Asghar Nadeem Syed said that drama was the right medium to reform societies. He said that the drama festival had attracted thousands of spectators over three days. He said that the younger generation was the harbinger of change and it was hoped that the ideals of peace tolerance and harmony could be achieved through the festival. Unique Group of Institutions Chairman Prof Abdul Manan Khurram also spoke on the occasion and assured the government of support in eradicating the menace of extremism from the society. He paid rich tribute to School Educaton Minister Rana Mashood Ahmed Khan for arranging the festival. Two plays ‘Sab se pehley Pakistan’ and ‘Kuch Lamhay Aagahi Ke’ were performed during the awards night, besides musical performances by students. Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman gave distributed shields among the three best plays of the drama festival, besides eight awards for best actor, director and others. Published in Daily Times, October 30th 2017.