Daily Times

PESHAWAR: The national curriculum was highly respoinsible for the ever-increasing hatred in the country, particularly against the religious minorities, said speakers at a seminar on minority rights. They also stressed the need to remove all hate material so that harmony can be created among different sections of society for a peaceful Pakistan.

They said this in their remarks at the seminar titled, “Peace Conference”, which was jointly organized by the South Asia Partnership Pakistan (SAP-Pk) and the Bacha Khan Trust Education Foundation (BKTEF) and facilitated by the Nation Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) here at a local hotel, on Saturday. It was said that the removal of such hate lessons from the curriculum and the avoidance of hate speeches was necessary to create harmony and brotherhood among all Pakistani religions without any discrimination. These steps would lead Pakistan towards a developed, prosperous and civilised country in the globe, they added.

Those who spoke on the occasion included Sardar Charan Jeet Singh; Haroon Sarab Diyal from Hindu community; Cecil Chaudhry; Executive Director, NCJP; Regional Director NCJP, Father John William; Augustin Jacob; Barrister Hashim Raza; Sikander Zaman from SAP-Pk; Qamar Naseem of Blue Veins; Managing Director, BKTEF, Khadim Hussain; ANP central leaders, Bushra Gohar and MPA Sardar Hussain Babak and the program manager of NCJP, Kashif Aslam.

Diyal regretted that his community had not migrated from the neighbouring country during partition. However, even though they have been living on this soil (Pakistan) sine the times of their forefathers, they are still considered Indian. He considered the curriculum responsible for such attitudes, which he claimed was inciting hatred against non-Muslim Pakistanis, particularly Hindus and Sikhs.

Singh expressed his grievances and said that the minorities were being dealt with a step-motherly behaviour and were being ignored on every platform, further adding that some elements present in the country wanted to create distances among Muslim and non-Muslim Pakistanis, despite both belonging from the same soil.

Naseem suggested that the issue of hate materials be raised on the SAARC level because these hate speeches and lessons were also taught in India to foster hatred amongst students against Muslims and Pakistan. Hence, “the SAARC platform is the only way to resolve the matter,” he noted

Zaman advised that the very first step to initiate peace included the removal of hate speeches so that our children could learn some positive lessons to make a good image of their countrymen, and grow up with positive attitudes and aptitudes.

Babak alleged that although this land was acquired in the name of Allah but the hatred spread from the same land was highly condemnable. About the recent transvestite’s killing (Alesha), he maintained that it was due to the intolerance prevalent amongst the society, further saying that unless and until hatred lessons are removed from both curriculum and speeches in everyday life, the minorities would continue to feel a sense of deprivation that they have been facing, since the very inception of the country.

Father William and Cecil Chaudhry both urged the need of unity amongst all religions and postulated that it is the need of the hour to make each other close because “we all jointly would develop the country as we also are Pakistani citizens.” Hashim Raza Advocate, Dr Khadim Hussain, Bushra Gohar, Kashif Aslam and other speakers also shared their views about peace, minority rights and hurdles this way with detailed.