LAHORE:A consultation session was held by Awaaz 2 Programme, a peace and justice network, in collaboration with Human Rights and Minorities Affairs Department Punjab, on Thursday to discuss perspective, challenges and opportunities for promoting interfaith harmony in the province.
The event was part of the International Interfaith Harmony Day celebrations, observed across the world, in the first week of February.
The consultation brought all relevant departments, civil society organisations and religious leaders to one platform to promote interfaith harmony. The consultation provided stakeholders and policymakers with an opportunity to discuss and bring in concrete recommendations, bridging district- and provincial-level advocacy to address issues related to social cohesion and government departments’ role in enhancing inclusion of minorities in education quota, job quota, upcoming local government elections in Punjab and community development.
Punjab Minister for Human Rights & Minorities Affairs Department Ejaz Alam Augustine chaired the session, which was attended by provincial member of National Commission on Human Rights Nadeem Ashraf, Secretary Education Punjab and Justice (retd) Nasira Iqbal, member Human Rights Standing Committee Punjab Shamsa Ali and MPA Rameesh Singh Arora.
The panelists recommended ensuring full implementation of minorities quota for employment and education, allocated by the Punjab government. There should be representation of minorities in all government decision-making bodies and structures, especially upcoming local government elections in Punjab 2022, they added.
Justice (retd) Nasira Iqbal, in her closing remarks, commended the work of Awaaz 2 Programme in districts of Punjab for promoting interfaith harmony.
Managed by the British Council, Aawaz 2 Programme has been working with the local communities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces to protect the rights of children, women, youth and other groups including religious minorities, transgender persons, and persons with disabilities.