President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday called upon the people of all faiths to join hands to promote peace and harmony on one hand and to alleviate the sufferings of the people hit hard by flood on the other.
In his message on the occasion of "Minorities' Day" being observed on August 11, the President said that "the observance of the Minorities Day today is an occasion to recognise the important role played by the minorities in Pakistan in nation building, the sacrifices rendered by them, the problems and issues faced by members of minorities as well as to renew our commitment to protect their right and to draw them fully in the mainstream of national life".
The present democratic government is driven by the vision of the Quaid-i-Azam and Quaid-e-Awam in protecting the rights of the minorities, he said. He said that the Quaid vision is contained in his historic speech on this day in 1947 that laid down the foundations of a modern, tolerant and progressive Pakistan in which every one will have equal rights regardless of creed and gender.
The Quaid-e-Awam's vision is embodied in the Constitution of 1973 that envisioned minorities to freely profess and practise their religion and culture and that every one will have equal rights regardless of creed and gender, he added. Inspired by this vision, the President said, the present government decided to observe August 11 each year as the Minorities Day to reiterate the need to integrate people of all faiths in the national mainstream.
It has reserved five percent quota in government jobs, provided for four reserved seats in the Senate and allowed optional holidays to minorities on the eve of their religious festivals which will also be celebrated at official level, he said. The government has also decided to review all laws that militate against minorities and the vulnerable sections of society, the President said. He said the country has been hard bit both by man made disasters in the form of terrorism and natural calamities in the form of floods caused by torrential monsoons.
Thousands have been killed and hundreds of billions lost in these man made disasters and natural calamities, the President said and called upon the people of all faiths to join hands to promote peace and harmony on the one hand and to alleviate the sufferings of the people hit hard bay the floods on the other. "Let every one on this day pledge to promote democratic values and culture as a necessary tool of promoting tolerance, peace and harmony and ending violence and extremism as well as alleviating the suffering of our less fortunate brethren," the President said.