The participants of "National Campaign for Peace" have expressed worries over the presence of 20 million illegal weapons in the country and urged the government to take initiatives to check proliferation of illegal weapons through an effective de-weaponisation campaign.
The inaugural ceremony of "National Campaign for Peace" was held here on Tuesday, which was jointly initiated by non-government organisations in the country, South Asia Partnership Pakistan (SAP-PK) and Oxfam Novib. Speaking on the occasion, General Secretary Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), I.A Rehman said that the state uses ruthless power to govern the people.
He lamented that the groups having more weapons have more political power and added that legal arms used illegally changes the mindset. "Peace cannot be achieved and maintained without collective efforts", he remarked. He expressed grief that there are not strong voices raised against the extremism. He said that civil society has to play an active role for creation of peace by collective efforts and launching a well thought and effective campaign.
Federal Minister for Human Rights and Culture, Syed Mumtaz Alam Gillani said, "We could not overcome the problem with isolated efforts, we would have to get international co-operation. The real power rests not with the elected representatives but with civil and military bureaucracy, he said adding that peace is not their priority, as they and their families never experienced the sufferings caused by absence of peaceful conditions." He added that public-private collective efforts will pave way for peace in the country.
He on this occasion announced that his ministry is about to introduce human rights subject in the syllabus of primary and secondary schools. Academician and columnist, Dr Ayesha Siddiqa said that proliferation of legal and illegal arm must be checked. Professor of Surgery, QMC Bahawalpur, Dr Javed Iqbal provided statistics of people brought in his hospital that are killed or injured of fire shots.
Answering questions of the participants, the speakers termed poverty as one of the most compelling factors for unrest in the country. They said, "more resources should be allocated in the education sector and reviving the departments responsible for maintaining law and order in the country". They pointed out that the budget allocated for police is 110 billion, while defence expenditures are raised by the same amount. The ceremony was also addressed by Manager Oxfam Novib, Wajeeha Anwer, and Executive Director SAP-Pk, Mohammad Tahseen.