ISLAMABAD: Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has underlined the need to remove hatred from society and minds, and stated that the only way to address the problem is through the approach of positive thinking.

He was addressing a seminar titled “Growing intolerance: role of media and civil society” organised by the International Islamic University in Islamabad on Thursday.

The minister urged the media and civil society to play their role in creating awareness about extremism, intolerance, and their deadly impacts on societies.

He said that Pakistan's biggest challenge at present is to unite internally, it is very important to eliminate hatred from society and minds, and the country has paid the highest price for extremism.

He said that the Muslims of the Subcontinent got a separate homeland and the ongoing atrocities bore testimony to the fact that Quaid-e-Azam’s two-nation theory was correct.

He said that the biggest challenge of the country was internal unity.

Iqbal said that Pakistan paid the highest price of extremism. The most fundamental cause of extremism is the loss of human ability to judge things. If the virus of hatred is introduced into a person's brain, he would not able to do anything. He also recounted the incident faced at McDonald’s and then the lady, later on, came to his house to ask for forgiveness. He said that despite being educated, hatred was instilled in her mind.

The minister said that one must accept others’ points of view. He said that intolerance leads one to extremism. We need to tolerate each other’s differences. He said that continuity of policies and political stability are important for development.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022