ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Sunday said the government would ensure provision of equal rights to all citizens in light of the Constitution as well as the teachings of Islam.
The Prime Minister, in his message on the occasion of Holi Festival being observed on the day, extended his felicitations to the Hindu community of Pakistan.
“The circumstances in Pakistan are changing. Here, the days of spring are coming up for which the basis of inter-faith peace and co-existence were laid. Pakistan was created as hub of peace not only for Muslims rather every tribe and community living in the region,” he said.
The Prime Minister said the government would make arrangements to disallow any discrimination in name of religion and the followers of every religion must feel free to practice their own faiths. The citizens should also not suffer from any sense of deprivation regarding employment or any other matter due to their faith, he added.
He viewed that Holi heralds the onset of spring and brings along a message of hope for a better future. This festival also gives good news that the societies also improve just like the winter turning into the spring season, he added.
Nawaz Sharif said in his address on August 11, 1947, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had made it clear that there would be no discrimination on the basis of faith in the country. The state was bound to fulfill the commitment the Quaid had made to the minorities in that address without tolerating any laxity in this regard, he added.
He said whole of the nation recognized the role of Hindu community for the country’s development and lauded such a passion of the minorities.
The Prime Minister said during the past, the minorities also suffered at the hands of miscreants, just like other people of the country. However, this was unfortunate that the name of Islam was misused in that regard that had declared the killing of a human as tantamount to killing the whole humanity and considered the saving of one life equal to saving the whole humanity.
He said Islam never discriminated the human rights on religious grounds and the Constitution of Pakistan also carried the same message.
Nawaz Sharif said for national development, it was inevitable to move forward with the passion of national unity and build a society where everyone must feel free without any aggression.
He said, “Holi Festival teaches us that the virtue will live forever and the evil is destined to be defeated.”—INP