HYDERABAD, Feb 20: A two-day national conference on “Economic Rights and Social Justice: A New Political Agenda for Pakistan,” has recommended equitable distribution of resources.

It also called for promoting basic right of education in letter and in spirit and supplementing incomes of those families, whose children were wage earners, by the state and society,

The conference, organized by the faculty of Social Sciences, University of Sindh, at the Institute of Sindhology, Jamshoro, concluded on Thursday.

On the second day of the conference, five scholars from the Sindh University, Karachi University, Punjab University and Peshawar University read their papers on different topics.

Those who read papers included Syed Minhajul Hassan, Dr Farooq Hasnat, Prof Talat Wizarat, Dr Parvez Aslam Pathan, Prof Siraj Jamal Siddiqui, Dr Abdul Latif Tunio, Prof Iqbal Hussain Qureshi, Dr Abida Tahrani and Prof Iqbal Hussain Kazi.

According to recommendations of the conference, an appropriate understanding of socio-political and cultural forces became necessary to counter adverse affects on society.

The conference came to the conclusion that following factors were affecting socio-political culture of the society: Disappearance of traditional value system, non-preservation of positive values about the status of women, respect for elders, concept of Rizq-i-Hilal and sympathy for the poor.

The conference recommended that the deficiencies must be addressed by the concerned quarters, including the government and NGOs.

The government should enact appropriate laws and also adopt measures of effective enforcement. The values should also be highlighted through media.

The conference stressed the need for avoiding misguiding terms, countering the Western perception of Islam and promoting understanding of Islam through the information highway.

It recommended to promote youth forums for enlightenment to shape attitudes, forge unity of purpose and to train and educate.

The conference also called for ensuring good governance and community development.

Earlier, speaking at the first session of the conference on Wednesday, the adviser to the prime minister on privatization and investment, Dr Abdul Hafiz Shaikh, said that globalization was a fait accompli and the unprecedented development in technology would render national boundaries less important.

He said the role of the private sector had become more important as the government machinery was inefficient and there were also charges of corruption against government functionaries.