ISLAMABAD, Feb 18: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Saturday that the Commonwealth should play its due role in promoting interfaith harmony which was crucial for peace and stability in the world.
Mr Aziz was talking to Commonwealth Secretary-General Commonwealth Donald McKinnon, who called on him here at the Prime Minister’s House.
Prime Minister Aziz said that being an organisation that represents all major religions, including Islam, the Commonwealth could play a useful role in bridging the growing divide amongst the followers of different faiths.
He said that publication of blasphemous cartoons had hurt the feelings not only of Muslims but also of the followers of other faiths.
The prime minister said an active parliament and a free press were essential parts of the democratic system
He said that parliament in Pakistan was functioning smoothly and there was no restriction on political activities in the country.
He said the government would hold general election in 2007 to strengthen and institutionalise the democratic process.
Mr Aziz assured the visiting dignitary that Pakistan would continue to play an active role in the deliberations of the Commonwealth and get benefit from its educational and technical assistance programmes.
Referring to the situation in the region, he said the peace process with India was going ahead although the pace of dispute resolution was slow. He emphasized the need for early settlement of the Kashmir dispute for peace in South Asia.
He said Pakistan was committed to a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue in line with the aspirations of the people of Kashmir.
On the issue of Afghanistan, he said Pakistan had extended full support to the Karzai government as a strong and stable Afghanistan was good for the two countries.
Mr Mckinnon said the 53-nation Commonwealth had undertaken initiatives for promoting tolerance and addressing the growing perception of ‘marginalisation’ in various regions and communities.
He informed the prime minister about the Commonwealth’s programmes for Pakistan, including capacity building for small and medium enterprise and media development, sharing expertise in the areas of public sector reforms, governance and technical education.
It was agreed that cooperation would be extended to other fields such as banking and finance, information technology, telecommunications and higher education.
Talking to reporters later, the secretary-general condemned the publication of blasphemous caricatures and added that the freedom of press should not be misused.
“The newspapers should not go beyond limits and take care of the feelings of all the religions in their publications.”
He said the world was embarrassed by the publication of these caricatures.
MEETING WITH MUSHARRAF: Earlier, Mr McKinnon called on President General Pervez Musharraf. He appreciated Pakistan’s participation in the Malta Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in November.
The president thanked the Commonwealth for sending a team of doctors to the earthquake affected areas and apprised the secretary-general of the ongoing reconstruction and rehabilitation activities.
Gen Musharraf briefed the secretary-general on the progress Pakistan had made in the last several years in the fields of democracy, good governance and economic development.
The secretary-general also met Foreign Minister Khurshid M. Kasuri and discussed with him various regional and international issues, including Pakistan-India relations, Iran and Iraq.—APP
