ISLAMABAD, Oct 25: President Asif Ali Zardari has said that Pakistan is facing serious challenges of extremism and militancy that are undermining national interests and security.

Talking to a delegation of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), which called on him here on Saturday, Mr Zardari said there was a need to forge unity to address these challenges.

The delegation was led by CII chairman Dr Mohammad Khalid Masud.

The president said: “We need to project Islam in its true spirit and as a religion of peace, tolerance and magnanimity. We have to work for ending the stagnation in thought. We have to rekindle the hopes for progress and prosperity of the Muslim masses.”

He said there was an urgent need to make those elements understand the true spirit of Islam who were spreading misconceptions about our noble religion.

Prof Masud briefed the president about the origin and working of the council.

He said that CII was a constitutional body tasked to give advice to parliament or a provincial assembly on any question referred to it as to whether a proposed law was consistent with the injunctions of Islam.

The council, he said, was also tasked to make recommendations for bringing existing laws in conformity with the injunctions of Islam. He said the council had submitted 72 reports to parliament since 1962.

S. Hamid Saeed Kazmi, Justice Dr Rashid Ahmad Jalandhri, Maulana Abdul Khilji, Dr Manzoor Ahmad and Dr Faiz Bilquees also attended the meeting.