KARACHI, May 9: The first round of dialogue on ‘Current state of relations between the Muslims and the West’ between the youth representatives from Britain and Pakistan was held at a local hotel on Tuesday.

A multi-party delegation comprising young political leaders from Britain arrived here on Monday for a week-long visit. The seven-member delegation will hold dialogue with their Pakistani counterparts in various cities under the theme 'Dialogue between Muslim world and the West”.

The dialogue has been organised by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency and supported by the UK Global Opportunities Fund. Both the Pakistan and the British High Commission in London and Islamabad are assisting the dialogue.

Those who represented Pakistani side in the first round of the dialogue in Karachi on Tuesday on the current state of relations between Muslims and the West include Aliya Salahuddin, Faisal Subzwari, Huma Baqai, Kanwal Malik, Liaquat Shaikh, Mazhar Abbas, Nida Khan and Shazia Marri.

The two sides agreed that there was a suspicion or mistrust which was at the root cause of relationship between the Muslim world and the West.

They were of the view that there was a need for dialogue like this one to address such a situation.

The Western side cited lack of democracy and lack of education in the Muslim world. It was stressed that efforts should be made for improving the education.

The lack of respect for human rights and lack of participation of women in public life were described as some of the issues that did not earn respect for the Muslim countries.

The panel of the Pakistani young leaders cited the factors which were affecting the relationship between the West and the Muslim world such as Palestine, Iraq and Iran. The West was urged to shun double standards and adopt a principled approach.

It was also agreed that there should be more dialogue and exchange of views between the West and the Muslim world and this should be done at the level of the common people.

The final round of the Muslim-West dialogue will be held in Islamabad on May 13. Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani will be the chief guest at the Islamabad dialogue. This dialogue will prepare recommendations for the way forward on improving and strengthening relations between the West and the Muslim World.—APP