LAHORE, Feb 2: The National Commission for Justice and Peace has demanded an end to state patronage of religion.

It also urged adoption of the principle of uniform respect for all the beliefs to rid the country of religious extremism and prejudice.

The demand was voiced through an unanimous resolution, adopted at the one-day National Consultative Meeting on Religious Extremism: Causes and Remedies, here on Sunday.

Christian leaders from all walks of life attended the meeting, organized by the commission, and expressed solidarity with their countrymen in their struggle for resolving the internal and external crisis.

Archbishop Lawrence Sildana, Priest Emanuel Joseph, Lt-Col John Morris (Salvation Army) Aftab Alexander Moghal and Group Captain Cecil Chaudhry (retired) briefed the newsmen about the proceedings of the meeting.

They said that the participants in the meeting were of the view that the country could not progress without eradication of religious extremism and adoption of a policy aimed at conciliation between the followers of all the religions by discontinuation of the state patronage of any single religion.

They also stressed the need for a review of the internal and external policies in the larger national interest besides abolition of all laws discriminating among the citizens on the basis of religion and gender for giving equal respect to all the citizens irrespective of their class, gender and creed.

The participants also demanded expunging all the lessons, words and ideas causing heartburn among the minorities from the curricula to promote religious harmony in the educational institutions.