“The entire nation has felt the pain of the victims of the Jaranwala incident and is standing behind Christian brothers, sisters and children helping them to get over the trauma of the unfortunate incident,” Ambassador Masood Khan said
Ambassador Khan Calls for Interfaith, Inter-Sectarian Dialogue to Strengthen Harmony among Faiths
By Elaine Pasquini
Washington: “The government of Pakistan is committed to bring arsonists of the August 16 incident to justice,” affirmed Masood Khan, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States at an August 25 meeting with Pakistani-American Christian leaders from across the US. “The perpetrators of the horrendous act not only attacked a vulnerable community, but they also challenged the writ of the state. It was a crime against the nation and the state of Pakistan. We will not allow anyone to tarnish the name of Islam or create fissures among our society.”
The ambassador said the visit of the Prime Minister, senior judges of the Supreme Court, chief minister of the province, cabinet ministers and others clearly reflected the sentiments of the nation towards the affected families.
“The entire nation has felt the pain of the victims of the Jaranwala incident and is standing behind Christian brothers, sisters and children helping them to get over the trauma of the unfortunate incident,” the ambassador said. “The government, political and religious leadership and the civil society as a whole has unequivocally condemned the incident.”
He also noted that renowned religious scholar Maulana Taqi Usmani and others have categorically rejected those acts.
Ambassador Khan highlighted that the federal and provincial government are compensating the victims and helping them to rebuild their damaged properties. Ameer Jamat-i-Islami has also offered assistance in rebuilding the damaged properties. In addition, Ahl-e-Hadis have offered their mosques to their Christian brethren for prayers and services.
Appealing to Pakistani-American community leaders to help heal the wounds of the Christian community, the ambassador stated: “The consensus built against such extremism is an opportunity to initiate a broad-based and multi-faith dialogue to identify challenges to our interfaith and inter-sectarian harmony and to put in place measures that could address these challenges and ensure that laws were not abused to disrupt peace and societal harmony.”
Christians, he assured his guests, are equal citizens of the state and the Constitution of Pakistan guarantees their rights. “We shall never forget the contribution of the Christian community in the creation of Pakistan and its socio-economic development,” he averred. The followers of other religions, he added, have representation not only in federal and provincial legislative assemblies but they have their own quota reserved in government jobs.
Speakers, while stating solidarity with their Christian brothers and sisters in Jaranwala, expressed appreciation for the resolve shown by the Pakistani government in bringing the culprits to justice, noting this would restore confidence to the community. Speakers also underscored the need for creating greater public awareness so that society could serve as a bulwark against the rising tide of extremism and fanaticism.
Ambassador Khan thanked the participants for attending and looked forward to the dialogue continuing.
(Elaine Pasquini is a freelance journalist. Her reports appear in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and Nuze.Ink.)
