Punjab govt launches ‘Safe and Tolerant Punjab Project'

Inter-Faith Harmony Policy introduced in Punjab

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Affairs (HR&MA) Ejaz Alam Augustine has said the Inter-Faith Harmony Policy would go a long way in making Punjab a home for all where citizens would enjoy equal rights and have a sense of security.

He expressed these views while addressing the audience at the launching ceremony of the project titled “Harmonious, Tolerant and Safe Punjab” organised by the Ministry of Human Rights, Ministry of Religious Affairs in collaboration with Youth Development Foundation (YDF) at the Royal Palm Golf and Country Club on Saturday.

The ceremony was attended by representatives from different walks of life including government officials, lawyers, media personnel, academics, youth and activists.



The project is aimed at the formulation of an Inter-Faith Harmony Policy that provides a framework and guidelines on how to promote diversity, sense of security and ownership for all in the province. It will also create an environment where people from different religious, ethnic, sectorial and linguistic backgrounds can co-exist without fear and contribute to the progress of the country.

The minister maintained that the project fell very much in line with the spirit of the initiatives that the Punjab government had already taken to promote interfaith harmony in the province.

“Minorities are enjoying equal rights in the province and the government was highly vigilant when it came to safeguarding these,” he said.

Whenever there is a conflict, the government handles the situation in the best possible way, added the minister for human rights. He elaborated that the government would ensure social justice and fair distribution of socio-economic resources in order to promote tolerance and co-existence in the society and eliminate the sense of insecurity and injustice among religious minorities.

As per the press release, the project entails in-depth consultations with multiple stakeholders including religious leaders, civil society representatives, youth, students and academia in which they would be asked to give suggestions and recommendations to be incorporated into the policy.



YDF Executive Director Shahid Rehmat gave a brief introduction of the project. He said the federal government had devolved Ministry of Interfaith Harmony to provincial administrative units in April 2019 and till date; the Punjab government had not yet come up with any concrete guidelines for the newly devolved ministry.

Lahore’s Bishop Alexander John Malik stressed the need for having an Interfaith Harmony Policy that the policymakers and the citizens could follow to create a healthy and violence-free environment in the society.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 12^th, 2020.