Pak, Vatican agree religious leaders can settle conflicts

Mushaal, Pope's’ adviser see them as powerful force for peaceful settlement of Palestine-Israel, Kashmir conflicts

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan and the Vatican City on Saturday agreed that religious leaders could be utilised as a powerful force for the peaceful settlement of issues concerning humanity, especially the conflicts of Palestine-Israel and Kashmir.

The development came during a comprehensive meeting between Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Human Rights and Women Empowerment Mushaal Hussein Mullick and Chief Adviser Adel to His Excellency Pope Francis head of the Catholic Church, the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State.

According to a statement issued here, both the dignitaries discussed matters of mutual interest, including interfaith harmony, working towards co-existence, eliminating the possibility of discord or violence, noting that human lives were priceless regardless of caste, colour, creed, religion and nationality.

They agreed that the teachings of all religions were based on peace, love, and harmony and a true follower of any religion could never think of provoking hatred against other faiths.

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They reaffirmed their commitment that through broader dialogue and effective communication, each side will be able to understand the other dispassionately and curb those prejudices that give rise to hatred and conflict in religion.

The chief adviser to Pope Francis invited Mushaal to visit the Vatican City and send the message of peace and interfaith harmony to the world as a Muslim woman of the 21st century.

Mushaal said, “It is a need of the time to develop and identify mystical interpretations around the true moderate and tolerant message of Islam to the world and become an enabler towards meaningful interfaith dialogues.”

The SAPM said, “The guiding idea is not to tamper with the basic tenets of Islam or any faith but to present them in a form wrapped with the message of love, tolerance and moderation, as the Sufis did in order to avoid a clash of civilisations and resolve global conflicts.”