Photo Credit: The Frontier News
The Diocese of Peshawar, part of the united Church of Pakistan, has held an orientation programme to celebrate two decades of work promoting interfaith harmony in its diocesan schools. And the Bishop of Peshawar, Church of Pakistan Moderator Humphrey Peters, continued the reconciliation work outside schools at a major peace conference in Islamabad.
The Diocese of Peshawar has been working actively to promote Interfaith Harmony in all sections of society,” the latest edition of its newsletter, The Frontier News, says. “It has also involved communities from the grass roots level to become elements of change regarding peaceful co-existence of various faiths in the region.”
Working towards interfaith harmony among its students who belong to various religions has become an essential component of the diocese’s schools. “This initiative is to help children to appreciate commonality of each other religions and to defy negative discrimination and attitudes”, The Frontier News said.
A number of different religious leaders took part in the Orientation Programme, including Moulana Hassan, a Muslim; Pandit Sham Lal, a Hindu; Dr Jatendir Singh, a Sikh; and Shahzad Murad, Priest in Charge of Peshawar City’s All Saints’ Church. “Their existing knowledge about interfaith harmony has been enhanced through this orientation programme,” Frontier News said.
Meanwhile, the Bishop of Peshawar, Humphrey Peters, attended the Pagaim-e-Pakistan (Message of Peace from Pakistan) Peace Conference at a hotel in Islamabad. Ambassadors to Pakistan from Saudi Arabia and Lebanon joined religious leaders and scholars, prominent citizens, social activists and representatives of the various sects and religions at the event, which was chaired by Chief Imam Moulana Abudl Khabir Azad from the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore.
In a speech, Bishop Humphrey congratulated the organisers of the Conference and said that Christianity and Christians are a symbol of peace. He said that while the conference drew people from different religions, “we have one agenda of peace and together we stand firm as our nation to promote peace, reconciliation and interfaith harmony for a prosperous Pakistan.”