Archbishop of Canterbury has stressed peace and religious harmony during his three-day visit to Pakistan.
Archbishop arrived in Pakistan on Saturday to discuss religious tolerance, interfaith harmony, and peace during meetings with the notable officials of the government.
“It’s essential that faith communities engage with each other across our differences, without hatred, and with respect for each other’s personhood. That’s true in Pakistan and around the world. Let us pursue peace together. I was very grateful to meet with faith leaders in Islamabad and Lahore this weekend,” said Archbishop in a recent post through his official Facebook page.
During his three-day visit, he had separate meetings with President Dr. Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan, foreign minister, and various religious as well as political leaders.
The Archbishop also visited Grand Jamia Mosque Bahria Town.
“Pakistan has the heritage, hope, faith, and resilience to be a gift to the whole world. The Church of Pakistan embodies a part of that vision: a Christian people belonging to the land and invested in nation-building. Pakistan’s Christians are rooted in the language and culture of Pakistan, committed to the good of the nation”, added the post on his page.
Archbishop met PM Imran Khan:
According to a statement issued today, Archbishop called on PM Imran Khan on Monday.
During the meeting, PM Imran restated his government’s commitment to protecting the rights of minorities as per the Constitution.
“Pakistan is a culturally diverse country and is home to various religious minorities including Hindus and Christians and all of them are living peacefully and contributing to the development of Pakistan,” he told the Archbishop.
Reciprocating, the Archbishop termed religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence of mankind the need of the hour.
Archbishop’s comments on Blasphemy Laws in Pak:
“There are very clear misuses, as is recognized, of the blasphemy law against minorities; however most of the misuses — well over 50pc — are Muslims misusing it against Muslims,” Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said during an interview with a news agency.
“If you are going to have a blasphemy law, it is so important that it cannot be misused. One of the things that many religious leaders, including Muslims, are saying is there needs to be a balance between the blasphemy law and its misuse. If one person accuses someone of blasphemy falsely and with malicious intent, they should have a criminal penalty, in the same way as when there has been blasphemy, and the blasphemer should have a criminal penalty,” he added.