Let's pledge to make every day, a day of Peace

.
Written by: Jawad Mazhar (ROD)


Sargodha, Pakistan, Sept 24th, 2007: Let's all forget our past quarrels, hatred and conflicts and look forwards to the dawning of a new day of love and peace, said Rev Fr Mukhtar Alam.

All of us, the followers of different faiths, believers of various gods, should co-exist peacefully in a single society, Advocate Mustansar Bajwa defined Peace according to the Pakistani legislation.

Islam is the religion of love, unity, understanding and honesty, Islam doesn't enforce any thing, Engineer Malik Nazir explained the teachings of Islam on account of peace and tolerance.

These three honorable guests were talking to the participants of a study circle conducted by Rays of Development (ROD) Cooperative circle (CC) under the aegis of United Religions Initiative (URI) at the occasion of International Day of Peace announced by the United Nations Organization (UNO) on Sept 24th ,2007 here at Sargodha, Pakistan.

Participants of the study circle were people of all ages and all walks of life from the grass root level of the society. Study Circle commenced with the recitation from the Holy Quraan & Holy Bible. Students of St Paul's High School presented garlands of roses to each of the Honorable Guests as a token of love and respect. Hosting the Study Circle Mr Zimran Elias (ROD) shared and discussed aims and objectives of URI with the audience. Azeem (ROD) and Shahzeb (ROD) earned admiration and a round of applause by singing a song of Peace.

Mr Jawad Mazhar (ROD) read and translated the message of Secretary General of UNO, Ban Ki Moon.

During the discussion and suggestion session, Mr Nazir Wilson and Mr Yousaf Siraj shared their experiences with other participants. Both the eminent elders from the society appreciated such activities and underscored on the need of such programs. They said that study circles of this kind would pave the path to prosperity, interfaith peace, tolerance and harmony.

Chairman ROD Mr Ferhan Mazher thanked all the participants and honorable guests. He said that it is the prime objective of ROD to create a society, free of all sorts of discrimination, violence, unrest and intolerance. He added that to achieve this goal we must neglect each others short comings, faults and slip-ups; and take care and respect rites of each other.

Report recommended by:
Ferhan Mazher
Chairman of Rays of Development CC, Sargodha, Pakistan
www.raysofdevelopment.org