Lahore, Pakistan—UPF co-organized a one-day interfaith seminar in the Kasur district near the city of Lahore in Pakistan on May 14, 2016. More than 40 people attended the event, including religious, government and civil society leaders.
Mrs. Irsad Safdar, who has worked for peace and human rights in Pakistan for 15 years, and is the founder and chairman of the Ittehad Foundation, an NGO that works to uplift impoverished and vulnerable communities in Kasur, served as the emcee.
Mr. Najib Shah, a teacher at the Polytechnic Institute, spoke about the history of Kasur, and said that people of different faiths and different cultures live in the district, and that they live together in peace and harmony. He also said that more than 60 percent of Kasur’s population is educated.
Mr. Binod Paudel, secretary general of UPF-Pakistan, gave a presentation on UPF’s global activities, and spoke about UPF Founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s vision for world peace and interfaith work.
Several of the participants shared their reflections on their experience attending the seminar:
“I am very happy to attend this seminar, and I am proud to help the UPF peace process because even doctors need peace in their working field...” – Dr. Maniz
“I am very happy that we are gathering here, even in hot weather like this, because we all [desire] peace… we are sharing new ideas and working [together at this seminar] to attain peace. When we talk about peace with others, we should first have a clear mindset and a heart for peace and development. The main problem [to achieving peace] in Pakistan is the conflict between Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist and other religions. Peace cannot be realized in one night; it takes time and [we] need to work together.” – Mr. Tariq Chaudhary