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S Asian, Arab communities in
UK lauded for interfaith initiative

LONDON: Pakistan's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Dr Maleeha Lodhi has appreciated the initiative of British
Pakistanis, Arabs, Indians
and Sri Lankan Psychiatrists Associations for laying a solid
foundation for interfaith partnership.

She was speaking at a joint conference of the British Pakistani-Psychiatrists Association, British-Arab Psychiatrists Association, British-Indian Psychiatrists Association and Sri Lankan Psychiatrists Association Birmingham, on Saturday.

"I am proud of the fact that the British-Pakistan Psychiatric Association is part of this commendable initiative," she said.

The South Asian community in Britain had an important role to play in bringing their communities together, Maleeha said, adding that with the first biennial meeting of "a great partnership", it had set a good example charting a path of friendship for the people of South Asia.

Expressing her full support and cooperation to their initiative, Maleeha said she never attended such a gathering of professionals, representing different nationalities and different faiths, coming together to work in partnership to serve the humanity transcending faiths and nationalities.

The Pakistan's high commissioner said that in the age of globalisation, the world indeed needed partnership in all spheres of life for reaping the fruits of transformation taking place across the globe.

"Challenges and threats today have no borders. We are all confronted with terrorism, extremism, militancy, environmental degradation, poverty, AIDS and several other old and new phenomena.

We have no other option but to confront these challenges collectively," said Maleeha.

Through genuine multilateral processes and mechanisms, the world could be made a far better place to live, leaving a stable and peaceful legacy for future generations, Maleeha, who travelled to Birmingham during the weekend, said.

Maleeha said Pakistan took seriously a peace process initiated in South Asia between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. "Our two foreign secretaries are meeting tomorrow and the day after. We hope the meeting will move the process forward," she said.

She said for more than half a century a fifth of humanity
that lives in the region had
been afflicted with confrontation, war disease, illiteracy and poverty.

"But today the present political environment in South Asia is marked by an ambience of hope and anticipation," she added.

It was encouraging that the new Congress-led government in New Delhi had stuck to the roadmap, she said.

The News International, Pakistan

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