Moalims

ISLAMABAD: Quaid-e-Azam University Vice Chancellor Dr Javed Ashraf said on Wednesay that intolerance was breeding terrorism in Pakistan and only unity among all factions can rid the society of this scourge.
“The only thing we ned in the country is tolerance and terrorism is a result of not being tolerant”, he said in his brief remarks on the occasion of launching of a book ‘Du Tok Batain’ authored by the former inspector general police Zulfikhar Ahmad Cheema at the Quaid-eAzam University’s (QAU) auditorium,
The event was organised by the National Institute of Pakistan Studies (NIPS) as a gesture to acknowledge Cheema’s  who had portrayed Pakistan in the light of the teachings of its founding fathers who wanted it to be a democratic, progressive and tolerant country.
Besides prominent literary personalities, Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) Vice Chancellor Dr Shahid Siddiqui, Dr. Ijaz Shafi Gilani and a large number of professors from other universities participated in the ceremony.
Heaping praise on Cheema for his integrity and being honest police officer despite pressures, the vice chancellor said a few hundred officers like him could eliminate corruption from the country. That was one of the reasons that he had recommended Zulfikhar Cheema to be member of the syndicate of the university.
AIOU Vice Chancellor Dr Shahid Siddiqui in his remarks said “Zulfikhar Cheema’s book gave optimism and depicts its bright future in a simple language which could be done by a person, who is honest and loves his land, Pakistan was not just a piece of land but was a name of an ideology and his book was a true reflection of “Pakistaniat”, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Zulfikhar Cheema said if one had the will and determination, everything was doable. He stressed the youth to have faith and wipe off ‘streaks’ of despondency from their foreheads as Pakistan had much brighter future than their expectations.
All the experts see Pakistan to be among top nations of the world in a few years time provided it overpower what he billed as “five diseases identified as pessimism, inferiority complex; corruption, non- transparency and ineffective institutions and lack of rule of law”.
He lamented that breaking law had become status symbol and Pakistanis were ashamed of speaking in their mother tongue with their kids. He reminded them of Jinnah’s words who once said my young students would protect Pakistan so they should be ready to offer sacrifices for turning it into a stable and prosperous country.
The panacea for the progress for any country, he said, was “education, education and education”.
Director NIPS Dr. Tahir Amin said that Zulfikhar Cheema was a role model as he proved with his deeds how ground realities could be changed without compromising integrity.
He said democracy was “the lifeline of this country and it is a must for national integration”. He said militancy and terrorism emerged in those societies where there is no rule of law.
Dr. Ijaz Shafi Gilani said what distinguished Zulfikhar Cheema from his contemporaries was his ‘deeds’ under most trying conditions so that was the reason his book was inspiring. His book has information, education and an interesting read, added Ijaz.