Writers, activists, intellectuals hope Pakistan will be inclusive society in 2022

Islamabad: For 2022, Pakistan’s intellectuals, human rights (HR) activists, writers and thinkers have expressed their wish that their motherland would truly reflect what its founder Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had dreamed of in 1947 at the time of the establishment of the new country: A tolerant and pluralistic society where believers of all faiths and religions would live in peace and harmony with one another.

A Pakistani activist of French origin working for the rights of women and children, Valerie Khan, said she wished to see Pakistan aligned with Jinnah’s vision of enlightened society. “In the new year, I make a resolution to continue efforts for peace and justice and to protect women and children,” said she.

According to Khan, the establishment of 8 more child courts bringing the total to 13 such courts in Pakistan was quite encouraging. Thus, a ground-breaking jurisprudence has promoted freedom of religion, child protection and gender equality, said she commenting on the major achievement during the outgoing year.

Likewise, Women in Law awards and the symposium on diversity and inclusion by the Ministry of Law & Justice is also an encouraging sign, so is the enactment of the anti-rape act 2021, she said.

“Still there is a critical step that is missing regarding ensuring women and children’s access to justice and gender equality in our country and maybe we could make a major advance in that direction during the year 2022,” she said.

Khan added: “My wish for the New Year is to see the year 2022, the year when a woman is finally appointed as a judge in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.”

Pandemic remained in control

In the health sector, Pakistan emerged as a leading state particularly in its fight against COVID-19 and when the coronavirus was playing havoc with the lives in the region as well as the world, Pakistan was considered a comparatively safe country with less than 29,000 casualties and 1.29 million cases of COVID-19 to date.

District Health Officer (DHO) Islamabad Dr Zaeem Zia, while expressing his wish for the New Year - complete eradication of coronavirus from Pakistan - said accelerated vaccination, following of the COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and imposition of smart lockdown were the key factors enabling the Pakistan government and the people to meet the challenge.

Above all, he said public cooperation and response to the call of Prime Minister Imran Khan and his health team was the reason that COVID-19 positivity rate is today 1 per cent in the country, he said.

70 million vaccination target achieved

Pakistan on the last day of 2021 also achieved its target of vaccination of 70 million people, which is one-third of the country population.

However, cautioning against the new variant of the virus, Omicron, Dr Zaeem Zia said it was a new challenge and required stronger response which is vaccination and following of the SOPs.

“My wish for the year 2022 is that we continue to follow the SOPs and thus make our country completely free of the virus,” he said.

A year of violence in name of religion

Noted writer Hameed Shahid said the year 2021 would be remembered for a period marked by violence and extremism in the name of religion.

Referring to the lynching of Sri Lankan factory manager Priyantha Kumara in Sialkot city of Punjab on December 8 and before that the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan’s (TLP) march on Islamabad and violence during the clashes between the protesters and the police, he said unfortunately religion instead of teaching us to be human and tolerant towards others was exploited by vested interests to spread hatred in the year 2021.

“Let’s pray the year 2022 would see a Pakistan that is less violent and more tolerant towards followers of the different faiths,” he said.