ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (ANS) -- Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, on Friday, December 18, 2009, delivered on four long-standing demands of Pakistani minorities.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani

He did so while addressing a ceremony entitled “Interfaith Christmas Celebrations” in a local hotel in Islamabad which was organized by the Ministry of Minorities Affairs.

During his address to a gathering of minorities’ communities, Mr. Gilani vowed to give land property rights to Christian slum dwellers of Islamabad.

A source told ANS, “The announcement sent a wave of joy among slum dwellers and infused them with hope of becoming owners of houses they have been living in for several years.”

Responding to another long-standing demand of Pakistani minorities, the Prime Minister announced construction of prayer rooms in Pakistani prisons. Currently only three out of 32 prisons in Punjab have prayer rooms for non-Muslim inmates.

The Prime Minister also went on to say that prisoners from minorities communities involved in minor crimes will be granted remission (a cut in the time of their sentences) on their religious festivals as given to Muslims.

Mr. Gilani said that Christians will be called by the name of “Masihi” instead of “Essahi” in future. The Christians of Pakistan have long been demanding to be called as “Masihi” as the words “Masihi” and “Essahi” mean Christian but the former is thought to be correct Urdu equivalent of “follower of Christ”. The latter is a derivative of word “Essah”, an Arabic word for Jesus Christ

The Prime Minister said that the present democratic government is committed to establish an enlightened, moderate and democratic Pakistan in line with the vision of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.

“Our mission is to integrate the minority’s communities into mainstream and we have dedicated ourselves for socio economic empowerment of minorities and their uplift”, said Mr. Gilani.

The Prime Minister said that Christmas is the celebration of birth of Jesus Christ, who always preached love, equality, peace and brotherhood. He added, “He (Jesus) gave to his followers a code of life to create spiritual values and to work for the divine pleasure.

“Being followers of different religions, we all have to receive something from the message of Jesus: a message of mercy and pardon, of charity and fraternity, of justice and peace.

“The best tribute to prophet Jesus would be to inculcate and practice the spirit of peace, love, tolerance and brotherhood which are accorded significance by not only Christianity and Islam, but also by almost all religions of the world.”

The Prime Minister further stated that to follow the path of virtuous living and love, shown by Jesus Christ is a “need of the day,” especially when the “scourge of terrorism” has become more virulent in recent years.

“Humanity needs now more than ever to rediscover the path of peaceful co-existence and religio-ethnic integration.

“As we already believe in struggle against terrorism, we must understand that the war against terrorism cannot be won only through oppressive and punitive operations. It is essential to eliminate reasons behind terrorism.

“Love is the eternal weapon to curb hatred and violence”, he said.

He maintained that Pakistan, as a matter of fact, is a multi-cultural society where people belonging to different religions have been traditionally living together in amity and mutual respect.

He went on to say: “That is what Jesus Christ and the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) taught us as something at the very heart of our religions.

“This is moral and social obligation of our government to safeguard the tradition of love and to promote the culture of peace in the country.

“In this direction, the government is leaving no stone unturned for social and economic uplift of the minorities. As efforts of the government are evident on the economic front, it may also be observed that social fiber of Pakistani society does not isolate minorities. This is a living example of religious tolerance in Pakistan”.

Mr. Gilani told his audience that the founder of Nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had, right from the first day of creation of Pakistan, unequivocally declared a policy of equality, freedom and security for all communities living in Pakistan irrespective of their religions, professions or ethnic origin as he had declared that we all are citizens and equal citizens of the state.

He said that the present Government has taken special steps regarding promotion of interfaith harmony throughout the country to create better understanding between the minority communities and the Muslim majority.

He said that the conditions prevailing in the law and society in Pakistan gives him a profound confidence to assert that Pakistan is a liberal democratic state that strongly believes in religious immunity and individual liberties, which will remove the sense of insecurity and deprivation among minorities.

Mr. Shahbaz Bhatti during a visit to St. Joseph’s Hospice

In the end, Prime Minister said that government of Pakistan is committed to make sure that all minorities of Pakistan are able to enjoy all fundamental human rights and social protection.

He extended the heartiest greetings to the Christian Community on the occasion of Christmas.

Mr. Shahbaz Bhatti, Federal for Minorities stated in his welcome address that Pakistan was “confronted with so many challenges.”

He said: “We should work hard to face the challenges”. He urged the Pakistani nation to be united with tolerance, love, peace and harmony. Our responsible behavior will lead the country to progress in every field.”

Mr. Bhatti celebrated Christmas with inmates of Adiala Jail Rawalpindi. The

minister spent time with the inmates and gave away Christmas gifts to the prisoners. The Federal Minister also visited Saint Joseph's Hospice, Rawalpindi, where this dedicated group also take care of orphans, disabled and homeless people.

Dan Wooding, 69, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 46 years. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC., and now hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on KWVE in Southern California and which is also carried on the Calvary Radio Network throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK. Wooding is the author of some 43 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, “From Tabloid to Truth”, which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, also recently released “God’s Ambassadors in Japan” which is available at amazon.com.