A Step towards Equal Citizenry (Monthly Stipend for Clergymen)
The latest episode of Ranra (Light) discussed the Khyber Pakhtunkwa (KP) government’s initiatives for regularizing the religious institutions.
As the first step, the government announced to give a monthly stipend of Rs. 10,000 to prayer leaders of the larger mosques. Then it was also decided to offer the same package to the clergymen of minorities.
Mr. Muhammad Anwar, a religious leader from Peshawar and Mr. Amir Padri, a priest in the Church of Pakistan were the guests of the show. Mr. Anwar said that the government should take all political and religious organizations into confidence in this matter and the political parties should avoid unnecessary criticism.
Mr. Padri said that if the basic needs of clergymen and prayer leaders were fulfilled, then they might not adopt unfair means for their livelihood. Establishment of peace and maintenance of interfaith harmony is not the responsibility of the government alone, rather, it is a joint venture which needs collective efforts.
A report by Afzal Momand was played during the show and there were four calls received.
About Sabawoon
Sabawoon airs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) since 2011. It began as a counter-, strategic communications programme, designed to highlight and promote the fundamental governance values such as democracy, rule of law, women’s rights, and equal citizenry, social cohesion.
The show airs Monday through Thursday every week under four themes on FM-101.5 Peshawar and Dera Ismail Khan 711 kHz from 3:20 PM to 4:00 PM.
On Monday, Jarga Maraka covers current affairs and important regional issues with an input from government and other senior officials. On Tuesday, Da Simay Jaaj gives an overview of the top stories from KP and FATA regions. Jwandai Jazbey airs on Wednesday and deals with issues of relevance to, and significance for, youth, students and women. Socio-cultural affairs are discussed in Ranra on Thursday.
The primary objective of the show has been to underline the criticality of constitutionalism, fundamental rights, public accountability and the rule of law for countering extremism illegalities of all forms.