Lahore: March 23, 2016. (Pervez Yousaf) Madrassa Bait-ul-Quran and Bilal Markaz Lahore, hosted Iftaar dinners (meals at the end of fasting) in the honor of Christian brethren, here at Lahore. Head of Bilal Markaz and chairman of Council for Interfaith Dialogue Pakistan (CFID) Pir Shafaat Rasool and Muft Syed Ashiq Hussain principal of Madrassa Bauit-ul-Quran and director of CFID were the organizers of these deliberate gatherings. The delegations were headed by coordinator of CFID Fr. Francis Nadeem OFM Cap accompanied by director of council Fr. Inayat Bernard, secretary of council Pervez Yousaf, Bishop Emeritus of Church of Pakistan (Raiwind Diocese) Rt. Rev. Samuel Robert Azaria, Rev. Emmanuel Khokhar, Br. Adnan Kashif, Sunil John, Qamar Daniel, Mr. Christopher, Asghar Sardar, Advocate Kashif Naimat, Pervaiz Saroya, Pervaiz Akhar, Edward Qaisar and Ejaz Safdar. A number of Muslim representatives were also the guests on these occasions including, Dr. Badar Munir Mujadadi, Pir S. A. Jafri, Allama Asghar Arif Chishti, Maulana Ghulam Muhammad Sialvi chairman Quran Board Lahore, Maulana Ghulam Shabbir Qadri president Jamiat Ulma-e-Pakistan, Irfan Shah spokesperson Tehreek-e-Awaisya Pakistan, Barrister Ahsen representative Pakistan Peoples’ Party, Allama Farooq Ahmed Saeedi, Muhammad Bilal Chishti and Zia-ul-Haq Naqshbandi. Sara Pervaiz, Maliha Abdul Jabbar and Ishrat Javed were among the women participants on these occasions. Welcoming the guests Pir Shafaat Rasool and Hafiz Mufti Syed Ashiq Hussain said that all the religions teach us about peace, brotherhood, tolerance and harmony. It is a day of great pleasure for all of us to see our Christian brethren among us. Pakistan is the home of all its inhabitants and all have equal rights in the country. They further said that in the movement and progress of Pakistan Christians and Muslims share equal contributions. Thanking the heads and entire management of the madrassas Fr. Francis Nadeem appreciated their gesture of interfaith harmony. He said there are a number of values which are common in Christianity and Islam. These values provide us opportunities to come closer to one another. He urged the religious leaders of both the religions, teachers of all the academic institutions, print and electronic media to focus these common values. He further said only the Ulemas (Muslim Religious Scholars) can make the New Pakistan. Secretary of CFID sharing his views quoted a verse from Holy Gospel “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” and message from Islam, “One who saves the life of a human being, saves entire humanity” said both of these messages are not only for the people of a specific religion but for the entire humanity. Rt. Rev. Bishop Robert Azaria and Fr. Inayat Bernard talked about the significance of fasting in Christianity while Muslim religious leaders shared the importance of fasting according to Islamic teachings. Fr. Inayat Bernard also said that His Holiness Pope Francis declared this year as the Year of Mercy, which is one of the common values in both the religions. He invited leaders of all the religions to come together to spread the message of forgiveness and mercy. All the participants unanimously condemned the murder of four Catholic nuns and kidnapping of two Catholic priests by the terrorists in Yemen a couple of days ago. They demanded the government of Yemen and United Nations to take urgent and authentic measures for the release of the Catholic priests and to curb the wave of violence and bloodshed.