PM for promoting country’s cultural heritage for soft image
ISLAMABAD, July 25 (APP)- Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Monday said the promotion of cultural heritage is important to eliminate the attitudes of intolerance, bigotry and extremism from the society.The Prime Minister expressed these views while talking to Sajida Vandal and Ayesha Imdad who worked on a UNESCO-funded THAAP project to document and map the monuments, handicrafts, and archeological sites of the Southern Punjab.They presented their book to the Prime Minister which included pictorial and historical account of cultural heritage of South Punjab here at the PM House.
The Prime Minister said Pakistan is blessed with a unique and diverse culture that has a fine mix of Islamic traditions and local values.
“This depth, diversity and uniqueness of our cultural heritage coupled with richness of regional languages has injected dynamism and vigour to the Pakistani nationalism, which needs to be projected abroad as soft power to alter the impressions about the country,” he added.
The Prime Minister said special initiatives needed to be worked whereby students, youths and people at large are made familiar with their cultural heritage. Such an initiative, he said, would connect people to their glorious past and make them proud of their cultural heritage.
He said promotion of handicrafts and other crafts would also provide employment to the people at grassroots level.
Both Ms Sajida Vandal and Ms Ayesha Imdad appreciated the Prime Minister for his patronage of arts and culture. They particularly referred to the Prime Minister’s initiatives for the women empowerment and granting greater role to the National College of Arts for the protection and promotion of art and architecture.