Nasira Iqbal talks about Contra Sectarianism
An intriguing talk was conducted by the Philosophy Society on 25 February 2013. The topic was “Extremism, Intolerance, Sectarianism, Terrorism; Causes & Solutions”.
The captivating talk was led by Justice (Retd) Nasira Javed Iqbal, an eminent literary personality of the country. Justice (Retd) Iqbal, in personality was soft spoken, humble and possess a graceful personality. She is a scholastic legend and belongs to a family of literary giants. She has served as Judge Lahore High Court and has had the honor of being the Member of Pakistan’s Delegation of Human Rights Commission, Geneva, Member Supreme Court Bar Association, Member Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan.
She began the talk with giving a historical background, identifying the roots of certain terrorist activities and organizations in Pakistan. Both pre and post partition. Citing certain real-life experiences, to captivate the attendees on the hard hitting topic at hand. The talk revolved around how the ideology of Islam has been manipulated to promote certain propaganda-intended activities. She further elaborated how certain decisions by the leaders of Pakistan have compelled such negative ideologies to flourish in our country. With emphasis on the martial law eras in our nation’s history, she explained how democratic oppression of the nation has led to problems such as Intolerance and Sectarianism.
While talking about sectarianism and its rapid growth among Pakistanis, her views reflected the teachings of Iqbal. Upon elaboration she further emphasized that differences are only differences, if we consider them and give them importance.
As the talk continued Saira Dar, a literary companion of Justice (Retd) Nasira Iqbal, was invited on stage to recite a poem on the topic under discussion. The poem was well received by the audience.
At the end interactive Q & A session was conducted between Justice (Retd) Nasira Javed Iqbal and the students in the audience. This Q & A session led to a very constructive two-way discussion. Upon departing Justice Iqbal acknowledged and commemorated the efforts put in by The Philosophy Society for the promotion of such literary discussions and activities on campus.