| The Rt Hon David Blunkett |
| Foreign Minister Mian Khurshid Kasuri |
| High Commissioner Sir Mark Lyall Grant |
| First of all, a very warm welcome again to the city of Lahore. Your hectic schedule has left no margin for sightseeing. Perhaps, next time. |
| Your presence in the subcontinent reminds me of a remark made by the Indian Prime Minister Pandit Nehru to a visiting British Prime Minister with a matching interest in history. |
| “Do you think,” Nehru asked him, “the Ancient Romans ever re-visited their former colonies?” |
| The ancient Romans probably never did, for unlike Great Britain, they did not leave behind a reservoir of goodwill that would have made them as welcome as you are here today. |
| Your visit reminds us of two things – the fact that it was a Labour government in 1947 that brought about the independence of our country, and the second that it is the present Labour government that has taken the equally courageous step of bringing our peoples together, through interactive dialogue and cooperative action. |
| The history of the British Isles is populated with the aftermath of migrations – both in and out of Great Britain. From the time of the Vikings until the most recent arrival, each wave has brought something to the shores of England that have added to, altered or shaped the British character as we recognise it today. |
| Each has brought in its wake also a number of challenges – the challenges of integration, assimilation, and non-confrontational absorption. Your constituency, Minister, is a microcosm of these stresses, and a crucible for their solution. |
| Perhaps the most sensitive of these issues is religious accommodation between Islam and other faiths. |
| Minister, as you know, today is Eid Ul Azha – the day upon which we Muslims emulate the example of Abraham when he offered his beloved son Ishmael as a sacrifice to God. That we should on this day be honouring the oldest of the Old Testament prophets is a reminder that all the three great religions of the world – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – share not simply a common heritage but a common reverence for these uncommonest of prophets. |
| Around this table we have persons of many faiths. They have come because, like you, they share a common conviction that religions do not have borders, only beliefs; communities should not have walls, only gates that can be left open for dialogue. |
| Mr NAJAM SETHI is the Editor every Government loves to hate. He has been the founding editor of Pakistan’s most popular English weekly The Friday Times, and is now replicating his success with The Daily Times. |
| Mr KHALED AHMED left diplomacy for journalism. He is one of our most brilliant writers, enviably ambidextrous, with a fluency in both English and in Urdu. The state of the Islamic religious parties has been his special interest. |
| Dr ALEXANDER J. MALIK is the Archbishop of Lahore and the Primate of all the Churches of Pakistan. He obtained his doctorate from Calcutta University. He is perhaps the most erudite scholar we have on Islam. His mission has been to build bridges between the two faiths, building bridges even before they need to be crossed. |
| AHMED RASHID is presently the correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review. His recent books – THE TALIBAN and another on JIHAD have been international best-sellers. |
| AHMER BILAL SOOFI is a leading Advocate, and has represented our country on international legal issues, including corruption. |
