Allies committed to making Pakistan tolerant

President Asif Ali Zardari said on Monday that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government and its coalition partners are committed to making Pakistan a tolerant and progressive society as envisioned by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Addressing members of the Christian community of Karachi at a reception hosted in their honour, the president said that the ongoing war against a prejudiced and intolerant mindset would be continued till the Quaid’s vision is realised in its truest spirit. “This is a war of thought created by different influences in the region,” said the president. He said the country has borne serious losses, including that of Benazir Bhutto, Shahbaz Bhatti, Bashir Ahmed Bilour, besides hundreds of others in its war against extremists.

“Yet we have not given up and would continue with our endeavour to make our country peaceful, tolerant and modern in its actual sense,” said President Zardari. “We would not surrender before the extremists,” reiterated the president. The Pakistan People’s Party and its coalition partners’ absolute belief in democratic principles would salvage our nation, our country, our forces and take on the extremist elements fighting against the country under varied garbs, he said.

President Asif Ali Zardari said Muslims also believe in Jesus Christ as a messenger of God like hundreds of other prophets sent by Him in various periods of time. We can find this as mentioned in the holy Quran and hence Muslims too believe in Jesus as Messiah and messenger of love, said Zardari. Earlier, Adviser to Prime Minister for Minority Affairs, Dr Paul Jacob Bhatti appreciated the PPP government for raising the issue of representation of minority communities in parliament. “It is also for the first time that we have our representation in the Senate too,” he said.

President Zardari reiterated commitment of the democratic government towards the welfare of the non-Muslims living in Pakistan. He said that the PPP will continue to fight along with the Christian brothers and sisters for the rights of all non-Muslim and deprived citizens. Together they will continue their struggle for establishing a just, liberal and pluralistic society in Pakistan.

Speaking at the launching ceremony of the book “Tale of the Tile: The Ceramic Traditions of Pakistan” at Mohatta Palace, Zardari emphasised the need for concerted efforts to preserve country’s cultural heritage. He called for greater research on the cultural heritage of the country. The president particularly emphasised that the youth needed to be educated about the richness of country’s culture, leading towards their better understanding of culture and heritage. “This is extremely essential so as to arrest degradation of our heritage,” he added.

He congratulated Abdul Hamid Akhund and Nasreen Askari, authors of the book, for their effort in tracing the origin and history of ceramic tiles used in the monuments in Pakistan. The president complemented the management of Mohatta Palace Museum and Hameed Haroon for publishing the book. Zardari said that research on tiles was a rare subject to write on. He said that the authors by tracing the origin and history of ceramic tiles have traced the history of the art and craft of ceramic tiles.

They have informed us about how the art and craft of ceramic tiles travelled from Central Asia, China and Prussia to Sindh, Multan and Lahore, he said. Lauding the research work, the president said researchers, historians and academic institutions will find it very useful in understanding the cultural heritage of Pakistan. The president said that our writers, artisans, musicians and men and women of arts and crafts deserve to be respected, recognised and helped.

My clothes were hand-me-downs from my big sisters, and the only new thing I was allowed to have was one toy a year at Christmas. Only one. As an adult, I now realize what sacrifices my parents had to have made to provide for that one toy for each of their four girls, but at the time, I was much too young and too self-centered to be aware of their hardships.

Christmas 1935, just before my eighth birthday, stands out in my mind as the time I became a con artist. When poverty stares you in the face on a daily basis, you learn young to work your way around it.

On Christmas Eve, as tradition warrants, I polished my shoes to a mirror finish and placed them before the fireplace for Papa Noel to admire. Papa Noel is very partial to polished shoes, I was told, and might find it in his heart to have a special toy for you, if you’re good. Well, lately I had been very good, so my chances were great. It’s uncanny how children’s behavior improves with the approach of Christmas.

Sleep eluded me that night. I was too excited at the prospect of that toy I had waited for all year. One year for a child is of course double eternity, and that eternity was about to end in just a few hours. This was too overwhelming for the little person I was.

At last daybreak came. I ran barefoot on the cold tiles to the fireplace, my heart beating like a drum. A tiny table and a tea set were waiting for my eager arms. How could anything so exquisite be mine? “Louisette, Mireille, wake up! Papa Noel has come. Come and see what he gave me.”

I was so thrilled with my new gift that I did not want to take time to remove my night clothes or even stop to eat lunch. All day long I played and imagined fancy ladies having tea with me. I smiled and bowed gracefully and was the perfect hostess to my imaginary guests.

And then night came, alas too soon. Why couldn’t we have Christmas more often like, let’s say, everyday? If I placed my shoes in front of the fireplace tonight, could I fool Papa Noel into thinking that it was Christmas Eve all over again?

After all, the man was getting awfully old and bent and, like many old people, had probably become forgetful. It was worth the try, and I certainly had nothing to lose.

Once more I placed the spit-polished shoes on the tiled floor and went to bed with visions of toys and treasures piled high in front of the fireplace. Not too surprisingly, sleep fled from me. I laid in bed staring at the darkness in the room and listening for every creaking noise. A long, long endless night.

Job fair aims to put vets aback to plan on home front

U.S. Army adept Michael Continued has been out of plan for two years. When asked what job the 54-year-old ability want, the above activity ambassador and barter disciplinarian said, “One that pays.”

The Highland Park citizen was one of bags of veterans Tuesday at Cobo Center as the nation’s better veterans job fair opened with added than 260 employers, from General Motors to Big Boy, analytic to hire.

Hosted by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the accident and others like it this year aim to accouterment top unemployment a part of veterans — about 13% in May for those who accept served back September 2001. The fairs aswell plan to abolish a stigma that appears to abide about hiring those afresh abiding from war and aggressive service.

The unemployment botheration is accepted to get worse as bags of aggressive associates acknowledgment from the war in Afghanistan this year and next.

The companies and government agencies at the fair, which continues today and Thursday, are analytic to ample 25,000 jobs in Michigan, added states and even as far abroad as Australia. The accident is accepted to allure 10,000 veterans, abounding of whom stood in continued allotment curve Tuesday morning.

MacKellar Mining in Queensland, Australia, was at the fair Tuesday analytic to appoint veterans. The aggregation has added than 15 openings for mechanics, welders, machinists and others, but it can’t acquisition the aptitude it needs for its atramentous and gold mines Down Under.

Jeff Clifton, MacKellar’s appropriate projects manager, sees the positives of aggressive service. “They are actual disciplined. They adulation adventure,” he said.

Australia bent the absorption of Jennifer Smith of Port Huron, who served four years in the U.S. Navy. She’s currently in the U.S. Navy Reserve and alternate home endure November afterwards confined four months in Afghanistan. Smith, 33, has been analytic for government and automated jobs. She gave them her résumé and talked to them. MacKellar said it would acquaintance her later, if interested.

“There are no military-friendly jobs area I live,” said the individual mother.

Kelly Valentine, 25, served four years in Iraq and Afghanistan with the U.S. Marine Corps. The Gibraltar citizen is a carpenter, but he has been out of plan for the endure six months.

At the job fair, Valentine chock-full by the GM berth to ask about branch plan because he doesn’t wish a board job.

“It’s appealing bad,” he said of the job market. “The alone jobs I can acquisition pay minimum wage.”

Most administration accommodating admit that veterans can be assets for their companies.

Gallo Equipment, a family-owned business based in Chicago that sells Taylor forklift trucks, wants to appoint a agent and a artisan for its Redford Township office. In the Gallo berth on Tuesday, Tom Malvesto, a sales adumbrative in Redford Township, proudly displayed a photo of his son, now in his 19th year in the U.S. Air Force.

“I accept the adherence that he has to his job,” Malvesto said. “Nobody has to acquaint him what to do or how to do it.”

Two aisles over, animal ability assembly from Warren-based Big Boy Restaurants International were accession résumés from veterans to canyon on to managers of the company’s 25 restaurants in Michigan. Big Boy has openings for managers, cooks, servers, greeters and others.

“We adulation veterans,” said Dianne McBride, the company’s allowances administrator. “They apprentice such admired abilities in the service.”

For Anthony Flowers, the absorption in hiring veterans can’t appear anon enough. The 34-year-old aliment artisan has been sending out résumés every day but so far hasn’t gotten anyone to alarm him.