ISLAMABAD A strong participation of religious leaders from all schools of thought was observed at a roundtable organised by the Ministry of Minorities Affairs here on Monday. In the opening remarks, the Minister for Minorities Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti said that as per law of Pakistan all the minorities had equal rights. He referred to the saying of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and also quoted Holy Quran and Hadis. He shared with the participants that his ministry had decided to establish a council for promotion of religious tolerance in the country. The council will comprise of all the leaders belonging to different thoughts across Pakistan. Those who participated in the consultative process included Zubair Ahmed Zaheer of Ehl-e-Hadis school of thought, Ghulam Muhamamd Silawi, Bishop Alexander John Malik of Lahore, Allama Hassan Kararwi of Shia thoughts, Haroon Siryab Singh leader of Hindu community, Roohallah Madni from Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, Mufti Abu Hariar from Sindh, Allama M Khan Laghari, Maulana Azhar Bokhari and Sardar Kalyan Singh of Skih Community. The religious leaders agreed on the establishment of the interfaith harmony council and for the debate on the media to pass on a strong message to the masses that all the religious leaders wanted to live in peace and harmony. Furthermore they also condemned the attacks on the Data Darbar, and blasts at shrines of spiritual leaders in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They also rejected the deadly action of extremists on Data Darbar and the incidents that took place in Bhawalpur, Gojra and other parts of Pakistan. The participants suggested that the committee to be established needed to be effective and efficient. The leaders should meet periodically at the worship places of all the thoughts respectively. This gathering of leaders of religious leaders has sent a very strong message to the terrorists that the nation is united at this moment of trouble in Pakistan.