Peace and Security:

There is no meaning of development without peace. For sustainable development a peaceful atmosphere is must and without this the existence of a prosperous, healthy and developed society is just a dream. No country in the world can make progress nor could it become a stable one unless it has the class of people who possess brotherly feeling of sympathy, unity, peace cooperation and sacrifice. The stability and development of human organization is hidden in the feelings of sustainable peace and cooperation. History says that disorganization, disunity and hatred among the people are responsible for the decay of human society. Therefore, every country in the world strives for the establishment of peace, justice, coexistence, welfare of the common people and to safeguard the freedom of its people. Unfortunately the present world is moving towards a disaster because of the differences created among various cultures, nations and religions. The media and policies of the governments have further developed a gap of understanding among cultures and religions. Therefore at one end increase in poverty in the poor countries like Pakistan and on the other hand a sense of hate and deprivation among the people is threatening internal and global peace.Similarly the original spirit of the religion has been lost with the passage of time and an overwhelming importance is attached to the secondary implications of religion and sometimes the insignificant side issues gain the importance. Some of the religious exponents lack the real spirit of religion and their teachings quite often influence the ignorant masses, which are further enhancing the culture of conflict and disorderPakistan is an under- developed South Asian state, having multiple problems to cope with in the socio-economic sector. Common sense has long misled us into seeing problems as problems, as something bad, as sources of failure and miseries. Our society has in effect driven us into a mental prison where we can only see problems as problems. But we can break the shackles by letting the global perspective while transporting us to another culture. In the Chinese culture, the word for crisis consists of two characters, wei ji, meaning “danger” and “opportunity”. Through this cross cultural perspective, we may want to stop seeing so-called problems as problems and start looking for opportunities may not appear real but merely a perception. However, if we believe that problems are full of opportunities, we will likely find - and use- them to solve the problems. The situation of peace and security in Pakistan is alarming because of the influence and existence of militancy and religious extremism. In the urban and rural settlements of NWFP there are generally sectarian differences, which result in severe type of conflict- murders or massacres. The ideological differences become serious cause of conflict at national and international levels. Islam is a religion of peace and nearly all its teaching are related to peace and tolerance but Imams (Priests) are unqualified and untrained in religious as well as in secular education. They do not impact the real philosophy of religion among the masses and are also unable to understand the vital process of interaction and human behaviors.Keeping in view all the above facts it is need of the day that efforts should be made to make this world a better and safer place to live. SPADO being a member organization of International Peace Bureau (IPB) is striving for a non-violent and peaceful world. The main objectives of SPADO Peace and Security program are:

1. To promote democracy, human dignity, social justice and solidarity, ensure tolerance, non-violence, pluralism and non-discrimination with full respect for diversity within and among the societies.

2. To contribute to the development of a culture of peace, the practice of non-violence and peaceful conflict resolution through the involvement of religious scholars and elected representatives of the communities.

3. Formation of a network of peace researchers, conflict workers, development specialists
and scholars to contribute to the growth of awareness and knowledge of peace-building and development in Pakistan.

4. To develop and strengthen the human resources necessary for development and peace building in Pakistan and the creation of a functioning and inclusive civil society built upon the participation of all the people.

5. To reinforce the peace building process by providing a wide range of literature on peaceful conflict resolution, human rights and democracy, emphasizing material drawing upon Pakistani culture and experience.