Faisalabad: May 12, 2010. (By Shafiq Sharif) Arooj-e-Mariam Catholic Church organized a seminar on the theme ‘Role of Mothers in the Progress of the Society’ to celebrate International Mothers’ Day at Centre for Peace and Harmony in Faisalabad, which was joined by 170 participants from different school of thoughts. The speakers included: Bishop Joseph Coutts, Father Khalid Rasheed Asi, Father Nisar Barkat (Director-NCJP), Shafiq Sharif, Naila Arooj and Aqsa Kanwal. Bishop Joseph Coutts said, “Mother is a precious gift for the mankind from God, because mother is a symbol of love, justice, sacrifice, peace and tolerance”. Father Khalid Rasheed Asi said, “Mother is like a burning candle who herself burns but give light to her children”. Father Nisar Barkat said, “We need good mothers as leaders rather than political leaders, to combat extremism, intolerance, violence and ignorance in the country”. Shafiq Sharif said, “It is imperative for mothers to acquaint their children especially girls with modern quality education for prosperous future of the country in general and family in particular”. Naila Arooj said, “Mother is the most deserving person for respect, because she suffers a lot in her life from child’s birth to child’s up-bringing, but neither demands any thing nor complains for her sacrifices”. Aqsa Kanwal said, “Mothers’ day is celebrated to refresh the love of mothers towards their children, and this day provides us an opportunity to everyone to respect mothers for their affection, devotion and motherhood”. At this juncture, children presented tableau, rhyme and songs, depicting the dignity and respect of mothers. The purpose of seminar was to pay tribute to the sacrifices of mothers for children, and to highlight their vital role for progressive future of county and nation.