ISLAMABAD - Acting President of Pakistan, Dr Fehmida Mirza, has stressed the need for taking measures for preserving and promoting multilingualism in the country. "Respect for all the regional languages would promote harmony, unity, brotherhood and solidarity among the cultural communities inhabiting all the federating units," She said in her message on the International Mother Language Day being commemorated under the auspices of United Nations on Saturday. She said that this day serves us an opportunity to recognize the significance of the mother tongue, the language in which a child communicates in, with his parents and siblings. She said that the day aims to promote awareness regarding preservation of mother tongue when a lot of people speak other languages due to their social necessities. She said that mother tongue represents the thought, culture and heritage of an individual; therefore, the diverse languages should be preserved and promoted in order to create harmony amongst all the cultural communities. The Acting President said that Pakistan characterises a rich linguistic and cultural diversity, which needs to be promoted and preserved in order to acquire the harmonious and fruitful coexistence of diverse languages spoken in the country. She stressed for incorporation of all the regional languages in formal and informal education systems in vogue. She also called for initiation of measures to give rightful status and importance to all the languages spoken in the country. She appreciated the efforts of United Nations specially the UNESCO for pursuing the multilingualism as a means of promoting, protecting and preserving diversity of languages and cultures globally. She called upon the government and international organisations, civil society, educational institutions, and the private sector to join hands to ensure that this respect for diversity is translated into the language of peace.