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ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has demanded the United Nations (UN) to tackle the hate-based narrative against Islam.
The foreign minister said the irresponsible statements of French President Macron have added fuel to the fire, according to a statement issued on Monday.
FM Qureshi said, “There is resentment in the world over the blasphemous caricatures”. Nobody has the right to hurt the sentiments of millions of Muslims under the garb of freedom of expression, he added.
The foreign minister further said the seeds of hate that are being cultivated today will polarize society and have serious consequences.
The French ambassador to Pakistan has been summoned to the Foreign Office (FO) to register an official protest, Qureshi informed.
On the directive of PM Imran, he said a comprehensive resolution will be presented at the next meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign ministers, proposing to observe 15th March as the international day against Islamophobia.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s aide on Religious Harmony and the Middle East, Maulana Tahir Ashrafi in a statement said that Pakistan will take up the issue of blasphemous caricatures at the OIC forum.
او آئی سی کے پلیٹ فارم سے بھرپور آواز اٹھائی جانی چاہیے:معاون خصوصی
یونین کونسل کی سطح بین المذاہب ہم آہنگی کونسل بنائی جا رہی ہیں
وزیراعظم عمران خان نے عالمی سطح پر ناموس رسالت ﷺکا معاملہ موثر انداز میں اٹھایا
لاہور:معاون خصوصی مولانا طاہر اشرفی کی میڈیا سے گفتگو pic.twitter.com/fESAC7SEFZ— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) October 26, 2020
France has hurt the sentiments of Muslims and the premier has already raised the issue of desecration of sanctities at every forum, he tweeted.
The Foreign Office summoned French Ambassador Marc Baréty to record Pakistan’s strong protest over French President Emmanuel Macron’s Islamophobic comments and publication of blasphemous sketches.
The special secretary for Europe handed over a letter of protest to the French ambassador.
Schoolteacher Samuel Paty was beheaded by an 18-year-old for showing blasphemous cartoons to his students in the name of “freedom of expression,” earlier this month. The 18-year-old was subsequently killed by the French police.
Responding to the teacher’s killing, French President Macron had said that “Islam as a religion is in crisis all over the world, schools will be closely monitored and control over incoming foreign funding to mosques will be further improved.”
Several Muslim countries condemned Macron’s statement and called for a boycott of French products.
