Staff Reporter
Islamabad
The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday summoned the French ambassador, Marc Baréty, to lodge a “strong protest” against the publication of blasphemous sketches and recent comments made by French President Emmanuel Macron.
In a statement, Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry said that the ambassador was handed over a dossier by the special secretary (Europe).
It was underscored that such illegal and Islamophobic acts hurt the sentiments of Muslims across the world, including those in Pakistan. Furthermore, such actions could not be justified in the name of freedom of expression.
“Pakistan strongly condemned equating Islam with terrorism, for narrow electoral and political gains. Such provocative statements and actions were fanning inter-religious hatred, hostility and confrontation thereby imperiling efforts of peace and harmony among various segments of society,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
It was reiterated that freedom of expression should not be misused as means to attack or hurt public sentiments or religious beliefs and fan inter-religious hatred, hostility and confrontation.
The ambassador was told that such actions and statements would further divide peoples and civilizations and undermine the global aspirations for peaceful co-existence as well as social and inter-faith harmony.
“At a time of rising racism, intolerance and populism, there is a need to promote harmony among peoples and communities instead of reinforcing stereotypes and making people alienated”. Meanwhile, the National Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution condemning the publication of blasphemous caricatures in France and the “resurgence of Islamophobic acts” in some countries after a noisy session that saw the government and opposition deliver fiery speeches against each other.
The ruckus initially began due to the opposition and government wanting to present their own versions of the resolution but after lawmakers from both sides exchanged barbs over other political issues, Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri suspended the session for 10 minutes to allow the government and opposition to devise consensus on the resolution.
The move proved fruitful, with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi returning to announce that the government and opposition members had agreed on a unanimous resolution by clubbing their two versions. According to the resolution read out by the minister, the National Assembly while taking serious note of the republication of blasphemous caricatures depicting Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and the desecration of the Holy Quran in Norway and Sweden “condemns in strongest terms the resurgence of blasphemous and Islamophobic acts by mischievous elements in some parts of the world.”
The lower house also expressed serious concern at the “highly concerning statements and hate-mongering especially by leaders like [French] President Emmanuel Macron justifying unlawful propagation and insult to sentiments of more than a billion Muslims through such hate-driven acts under the garb of freedom of expression”.
“[The assembly] condemns unequivocally the practice of blasphemy and of insulting prophets of Islam, Christianity and Judaism alike,” according to the resolution, which also denounced acts of terror carried out in the name of any religion.
It deplored the “equating of Islam and Muslims with terrorism” and in order to effectively address the issue, urged the government to recall the Pakistani envoy from Paris, work within the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation for designating March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia and ask OIC countries to boycott French goods.
The resolution, which was subsequently passed unanimously, also called upon all non-OIC countries to provide legal avenues to Muslims residing in their territory for the redressal of their genuine grievances and urged the United Nations secretary general and UN high commissioner for human rights to “immediately initiate a global dialogue for inter-faith harmony and the countering of rising Islamophobia”.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Monday that Macron’s irresponsible statement had added “fuel to the fire”.
“Nobody has the right to hurt the sentiments of millions of Muslims under the guise of freedom of expression,” he said.
The foreign minister also urged the United Nations to take notice and called for action against the hate-based narrative against Islam.
In the statement, Qureshi added that a comprehensive resolution will be presented at the next Organisation of Islamic Cooperation foreign ministers’ meeting proposing to observe March 15 as the International Day against Islamophobia.
The foreign minister said that the caricatures have sparked anger among the Muslim community across the globe and demanded the United Nations to take action in this regard.
He said that the irresponsible statements of France president Emmanuel
