ISLAMABAD 28 Jan (Online): The Foreign Office (FO) on Saturday condemned \u201cin the strongest terms\u201d the act of desecration of the Holy Quran by Danish politician Rasmus Paludan a day before, according to an official statement.<\/p>\n
Having strongly condemned recent such incidents in Sweden and the Netherlands, Pakistan today termed the abhorrent act done in Denmark \u201csenseless and deeply offensive\u201d while declaring Paludan an Islamophobe.<\/p>\n
In the statement, the FO said the \u201crepetition of the vile act leaves little doubt in the minds of Muslims around the world that freedom of expression is being blatantly abused to spread religious hatred and incitement to violence\u201d.<\/p>\n
Terming the recent acts as \u201cracist and Islamophobic\u201d, the FO called on the \u201cnational governments as well as the international community\u201d to prevent such acts.<\/p>\n
Pakistan also raised its concern about the \u201clegal framework behind which the Islamophobes hide and spread hatred with impunity\u201d, asserting the \u201cinternational community cannot turn a blind eye to these hate mongers\u201d.<\/p>\n
Reiterating its position that \u201cfreedom of expression comes with responsibilities\u201d, the FO said that Pakistan\u2019s concerns were being conveyed to the authorities in Denmark.<\/p>\n
Urging the authorities to be mindful of the sentiments of Muslims around the world, Pakistan asked them to \u201ctake steps to prevent such hateful and Islamophobic acts\u201d.<\/p>\n
Paludan, the leader of Denmark\u2019s far-right party Stram Kurs (Hard Line), burned a copy of the Holy Quran in front of a mosque in Denmark on Friday, leading to great outrage among Muslims all over the world.<\/p>\n
He had also committed a similar act on Jan 21 when he set a copy of the Holy Quran on fire during an anti-Islam and anti-immigration protest in front of the Turkish embassy in Sweden.<\/p>\n
The act had led to strong denunciation by Pakistani politicians including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, PTI Chairman Imran Khan, outgoing Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation\u2019s (OIC) secretary-general.<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s is the third such incident within a week. A day after Paludan had done so in Sweden, Edwin Wagensveld, who heads the Dutch chapter of a German anti-Islam group, tore pages out of the holy scripture in the Netherlands during a one-man protest on Jan 22.<\/p>\n
A day ago, the Senate unanimously adopted a resolution expressing its deepest dismay and shock at the \u201cvicious and vile acts\u201d in Sweden and Netherlands.<\/p>\n
It said that Pakistan should take up this issue at the upcoming United Nations Human Rights Council session in Geneva next week while also demanding the government to coordinate with OIC member countries to take a unified stand on the matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD 28 Jan (Online): The Foreign Office (FO) on Saturday condemned \u201cin the strongest terms\u201d the act of desecration of the Holy Quran by Danish politician Rasmus Paludan a day before, according to an official statement. Having strongly condemned recent such incidents in Sweden and […]<\/p>\n
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