ISLAMABAD: Pakistan strongly condemns the desecration of the Holy Quran and dishonoring of the Pakistani flag in front of the Embassy of Pakistan in Copenhagen, Denmark.
According to Foreign Office, a strong protest has been lodged with the Government of Denmark. We expect the Danish authorities to take all measures necessary to stop such acts of hatred and incitement.
The intent of such evil acts is to insult two billion Muslims around the world and create friction amongst communities, cultures, and countries.
These acts, by any definition, do not constitute freedom of expression. Nor can the permission to carry out provocative acts of religious hatred be justified under the pretext of freedom of expression, opinion and protest.
As the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has said, “speech and inflammatory acts against Muslims are offensive, irresponsible and wrong”.
Pakistan has always maintained that freedom of expression comes with responsibilities. It is the responsibility of national governments, regional organizations and the international community at large to call out, condemn and proactively prevent the vile acts of Islamophobia and religious hatred.
As urged by the UN Human Rights Council, the relevant countries must address, prevent and prosecute such acts of religious hatred.
The international community must raise its collective voice against Islamophobia and work together to promote inter-faith harmony and peaceful co-existence.
Pakistan, for its part, will continue to raise the question of Islamophobia at the international level.
This issue was a key point of telephone conversations of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari with his counterparts from Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye and with Secretary General of OIC and the UN Secretary General. Issues pertaining to these recurrent acts of Islamophobia are being discussed at the OIC Headquarters in Jeddah and the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Earlier, Pakistan has slammed Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for threatening to cross the Line of Control (LoC) while calling upon civilians “to be ready to support the soldiers in such a situation”.
“Pakistan condemns the provocative remarks by India’s defence minister, made on 26 July 2023, in Drass, Ladakh, boasting readiness to cross the Line of Control,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
In yet another belligerent statement earlier today, Defence Minister Singh said India is ready to cross the de factor border in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) to “maintain its honour and dignity,” NDTV reported.
“We counsel India to exercise utmost caution as its belligerent rhetoric is a threat to the regional peace and stability, and contributes to destabilising the strategic environment in South Asia,” the FO statement added.
It said this is not the first time that India’s political leaders and senior military officers have made highly irresponsible remarks about Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan (GB). “This kind of jingoistic statement must stop. The Indian leadership is reminded that Pakistan is fully capable of defending itself against any aggression,” it added.
The FO communique said the practice of dragging Pakistan into India’s populist public discourse, with a view to stoking hyper-nationalism and reaping electoral gains, needs to end.
Everything from history to law and from morality to the situation on the ground belies India’s claims about Jammu and Kashmir, which is an internationally-recognised disputed territory, it added.
The statement further said that relevant UN Security Council resolutions stipulate that the final disposition 51 6, territory will be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations. “India would be well-advised to faithfully implement these resolutions, rather than entertaining any notions of grandeur.”
