ISLAMABAD: Pakistan summoned French Ambassador Marc Barety Monday to convey deep concerns over the recent systematic resurgence of blasphemous acts of republication of caricatures of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) and desecration of the Holy Quran by certain irresponsible elements, Foreign Office said.

Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said in a statement that the Ambassador of France to Pakistan was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and 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, he added.

"It was further conveyed that 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 French envoy was further conveyed.

The spokesperson further stated that 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. "It was emphasized 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," he added.

At a time of rising racism, intolerance and populism, the spokesperson added that there is a need to promote harmony among peoples and communities instead of reinforcing stereotypes and making people alienated.

Earlier on Wednesday French President Emmanuel Macron had criticized "Islamists" and vowed not to "give up cartoons" depicting Prophet Muhammad (P. B.U. H). This invited condemnations from a number of Muslim countries, including Pakistan and Turkey.

In a series of tweets on Sunday, Prime Minister Imran Khan regretted that the French president had instead chosen to encourage Islamophobia by "attacking Islam rather than the terrorists who carry out violence, be it Muslims, white supremacists or Nazi ideologists".

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020