Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday that political and religious parties in Pakistan were misusing Islam to cause damage to the country.

Addressing a ceremony in Islamabad in connection with the ground-breaking of Margalla highway, the PM said he had started a campaign that joined together heads of state of Muslim countries against blasphemy.

He further said the campaign will ensure that people in western countries think twice before making defamatory statements about Holy Prophet (PBUH). "We need to bring everyone together and make them take this seriously," the PM said. He said Pakistan has raised the issue at international forums of the United Nations and the European Union.

He said it is a great misfortune that many times our political parties and religious parties use Islam wrongly and use it such that they cause damage to Pakistan. "The protests and violence will do no harm to the West, but inflict severe damage to your own people,” the PM said.

He said Pakistan was formed in the name of Islam, adding that no one should cast doubt about any other person as to how deeply he respected the Prophet (PBUH).