Islamabad (Diplomatic Correspondent)
Ms.Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the Spokesperson of the Foreign Office of Pakistan, has said that they strongly condemn the heinous actions of burning the Holy Quran in public.
Pakistan has raised the issue of the desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden with the Swedish envoy in Islamabad.
In this regard, the spokesperson , during the weekly briefing, the diplomatic correspondent Asghar Ali Mubarak’ while asked Question that “Pakistan has played a strong role internationally regarding Islamophobia especially declaration of 15th March as International Day to Combat Islamophobia was on Pakistan’s demand in the United Nations. In collaboration with OIC and United Nations, will Pakistan raise the voice regarding the recent Islamophobic incidents?
In response the spokesperson Foreign Office of Pakistan said that “Pakistan has raised this question at the UN Human Rights Council. Pakistan is the coordinator of OIC group in Geneva and in that capacity, we made this a request for a special session of the Council. Similarly, we have expressed our concern at the meetings of OIC which took place in Jeddah and this concern is widely known to the rest of the world.” To another question, he said that Pakistan has good diplomatic relations with Sweden, like in the past we have expressed our concerns with the Swedish authorities on this incident. I can confirm that “we discussed this incident with the Swedish charge d’affaires in Islamabad and expressed our concerns about Islamophobia and Quran burning. Our dialogue with Sweden will continue.” We will continue to express our concerns with the Swedish government.
Pakistan has brought the matter to the OIC. And as the coordinator of the OIC in Geneva, we have raised this issue at the UN Human Rights Council, where we have raised concerns about Quran burning, Islamophobia, and the deliberate targeting of Muslims and the sentiments of Muslims around the world.
In the opening remarks, the spokesman said that As Pakistan celebrates sanctity of the Holy Quran day tomorrow, we strongly condemn the despicable acts of public burning of the Holy Quran in Sweden and other countries in Europe. We believe that such willful incitement to discrimination, hatred and violence cannot be justified under the guise of freedom of expression. The recurrence of such Islamophobic incidents calls into serious question the legal framework which permits such hate-driven actions.
As a leading member of the OIC, Pakistan has called for an urgent debate on this important matter at the UN Human Rights Council. We also call for credible and concrete measures to prevent the rising incidents of xenophobia, Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred.
Informing about the situation after the Greece boat accident, the spokesperson said that the Greek authorities have completed the post-mortem and DNA tests of seventy-eight corpses and after this process, fifteen more Pakistanis have been identified. The situation in occupied Kashmir. Commenting on, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch once again reiterated Pakistan’s determination and urged India to stop unilateral actions and use of force in the occupied valley. She said that Muslims around the world celebrated Eid-ul-Adha while Kashmiris Eid prayers could not be offered due to curfew and other restrictions in the occupied region. He urged India to expel the Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders who were imprisoned on baseless charges.
