—— Attends the 18th ex-traordinary meeting of CFM
—— Condemns desecration of Quran, Islamophobic activities via the forum
By Our Diplomatic Correspondent
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Foreign Affairs Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Mon-day condemned, in the strongest terms, the Islamophobic and hate-ful acts of desecration of the Holy Quran, which manifested religious hatred and intolerance.
The minister was speaking at the 18th Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Organization of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) held in a virtual format.
The Extraordinary CFM was convened to debate the recurring inci-dents of the desecration of the Holy Quran, which has hurt the sen-timents of Muslims across the world.
Addressing the CFM, he underscored that these acts, and the per-mission to carry them out, did not constitute freedom of expression.
The Foreign Minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to work closely with OIC member countries especially in Jeddah, Geneva, and New York to highlight concerns about the willful acts of the burn-ing and desecration of the Holy Quran. He welcomed the adoption of resolutions in the UN Human Rights Council & the UN General As-sembly advocating inter religious dialogue and shunning religious ha-tred. He also called for promoting inter-faith harmony and peaceful co-existence.
The Foreign Minister reiterated his proposal, made earlier this year on the occasion of the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, for an Action Plan which would inter alia include the appointment of a UN Special Envoy to combat Islamophobia and the establishment of judicial mechanisms to hold the perpetrators accountable.
The Extraordinary CFM adopted a comprehensive resolution ex-pressing grave concern over increasing incidents of intolerance, dis-crimination and rising Islamophobia. It reaffirmed the importance of the 8-point action plan unanimously agreed upon by UN Human Rights Council to counter incitement to hatred, discrimination, stig-matization and violence based on religion and belief. It also called on all governments to fully implement the existing legal and adminis-trative framework or adopt new legislation to protect all individuals against hatred and violence based on religion and belief.
