Pakistan strongly condemns Dutch documentary

GENEVA : Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to Geneva Masood Khan has strongly condemned the Dutch documentary distorting the message of Holy Quran, and said Europe should not allow such acts to spark violence.Addressing the 7th session of Human Rights Council here Tuesday, Ambassador Masood Khan said such acts of xenophobia and religious intolerance projected the terrorists as interpreters of Islam.
He said such blatant provocations aimed at sparking anger and violence, however Muslims across the world showed restraint.
He highlighted Islam’s immense sensitivity towards all faiths religions, places of worships and sacred icons. He referred to Quran’s message of oneness of humanity, pluralism and co-existence.
Ambassador Khan appreciated the efforts of the Dutch government to stop the release of documentary and urged to initiate prosecution against the author of the documentary, under the Dutch law, for inciting hatred against Muslim in the Netherlands and around the world.
He said international community should not let such incidents spin out of control and develop political and legal instruments to stop willful and mischievous defamation of religions.
He called upon the UN Human Rights Council to do more and address the issue beyond mere condemnation and adopting resolutions.
In their joint response, the 27 ministers of Foreign Affairs of the European Union expressed their full support to the Dutch government in rejecting the opinions on Islam shown in the documentary.
They stated that freedom of speech should be exercised with respect for the beliefs and convictions of others.