Wed 02 September 2020:
Deliberately offending billions of Muslims cannot be justified through freedom of expression or the press, says Pakistan
Pakistan on Tuesday denounced a French magazine’s decision to republish offensive cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
“Pakistan condemns in the strongest terms the decision by the French magazine, Charlie Hebdo, to re-publish deeply offensive caricatures of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH),” the Foreign Ministry wrote on Twitter.
“Such a deliberate act to offend the sentiments of billions of Muslims cannot be justified as an exercise in press freedom or freedom of expression. Such actions undermine the global aspirations for peaceful co-existence as well as social and inter-faith harmony,” said the ministry.
Last year in UN General Assembly PM Imran Khan also cautioned against the denigration of revered Muslim personalities under the guise of “freedom of expression and opinion.
Khan said, “The world must understand Muslim sensitivities for Islam and the reverence for Prophet Muhammad,” he said, apparently referring to the competition for cartoons in Europe depicting revered Muslim figures.
The weekly drew controversy for publishing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2006, 2011, and 2012.
with Anadolu agency
