ISLAMABAD – In a big diplomatic achievement, Pakistan to host IstanbulConference.
Pakistan will host the 8th meeting of the Istanbul Conference next yearover religious intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief,the Foreign Office (FO) said on Monday.
The announcement in this regard was made by Federal Minister for EducationShafqat Mahmood today at The Hague, Netherlands during his keynote addressat the 7th Istanbul Process meeting.
The minister drew the gathering’s attention to the “alarming levels ofIslamophobia” prevalent in many parts of the world, citing incidents ofhate crimes, negative profiling, assaults on hijab-wearing Muslim women anddenigration of venerated Muslim personalities and symbols as examples, theFO statement said.
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He cautioned politicians against using “incendiary and populist rhetoric”for electoral gains, saying it can serve as a catalyst for hate speechleading to acts of violence, systematic discrimination and in some casesacts of terrorism.
