PARIS/ISLAMABAD: Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs has summonedPakistan’s envoy to protest remarkslinkbyPresident Arif Alvi that a French bill cracking down on ‘radical Islam’stigmatises Muslims.
Addressing a conference on religion on Saturday, Alvi said: “When you seethat laws are being changed in favour of a majority to isolate a minority,that is a dangerous precedent.”
Specifically referring to the legislationlinkdraftedafter the beheading of a French teacher by a young man over blasphemouscaricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Alvi said: “When you insult theProphet, you insult all Muslims.”
“I urge the political leadership of France not to entrench these attitudesinto laws […] You have to bring people together — not to stamp a religionin a certain manner and create disharmony among the people or create bias.”
Pakistan was one of several Muslim countries that saw angry anti-Frenchprotests in October over President Emmanuel Macron’s defence of the rightto show cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
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Islamabad does not have an ambassador in France after its last ambassadorMoinul Haque was transferred to China in July.
The French foreign ministry said late Monday it had called in Pakistan’scharge d’affaires to mark “our surprise and our disapproval [over Alvi’sremarks], given that the bill contains no discriminatory element.”
