The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned a member of Pakistan’sdiplomatic staff following a statement by the President of Pakistan, Dr.Arif Alvi, that had urged the political leadership of France to refrainfrom embedding their bias against Muslims into their laws and had warnedthat such steps could lead to hatred and conflict.
President Alvi had addressed an international conference on religiousfreedom and minority rights, saying, “When you see that laws are beingchanged in favor of a majority to isolate a minority, that is a dangerousprecedent”.——————————
“I urge the political leadership of France not to entrench these attitudesinto laws … You have to bring people together — not to stamp a religion ina certain manner and create disharmony among the people or create bias,” headded.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called for Pakistan’s envoy tocommunicate “surprise and disapproval (over Alvi’s remarks), given that thebill contains no discriminatory element”.
“It is guided by the basic principles of freedom of religion andconscience, makes no distinction between the different religions andapplies therefore equally to all faiths,” the ministry declared.——————————
——————————
“Pakistan must understand this and adopt a constructive attitude for ourbilateral relations,” it added.
Read Top Stories
The Lower House of the French Parliament has passed a controversial billthat was originally labeled the “anti-separatism” bill.
The bill expands the power of the state to shut down religiousorganizations and places of worship if they are found to propagate“theories or ideas” that “provoke hate or violence towards a person orpeople”, seeks to tighten oversight of religious organizations, andstrengthens the secular practices of the country, which critics believewill affect the civil rights of the Muslim community in particular.
President Alvi expressed his disappointment over the bill and said,
“To label the entire religion in a different manner and to start takingprecautions against the entire community sparks the fact that if not now,it will have very bad repercussions in the next 10 years”.