Pakistan summons Dutch envoy over ‘blasphemous caricatures’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday lodged its strong protest with the Government of Netherlands “on the announcement by leader of the Dutch Freedom Party and Parliamentarian Geert Wilders to hold a competition of blasphemous caricatures ”.

“The Charge d’Affaires of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was summoned to the Foreign Office today and a strong protest was lodged…. Deep concern was conveyed at this deliberate and malicious attempt to defame Islam, a statement issued by foreign office here said.

The Federal Cabinet, in its meeting held today (Monday), strongly condemned this abominable and reprehensible plan.

According to the statement, the Ambassador of Pakistan in The Hague has been instructed to forcefully raise the issue with the Dutch government along with Ambassadors of OIC member states.

Pakistan’s Permanent Representatives to the United Nations in New York and Geneva have also been directed to take up the matter with the UN Secretary General, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and other UN related bodies and procedures, the statement added.

It said the former Foreign Minister had written to OIC Secretary General also seeking his leadership in this matter, who in turn has written to the Dutch Foreign Minister on behalf of the OIC, protesting against this abominable event.

The matter would also be discussed in the forthcoming meeting of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, scheduled to be held on the sidelines of the 73rd session of United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2018.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will lead the Pakistan delegation to this meeting and raise the issue of blasphemous caricatures, the statement said.

The Government of Pakistan would continue to vigorously pursue the matter with the Dutch government and raise it at the relevant international fora from preventing this abhorrent act taking place, the statement added.