Pakistan on Saturday welcomed the Denmark government’s decision to propose a bill outlawing the burning of the Holy Quran and other divine books.
“This, we believe, is a step in the right direction,” the Foreign Office said in a statement released today.
A day earlier, Denmark said it plans to ban Holy Quran burnings after a string of desecrations of Islam’s holy book in the Scandinavian nation sparked anger in Muslim countries.
According to the FO statement, Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani appreciated Denmark’s proposed legislation in his interaction with the Danish Foreign Minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen.
He expressed the hope that the bill, when passed, would create interfaith harmony and bring an end to an environment of hatred amongst people of different religious faiths.
“As stipulated by international human rights law and called for by the UN Human Rights Council, such provocative acts must be prevented and prohibited through legal means.”
“Such abhorrent acts intend to create friction among communities and harm inter-faith harmony and mutual respect. It is the responsibility of national governments to take all measures necessary to prevent these acts of religious hatred, xenophobia and Islamophobia.
“We hope the step taken by Denmark today will culminate in effective legislation to curb the desecration of the Holy Quran and other divine books. We also hope that other countries will emulate and undertake similar steps to outlaw such hateful acts,” it added.
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