- Qureshi to strongly protest against anti-Islam Dutch cartoon competition at the OIC
- The OIC Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (OIC-IPHRC) has also unreservedly condemned the planned international anti-Islam caricature competition
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday said he had requested the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for an emergency session to protest against an anti-Islam cartoon contest planned for later this year.
Qureshi informed the Senate on Tuesday that he had written to the OIC Secretary General to adopt an integrated position on the matter.
Members of the Senate condemned the anti-Islam contest – set to be organised by Geert Wilders, a Dutch parliamentarian and leader of the Freedom Party -- and adopted a resolution against it earlier this week.
Qureshi on Tuesday also raised the issue with his Dutch counterpart, Stef Blok, and said that the event, if held, could fan intolerance.
“I spoke to the Dutch foreign minister and apprised him about the sentiments in Pakistan and the Muslim World over the issue,” Qureshi said.
Blok, however, expressed his helplessness on the matter, adding that the Dutch government considered the issue as a matter of freedom of expression and would not curtail that. He, however, noted that it was an “individual action”.
Qureshi said he would continue to raise the issue at the OIC and other international forums.
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson, Dr Muhammad Faisal, said Qureshi reinstated that the "abominable act of the Dutch parliamentarian" was provocative and "hurt the sentiments of Muslims across the world."
"Such acts spread hate and intolerance,” Dr Faisal said in his message posted on social media.
On its part, the OIC’s Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (OIC-IPHRC), also condemned the act on Tuesday and called upon the Dutch government “to take immediate steps to prevent this sacrilegious transgression.”
"Such acts result in a wider sense of alienation, rejection, and polarization among affected communities leading to discrimination and violence, an antithesis to the coveted ideals of multiculturalism and pluralism,” a statement released by the OIC-IPHRC read.
Wilders had announced the competition in June, adding that the plan had been approved by the Dutch Counter-terrorism Agency NCTV.