Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged the OIC countries to work together to counter Islamophobia and project the true image and message of Islam.
He was talking to the Islamabad-based Ambassadors of the countries belonging to the OIC in Islamabad.
Imran Khan underlined the need for instituting legal safeguards aimed at protecting the sensitivities of all religious groups.
The Prime Minister said the OIC should work collectively to make the international community understand the deep-rooted love and reverence of all Muslims for the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H.) and the Holy Quran.
The Prime Minister emphasized that the vilification of Islamic precepts and religious personalities, wrongly justified under the garb of the right to freedom of expression or opinion, hurts the sentiments of 1.5 billion Muslims around the world.
Noting that Islamophobic acts fan inter-religious hatred and disharmony among civilizations, the Prime Minister called for addressing the underlying reasons for the rise in such incidents worldwide. Falsely equating Islam with radicalism and terrorism was leading to the marginalization and stigmatization of Muslims.
Imran Khan reaffirmed that Pakistan remains committed to dialogue and cooperation with all members of the international community for promoting universal values of tolerance, mutual respect and peaceful co-existence among all nations and peoples. He stressed that Pakistan’s initiatives were aimed at building mutual understanding and promoting inter-faith harmony.
