SHAFAQNA PAKISTAN (Shia News Agency)
The Parliament on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution tabled against blasphemous caricatures published in French weekly satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique tabled the resolution and read it out in the National Assembly.
The resolution called upon the international community, including Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the European Union (EU), to take action against publishing such material.
“These cartoons are a conspiracy to create misunderstanding among civilisations,” the resolution reads.
The House maintained that such moves by Charlie Hebdo are against freedom of expression, and said “ridiculous religious material is condemnable”.
Lawmakers, led by Rafique, marched outside Parliament, chanting the slogan “In the service of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), we are willing to die”. Dozens of parliamentarians, including women, participated in the march. Last week, the magazine’s offices in Paris were attacked by gunmen, killing 12 people in cold blood in the worst attack in France in decades.
Victims included four prominent cartoonists, among them the editor-in-chief, Stephane Charbonnier, who had lived under police protection for years after receiving death threats.
The satirical newspaper gained notoriety in Feb 2006 when it reprinted sacrilegious cartoons that had originally appeared in Danish daily Jyllands-Posten. The cartoons set off a wave of violence in the Middle East which claimed 50 lives.
Its offices were fire-bombed in Nov 2011 when it published an objectionable sketch. Despite being taken to court under anti-racism laws, the weekly continued to publish controversial cartoons.
Earlier this week, the publication ran its first issue since the attacks, featuring a bearded man holding a sign reading “Je suis Charlie” (“I am Charlie”).
While last week’s attack sparked global outrage, dozens of people in Peshawar paid tribute Tuesday to the brothers who carried out the murders.
Pakistan condemns deadly Paris shooting: FO
Last week, the Foreign Office had condemned the deadly shooting at Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead.
FO spokesperson Tasneem Aslam had said that Pakistan deplores all forms of terrorism and extends condolences to the government of France and its citizens for the loss of life.
Aslam had also said that Pakistan’s stance over blasphemous cartoons is very clear. While strongly condemning the attack, she added that Pakistan in the past had moved a resolution in the United Nations and the world needs to get out of Islamophobia.
Aslam had further said, “we are confident that the international community will persist in standing firm against terrorism and that the culprits behind terrorist activities will be brought to justice.”
www.dawn.com
pakistan.shafaqna.com
