The Foreign Office (FO) on Friday expressed disappointment over the European Parliament’s resolution on Pakistan and said that the body lacks the contextual understanding of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.
“Pakistan is disappointed at the adoption of a resolution at the European Parliament on blasphemy laws in the country. The discourse in the European Parliament reflects a lack of understanding in the context of blasphemy laws and associated religious sensitivities in Pakistan – and in the wider Muslim world,” said Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri in a statement.
The statement added that the “unwarranted commentary” by the lawmaking body of the regional bloc “about Pakistan’s judicial system and domestic laws” was “regrettable”.
The FO reminded the EU that Pakistan is a “parliamentary democracy with a vibrant civil society, free media, and independent judiciary”. It reiterated that Pakistan remains “fully committed to the promotion and protection of human rights for all its citizens without discrimination”.
“We are proud of our minorities who enjoy equal rights and complete protection of fundamental freedoms as enshrined in the Constitution,” said the FO. It added that the judicial and administrative mechanisms and remedies are in place in the country to help guard any individual “against any human rights violations”.
“Pakistan has played an active role in promoting freedom of religion or belief, tolerance, and inter-faith harmony. At a time of rising Islamophobia and populism, the international community must exhibit a common resolve to fight xenophobia, intolerance, and incitement to violence based on religion or belief and work together to strengthen peaceful co-existence,” said the FO.
