Pakistan condemns publication of blasphemous sketch in Swedish media

Islamabad, Aug 30 (UNI) Pakistan today condemned ''in the strongest terms'', the publication of an offensive and blasphemous sketch of the last Prophet Muhammad in a Swedish newspaper.

''The Swedish Charge d'Affaires was summoned to the Foreign Office here and a strong protest lodged with him over the publication of the blasphemous sketch in Nerikes Allehanda newspaper,'' Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said here.

The Swedish Charge d'Affaires was told that the publication of the sketch had caused grave affront to the religious sentiments of the Muslims.

He was further told that the Government of Pakistan expected greater sensitivity on the part of the Swedish Government on this issue.

The Swedish Cd'A explained that the Swedish Government fully shared the views of the Muslim community and termed the publication as unfortunate.

''Regrettably, the tendency among some of the Europeans to mix the freedom of expression with an outright and deliberate insult to 1.3 billion Muslims in the world is on the rise,'' Ms Aslam added.

In the past also, sketches and caricatures of this nature have been published in Europe in the name of 'freedom of expression'.

''Such acts deeply undermine the efforts of those who seek to promote respect and understanding among religions and civilizations,'' she added.

Pakistan will also hold consultations with the OIC to determine the future course of action against the repetition of such provocative publications.

At least five people were killed in early 2006 in violent protests all over Pakistan against the publication of blasphemous sketches of the last Prophet in Danish and several other European newspapers.

UNI