Qureshi urges UNGA to declare 'International Day to Combat Islamophobia’

Reaffirms Pakistan's stance to promote religious tolerance, understanding and cooperation

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday urged the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to declare an 'International Day to combat Islamophobia' and to build a resilient coalition to end the scourge.

Addressing the meeting of the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations via videolink, the foreign minister called for declaring willful provocations and incitement to hate and violence as universally outlawed.

The minister cited growing populism and mainstreaming contempt through unregulated social media platforms as two major reasons for the rise in Islamophobia.

"Freedom of speech does not give a person liberty to insult or hurt others," he said adding that state-sponsored violence on the basis of religion or belief is the most worrying.

Appreciating the UN Alliance of Civilisation for all its work, Qureshi said its job is far from over as the world experiences a resurgence in intolerance, discrimination, racism, hate speech and violence on the basis of religious beliefs.

Qureshi emphasised Pakistan's commitment to promoting religious tolerance, understanding and cooperation in the country and across the globe.

He informed the participants that Pakistan took the milestone step of opening the Kartarpur Corridor last year to facilitate Sikh pilgrims from India and elsewhere.

Earlier this month, the foreign minister urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Regional Forum (ARF) members to raise voice against the rise of "Islamophobia" and extremist tendencies in the region and around the globe.