France has committed global terrorism by publishing blasphemous sketches, stated Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi on Saturday.
Addressing a rally with thousands of participants in Karachi, beginning from Jinnah International Airport and culminating at Sharae Quaideen, Rizvi lambasted Muslim countries and organisations representing the international Muslim community for their silence, terming it 'reprehensible' as well as a criminal offence.
"If Pakistan deals with the matter with courage and lets the international community know it will respond with its full strength, then I assure the government that Pakistan will stand supreme amid the international Muslim community," he insisted, adding that the federal government should 'declare jihad' against France and exile the French ambassador.
Prominent religious scholar Mufti Muneebur Rehman, who also addressed the march, also lamented that Muslim countries had remained silent on the matter. "Muslims are accused of being extremists, but people with consciences in the West should tell us who fuels this extremism," he remarked.
Claiming that there would be no peace as long as the West continued to hurt the feelings of Muslims, he demanded that the Pakistani government ban French products on the national level.
The republication of blasphemous sketches in France, along with French President Emmanuel Macron's statements on the matter, has met much outcry in Pakistan in recent days, with several protests held across the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 8th, 2020.
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