GENEVA: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto said that desecration of Holy Quran amounted to incitement of religious hatred as UN Human Rights Council debated motion in wake of desecration of Muslim holy book in Sweden last month.

“Holy Quran is spiritual anchor for two billion Muslims. It is inseparable from their sense of identity and dignity,” Bilawal Bhutto Zardari told session of UN Human Rights Council hosting debate on ‘public acts of incitement to religious hatred in European and other countries’.

“We must see this clearly for what it is, incitement to religious hatred, discrimination and attempts to provoke violence,” Bilawal told council via video link, saying such acts had occurred under “Government sanction and with sense of impunity”.

“It is important to understand deep hurt that public and premeditated act of Holy Quran’s desecration causes to Muslims. It is an attack on their faith,” he added.

His remarks were echoed by Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who also condemned Sweden incident. Motion, brought by Pakistan in response to incident in Sweden, seeks report from UN rights chief on topic and calls on states to review their laws and plug gaps that may “Impede prevention and prosecution of acts and advocacy of religious hatred”.

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk told 47-member council that inflammatory acts against Muslims, as well as other religions or minorities, are “Offensive, irresponsible and wrong”.

Published in The Daily National Courier, July, 11 2023

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