In a tweet on Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that it was 'unfortunate' that Qatar was being subjected to a 'barrage of propaganda' as the host of the FIFA World Cup.
"It should rather be commended for wonderful arrangements for mega event & being a promoter of global peace & development," he wrote, adding that Pakistan stands in solidarity with the Emir and people of Qatar.
https://twitter.com/CMShehbaz/status/1595366218797813761
Qatar as the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup has been making headlines for several reasons, including restricting entry to people wearing clothes or accessories with Pride symbols on them, as homosexuality is considered illegal in Qatar.
British politician Keir Starmer said it was 'unacceptable' that 'gay football fans are unable to acknowledge who they love' at the World Cup in Qatar. "The World Cup doesn't belong to Fifa... it belongs to everyone who loves football... shame on Fifa," he said while in Parliament.
https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1595389451823259648
Meanwhile human rights organisations have also been raising questions about the safety of migrant workers who have been involved in the construction related to the World Cup.
https://twitter.com/hrw/status/1593711789123899393
https://twitter.com/democracynow/status/1594756025583706112
FIFA President Gianni Infantino however has termed outrage over Qatar hosting the World Cup as 'hypocritical', saying, "For what we Europeans have been doing in the last 3000 years around the world, we should be apologizing for the next 3000 years before starting to give moral lessons to people."
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is currently taking place in Qatar until December 18 2022.