Pakistan has applauded the reported decision by the Danish government to put out legislation that would make it illegal to burn the Holy Quran and other holy books.
According to a statement issued by Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, "This is a step in the right direction." She hoped that the action taken by Denmark would result in strong laws to stop blasphemy against the Holy Quran and other sacred books.
While appreciating the Danish government's proposed legislation, Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani expressed the hope that the bill, when passed, would foster interfaith harmony and put an end to an environment of hatred among people of different religious faiths.
The spokesperson hoped that other countries would follow suit and take action to make such hateful acts illegal.
She said that Pakistan has consistently argued that desecrating holy books is a severe act of religious intolerance that should not be allowed in the name of freedom of speech, opinion, or protest.
Such provocative practices must be stopped and outlawed by legal methods as required under international human rights legislation and requested by the UN Human Rights Council, she added.
She said that the repeated instances of the Holy Quran being desecrated over the past few months hurt the feelings of the more than 1.6 billion Muslims throughout the world. She added that such heinous activities aim to divide communities and undermine interfaith cooperation and respect.
The spokesperson stated that it is the duty of national governments to take all necessary precautions to stop these acts of xenophobia, Islamophobia, and religious intolerance.