Pakistan to take French president's remarks on blasphemous caricatures to OIC: Ashrafi

Special representative to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Religious Harmony Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi has said that Pakistan will take the French President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks on blasphemous caricatures to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

In a tweet today, Ashrafi said that France has 'badly hurt the sentiments of Muslims in the month of Rabi-ul-Awwal', adding that love for Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) more than anything else in the world is part of our faith.

Meanwhile, French Ambassador to Pakistan has also been summoned to register a protest, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said. He added that the French President's irresponsible statement has added fuel to the fire.

Last week, a French teacher was beheaded near Paris after he had shown cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) during a class he was leading on free speech. In a ceremony, Macron criticized Islamists and said they will not give up cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Macron said the teacher was killed beca­use 'Islamists want our future', adding that 'France will not give up cartoons'.

The president has been facing severe backlash for his remarks, with Prime Minister Imran Khan accusing him of attacking Islam and hurting the sentiments of millions of Muslims in Europe and across the world.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also condemned Macron's statement, suggesting that the French president needs mental treatment. Meanwhile, small anti-French protests were held in Libya, Gaza and northern Syria.

Earlier this month, Macron described Islam as a religion in crisis worldwide, saying the government would present a bill in December to strengthen a 1905 law that officially separated church and state in France.

Middle Eastern countries have started to boycott French products, with Jordan, Qatar and Kuwait stripping of the products like French-made hair and beauty items from some of its supermarkets, BBC reported.