Prime Minister Imran Khan has called for effective measures to counter hate speech and Islamophobia.
He was speaking at an event on countering hate speech and Islamophobia held at UN Headquarters in New York.
Noting the growing incidence of discrimination and violence based on religion and belief, the Prime Minister underscored the importance of addressing both the drivers and consequences of these phenomena.
The Prime Minister rejected attempts to equate Islam with terrorism, noting that such self-serving approaches are dangerous and therefore should be eschewed.
He underlined that the United Nations provides an important platform to evolve an informed discourse on countering these phenomenon. He emphasized the need for more efforts by Muslim leaders to explain why attempts to denigrate revered Muslim personalities especially Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) cause pain and offense to all Muslims.
The Prime Minister also called for promoting greater understanding and tolerance among and between communities across the world.
Speaking on the occasion, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also called for a balance between exercising the right to freedom of expression and freedom of religion.
He also expressed his concern over the situation in occupied Kashmir reiterating his call for a just solution of this longstanding dispute.
The High Representative of the UN Alliance for Civilizations drew attention to existence of conflicts and disputes that lay at some of these phenomena and called for addressing them.
He also commended Pakistan for hosting the important event.
The event was co-hosted by Pakistan and Turkey.
