ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has proposed a six-point plan at the United Nations to address faith-based hatred and Islamophobia.
The plan was proposed by Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi at an event ‘Countering Terrorism and other Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief’ at the UN Headquarters.
The event was organised by Pakistan with Turkey, the Holy See and the United Nations to discuss this issue and help in charting a way forward.
Lodhi said Prime Minister Imran Khan had repeatedly called for urgent action to counter Islamophobia at various forums.
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Other speakers also called for effective steps to counter the challenge posed by the growing phenomenon of faith-based hatred and violence.
On June 18, the Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations had called the newly-founded ‘UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech’ for action to combat Islamophobia and hate speech.
Maleeha Lodhi had said an inevitable consequence of Islamophobia was to fan the flames of bigotry, intolerance, anti-Muslim hatred and xenophobia.
She had said Islamophobia was currently the most prevalent expression of racism and hatred against ‘the other’.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the occasion had said the UN Strategy and Plan of Action provided a system-wide programme with the overriding objective of identifying, preventing and confronting hate speech.