Criticism Of Harassment Of The Prophet Muhammad, Pakistani PM Expresses Appreciation To President Vladimir Putin

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. (Wikimedia Commons/The White House)

JAKARTA - Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan appreciated and praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, regarding respect for the Prophet Muhammad SAW in his statement.

"Just spoke with President Putin especially to express my appreciation for his firm statement, freedom of speech cannot be an excuse to harass the Prophet (Muhammad) SAW. He was the first Western leader to show empathy and sensitivity to Muslim sentiments for their beloved Prophet SAW," he wrote on Twitter.

In addition, PM Imran Khan told Russian President Vladimir Putin that Muslims support his words about Prophet Muhammad SAW.

"PM Imran Khan stressed that the statements by the Russian president made during the annual press conference on December 23 (2021), regarding the inadmissibility of any act under the guise of freedom of expression that demeans a particular religious, national or social group, received wide support from Pakistani society and the Islamic world as a whole," the Kremlin press statement quoted TASS as saying January 17.

The Kremlin pointed out that President Putin also recalled that Russia was historically a multinational and multi-confessional country where people of different faiths, including Islam, could coexist and interact.

As a result of the talks, the Russian leader and the Pakistani prime minister agreed to continue contacts.

"We also discussed ways to promote trade and other mutually beneficial cooperation between our two countries. We invite each other to visit our countries," said PM Imran Khan.

For information, at his annual press conference last December, President Putin said insulting the Prophet Muhammad "violates religious freedom and the sacred feelings of those who profess Islam."

The Russian leader also noted that such behavior "could trigger other manifestations of acute extremism, even more," in light of the terrorist attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine that was carried out after publishing several satirical images.