Pakistan has appreciated the legislation proposed by the Government of Denmark to criminalise the desecration of religious texts and objects of significant importance, including the holy book of Islam. Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani said Islamabad has commended the Danish government’s proposed legislation to outlaw improper treatment of religious texts and objects of significant importance, including the Holy Quran. Taking to social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday, FM Jalil Jilani wrote he also had a welcome exchange with Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who reiterated the Danish government’s strong commitment to respecting these religious sensitivities.

“Looking forward to working closely with him to advance our common interests,” Jilani said concluded. On Friday, the Danish government framed a bill that proposed a ban on burning the Holy Quran in public and other religious scriptures. The proposed bill would make it a criminal offence to burn the Holy Quran, the Bible or the Torah publicly. The Danish foreign minister told local radio that the presenting of the bill would send an “important political signal” to the rest of the world. The bill proposed up to two years imprisonment and fines over desecration of the holy books.

The justice minister of the country said the Danish law would stop the “improper treatment of objects of significant religious significance to a religious community”. The Danish government is yet to announce when the bill will be tabled in the parliament to make it a law. In recent months, several copies of the Holy Quran have been burned by Islamophobic agitators in Denmark and nearby Sweden.

 
Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)