Paris summons Pakistan envoy over Arif Alvi calling anti-radicalism bill 'dangerous'

The French Foreign Ministry on Monday said that it has summoned Pakistan's envoy to protest against the claims made by Pakistan President Arif Alvi that a French bill cracking down on radical Islam stigmatises Muslims. Earlier, on Saturday, Pakistan President in a conference on religion said that “When you see that laws are being changed in favour of a majority to isolate a minority, that is a dangerous precedent” while specifically referring to the legislation drafted after the beheading of French teachers Samuel Paty by an extremist over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

Alvi had said, “When you insult the Prophet, you insult all Muslims...I urge the political leadership of France not to entrench these attitudes into laws... You have to bring people together -- not to stamp a religion in a certain manner and create disharmony among the people or create bias.”

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France to Pakistan: ‘Adopt a constructive attitude’

Disagreeing with the Pakistani President’s remarks, the French Foreign Ministry in a statement said that it expressed “surprise and disapproval”. It further added on Monday that the said bill does not include “any discriminatory provisions” and adheres to the French constitution as well as the international commitment of the European nation. 

France also said that the bill is guided by the “fundamental” principles that relate to freedom of religion and hence, make no distinction on the basis of an individual’s religion. However, Pakistan was one of the several Muslim-dominated nations that witnessed anti-French protests in October over France President Emmanuel Macron’s defence of the right to show cartoons that depicted Prophet Muhammad. The French government also called on the Pakistan government to “understand and adopt a constructive attitude”.

French Foreign Ministry statement said, “We expressed our surprise and disapproval, while the bill does not include any discriminatory provisions, in accordance with our Constitution and our international commitments.”

“It is guided by the fundamental principles relating to the freedom of religion and the freedom of conscience, makes no distinction between different religions and its provisions will therefore also apply to all faiths....Pakistan must understand this and adopt a constructive attitude with respect to our bilateral relations,” it added.

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