ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, on Sunday, commended Saudi Arabia's leadership for portraying the true image of Islam, adding that both the countries were working together to promote the cause.
“What the leadership of Saudi Arabia is doing (to project the true image of Islam) is very important,” Chaudhry told Arab News.
“The (Kingdom's development plan titled) Vision 2030 which Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled is certainly a step in the right direction,” he said, adding that it shows Saudi Arabia as a tolerant country, one that encourages moderation according to the tenets of Islam.
“Since King Salman is the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, it is really important that Saudi Arabia leads the way (in these efforts),” Chaudhry added.
On March 28, Chaudhry had visited Saudi Arabia on the of Saudi Culture Minister Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, wherein he had reiterated – in reference to an attack on two mosques in New Zealand which had killed 50 people – that seeking revenge was not a solution for Islamophobia.
“What happened in New Zealand was obviously very unfortunate, and this Islamophobia that Europe is going through, what answer can we have for that? Should we think in terms of revenge? The answer is no,” Chaudhry had told Arab News during an interview in Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia, for its part, had “strongly condemned” the mosque attacks in New Zealand, warning that the incident was an indication of widespread Islamophobia.
Earlier this month on April 2, the United Nations (UN) had adopted a Pakistan-backed resolution which had strongly condemned the various acts of terrorism which targeted individuals based on their religion or belief.
While the resolution decried the attack in New Zealand, Pakistan's Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi took the opportunity to highlight the rise of extreme nationalistic and populist ideologies in the West and in Pakistan’s neighbourhood.
“The rise of extreme nationalist and populist ideologies in liberal Western democracies and elsewhere, including in our region, are fanning the flames of bigotry, intolerance, anti-Muslim hatred and xenophobia,” Ambassador Lodhi had said at the time.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy historic bilateral ties that are rooted in religious and cultural commonalities.
Earlier, Chaudhry had said that the relations between both the countries had been improving ever since Prime Minister Imran Khan assumed office last year.
